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Pojo's Pokémon Card of the Day

21times	VS Seeker (Roaring Skies, 110/108) is the most impactful card that is leaving the Standard format because of the current rotation.  While it is easy to argue that it was not the most influential card over the past three years, a couple of factors have combined to establish it as the card that we will miss the most: ·         Its functionality stands without par.  Unless your deck ran Vileplume (Ancient Origins, 3/98), you probably ran four of them.  You can count on one hand the number of cards in the format today that are universal four ofs in almost every deck (and you’ll have some fingers left over). ·         It has no replacement.  While we might experiment with Puzzle of Time (Breakpoint, 109/122) and we now have a few Pokemon with attacks that let you pull cards out of your discard pile (Gardevoir GX (Burning Shadows, 93/147) and Heatmor (Burning Shadows, 24/147)), no card in the Standard format today can replicate what VS Seeker currently does. ·         Several of the best cards that will rotate out have other cards that will replace or even improve upon them (Tapu Lele GX (Guardians Rising, 60/145) has at least supplanted Shaymin EX (Roaring Skies, 77/108) and Guzma (Burning Shadows, 115/147) will render Lysandre (Ancient Origins, 78/98) obsolete). Therefore, VS Seeker has the unfortunate bearing of the top card lost to rotation in 2017.  It was not the best card over the past three years, but it’s the one we will most regret losing (and hope for a reprint!  Please!!!) come September 1st. Rating Standard: 5 out of 5 Conclusion This is the only card in the top ten lost to rotation that I gave a five out of five.  If not for Guzma and Tapu Lele GX, I have no doubt that Shaymin EX and Lysandre would have received a five out of five as well.  Maybe that offers a glimpse of hope for us: as most of the other significant cards lost to rotation have received reprints or alternatives, perhaps a Pokemon with an Ability or a new Supporter card will come our way soon to let us grab Supporters from the discard pile once again. Finally, if losing VS Seeker isn’t enough to ruin your day, here’s a glimpse at some of the cards that we could be losing a year from now: ·         Brigette (Breakthrough, 134/162) ·         Professor Sycamore (Steam Siege, 114/114) ·         Float Stone (Breakthrough, 137/162) ·         N (Fates Collide, 105/124) ·         Special Charge (Steam Siege, 105/114) ·         Garbodor (Breakpoint, 57/122) ·         Zoroark (Breakthrough, 91/162) ·         Volcanion (Steam Siege, 25/114) ·         Greninja (Breakpoint, 41/122) And on that note, have a great weekend - our top ten from Burning Shadows starts Monday!
Otaku	At last, we come to the card lost to rotation that we’ll miss most: VS Seeker.  This card has a longer history than any of the others on this list, as I don’t have to produce a similar older card since it is an older card!  VS Seeker originally released as EX: FireRed/LeafGreen 100/112, then again as PL: Supreme Victors 140/147, the third time as XY: Phantom Forces 109/119, and finally as XY: Roaring Skies 110/108.  Its original release lead to this review, the re-release led to a second look, and you can see what Baby Mario, aroramage, and myself thought of its third release here.  I took a moment to re-read all of those reviews, and I have to say it is fascinating what I got right and what I got wrong about VS Seeker.  This Trainer-Item allows you to add a Supporter from your discard pile to your hand; the last few formats have been ones where Supporters were either the only or at least the primary source of big draws, and even now when we have alternatives, they were just allowed to encompass other powerful plays.  Whereas I initially thought we’d see most decks running two due to Item lock, instead four copies became the norm!  Even now, five of the top 8 Masters Division decks at the North American International Championship ran the full four count.  A sixth deck ran three, and the two that ran zero were focused on a T1 Vileplume (XY: Ancient Origins 3/98)... so it makes sense they wouldn’t run a card they hoped to never have a chance to use.  So, besides the fear of Item-lock decks, the other reason we underestimated this card’s appeal is its past history; while it was good, older decks often ran fewer Supporters, relying more heavily on Pokémon effects for draw/search.  Forgive me repeating the point, but combined with the less Supporter-focused formats, it was difficult to justify more than a copy or two of VS Seeker in one’s deck.  How times changed!  Even without slick tricks like Battle Compressor or Lysandre’s Trump Card or Battle Compressor for Lysandre’s Trump Card (and up to two other Supporters), VS Seeker is just amazing for how it boosts a deck’s consistency, either by providing an extra copy of a card you’ve already maxed out or by making TecH or doubles of a Supporter adequate.  Lysandre often pops up on a player’s last turn to end the game, forcing something vulnerable - like Shaymin-EX (XY: Roaring Skies 77/108, 106/108) - to the Active position where it can be OHKO’d.  Most of the time, I find this is actually preceded by VS Seeker for Lysandre!  Cards like Archie’s Ace in the Hole, Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick, Teammates, etc. are easier to use when you can snag one from the discard pile.  In fact, I wouldn’t blame you if you’ve grown tired of me stating the obvious.  Currently, VS Seeker is a staple in most decks, and only in a few decks does a player run less than three or four.  This applies to Standard or Expanded play; September 1st is unlikely to change things in Expanded play, while Standard must now do without this wonderful bit of Supporter recursion.  Should it be reprinted, I expect players to flock back to it, unless we experience another significant shift in deck operation.  As I’ve repeated over and over again, odds are against you enjoying VS Seeker in a Limited event; for Pokémon, this method of play is used almost exclusively for Pre-Releases and the odd side event… though a quick Google search showed better prices than I expected.  Odds are low you’ll pull one with XY: Roaring Skies boosters, as it is a Secret Rare there, but both sets have at least a few Supporters so I think it would be a must run, and likely to help you out significantly.  Skip it if you have the misfortune of not pulling even one Supporter from your boosters.  I know VS Seeker has shown up in some of the Battle Arena Decks, but those do not count as Theme Decks for the PTCGO… oh, looks like there is at least one of the PTCGO-exclusive Theme Decks has VS Seeker; while I believe it is less effective without proper backing, it should still be most welcome.  Assuming a revision didn’t remove it from the deck(s) entirely.  Ratings  Standard: 4.75/5 (Soon to be N/A)  Expanded: 4.75/5  Limited: 4/5  Theme: 4/5  Conclusion  VS Seeker has been a format defining card, though it can be a bit hard to tell if you didn’t experience the BW-era/early XY-era prior to its release.  It used to be a struggle to make room for that second Lysandre, and several Supporters that later went on to be good were ignored at first because you needed those slots for more “reliability” Supporters.  VS Seeker is why the “No Reprints” rule for the set and year-end countdowns now allows an exception; if we get something like this reprinted, any reviewer can present it to the rest of us, so we can consider it for the lists after all.  Breakdown  VS Seeker claimed 39 voting points, five more than second place finisher Forest of Giant Plants.  It made four out of five lists, so it is still a fairly impressive finish.  It was number one on my own list, and I do not regret the decision.  Remember, I’ve been wobbly on almost every single one of my picks that actually made the list, wishing I had rated it higher or lower; this is the one where I can stand firm.
Vince	So we finally come down to the most influential card lost to set rotation: VS Seeker from EX Firered & Leafgreen, Platinum Supreme Victors, XY Phantom Forces, and XY Roaring Skies as a secret rare!  Such an old card never got to be eligible for any Top X List for the Pojo site up until now, just regular reviews that reviewers will still praise highly of.  Also, with that much of a gap as to when it was printed, this is the third time VS Seeker is about to leave rotation.  I don’t know if the designers would plan to reprint it or not, but at least VS Seeker will remain in Expanded, where it’ll always find a home there.   VS Seeker in the games lets you rematch a trainer that you’ve already battled.  For the TCG of that item, it allows you to search the discard pile for a supporter card and put it onto your hand.  This translates very well in the TCG since Supporters are based on various characters.  This is extreme helpful, since with however many copies of VS Seeker you use, your maxed out copies of a particular Supporter could be your 5th, 6th, 7th, or 8th copy of said Supporter!  VS Seeker help drive down Supporter counts, giving you room for other Supporters that you would like to try on your deck.   With VS Seeker gone, Supporters once again suffer huge competition with other supporters unless you run Puzzle of Times in order to get back anything from the discard.  Draw-based Supporters are mandatory for any deck hence the priority to have 4 Professor Sycamore and 4 Ns in lots of decks.  It is critical to have sufficient draw power or otherwise your deck cannot function.  Other niche Supporters gets thrown in as well such as Lysandre/Guzma.  Overall, consistency is a huge mess without VS Seeker, and that’s a pretty big deal to me.   Ratings:   Standard: 5/5   Expanded: 5/5   Limited: 5/5   Notes: I had VS Seeker in my personal list as my number 2 and I think this is what happened.  Both Shaymin-EX and VS Seeker seem to be fighting for the crown and I think they should both be number one.  Both cards are frequently seen in nearly every deck, sometimes even both in the same deck.   Honorable Mentions! Since they are unable to review the follow ups, I guess I can talk a little about other cards that could’ve made the list, but the voting points were not enough to secure the position:   Eeveelutions from XY Ancient Origins: Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon adds a type to your Stage 1s in play, enabling them to hit an expansive range of Pokemon for weakness, as well as tapping into type specific supports. 4/5   Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick/Archie’s Ace in the Hole from XY Primal Clash: The requirement of having this Supporter the only card in your hand may be tough, but if you achieve this, you get to put a water/fighting Pokemon regardless of Stage from the discard to your bench, as well as drawing 5 cards. 4/5   Vespiquen from XY Ancient Origins: Another “Vengeance” style attack that is sadly countered by Karen. 3/5   Sky Field from XY Roaring Skies: Unique effect of having up to eight benched Pokemon invites certain combos for XY Raichu and Mega Rayquaza. 4.2/5   Giratina-EX from XY Ancient Origins: A Pokemon that tries to multitask: Walls Mega Evolutions and preventing attachments of Tools, Stadiums, and Special Energies! 4/5   Well, this has been an interesting countdown.  Even if other cards weren’t in the Top 10, these cards will surely be missed (except for Forest of Giant Plants, which is about to be banned).  However, the end of a chapter is the beginning of another one, waiting for it to be enjoyed to its fullest.