The opportunity to team up with Ultra Beasts in the Pokémon TCG has finally arrived! Buzzwole-GX, Guzzlord-GX, Nihilego-GX, and Kartana-GX lead the charge in the latest expansion, Sun & Moon—Crimson Invasion. Not only is this the first opportunity to collect cards depicting these mysterious creatures, but the Ultra Beasts also bring a style all their own to the Pokémon TCG.
The Ultra Beast invaders truly feel like cards from a different world. They feature strange attacks and Abilities that add some unexpected new effects to battles, and some of their GX attacks have never-before-seen impacts on Prize cards. Whether you’re looking to expand your collection or create a unique and rewarding deck, Ultra Beasts are worth a closer look.
Buzzwole-GX
The hulking Buzzwole-GX’s focus on power instead of trickery makes it stand out from the other Ultra Beasts. Its Jet Punch attack can get your engines flaring in a hurry: for only one Fighting Energy, it can do 30 damage to both the opponent’s Active Pokémon and one on their Bench. Meanwhile, Absorption-GX is a great way to land the first big haymaker in a match. It does an impressive 240 damage if you have all six Prize cards remaining, almost guaranteeing you’ll be adding one of those Prize cards to your hand. The 160 damage from Knuckle Impact stings, too, but don’t forget it keeps Buzzwole-GX from attacking on the next turn.
Making Swole Decks with Buzzwole-GX: Make sure to include some Choice Bands in any deck featuring Buzzwole-GX. The extra 30 damage helps Buzzwole-GX take down key foes like Tapu Bulu-GX, Tapu Lele-GX, and Volcanion-EX with a single Knuckle Impact, and it adds enough to Knock Out an undamaged Metagross-GX with a six-Prize Absorption-GX. Buzzwole-GX may be most powerful in the Expanded format—it can pick off a 30-HP Joltik (a key player in the Night March deck) on the opponent’s Bench, and it greatly benefits from the presence of Korrina and Strong Energy.
Guzzlord-GX
Guzzlord-GX is a great Pokémon for players who are hungry to make big plays while throwing caution to the wind. Its Eat Sloppily attack discards the top five cards of your deck, which can be risky, but with some luck you can power up Guzzlord-GX in a hurry by attaching any discarded Energy cards. Both of its other attacks require five Energy, so every little bite counts. Tyrannical Hole does a sizable 180 damage without any additional drawbacks, and you’ll feast on two extra Prize cards if you manage a Knock Out with Glutton-GX’s leaner 100 damage.
Setting Up the Buffet for Guzzlord-GX: You’ll need plenty of Energy cards in your deck for Eat Sloppily to succeed. It isn’t discerning about which Energy cards you discard and attach, but you’ll probably want to stick mostly to cards that provide Darkness Energy to power up Glutton-GX. Darkrai-GX is a great teammate because you can retrieve it from the discard pile using its Restoration Ability. And don’t forget Dark Patch if you’re playing in the Expanded format.
Nihilego-GX
Nihilego-GX’s brightest hope is its Empty Light Ability. It can create some serious havoc by leaving both Active Pokémon Confused and Poisoned when you play Nihilego-GX from your hand onto your Bench. The Lock Up attack furthers the mayhem by preventing foes from retreating to clear their Special Conditions—and it also does 120 damage. Symbiont-GX can really mess things up for your opponent by adding the top two cards of their deck to their Prize cards—that’s two more Prize cards your opponent has to take in order to win!
Experimenting with Nihilego-GX: The barrage of Special Conditions inflicted by the Empty Light Ability can illuminate a path to victory if you can keep your opponent from removing them. Sea of Nothingness can make it more difficult for decks that rely on Evolution to shed Special Conditions. But the best way to leverage Empty Light may be to use it to score Knock Outs with some help from Alolan Muk-GX’s Chemical Breath attack. Make sure to include Trainer cards like Olympia and Switch to help cure your own Confused Pokémon.
Kartana-GX
Kartana-GX functions as both an Enhanced Hammer and a Pokémon: you can discard a Special Energy from one of your opponent’s Pokémon when you play Kartana-GX from your hand onto your Bench. Its Gale Blade attack won’t carve through many foes, doing just 70 damage for three Energy, but it can put the hurt on foes with a Weakness to Metal and allow Kartana to make a swift escape. You may find Blade-GX more enticing—for a single Metal Energy, you get to take a Prize card, just like that!
Constructing a Deck with Kartana-GX: Much of Kartana-GX’s power rests in its Slice Off Ability, so consider including cards like Acerola and Super Scoop Up that help you reuse it. Kartana-GX needs only one Metal Energy to attack, so it can slide comfortably into the many decks that include Rainbow Energy and Double Colorless Energy. Scoring Knock Outs with Gale Blade can be tricky, but combining it with Po Town and Choice Band can be enough to help Kartana-GX cut Pokémon with a Weakness to Metal, like Gardevoir-GX, down to size.
These Ultra Beasts are just some of the incredible cards in Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon—Crimson Invasion. Check out Pokemon.com/TCG to find out more about the latest expansion!
