Esteemed Deck Mechanic Spike said (sarcastically I might add), "He's got the Energy Search to get the right color energy when he needs it. Truly a master of deck design." Spike later said, "He runs... Energy Search—ouch" and I can’t find the exact quote, but I do believe said deck mechanic remarked that it was arguably the worst trainer ever. Now, this sort of makes sense because in his submission guidelines Spike says that a beginning deck designers should "try to stay mono (one color) if at all possible; it makes things much simpler," and on the surface Energy Search looks like its only purpose is in multi color decks. I’m not picking on Spike here, most of the best players elevate Energy Search up to one rung above Base Set Gastly, but Spike’s quotes were easiest to find. Perhaps I should get to my point.

I believe that Energy Search has a purpose in many of the decks that it is not in.

Hold on there, don’t reach for the Back Button just yet, this won’t be an unintelligible rant from some stupid newbie who doesn’t know anything, I’m going to go through everything point by point and hopefully you will only want to flame me a little when I’m done. J

*Point one: What exactly is wrong with getting the energy that you need when you need it? Seems like a good idea to me. You might point out, "But Palpy, if you manage your energy ratios right, or just stick to one color you won’t need to worry," and I’d agree with you on the second point (for now). I might ask you, why do people use cards like Computer Search and Pokémon Trader? It’s simple, luck is a major aspect of the game and these cards help you get around luck. If your deck is shuffled and all the cards you need are in positions where you aren’t going to draw them when you need them and you draw a search card you can get whatever you need. Even the best energy ratios are prone to being screwed up by the luck of the draw, and Energy Search can help. I ask you: what’s wrong with that?

*Point two: Every deck has room for it. Did I raise a few eyebrows there? Yeah, unlike Plus Power which would make almost any deck better but most don’t have room for it, there’s always room for Energy Search. Basically, it’s an energy card that just says "Trainer" instead of "Energy." Therefore, room can be made by dropping the energy. Sure, if you run into a Fossil Psyduck or a Dark Vileploom you’ll be kicking yourself because you can’t play it, but that Psyduck will be gone in a minute and that Dark Vileploom is a stage 2. It’s quite hard to get a stage 2 up sans trainers. Lass is the biggest threat here, but if you’re running a mono-colored deck you can just play it as soon as you draw it (I’ll explain why you would do that in just a second) and if you have a multi colored deck you would only play it when you don’t have an energy that you need. If you have what you need, you obviously don’t need to play it, so you aren’t hurt all that much if it’s Lassed away. Energy Search is pretty safe from Rocket Sneak Attack unless it’s your only trainer. *Whew* that was a lot, and it’s probably my weakest point. Oh well, it’s a touchy subject anyways...

*Point three: Card advantage. Ooh, bet you didn’t see that one coming. Energy Search is, in a sense, a mini-Bill. It’s like drawing 2 cards in a single turn instead of Bill’s 3 or the standard 1. Yes, 3>2, But 2>1. "But any deck that would employ that already has so much card drawing power it can deck itself buy turn three. It doesn’t need that card advantage!" Sure. Yeah. Uh Huh. Remember Challenge!? It is included in most Wiggly decks for obvious reasons, Bench filling and, theoretically, up to eight Bills. If you’re going to go that far, why not go even further? Especially if it’s free? 4 Bills, 4 Challenge, and 4 Energy Search, and a few Oaks. Just imagine it. Just imagine it. Hey! Stop imagining decking by turn three! J

Sure, Energy Search doesn’t belong in Every deck, but it also doesn’t belong only in Binders.

Want to point out any gaping logic errors in my reasoning? Want to praise me for my uplifting of a card you once thought worthless? Want to question my sexual orientation because you’re too dense to accept any ideas that contrast the ones you hold? E-mail me at palps_heir@hotmail.com.

-Palpy