Coach Trainer – Unified Minds Pokemon Review

Vince

Coach Trainer joins the ever growing list of Supporter cards that draws 2 cards AND have an effect that can either draw you more cards (this card, Samson Oak), disrupt your opponent in some way (Mars), or providing a damage boost (Professor Kukui). Those cards saw play to some degree, though it faces massive competition from other draw Supporters. The chief Supporters that ruled all other draw supporters were Professor Juniper/Sycamore and N. When those cards rotated, Cynthia remains the go-to Supporter. But what might be lacking at the moment is straight draw, and Coach Trainer becomes the closest alternative in some decks.

Coach Trainer lets you draw 2 cards, while furthering draw you 2 more cards if your Active Pokemon is a Tag Team Pokemon. Drawing 4 cards without any drawbacks besides using up your Supporter for your turn is a good thing, as you can do more with the cards you just drew. Best use them while you can until the day Professor’s Research comes out on Sword & Shield in a couple of months (its an identical Oak/Juniper/Sycamore).

Standard: 3/5 (for now, five months later will become 1.5/5)

Expanded: 1.5/5

Limited: 4/5

Otaku

My review for yesterday did go up, albeit late.  Today’s doesn’t have that problem because I picked something short and relatively sweet: Coach Trainer (SM – Unified Minds 192/236, 233/236).  This Supporter has you draw two cards and, if your Active is a TAG TEAM Pokémon, you draw two more cards.  I don’t know how long it will last, but for now, drawing four cards off of your Supporter with no discards or shuffling is good.  Drawing two cards from your Supporter is not, which is why Coach Trainer only belongs in decks that are focused on keeping a TAG TEAM Pokémon in the Active position.  Which doesn’t mean all TAG TEAM decks should use Coach Trainer; it is just that certain ones have found it quite handy.

Frankly, given how the “Draw 3 cards.” club (Hau, Tierno, and Cheren) have almost never been competitive, and how cards like Welder, which attaches up to two Fire Energy from your hand and then lets you draw three, shows serious power creep, I’m actually a bit disappointed in Coach Trainer; drawing four cards with no other conditions, costs, or effects should probably be our baseline for Supporter usage, instead of drawing three.  That isn’t the case, though, so Coach Trainer remains a solid option for TAG TEAM focused decks, even if most aren’t going to use it.  It just takes a few that do and win… and that has already happened.

Ratings

• Standard: 3/5
• Expanded: 3/5
• Limited: 3/5