Pokemon Pocket’s latest expansion, Secluded Springs, will be releasing in just over a day’s time. With the legendary beasts advertised as the marquee feature of this set, Suicune ex is poised to become a reliable tool that Water archetype decks have been sorely missing.
Suicune ex
The main feature that all the three ex legendary dogs have is their shared ‘Legendary Pulse’ ability. Free draw is a rare commodity in card games in general. Putting Suicune ex, or any of the legendary beasts, in the active zone just adds a layer of consistency to any deck using them.
Legendary Pulse may not create as much instant value as Sylveon ex’s ‘Happy Ribbon’ but, overtime, Suicune ex can generate more value if it doesn't die. This can also make recovering from Red Card effects much easier.
As for the rest of its kit, Suicune ex has a pretty average health pool. We’d have to say that this is pretty fair given the fact that the legendary beasts are all Basic-Stage Pokemon. At the very least, Suicune ex can survive the first trade from most competitive rivals of the same stage while at full health.
As for Suicune’s damage potential, it will really depend on the development of the game. On average, and assuming the opponent is actively trying not to play into a full bench, Suicune ex would be doing about 60-80 damage; that’s about 3-4 benched Pokemon combined from both players.
On the other hand, a potential 120 damage from two energy makes Suicune ex one of the faster threats to grace the arsenal of water decks in recent memory.
And given that Misty exists, despite its random nature, a player going first could potentially start attacking with Suicune ex on their second turn.
Tools and Synergies
Ragardless on Suicune ex's success as a main win condition, there are a good amount of synergies to be had with this Pokemon.
Energy Acceleration
Secluded Springs is also introducing the new baby Pokemon Mantyke to the roster. Accelerating a two-energy Pokemon may seem somewhat redundant, in practice, it's already a meta-defining trend. Silvally decks that use Baby Pokemon like Pichu and Magby are currently defining competitive formats. Following what works has always been a winning strategy.
Healing and Longevity
Secluded Springs also revealed a new Milotic, which can heal 60 damage from an allied Water-type Pokemon when played.
By itself, the 60 healing generally won’t let Suicune ex survive a second hit from a lot of popular Pokemon like Giratina ex, but paired with other tools like Irida, Giant Cape, and even a Potion, you can buy yourself more time, damage and card draw.
All of that said, this potential strategy hinges on Suicune being the main damage dealer, since Milotic can't deal enough damage to pair well into most common threats. If Suicune cannot pull off this role reliably, this is unlikely to work.
Potential Match-ups
Giratina ex Variants / Charizard ex
Giratina ex and Charizard ex are the best examples of bad match-ups for Suicune ex. Most of the time, the decks using these two particular Pokemon don't deploy a full bench, limiting the potential damage output Suicune ex can produce. This is further exacerbated by the fact that both Giratina ex and Charizard ex are naturally robust Pokemon well outside Suicune ex's lethality range.
Then it when it comes to damage trading, both Giratina ex and Charizard ex can offer quick knockouts on Suicune ex. The former may need some help from the likes of Red or Giovanni. The latter can easily knockout Suicune ex naturally without intervention.
The only opening these two provide is a small window during board build-up. Players using Suicune ex will have to go on the offensive as soon as possible or run the risk of a quick reversal once either rival goes online, which can be as early as the third turn.
Buzzwole ex / Espeon ex
Suicune ex surprisingly plays well to into Buzzwole ex and Espeon ex decks because both strategies demand them to create a large bench early.
Celesteela and Pheramosa are well within Suicune ex's lethal range if the benches are built to scale. While Espeon ex might have tougher partners like Sylveon ex, the reliance of a full bench of evolution Pokemon is something that Suicune ex will happily punish.
As for Buzzwole ex and Espeon ex themselves, they have a relatively lower health threshold and damage output compared to other competitive peers. Some tools like a Leaf Cape or the use of damage modifiers like Red could tip the power balance either way. but under normal circumstances these two are practically on even footing with Suicune ex.
Oricorio
Unfortunately for Suicune and its brothers (Raikou and Entei), they’re ex-Pokémon. Which means this little, yellow bird continues to prove to be a bane to a lot of decks. With some smart deckbuilding, this likely won't be a problem. The card draw from Suicune means that you can support a second Pokemon line that can deal with Oricorio rather easily.