The Celestial Guardians set in Pokémon TCG Pocket has players on their toes during Ranked matches thanks to the introduction of one of the most meta-defining cards in the game: the Rare Candy.
This humble Item evolves a Basic Pokémon card directly to Stage 2 as long as:
- It’s not your first turn.
- It’s not the turn in which you put the Basic Pokémon in play.
So, once it is that respective Pokémon’s second turn, you can use the Rare Candy to skip the middle stage and get to Stage 2 instantly. This is a huge perk and undoubtedly revitalizes the meta relevance of many Stage 2 cards that either didn’t see too much play earlier or have simply become deadlier than ever.
But, not all Stage 2 cards strictly benefit from the Rare Candy. It’s primarily those Pokémon that can start attacking as soon as they are live or within the next turn.
With that said, let’s unveil the seven best cards to reach their peak with this revolutionary new Item (in no particular order).
Rampardos
We begin with a non-EX card that is one of the scariest opponents to face, no matter what your Pokémon is… the insane Rampardos. This brute delivers a whopping 130 DMG at only 1 Energy (50 recoil damage if the target is KO’d), with the challenge being that its Basic card is Skull Fossil. While it behaves as a Basic card per se, it cannot be drawn by Poké Ball.
While the Pokémon Communication Item card and Iono made searching for Skull Fossil easy, you still had to find Cranidos and Rampardos. Now, Celestial Guardians has introduced not one but two cards that Rampardos benefits from: the Rare Candy and Lillie.
Find Skull Fossil via Iono and/or Pokémon Communication and then evolve it to Rampardos using Rare Candy. Come to the Active Spot and dish out 130 DMG. If it’s an OHKO, you lose 50 DMG but guess what? Lillie heals 60 DMG on Stage 2 Pokémon!
Rampardos’ quick damage cripples the strongest EX cards. Being a non-EX, losing it doesn’t hurt as much as an EX. And…. it also takes out Oricorio and Meowscarada. Do pack in Guzma to remove those annoying Tools like Giant Cape, Leaf Cape, or Rocky Helmet, making Rampardos’ damage more meaningful.
Rampardos goes beautifully with other cards like Lucario EX, Garchomp EX, Gallade EX, and Lycanroc (Midnight). The very sight of a Skull Fossil sends shivers down the spine of even seasoned players. Requiring only 1 Energy, you can freely devote Energy to your other prime attacker so that even if Rampardos is out, you can revenge kill. This card is so good, it feels illegal! 😀
Charizard EX (Shining Revelry)
The iconic Charizard receives a lot of love in Pokémon TCG Pocket. After the 200 DMG wonder from Genetic Apex, Shining Revelry brought the ‘Stoke’ Charizard EX, who generates 3 Energy on using the 1 Energy move with the same name and on having 5 Energy, inflicts 150 DMG without losing any Energy.
Until Celestial Guardians, Charizard EX (no matter which) relied on good ol’ Moltres EX to fulfill its high Energy requirement. Now, with Rare Candy in the mix, Moltres EX is on vacation as Charmander can grow wings in no time! Then, a consistent 150 DMG is lights out for any opposition.
Yes, you’d still have to use one turn to use Stoke and start attacking the next turn but that’s what Lillie is for! While equipping the deck only with the Charizard EX line (single copy of Charmeleon) works, you can include Turtonator + Kiawe as stall and a safety bracket.
Once the 180 HP Charizard EX is live, it’s very difficult to take it out. It’s also the best answer to the famed Solgaleo EX deck as the Sun Legendary is weak to Fire. Burn the opposition!
Beedrill EX
Stir the hornet’s nest and the stingers are out and all over you. Well, that’s how Beedrill EX feels if you are unable to get your Rare Candy and Stage 2 live quickly enough. To be fair, even if you do, it’s not good news if the Bee is at you.
At only 2 Energy, Beedrill EX does 80 DMG, enough to take out unevolved folks or at least tear off chunks of HP. This beast also makes Darkrai EX tremble but most importantly, being a Grass type has helped it to a tremendous extent in Celestial Guardians. This is thanks to the debut of the Leaf Cape, a Pokémon Tool that adds 30 HP to Grass types (in contrast to Giant Cape’s +20 HP).
So, Beedrill EX goes to 200 HP with Leaf Cape, has both Lillie and Erika to heal itself, and oh… it takes out an Energy from its target, slowing it down even if it survives the hit.
Pair Beedrill EX with the classic Meowscarada or the new Tsareena + Mallow combo, and you’re going to send a lot of opponents packing.
Solgaleo EX
Honestly, it can be a tie between Solgaleo EX and Lunala EX, and you are all good to assume that. But, as far as Ranked battles and tournaments go, Solgaleo EX has proven to be the stronger one and it’s easy to see why.
Metal types have become one of the strongest in Pokémon TCG Pocket, especially when you consider that this type was mostly neglected during Genetic Apex. Now, you can use Skarmory, Dialga EX, Excadrill (Celestial Guardians), Magearna, or Klefki to stall and trouble the opponent, while Cosmog can evolve into Solgaleo EX via Rare Candy or Cosmoem.
The best part is that once Solgaleo EX is ready to roll, you don’t need to use Leaf/X Speed/Energy to retreat the Active Pokémon. Why? Coz Solgaleo EX’s Rising Road ability helps it freely switch to the Active Spot and start attacking. 😎
Solgaleo EX has outshined expectations and has become the card of choice for the Ranked mode and rightfully so! This is one of the must-have cards from the Celestial Guardians set.
Greninja
Greninja is better than ever and how! This fan favorite just needs to be on the Bench and it uses its Water Shuriken ability to inflict 20 chip damage to any of the opponent’s cards. This weakens EX cards and brings them down to the KO range of your primary card(s) and it also helps eliminate Oricorio. There are two main advantages to using Greninja:
- Water Shuriken stacks! If you have two Greninja on board, you do 40 DMG in all.
- Greninja doesn’t necessarily need to be in Water decks. It is mainly a supportive card that puts damage pressure so toss it in any deck along with Rare Candy with only 1 copy of Frgadier and two copies of Froakie and Greninja.
It’s particularly good with Darkrai EX and Articuno EX since there lot of damage happening. Be sure to include Guzma as well.
Gengar EX | Bother Gengar
Gengar EX is often considered the worst EX card in Pokémon TCG Pocket. While it’s bulky, the 3 Energy cost for only 100 DMG and the 2 Stage evolution shenanigans made it quite challenging to use.
Now, with Rare Candy and Lillie in tow, Gengar EX is finally viable. Moreover, its Shadowy Spellbind ability keeps Supporter cards at bay so the opponent can’t use stuff like Lillie, Red, Mars, Cyrus, etc., throwing their strategies out of the window.
This is undoubtedly a huge win for Gengar EX but it needs some support to be at its best. Instead of two Gengar EX, use the ‘Bother’ Gengar, a 130 HP card whose move inflicts 50 DMG and has the same effect as Gengar EX’s ability to prohibit Supporter cards.
This pairing is quite formidable, and along with Banette, it can spook the strongest decks out there.
Serperior
Surprised? Yes, Serperior isn’t being talked about enough but it should. With Rare Candy and healing support from Erika, Snivy can quickly get to Serperior, slither to the Bench, and make cards like Celebi EX, Venusaur EX, and Exeggutor (Mythical Island) crazier than ever.
Along with Leaf Cape in the party, the Pokémon stated above are going to punish the opposition. Celebi EX will get double the Energy quicker than ever and start rampaging with those coin flips. Venusaur EX and Exeggutor (Mythical Island) need only two Energy to blast the opposition.
Even Decidueye EX can do its thing with only 1 Energy. Serperior itself can do 70 DMG, enough to OHKO Oricorio. Seriously, Grass is arguably the best type to use in the Celestial Guardians meta and Serperior is bound to see more usage going forward.
Get those Rare Candy cards rolling and inch closer to victory. Happy collecting and battling, Pokémon TCG Pocket-ers!
