A rather predictable cycle emerged over the last few years in the Pokémon TCG community:
Card scans are revealed months before a new set
The community begins to hope for a better format
The set is released and playtesting commences
Our hopes are dashed
It can sometimes take a while for # 4 to sink in, but this pattern was beginning to seem inevitable. The majority of recent sets ushered in a new archetype when they were released. That archetype generally checked the previous format in incredibly obvious ways. When # 4 does unfold in this cycle, the new archetype takes all the air out of the room and leaves little reason to explore the format any further.
We might be experiencing an exception to this rule with Brilliant Stars, however. We might even be experiencing the end of this rule altogether! Brilliant Stars has been out for a little over a month now and I have yet to observe any evidence that the predictable pattern will be repeated. While there have been some recent disappointments aired in the colloquy that is Pokémon TCG Twitter, these disappointments have not been about the Brilliant Stars format. Everyone (myself included) seems to like what is playing out in our testing and tournaments.
(Before you proceed any further, please take some wood from that Bibarel and knock on it!)
Now, with that out of the way...
What, exactly, did Brilliant Stars get right? Arceus VSTAR is likely the first answer that comes to mind. Arceus VSTAR deserves a significant share of the credit, but not all of it. I think the more accurate answer is Colorless Pokémon, in general.
The introduction of the VSTAR mechanic - particularly the two prize aspect - theoretically extends the length of the average game by slowing the prize race. To fully realize this slowdown, Brilliant Stars had to also introduce at least one VSTAR that could compete with Pokémon VMAX. That was Arceus VSTAR, of course. Arceus VSTAR has delivered on the promise of the VSTAR mechanic and it did so in a way that did not follow the pattern of recent sets.
Colorless Pokémon never hit for weakness anymore, so they do not have an outright advantage over any deck. In hindsight, this attribute made Colorless Pokémon a rather obvious choice for breaking the cycle that we have seen with the wheel of Psychic, Darkness and Fighting type Pokémon over the past couple of years. With Brilliant Stars, Colorless Pokémon have not taken the top spot - they have likely made it so there is no top spot.
Arceus VSTAR has a unique skill set, which permits it to perform in both attacking and supporting roles. Arceus VSTAR has given birth to an array of competitive combinations due to Trinity Nova’s Colorless Energy requirements and its highly useful VSTAR Power, which can benefit any deck. Double Turbo Energy (DTE) is an important piece to realizing Arceus VSTAR’s positive impacts on the format. The other important piece is Arceus VSTAR’s 280 HP, which largely prevents one-hit-knock-outs (OHKOs) - even from Fighting Pokémon, due to the previously released Dunsparce.
The uncommon OHKO scenario allows Cheren’s Care to aid Arceus VSTAR in the mission to slow down the format. The decision to limit the healing power of Cheren’s Care to the least menacing of types was absolutely brilliant. It also ensures the Supporter’s positive impact on the format will last, because Colorless Pokémon are now not so easily victimized by the rock-paper-scissors type game.
And here is where I want to make a claim: if the standard format is to remain exciting, it will likely be on the backs of Colorless Pokémon - and not just Arceus VSTAR. Cheren’s Care, Dunsparce and the inherent qualities of Colorless Pokémon will make the least exploitative type the most likely to keep the format balanced and healthy. Even DTE has the power to help ensure their benevolent influence, so long as history does not repeat itself (e.g. Seismitoad EX). At some point we may tire of seeing Arceus VSTAR everywhere (unless it is relegated to a support role), which is why it behooves the card designers to follow up with similarly spirited Colorless Pokémon at some point.
We already have some evidence for my claim about the importance of varied Colorless Pokémon to an exciting standard format! While the average player might be shy to try Sander Wojcik’s Top 8 Liverpool Regionals control list, they should be willing to learn some lessons from Sander’s success (which was also an inspiration for this article). In my view, one of the key takeaways is that Cheren’s Care does not need to be paired with Arceus VSTAR to be successful. As Sander explains in their deck write-up, the Cheren’s Care + Altaria + Eldegoss V combo creates a difficult-to-break, quasi-loop that can topple a wide variety of decks.
Sander goes on to explain that Cheren’s Care offers additional versatility due to the recovery and situational switching options it provides. For this and the reasons discussed earlier, I predict Cheren’s Care will find a starring role in more decks in our present format and in future formats. For many players, the Colorless section of each new set will become the first for review. I also predict that players will begin to increase the count of Cheren’s Care in their Arceus VSTAR lists as the community realizes that we have indeed arrived at a slower format. AT LAST!
In closing, I hope the gains that have been achieved with Brilliant Stars can be sustained. It feels like it was intentional…but perhaps it was just dumb luck? In any case, I am thrilled to be caring for Colorless Pokémon in the current format and I hope that we can continue to do so in the future. It is the Colorless Pokémon, after all, that have made our metagame quite COLORFUL!
Colin
P.S. Don’t forget to give that wood back to Bibarel - another brilliant, Colorless Pokémon from Brilliant Stars!
Credit for the title image goes to Eulalie Fujioka