Quick Links
In the beginning, there was Blastoise. The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon TCG soon introduced us to Dark Blastoise. And Clair's Blastoise. Blastoise Delta Species. Blastoise Star. Indeed, we met Blastoise ex, Blastoise EX, Blastoise GX. In recent years, it's been all about Blastoise V, and Blastoise VMAX.
It's a lot, isn't it? In this sea of variations for so many Pokemon — to be clear, Blastoise is just one example — why should we address the old ex and EX varieties? The Pokemon Scarlet & Violet era is bringing back the ex mechanic, that's why. Hence, it's time we revisit what this whole ex thing even means.
A Long Time Ago, In A TCG Far Before VSTAR
It was the early 2000s, and Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire were all the rage. The Pokemon TCG, ever a bastion of expansion, introduced ex Pokemon cards in the fittingly-titled EX Ruby & Sapphire set. The 'ex' stands for 'extra', signifying the introduction of a high number of Pokemon whose attacks had additional effects.
Pokemon cards had included attacks with fine print, if you will, since the beginning. But Pokemon ex were bui🎃lt 🌊around it out of very principle. There was no confusing a Hitmonchan ex with an older iteration of the punchy Kanto pal.
As penance for these cards' added potential, knocking out a Pokemon ex permitted players to draw not one prize card, but two. Nowadays, this is hardly worth blinking over; after all, Pokemon VMAX are so mighty, they're worth three! But this was... we don't want to call it a simpler time, but surely a time without damage numbers and HP counts quite so sky-high as today's.
EX, ex, It's All So Extra
When you've been around the block as many times as the Pokemon Trading Card Game, you're going to confuse folks with at least a few bits of terminology. The introduction of Pokemon EX during the Black &🌊; White era caused no shortage of head-scratching from longtime fans. Why EX, when we already had ex? Were EX Pokemon jꦍust... bigger?
There's a term for when games like the Pokemon TCG increase the relative strength of their playable pieces through the years, so much so that at a certain point, earlier content is no longer powerful enough to compete. In this case, that means Pokemon cards; their hit points, the usefulness of their moves and abilities, so forth.
That term is 'power creep', and by the time Black & White rolled around, players were no strangers to it. Pokemon EX are, indeed, stronger than Pokemon ex, though importantly, that's not what distinguishes them the most. Whereas Pokemon ex follow the TCG's stage-based system of evolution chains, Pokemon EX do not. In this r🅰egard, Pokemon EX have more in common with the Pokemon V of 🌠today.
To put that more plainly, let's think back to the original Blastoise cards. You can't just play one as it comes. It needs to evolve from a Wartortle card, which needs to have evolved from a Squirtle card. The majority of Pokemon cards even today still follow this sensible tradition, though many of the mightiest, like Pokemon V, do not. (They can, however, evolve into VMAX and VSTAR.)
Thus, Pokemon ex, during their time to shine all those years ago, were great cards and the centerpieces of many competitive decks... but they still functioned as Stage One/Stage Two evolution cards, whenever they represented evolved Pokemon.
Scarlet & Violet: ex Returns
Which brings us, oꦯf course, to the newest era of the Pokemon TCG: Scarlet & Violet. The return of the Pokemon ex mechanic may seem arbitrary at first blush. That is, until one considers the state of the game throughout the Sword & Shield era, and in many ways even the Sun & Moon era.
For a long time now, evolution-chain Pokemon were typically more supplemental than the stars of a deck. Take the famous Inteleon engine — you're not relying on the fully-evolved Inteleon to win you prize cards by knocking out opponents.
Your opponent is likely to be busting out V-series Pokemon who are unlikely to falter against 'just' an Inteleon. Rather, you're using this evolution group to support your V Pokemon.
Our point is this: with Pokemon V, VMAX, and VSTAR, the current Pokemon TCG meta has revolved around highly brisk matches where the idea of building decks around Pokemon that evolve not once, but twice, is hardly common. With the TCG reintroducing Pokemon ex, it seems likely that The Pokemon Company International sees value in returning to the days when a more 'normal' Blastoise can win the game.
And to be sure, there is value in that. When the evolutionary process took a backseat, and the Pokemon TCG grew swifter, the entire vibe shifted. It's not a bad vibe. It's just different. But there's something to be said for reverting to the more familiar vibe again for a while, and Pokemon ex represent those eras nicely, maintaining the more added-effect attacks that remain prolific today.
That said, a fraction of Pokemon V/VMAX/VSTAR will remain a part of the standard rotation for some time to come. For all we know, Scarlet & Violet will make more of them! But over time, it seems likely that Pokemon ex will reshape the landscape such that the Pokemon Trading Card Game's Paldean years will not evoke the same flavor as its bygone Galarian predecessor.