Ditto Prism Star #8 – Top 11 Pokemon Cards of 2018

aroramage

Yep, Ditto <Prism> hit the list as well. Makes sense, when you’ve got an extra copy of an evolving Basic that goes into a Stage 1 thanks to its Ability. It’s already seeing a lot of play in various decks that work around Stage 1s, and it’s likely going to continue to be a mainstay in these decks.

…yeah, that’s about all I’ve got to say about that at this point.

Rating

Standard: 4/5 (hasn’t really changed, considering the evidence at this point)

Expanded: 4/5 (every Stage 1 got a boost thanks to this card)

Limited: 4/5 (not much else to be said)

Arora Notealus: You can find more of my thoughts and reaction to Ditto <Prism> here over on the Top 11 cards of Lost Thunder, where it made #5. I think its recent successes say a lot about the card itself, and there’s not much more I have to say on that.

Next Time: Get ready to provoke some thoughts.

21times

Ditto (LOT 154) transformed the meta when it morphed into the Standard format from the Lost Thunder expansion set.  It gave us something I don’t think we’ve ever had before: a fifth Basic Pokemon.  If you prize two Basics for your feature attacker, eh, no big deal, with Ditto you still essentially have three.  For that reason alone, Ditto helps increase the consistency of our decks and reduces just a little bit of the enormous aleatoric factor that frequently drives us all so crazy.

More importantly, however, Ditto provides a unique flexibility.  You want to run a copy of Alolan Muk to shut down Granbull or prevent your opponent from playing Lele or Oranguru?  Now you don’t have to dedicate a slot to Alolan Grimer.  Maybe throw in a Purugly (UPR 109) or even a Garbodor (GRI 51)?  No problem.  Any Stage 1’s you want, just throw them in and decide which one you want to put into play after you flip over your starting Pokemon.  It provides a flexibility that we’ve never had before (at least not since I’ve started playing) and gives new meaning to the term “TecH.”

What’s surprised me is why more decks aren’t running it.  Only four of the top eight decks at Harrogate and the SPE in Chile ran it.  Less than half – only 26 – of the top 68 at Roanoke chose to include it in their sixty cards.  Maybe I’m wrong, maybe I’m missing something, but I’m putting Ditto in any list where I have four Stage 1’s.  The only weakness Ditto has is its 40 HP.  You have to be real careful about benching it against Garchomp decks because they can just snipe you before you get to evolve it.  And if you are getting caught up in the Meganium craze (guess it’s not just a “trap” card… sorry inside joke between Otaku and myself), well, Ditto won’t really do you much good there.  Aside from those situations, however, I’d highly recommend making Ditto one of your sixty cards.

Rating

Standard: 4 out of 5

Conclusion

I looked, Ditto’s in every decklist I built this month that’s not a spread deck.  Not that that says a whole lot since I’ve been playing spread almost exclusively (can you blame me?  I’m winning more than two-thirds of the matches I play with spread archetypes).  And it’s even in the Zoroark Weavile spread deck I played around a little with.  This Ditto truly is a unique card, and I’m really glad it’s going to be around for the next two and a half years.

Otaku

We’re counting down the Top 11 Pokémon Cards of 2018, adding “one” to our usual countdown so it wraps up EXACTLY on the end of the year. Eighth-place goes to Ditto {*} (SM – Lost Thunder154/214), a Basic [C] Prism Star Pokémon with 40 HP, [F] Weakness, no Resistance, Retreat Cost [C], and the Ability “Almighty Evolution”. Almighty Evolution lets you play any Stage 1 Evolution on Ditto {*} from your hand to Evolve it. It explicitly states that Ditto {*} cannot Evolve on a player’s first turn or the same turn it was put into play. Not too much has changed since we ran through what all that means a little over a month ago when we reviewed Ditto {*} as the fifth best card of SM – Lost Thunder. Being a Basic with that Ability is so good, Ditto {*} is often worth it even with the drawbacks of being a Prism Star and the dangers of having only 40 HP.

What makes the Ability so good? If you’re running an important Evolution line, the kind where you need to field it fast and repeatedly, Ditto {*} can act as a “fifth copy” of the line’s Basic. Not only does this improve reliability for a deck, but every now and then you’ve got something like Gyarados (SM – Burning Shadows 33/147) and its “Venting Anger” attack. Venting Anger does damage based on how many Magikarp you have in your discard pile, so having a Gyarados Evolve from Ditto {*} ups the attacks max damage! Ditto {*} can also be used to make running multiple Evolution lines easier, as it can be Evolve into whichever Evolution is needed more. It is a small thing, but having Ditto {*} and one of each Evolving Basic means your opponent has to score a multi-KO or a KO and shut down Abilities in order to make it impossible for your Stage 1s to hit the field on your next turn. Ditto {*} can be used to work in TecH Evolution lines, and let me emphasize the plural there; if the deck has room, it might run two or three Stage 1 Pokémon as singles sans their proper Basic Pokémon, with the plan being to Evolve into the most vital one during a matchup. All of these approaches can even stack; you might run a 4-4 Zoroark-GX line, a 2-2 Magcargo (SM – Celestial Storm 24/168) and an Alolan Muk on its lonesome, saving Ditto {*} for Alolan Muk if it looks vital that matchup, or using it for whichever of the other two Evolutions are needed more.

That your opponent cannot be sure what you’re going to Evolve Ditto {*} into is often an advantage, especially when you’ve got multiple targets your opponent would otherwise prioritize. I’ve mostly been running a Granbull (SM – Lost Thunder 138/214) deck in Standard lately; if I see a Ditto {*} hit the field, I usually have to try to KO it ASAP because I am worried it will Evolve into an Alolan Muk, shutting down the “Instruct” Ability of my Benched copies of Oranguru (SM – Lost Thunder 113/149; SM – Black Star Promos SM13) vital to keeping Granbull decks flowing. Ditto {*} is not found in every Standard Format deck, but it has worked its way into many of them. You cannot combine the effects of Almighty Evolution with Rare Candy, one of the few reasons some Evolution decks leave it out. While we don’t have as much data as I’d like, what little we have suggests things are almost as rosy in the Expanded Format. Ditto {*} is a primo pull for the Limited Format as well; the only real reason not to run it is because you also pulled a Basic Pokémon so strong, you’re going to run ONLY that Basic Pokémon to ensure it is your opening Pokémon (the “+39” or “Mulligan” build).

Ratings

Standard: 4/5

Expanded: 3.9/5

Limited: 4/5

Even though Ditto {*} has only been tournament legal for a little over a month, even though you could just run the corresponding Basic for any and every Stage 1 currently taking full advantage of Ditto {*} and its Ability, Ditto {*} has already proven itself. It is worth losing a deck slot to increase the reliability of your setup, and that is before the fancier tricks. Ditto {*} could fade from the competitive scene as quickly as it rose if the right kinds of counters are released but I’m not expecting that.

Vince

Our 8th place pick is Ditto Prism Star from Sun & Moon Lost Thunder! It was made to do one thing and does a good job at it…if you can keep it from being preyed upon and KOed for just a turn. It is all about the Almighty Evolution Ability, which allows you to put a Stage 1 Pokemon from your hand to evolve it, except that you can’t use it on your first turn or the turn you played Ditto Prism Star, hence my previous sentence. This can cause major unpredictability for your opponent, as they won’t know what Ditto will turn into. Ditto could act as a fifth copy of a specific evolving basic or as a tech to put any kind of Stage 1 Pokemon. That is why Ditto Prism Star was the fifth best card of Lost Thunder.

Ratings:

Standard: 4/5 (This is THE most essential card for Stage 1s.)

Expanded: 4/5 (And with a expansive card pool, that’s a lot of enabling.)

Limited: 4/5 (Don’t use this if you don’t have a worthwhile Stage 1)

Notes: Despite not being appeared as much in the Expanded card pool, this Ditto is pretty straightforward and simple than the other one from Boundaries Crossed.

Next up: The wise performs the work to conserve stuff.