Energy Recycle System – Pokemon Throwback Thursday (2003)

Vince

Energy Recycle System is similar to Rescue Stretcher, except that instead of Pokémon, it is Basic Energy cards. I don’t know how good this card back then, but I imagine it was better when it came out as there was few recovery options that I can think of (Energy Restore maybe). It is reliable and flexible, either putting a basic energy card from the discard pile into your hand so that you can use it as manual attachment or part of the ability, or putting three basic energy cards into your deck for later use.

On a Sun and Moon on format, some cards that may compete with Energy Recycle System is Energy Retrieval and Energy Recycler. The former puts two basic energies from the discard into your hand and the latter puts five basic energies from the discard into your deck. That’s not to say that Energy Recycle system is bad; its flexible but weaker between the two. And that’s the niche that it secures in Standard. Expanded takes a hit due to cards that does more than what Energy Recycle System offers such as Super Rod which can retrieve Pokemon and basic energy cards or Brock’s Grit doing twice as much as Super Rod at the cost of using up a Supporter card on your turn.

Standard: 3/5
Expanded: 2.5/5
Limited: 4.5/5

21times
PokeDeck
Central

Energy Recycle System will get a reprint in the upcoming Celestial Storm expansion set.  This card is a fusion of Energy Retrieval and Energy Recycler (both cards that are still in the Standard format post rotation).  It allows you to either:

1. Take a Basic energy card out of your discard and put it into your hand or 
2. Put three Basic energy cards back into your deck.

So it gives you a little bit of both Energy Retrieval and Energy Recycler.  It functions much the way Rescue Stretcher does for Pokemon.  And I love Rescue Stretcher – I never use Super Rod.  Most times, I don’t want to put a Pokemon or energy back into my deck.   All that does is clog up the deck and decrease my chances of top decking a draw support card.  Plus, just because you put a card back into the deck doesn’t mean it will ever come back out.  Think about it: you almost never have zero cards left in your deck at the end of your match.

But Energy Recycle System gives you options, and options mean that you have multiple paths, and the more paths you have, the more likely it will be that one of those paths will lead to victory.  I’m sure I’ll try it, and it may very well become a one of in some of my decks.  But considering Energy Recycler and Energy Retrieval see very little usage right now, I doubt this will see much play when it enters the meta.

Rating

Standard: 1.5 out of 5

Conclusion

Post FLI, Energy Recycler made up 0.2% of all Item cards (2 out of 1044 cards).  No deck played Energy Retrieval.  Pre FLI, Energy Recycler made up 0.9% of all Item cards (26 out of 2,920) and Energy Retrieval made up 0.4% (13 out of 2,920 cards).  Going by those stats, I doubt Energy Recycle System will  have much impact on the meta.