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Pojo's Pokémon Card of the Day

Baby Mario 2010 UK National Seniors Champion	#4 Prism Energy, Blend Energy WFLM, Blend Energy GRPD  We decided to throw all the rotated Special Energy into one review, mainly so we don’t end up doing a virtual cut and paste job for each of them (credit to Otaku for that idea). Collectively, they made the fourth spot on our list of rotated cards.  Special Energy which can provide all Types of Energy has always been a valuable resource in the Pokémon TCG, right from the original Rainbow in the first Team Rocket set, through the awesome Scramble and Double Rainbow, right up to the cards we are looking at today. They are great for deckbuilders as they allow a more flexible approach to combining Types, and this makes for more interesting, varied, and effective decks.  Prism was easily the star of this group, and really shone in the toolbox-style Plasma decks with their huge range of attacking Pokémon (Kyurem, Thundurus, Absol, Landorus . . . even Deoxys EX when necessary). Later on, it could be abused in Aromatisse/Basics/Max Potion decks, as it counted as Fairy Energy and so could be moved around at will. The Blend Energies were more limited in what they could provide, but WFLM did a job in Plasma decks as a supplement to Prism; and in decks using Stage 2s such as Garchomp DRX or Empoleon DEX/Fighting variants. Meanwhile, GRPD turned up in Darkrai/Hydreigon decks. Without these cards, toolbox decks have definitely taken a hit (though they do still have Rainbow), and diversifying Types becomes a little more problematic. If Plasma decks have any traction in the Extended format, then you can expect these cards to find a home there.  Rating  Overall impact: 4.25 Extended: 3.75
aroramage	Hello again, friends! Today we are in fact taking a look at three - count em, THREE - Cards Being Lost to Rotation!! Of course, that's because they're mostly the same, but let's see what kind of impact the Blend Energies and Prism Energy had on the format.   First, we'll start with the earliest, Prism Energy. Imagine this: it's the ending of an era, and we are about to lose Rainbow Energy to rotation again. We'd received guys like Klinklang (BW) and Emboar (BW) to accelerate energy and move stuff around in case we needed a Max Potion. But without that Rainbow Energy, things wouldn't be the same, would it? The utility, the versatility - all in one card! Sure it gave us a damage counter, but what's 10 damage compared to 80? 90? These days, 140 or 150? Well, that's where Next Destinies gave us the answer of Prism Energy.   Once Rainbow Energy rotated out, Prism Energy really took off, although it was already pretty big with anything running Big Basics like Reshiram (BW) and Zekrom (BW) prior to the EX. The great thing about is was that it could count as any kind of Energy, which made it work for any deck that needed it! But there was a catch; unlike the precious Rainbow Energy, this card only counted as Rainbow as long as the Pokemon was a Basic one.   That's right, this Energy was designed specifically to accompany the great Pokemon-EX joining the game in this set, though it does create a slight flaw in the plans of those who might want to attach their Prism Energy to Klinklang, heal the damage, and then move it back. So now what? Well first, we'd have Darkrai-EX got introduced, and we all know the impact he's made. Prism Energy was putty in the hands of a Darkrai-EX/Klinklang deck, which could move it around to any Basic Pokemon that needed it and give them essentially free Retreat cost.   And then Dragons Exalted came out with two new kinds of Energy: Blend Energy GFPD and WLFM. Each provided up to 4 different kinds of Energy (but not all at once, mind you!), Grass/Fire/Psychic/Dark and Water/Lightning/Fighting/Metal respectively. While the number of Energies went down, the number of possible targets went up, as the Blend Energies could now be attached to the likes of Hydreigon (DEX) and Klinklang without having to convert them to neutral Energy!   Not only that, these Blend Energies also promoted more variety; you could combine deck types that you wouldn't think to before. Water/Lightning had massive acceleration once Blastoise (BCR) came out, adding into Eelektrik's (NVI) Dynamotor. Groudon-EX and Kyogre-EX could be run together! Sableye's value just skyrocketed as its more splashable than ever!   Now would one be able to run solely a single type, throwing in Blend Energy and Prism Energy for those odd techs, and be able to win consistently? Maybe, maybe not, but these Energies are not be-all-end-all kinds of special. Just cause, say, Reshiram can now fit in with the Dark deck doesn't mean he makes it consistent. Hopefully we'll see all kinds of wild and crazy combinations in Expanded, but chances are we're going to be seeing the same kinds of decks simply due to their consistency. And possibly also for nostalgia.   Prism Energy and the Blend Energies changed the way we think about stuff like Rainbow Energy. They gave a certain value to multiple Energies that one might not have thought of in a time where we couldn't just slap a multi-Energy answer onto anything that needed it. It should be no surprise either that Blend Energies came out in the same set as the Dragons - after all, they were flexible enough usually to pay one of the two odd Energy types that got specified! Now the question becomes this: in a format with Rainbow Energy available to us, do we run these over it, or do we run these alongside it?   Rating   Modified: N/A (don't worry, we've got Rainbow Energy (XY) to tide us over)   Expanded: 4/5 (they have their uses, and while Rainbow Energy is going to probably remain the popular choice, they could all form together into a super Rainbow deck of some kind!)   Limited: Prism Energy - 4/5 (in a set that introduced Big Basics, this is a definite add-in to that +39 deck) Blend Energies - 4/5 (similarly for a set that introduced Dragons into the game)   Arora Notealus: I know Special Energies aren't notorious for their artwork, but these guys do have really nice artwork for Energies. Especially Prism! Just imagine a foil version of that! That'd be pretty cool! Come to think of it...*scours internet for a foil*   Next Time: Aren't we kinda cheating with another two-in-one special? NOPE!!
Otaku	Welcome readers to the fourth card cut by rotation that we’ll miss most… except that’s not technically true.  Why?  We’ll there are three cards that are so similar that it seemed silly to divvy them up; if they all made the final list then we’d end up with three near identical reviews and if even one made it, it would be difficult not to essentially review the other two because of how similar they are.  Of course as you already know, today we are looking at Blend Energy GRPD, Blend Energy WLFM and Prism Energy!  It also means that this isn’t really a Top 10 list, but a Top 12… unless perhaps there is at least one more multi-card review.  First let us get the basics of these cards out of the way.  You can read the original review of Blend Energy GRPD and Blend Energy WLFM here: yes we combined them then as well.  You can find the original review of Prism Energy here.  All three are Special Energy cards that provide a single unit of Energy, but when conditions are met provide multiple Types of Energy (which for some can be rather confusing).  The basic rule of thumb is if the amount of Energy matters e.g. attack costs you can only count it once but if it is just an issue of Type such as some older attacks that hit Pokémon of the same Type as the attached Energy, then the multiple Energy Types all count.  All three cards can be thought of as variations on the same principle; I jokingly suggested referring to Prism Energy as “Blend Energy Basic” to help justify including it in this review with the other two, though Rainbow Energy is their TCG ancestor, having been originally released all the way back in the Team Rocket expansion (fifth set released if you include Base Set 2).  The two Blend Energy just need to be attached to a Pokémon to get their respective effect, but Prism Energy must be attached to a Basic Pokémon in particular, which can be significant to decks that can move Energy of a specific Type around in play.  These three cards have been fairly important during their tenure, though the Blend Energy have proven a bit less important towards the end and themselves are rarely exactly equal; as they cover different Energy Types it is all about which Energy Types are currently in demand, but the net result is that they are more or less equals.  Fairy Transfer and various Plasma builds are probably hurt the most (especially the hybrid of the two) by the loss; Fairy Transfer doesn’t care about either Blend Energy of course, but Prism Energy was worded in a manner that made it forwards compatible with any new Energy Types introduced after its release.  Plasma decks, depending on the exact build and fear of Enhanced Hammer, might go so far as to run a full four of Blend Energy WLFM (I am uncertain if any builds required Blend Energy GRPD), Prism Energy and Rainbow Energy: losing two of the three is likely to hit them especially hard.  Many decks/cards benefitted from being Blend Energy “compliant” (having Energy costs that allowed them to make use of two or more of the Energy Types on a particular Blend Energy), in addition to counting towards certain blanket effects like Dark Cloak (on Darkrai-EX) and Verdant Wind (from Virizion-EX) while often fueling attack requirements for a different Energy Type.  All Basic Pokémon have enjoyed their own personal Rainbow Energy, especially as Prism Energy was introduced during a gap in Rainbow Energy being Modified legal.  If these had remained in the format, they would still have remained important though not universally used.  Evolutions are a bigger presence now, so if it comes down to running Rainbow Energy or Prism Energy, Rainbow Energy wins even though that damage counter it places when attached can prove problematic.  Either Blend Energy would remain niche, but when you don’t need a Type they don’t cover and might need to attach to an Evolution, they trump Prism Energy and Rainbow Energy.  They will see play, likely at about their current level unless Expanded ends up differing radically from expectations (regrettably I still lack first or second hand information on how that format is turning out).  In the unlikely event you’re able to use the correct packs in a Limited Event and pull one of these, only skip them if you have absolutely no need of them, which probably means you’re running a deck built around a single, big Basic Pokémon with only one Energy Type requirement other than [C]; Limited decks rarely are mono-Typed.  Ratings (for all)  Modified (NXD-On): 4/5 - Now that it is more and more likely your deck needs at least one Evolution that can attack thanks to Pyroar (XY: Flashfire 20/106) and its Intimidating Mane, Prism Energy is really starting to feel the restriction in its effect, so I’ll risk scoring all three together.  None are truly “general” scores, because each has a specific use and could be replaced by Rainbow Energy (assuming it isn’t already being run as well), and at any one exact moment in the metagame they’ll be different, fluctuating by up to a quarter point one way or the other (leading to a full half point of difference at the extremes).  Modified (BCR-On): N/A - If they were legal, it would be the same as above, possibly with a small (no more than a quarter-point) bonus due to Enhanced Hammer rotating out… though it is possible Enhanced Hammer will be reprinted, based on Japan having gotten a recent (but still pre-rotation) re-release.  Expanded (BW-On): 4/5 - I could be wrong as Expanded is still so new and unknown, but unless it radically differs from expectations, with respect to the usefulness of Blend Energy GRPD, Blend Energy WLFM, and Prism Energy I suspect things to be on par with NXD-On Modified.  Limited: 4.99/5 - Take it unless you’re running the rare (but still statistically significant) deck that just can’t make use of it.  Summary: Blend Energy GRPD, Blend Energy WLFM and Prism Energy have helped to shape the format, though sometimes I wish they hadn’t helped certain cards quite so much.  They will be missed, but with the card pool we have it is probably safer for them to “retire” to Expanded.