The new Sword & Shield—Darkness Ablaze expansion continues to bring Pokémon originally discovered in the Galar region into the Pokémon Trading Card Game, as well as an impressive roster of other formidable Pokémon. Plenty of new Pokémon V and Pokémon VMAX with massive amounts of HP and devastating attacks are getting ready to join the fray, too. Check out some of the amazing cards that you’ll be able to find in the Sword & Shield—Darkness Ablaze expansion when it arrives on August 14, 2020.
Grimmsnarl VMAX
A Gigantamax Grimmsnarl is a force to be reckoned with! Not only does Grimmsnarl VMAX sport an incredible 330 HP, but its G-Max Drill attack can decimate your opponent’s team if properly played. The attack does a base 170 damage at a cost of three Darkness Energy. For each extra Darkness Energy attached, it will hit for an additional 50 damage. You can’t add more than 100 damage in this way, but when you’re hitting your opponent’s Active Pokémon for 270 damage, you’re probably in a pretty good position.
Hydreigon
Hydreigon isn’t a Pokémon V or a Pokémon VMAX, but its Pitch-Black Fangs attack, which does 130 damage, is nothing to be ignored. However, its Dark Squall Ability is what your opponent should be afraid of. What Blastoise’s Deluge Ability did for Water Energy, Dark Squall does for Darkness Energy. This useful Ability allows you to attach a Darkness Energy card from your hand to 1 of your Pokémon as often as you like during your turn. If you end up holding a lot of Darkness Energy, you can quickly and easily get a more powerful Pokémon ready to battle. Like, maybe…oh, we don’t know…Grimmsnarl VMAX?
Butterfree VMAX
Butterfree VMAX may not be able to dish out as much immediate damage as Grimmsnarl VMAX, but thanks to the Special Conditions it inflicts on your opponent, it can still spell bad news. This Gigantamax Pokémon’s G-Max Toxbreeze attack does a not-insubstantial 150 damage to your opponent’s Active Pokémon and makes it Confused and Poisoned. This can quickly disrupt your opponent’s strategy by forcing them to take immediate measures to prevent their Active Pokémon from taking further damage.
Crobat V
For even more Poison power, check out Crobat V. This Pokémon’s Venomous Fang attack does 70 damage and makes your opponent’s Active Pokémon Poisoned, furthering the misery to your opponent’s plans. Before you bring Crobat V into play, though, you’ll probably want to wait until you have a mostly empty hand—when you play Crobat V onto your Bench, its Dark Asset Ability lets you draw cards until you have 6 in your hand. Shaymin-EX had a similar Ability, and it was a game changer for a lot of decks. Don’t overlook Crobat V’s potential.
Polteageist
This charming card lets you organize a Pokémon tea party that can do some downright impolite damage to your opponent’s Pokémon. Like all good tea parties, though, you’ll have to invite the proper guests. In a revival of a popular Night March deck archetype we saw a few years back, Polteageist’s Mad Party attack does 20 damage for each Pokémon in your discard pile that has the Mad Party attack. So, you’ll want to have as many Pokémon in your deck that know that particular attack as you can. Mad Party pairs nicely with Polteageist’s Tea Break Ability, which allows you to draw 2 cards when you discard a Pokémon that has the Mad Party attack. Get enough of those partying Pokémon in the discard pile, and the power of Polteageist’s Mad Party attack greatly increases.
These are just some of the awesome cards that you’ll find in Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield—Darkness Ablaze. See what other cards you’ll find when the expansion releases on August 14, 2020.
