So I just noticed that the last time I did one of these was for Battle Styles. Yes, a whole year ago. I complete forgot, whoops! But it's all good, I've found some spare time to do one for Brilliant Stars just a day before it's released thanks to my Switch now having some screen issues so I have to put my Legends Arceus journey on hold.
Having had a look through the set, there are quite a number of great playable cards in here for us to look forward to. Of course this is also a good set for collectors with the character rares being included featuring playable cards from previous sets but they won't count in here. And of course, I've only got 15 of them here but there were a number of cards on my wishlist that I had to cut but wanted to give an honourable mention:
- Liepard (Similar to Zoroark-GX and Minccino, it's the same ability!)
- Moltres (Similar to Zapdos and Hoopa, one energy cost needing a specific thing to happen to attack for 90)
- Raikou V (Similar to Suicune V and Entei V....or should I say the same card, just different typing!)
- Cinccino (Similar to Lotad for Call for Family, always a good turn 1 attack)
- Raichu V (Attacks for all sorts of amounts of damage if you can energies on board quickly)
So here's my own opinion of the 15 best cards coming out of Brilliant Stars. Obviously there might be some better ones I have missed out on, I just took a quick look through of the set list to see what popped out for me and the cards I kept hearing about from the others. And because it's quite last minute, it will look a bit messy so apologies for that.
Also I'll include the cards that these cards were similar to as many of them are quite identical to great cards from the past, some with better versions and some maybe not so, but still are old favourites. A lot of them are from XY Breakthrough as you will see.
(Prices are as of 24th February, based on TCG Player)
#15 - Collapsed Stadium - 137/172 - UC - $0.32
Similar to: Parallel City (XY Breakthrough)
Bench restriction is back in the game after a long while. In the past we had Sudowoodo that did something similar at the cost of it taking a spot in your bench too and if it got knocked out, your opponent goes back up to 5.
This does something similar to Parallel City where it can hurt your opponent's set up while also taking away an awkward bench sitter for you. Back then, you had to make one choice or the other but with Collapsed Stadium, it fixes that by doing both. And with Stadium wars being a big thing now, this will probably see play. Decks like Mew, Suicune/Entei/Raikou, Inteleon and Eternatus won't want to see this.
#14 - Entei V - 022/172 - UR - $4.47
Yes, we do get two reprints of Suicune from Evolving Skies in Entei and Raikou but Entei V gets the jump for me here. Firstly it has 230 HP, 20 more than the others. Sure at the cost of a higher retreat cost but that shouldn't be much of an issue. With cape/charm, Entei V could become an annoying adversary to take down.
The thing that really helps it is the new Magma Basin stadium as you can easily get an Entei V attacking right from the off whereas Suicune would need Melony and Raikou needs Flaaffy. Sure they're all the same but a stadium that gives the free attachment feels a bit better. It could be a strong new contender in the meta and with so many Fire support in this set with Basin, Moltres and the next card on this list, Kindler.
Similar to: Misty's Determination (XY Breakpoint)
Similar to: Brigette (XY Breakthrough)
Similar to: ???
Similar to: Octillery (XY Breakthrough)
Similar to: Mr Mime (XY Breakthrough)
Similar to: Jirachi-EX (B&W Plasma Blast)
Similar to: Lucky Egg/Lillie/Bruno
Similar to: Nothing, one effect similar to Frozen City (B&W Plasma Freeze)
Similar to: Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX (Cosmic Eclipse)
Similar to: Double Colourless Energy
Similar to: Choice Band (SM Guardians Rising)
#13 - Kindler - 143/172 - UC - $0.97
Even though I've got Misty's Determination on here as the card similar to Kindler, you can in some ways also add Bill's Analysis from Team Up to that list. Here, like Misty, you'd need to discard a card (in this case a Fire energy) and like Misty, take any card you want, but here, you take 2 out of the top 7 (similar to Bill's Analysis) and not 1 out of the top 8.
And because it's any card, that is quite the powerful effect itself. Bill saw some play just for being able to get Item from a similar situation so imagine what Kindler can do when it's any card. It could help decks like Entei to get two more Pokémon to help do more damage, or even find combos like Rare Candy and an out to Ludicolo in a way similar to Suicune V in the past.
It could also help Leon's Charizard find the piece to get whatever it needs to either get a Charizard up or find the last few pieces to hit for high amounts of damage, be it Leon, Choice Belt or Basin to attach energy. Although I don't think it will see play in many Fire decks at the start, I'm curious to see how this card will be utilised in the coming months.
#12 - Gloria - 141/172 - UC - $0.19
Brigette is back! And with Lumineon V in this set, you can easily set up a board similar to the days when Brigette and Tapu Lele-GX were a staple in many decks, mostly Zoroark-GX decks. The catch is it can only be basic without a Rule Box, which is what Brigette was anyways!
We've seen two Prof supporter cards similar to this try but fail miserably because they were either restricted to 60 HP mons or 3 different typing. Gloria only has the restriction to Rule Box mons which makes it great! One prizer decks and decks needing to set up now have a way to quickly get things up and running. Be it Malamar, Charizard, Dark Box Inteleon or, as much as it pains me to say it, control decks and Durant Mill stuff. Oh god they're back.
#11 - Roseanne's Backup - 148/172 - UC - $0.33
So as you can tell, Roseanne's Backup is one of the few cards on this list that isn't similar to anything I can remember from the past because it's quite different.
You could say it's a combination of Special Charge, Lana's Fishing Rod and Super Rod in some ways as you get to do all of that plus a stadium! 4 cards back into the deck can only be a good thing. Sure, those cards I mentioned were all Items cards which makes this effect a bit weaker since it takes your 1 turn supporter rule but it's still a powerful effect.
With this, you can always get one of your main attackers back into the deck, get that game winning Band or Sight back into the deck or get back that game winning tech Tool or Stadium back in, help yourself to win the stadium war with another Stadium and the biggest being saving an Energy. Special included. Stuff like Capture and Rapid Strike can now be saved and I can see this being a one off in some Inteleon or even Rapid Strike decks for that ability alone. In fact this sounds like the perfect card for a deck like Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX in some ways.
#10 - Bibarel - 121/172 - HR - $2.12
It is the return of our ol' favourite Sushi Master but instead of Octillery, now it's Bibarel. God's older brother will easily see play for the ability alone as many decks back in the XY era used Octillery as their draw engines and it wasn't always just one, it could be two or even three per turn if you had 3 of them in the bench.
The attack is useless and will never be used but being able to draw up to 5 cards is very powerful because of stuff that can happen in the late game. Your opponent could Marnie you into a bad hand but if you're able to thin it out, you might just save yourself with Industrious Incisors. Feeling stuck after having played down everything in your hand, II it back up to 5!
We've seen many games where players will do whatever they need are down to 1-2 cards in their hands and most of the time it's nothing helpful. This is where Bibarel will save the day for those decks. It's too good to ignore plus a Pokémon ability as a draw engine will always see play. Octillery did. Silvally-GX did. Genesect V is right now. And Bibarel is the next.
#9 - Manaphy - 041/172 - R - $1.98
Bench Barrier is back! For those of you playing Jolteon VMAX and Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX, you now have an issue to fix. Mew in the past had been a real headache for Rapid Strike and now Manaphy arrives to give it even more headaches especially with it's 70 HP, similar to Mr Mime back in the day.
This card alone will see some decks go into hiding for a while (they will eventually make a return which will no doubt bring Manaphy back into the fold again) and give one-prizer decks, set-up decks or control/mill decks now a chance to stand up to spread decks. Mr Mime and Mew saw load of plays in all kinds of decks and for that reason, you know Manaphy will see play in any sort of deck you can think of.
Even the spread decks themselves might use them to win the mirror. The 70 HP is quite relevant and it escape 3 snipes from Inteleon and can be brought back by stuff like Rescue Carrier. And with 70 HP, it's even better than Mew. Just the attack is worse but who cares if Manaphy is doing it's job and protecting your bench right?
#8 - Lumineon V - 040/172 - UR - $16.02
We've seen this ability before. It's always seen play be it with Jirachi-EX or Tapu Lele-GX. But it's not as high on my list as I would if it was similar to Tapu Lele-GX because you're really only playing this for it's great ability, amazing even. The attack? Forget about it. Even though it's a good way to get it back into the deck, 3 energies is awkward in it of itself (unless your deck has DTE).
But this is still going to be a game winning card. How many times have we seen someone reach out to get that late Tapu Lele-GX for a Boss or whatever supporter they need to win the game. This will do the same thing. It's a game winner, end of story. Great late game card, and for some decks, also a great early game card to get stuff like Gloria down. Just hope it's not the only Pokémon card in your starting hand. We all know that feeling.
#7 - Charizard VStar - 018/172 - UR - $75.59
Similar to: Umbreon V / Reshiram & Charizard-GX
Yes, it's another Charizard card so you money hungry suckers are already foaming up but hear me out. This is also a playable card. And I like playable Charizard cards as the last two playable Charizard cards have been two of my most successful decks ever (ReshiZard-
GX and Team Up Charizard).
So of course the moment I saw this, I knew I had to try it out. It has Umbreon V's Moonlight Blade in Explosive Fire...but better! 130 becomes 230 if it has a damage counter and in case you need a reminder, we now have Magma Basin which means Charizard Vstar can start swinging for 230 by Turn 2, taking down most Vs already. In that sense, it reminds me a lot of ReshiZard since it also did 230. And like ReshiZard, Charizard Vstar can also hit 260 to it's multi-prizer counter parts with the help of the new Choice Belt! And with stuff like Zigzagoon and Inteleon, that number just keeps going up to the point you're close to KOing a VMAX.
And that's where it's VStar Power comes in. Star Blaze for 4 energy hits for 320. Not 300 like usual, but 320. This is taking out almost every 3 prizer in the game. And for those with 330 or 340 HP, fret not as you have Choice Belt and Inteleon/Zigzagoon to reach those numbers. For those reasons, I can see Charizard Vstar actually being a good deck by itself. It one isn't just for the collectors but for players like me too whose favourite is Charmander so you know I need this. The biggest issue for this is well....it's a Charizard so people like me won't really be able to play it because it'll be stupidly expensive. You can thank the collectors for that issue.
#6 - Cynthia's Ambition - 138/172 - UC - $0.26
Cynthia sure does seem to always get good Supporter cards, doesn't she? Add this one to this list. In a way it's similar to Lille where an addition effect gets your hand up to 8 cards and in some ways Lucky Egg as you're wanting your opponent to have KOed one of your Pokémon for you to draw more cards.
In that sense, it's also similar to Bruno since it draws 8 but it shuffles the hand where in the case of CA, you keep whatever you had and draw up to 8, the option for either should help single prize decks even more as they've been relying solely on Bruno for a while. Decks that relying on having a combination of cards to hit what they need might also rely on this to get them there.
#5 - Magma Basin - 144/172 - UC - $0.70
Now this is one of the cards in this set that feels very new to me because I've never seen anything quite like it. The closest thing I can think of was Frozen City where energies attached meant putting 2 damage counter onto the Pokémon.
Magma Basin is a little different as it directly attaches the energy itself for that 2 damage counter to happen and it does it from the discard pile as well which is always a good thing, especially since it's already giving you a second energy attachment per turn. The downside being it has to be on the bench but that can be easily worked around.
But I can see this stadium being a 4-off in the possible resurgences of Fire decks. The new Moltres from this set actually works well with this since it needs to have damage counters to do 90 damage and not 20 damage, which you can get from this stadium so while you're waiting to power up one of your main attackers, Moltres can help soften them up. Charizard Vstar as mentioned earlier goes well with this since it needs damage counters to hit 230. Entei really does become a Suicune reprint with the help of this since it goes down to 210 HP. Victini VMAX and Centiskorch VMAX now have ways to finally attack right off the get-go again since Welder left. As a fan of Fire types, I will for sure be testing this out.
#4 - Arceus VStar - 123/172 - UR - $72.48
The cover star of the set and of course Arcues Vstar just had to be good. A colourless attacker that helps to power up other big attackers? This is the kind of card that will find a spot in any and every deck. In fact, you might just see a field full of Arcues Vstars but they're all not the same deck because they've got their own different typing of attackers.
Trinity Nova is pretty much Ultimate Ray from ADP-GX, hitting for 180 to attach 3 energies. And I say 180 because you'll most likely be using DTE to help fix the triple energy attachment but it can hit for 210 with the help of Choice Belt so in a way, again it's similar to ADP-GX. The difference is the 3 basic energies only goes to V Pokemons. Still a good effect I'd say.
But the thing that really makes it good is it's VStar Power, Starbirth. Because of it, you are almost guaranteed to hit Trinity Nova by turn 2 because of the ability to search any 2 cards. Most of the time, DTE will be one of them and the other could either be the attacker you want to power up, a Choice Belt to fix some maths, a Boss' Orders to take out one of your opponent's V Pokemon (210 HP guys aren't safe if you've got a Belt too) or whatever else you need to help you win more. Even a Path to the Peak helps since you won't be using your ability again for the rest of the turn. This will see a lot of play in the next 2 years. Will it challenge Mew as the best deck in format? Unlikely but it could be the most popular.
#3 - Double Turbo Energy - 151/172 - UC - $1.20
DCE is back!!! Rejoice everyone. Just change the C to T and the only downside of this card is that you do 20 less damage so now, even more maths will be involved in the game.
But in saying that, even with the -20 effect, this is still very good and many decks will be using it. The 20 itself can easily be fixed by an Inteleon ping for starters. Cards like Choice Belt, Leon or Power Tablet helps negate it so you'd do 10 more damage at the very least.
For the longest time we're not have a double colourless attack and while double energy has seen a lot of success with Rapid Strike Urshifu, it's really only limited to them. Decks like Arcues VStar, Mew VMAX, Mad Party are all itching to use this. The latter now has a much easier time to attack and not just rely on 4 Twin Energy. DCE always saw play and DTE will too.
#2 - Choice Belt - 135/172 - UC - $1.06
Choice Band is back but instead of wearing it on our heads, now we can live our our inner WWE/AEW superstars with our own Choice Belt around our waists. We've seen how good Choice Band was back in the Sun and Moon era, +30 to GXes and EXes changed the game a lot. And before that, Muscle Band saw play because it did +20 to ANY active.
The ability to do +30 to any V (be it normal V, VMAX or VSTAR) will speed up some games. VMAX decks will be using it to knock out other big attackers but also stuff like Arceus Vstar (it'll need the buff to lessen the pain from TDE with it's -20 effect), and even decks like Suicune V can now taken clean one shots of most VMaxes with it's Inteleon/Ludicolo combos. Single prize decks will also be having a field day with this to take down the big boys.
Grab all them belts because we'll be using it but be warned, this will likely cause a rise in play of both Tool Jammer and Tool Scrapper so a one-off Belt won't be the way, you'll need more to get around that. And let's be honest, you don't really want just one of these in a deck, we'll likely see two, maybe even three in some decks.
#1 - Ultra Ball - 150/172 - UC - $0.49
Similar to: It's a Reprint!
Is there really anything I need to say on why it's the best car out of this set? It's Ultra Ball for f-sakes. The best search card is back in the game. Ultra Ball always saw play in every possible deck known to man in Pokemon TCG. It will see play in almost every deck in this meta too.
Need to find a specific evolution? Problem solved! Need to find that game winning Lumineon V or Eldegoss V? Problem solved! Need a way to discard a few cards in your hand to use Bibarel or Genesect V? Problem solved! Need a way to make your lunch even better? Problem still unsolved but go play Pokemon TCG while you're at it and you'll most likely be using Ultra Ball to search out something.
This is easily in my view the best card of this set. And the ironic part? This is also the card most of us already have and ready to put 4 of them (or less) back into our decks. Sadly, this is also the card that will not just keep Mew VMAX at the top but in fact, make it even better than before so be prepared to see even more of Mew VMAX for the next 3 months.
These cards will make building decks a little different now with more search outs, more ways to hit more damage, an easier way to attack for more than 1 energy, drawing more cards and one-off techs to find cards or protect the bench. Hopefully the game will get better thanks to these cards. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a great day ahead.
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