Barry – Triumphant Light
Date Reviewed: March 2, 2025
Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Now we can start reviewing cards from the latest set. It’s time for the Top 5 Cards of Triumphant Light! My picks are not based on tournament results, but speculation. I’ll explain myself, but take it all with a grain of salt. Our first honorable mention is Barry (A2a 074, 089)! He’s a Trainer-Supporter with an effect that only works on your cards named “Heracross”, “Snorlax”, and “Staraptor”. Until the end of the current turn, attacks made by those Pokémon cost (C)(C) less. Barry is available at the ♦♦ and ★★ rarities.
There are no card effects in the Pokémon TCG Pocket that reference Trainer cards. There are three that reference Supporter cards: Psyduck (A1 057), Gengar (A1 122), and Gengar ex (A1 123, 261, 277). All three have an effect that prevents the opposing player from using them. As they haven’t proven competitive, the main thing to remember is: using Barry means not using a different Supporter that turn.
Reducing attack costs by (C)(C), even when restricted to three specific Pokémon, who belong to separate Evolution lines, is great! There’s even a risk of Barry being broken; he’s not, but that’s because the effect only lasts a turn and the Basics affected by Barry don’t have an attack they can use for a Turn 1 donk. If he worked with anything, or even just any Colorless Pokémon… well, Double Colorless Energy has repeatedly shown how quickly that can break the metagame.
As is, Barry allows named Pokémon to access bigger attacks faster. Whether you view this as attack acceleration or Energy acceleration (it’s both), or as making Pokémon hit harder or faster (it can be both), it’s just a potent effect. Before we dive into how Barry can, and perhaps, how it should be used, let me make sure we all understand how Barry does and doesn’t function.
Barry’s effect only lowers attack costs for cards specifically named “Heracross”, “Snorlax”, or “Staraptor”. It will not help cards named “Starly” or “Staravia”, the corresponding Basic and Stage 1 forms of Staraptor. Nor would it help a card with “Heracross”, “Snorlax”, and/or “Staraptor” in it’s name but that aren’t those exact names. I hope we one day get a Snorlax ex, but even if we do, Barry wouldn’t be able to help it.
Barry does not permanently lower attack costs; the turn after you use Barry, you’ll need to pay full price, or use a second Barry. Barry places his effect on the field. This means you do not have to have a Heracross, Snorlax, Staraptor, or even a Pokémon that evolves into one of these, in play to use Barry. While it makes no sense to do so, I checked; you can even play Barry in a deck without any Heracross, Snorlax, Staraptor, or Pokémon that evolve into Staraptor.
All currently available Pokémon affected by Barry have at least (C)(C) in their printed attack costs. In the future, if we receive one that only has (C) in its attack cost, or that has no Colorless Energy requirements at all, Barry will do what it can. Meaning, while technically receiving the effect of Barry, the former would only experience a (C) reduction, with the extra (C) reduction being lost. The latter would just pay the normal attack cost, since there’s no (C) costs to ignore.
Heracross (A2 001) is a (G) Type Basic Pokémon with 100 HP, (R) Weakness, (C)(C) Retreat Cost, and the attack “Single-Horn Throw”. Priced at (G)(C)(C), this attack does 50 damage and has you flip two coins. If both are “heads”, Single-Horn Throw does 120 damage. Barry enables a 50 for Turn 2 with a one-in-four chance of becoming 120. Not a Turn 1 donk, but a potential Turn 2 donk. With its decent HP, my main concern is that you’re unlikely to have room for additional (G) support, but unless you risk a multi-Energy Type deck, you’re locked into running on (G) Energy and not anything else.
Both Snorlax (A1 211, 250) and Snorlax (A2a 063; P-A 049) are Basic, (C) Type Pokémon with (F) Weakness, a Retreat Cost of (C)(C)(C)(C), and attack also priced at (C)(C)(C)(C). Snorlax (A1 211, 250) has 150 HP, and can use “Roll Out” to do 70 damage. Snorlax (A2a 063; P-A 049) has 140 HP, and can use its “Collapse” attack to do 100 damage, but leaves itself Asleep. Either makes for a great meatshield, but they’re difficult to dislodge because of their awful Retreat Costs. Without Barry or other Energy acceleration, their attacks are also too expensive.
Staraptor (A2 134, 176), Staraptor (A2a 068), and Staraptor (P-A 047) are all Colorless, Stage 2 Pokémon with (L) Weakness, (C) Retreat Cost, and an attack priced at (C)(C)(C). Staraptor (A2 134, 176) has 140 HP, and can use “Clutch” to do 80 damage while preventing the Defending Pokémon from retreating during the next turn. Staraptor (A2a 068) has 150 HP, and can use its “Brave Bird” attack to do 130 damage to the opposing Active, but also 20 damage to itself.
Staraptor (P-A 047) has 140 HP, the Ability “Defensive Whirlwind”, and the attack “Wing Attack”. This is the only Pokémon Barry affects that has an Ability. Defensive Whirlwind applies a -30 modifier to damage from attacks made by (F) Pokémon, done to this Staraptor. It’s also has “Wing Attack”, doing 90 damage. The fastest you’ll be able to field a Staraptor is your third turn (Turn 5 or Turn 6), and you’ll have to run the entire Evolution line…
…but there’s actually a small bonus here. While the Staravia are nothing to write home about, Starly (A2 132) knows the attack “Pluck”. For (C), Pluck discards all Tools attached to your opponent’s Active, then does 20 damage. At the very least, it may lead an opponent to holding off Tool attachments until after they no longer have to worry about Starly.
There are a variety of approaches you can take to running a deck with Barry. Pick one Pokémon named on the card, and make it your deck’s focus. I don’t think that works to well with Heracross, but Snorlax might have the bulk, and Staraptor should as a Stage 2. You can opt to run two of the three, or all three together. In all cases, you can also choose whether to stick with a single version of the Pokémon, or two different versions of the same Pokémon. Except Heracross, because we only have one version (for now).
There’s Barry representation in the full Pokémon TCG. Disregarding the cards not named Barry, but showing him in the artwork, we have Barry (SWSH – Brilliant Stars 130/172, 167/172). He released shortly after I left the full TCG. Barry is still a Trainer-Supporter, but in the full TCG, he lets you draw three cards. There are a bunch of “Draw three cards.” Supporters that feature that generation’s male “rival” character. While they’d be a staple here, they’re just filler there.
Rating: 3/5
I haven’t seen anything is the early tournament results, that would suggest Barry decks are going to be a “big” thing. There’s barely any, and most have iffy records at best. Still, there is potential here. I don’t know whether it’s bizarre early game Heracross blitzes in Grass decks, Snorlax doing the meatshield thing but with the capacity to become a semi-surprise attacker, Staraptor becoming the center of a deck… or even something that uses some or all of them together.
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