Galarian Bird Trio Shake Up the Metagame

What's poppin’ PoTown Store readers? Have you been checking out all of the new cards that are going to be released in Chilling Reign? I’ve certainly been drooling over the new cards that have been revealed via Twitter and other Pokemon TCG blog sites! This article will share my early ideas for the Galarian Bird Trio (Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres) and my general thoughts on these exciting cards! I plan on doing a more formal top five video closer to release, but this is an extra early sneak peek into my mind! A huge shoutout goes to the translators at Pokebeach for the translations used in this article. That being said, let’s get it!

It might seem weird to some that I’m excited for a card that discards cards for its Ability, but discarding cards can be a great asset in the Pokemon TCG Online. Galarian Articuno V (Chilling Reign) also has the nifty bonus of allowing you to draw a card - something that can be equally as useful! So you might be wondering why it's cool to discard cards sometimes, and that's a solid question in itself. Let's take a look at some cards that deal with cards in your Discard Pile… Eldegoss V (Champions Path) can get back a Supporter, so it might be worthwhile to keep an extra Boss’s Orders (Rebel Clash) stashed away for you to use Happy Match. Other times you want to clear your hand out so that you can draw more cards with Crobat V (Darkness Ablaze) by using its Dark AssetAbility. Those are just two examples, and I’m sure there are plenty of more strategies that you can effectively deploy with Psychic Construct. And for the most part, that’s it for this card. Psychic Beam is more or less a difficult attack to power up effectively, and it doesn’t have a great damage output. Either way, this card looks like an interesting addition to our metagame and is a welcome addition in Chilling Reign.

Galarian Articuno V – Psychic – HP210

Basic Pokemon

Ability: Psychic Construct

Once during your turn, you may discard 2 cards from your hand. If you do, draw 1 card.

[P][C][C] Psychic Beam: 110 damage. Your opponent’s Active Pokemon is now Confused.

When your Pokemon V is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Darkness (x2)

Resistance: Fighting (-30)

Retreat: 2

Have you ever heard about a card called Eternatus VMAX (Darkness Ablaze)? Well, Galarian Zapdos V (Chilling Reign) looks like it was created to make sure that card gets buried in the back of your online collection. Why? Well, it lies in Thunderclap Kick - you can do 170 damage, discard their Weakness Guard Energy (Unified Minds), and double the damage to 340 damage for a sweet OHKO! Ok, ok, yeah, four Energy is a bit much, but there is a way. Looking at Zapdos’ Fighting Instinct Ability, this Pokemon can reduce its attack cost for each Pokemon V + VMAX your opponent has in play. That means Eternatus only needs to have three in play, which is extremely likely, for you to use Thunderclap Kick for a single Energy! This means you can splash this card in a handful of decks to take advantage of it fully and help edge out some poor matchups. Some of my immediate ideas for including this card are most decks that run Aurora Energy (Sword and Shield), Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX (Battle Styles) for that single Energy attack, and any other deck that can effectively cover the cost. This card will be a valuable asset in any deck builders toolbox, which makes me excited for this card to get released.

Galarian Zapdos V – Fighting – HP200

Basic Pokemon

Ability: Fighting Instinct

For each Pokemon V your opponent has in play, this Pokemon’s attacks cost [C] less.

[F][C][C][C] Thunderclap Kick: 170 damage. Before doing damage, discard a Special Energy from your opponent’s Active Pokemon.

When your Pokemon V is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Psychic (x2)

Resistance: None

Retreat: 1

So we may have talked about Eternatus VMAX (Shining Fates) and how it might get burned by Zapdos, but it does gain a new tech in the form of Galarian Moltres V (Chilling Reign). Bolstered Wings is a wild Ability that allows you to accelerate Energy quickly, and this card might function as a standalone attacking deck. It should go something like Bolstered Wings, attach an Energy for a turn, find another Energy somehow, and attack with Aura Burn. I’m still figuring out if a turbo build would work with Turbo Patch (Darkness Ablaze) or Energy Switch (Sword and Shield), but I know this card seems like a great tech in Darkness-type decks. Bolstered Wings makes decks semi-immune to Crushing Hammer (Sword and Shield), which seems like a huge plus to me. In the original example, Moltres can use Bolstered Wings, attach a Darkness Energy to itself, and use Energy Switch to move that Energy to an Eternatus VMAX. Now you can attack with Dread End without waiting a turn to attach a second Energy. If my 15+ years of experience playing this game, I’ve found that most Energy acceleration cards are more valuable than most think, and this one isn’t any different.

Galarian Moltres V – Darkness – HP220

Basic Pokemon

Ability: Bolstered Wings

Once during your turn, you may attach an [D] Energy from your discard pile to this Pokemon. You can’t use more than 1 Bolstered Wings Ability per turn.

[D][D][C] Aura Burn: 190 damage. This Pokemon does 30 damage to itself.

When your Pokemon V is Knocked Out, your opponent takes 2 Prize cards.

Weakness: Grass (x2)

Resistance: None

Retreat: 2

Chilling Reign is one of the most exciting sets to be released on PTCGO in years, and I’m stoked to try out these concepts as soon as they are available in-game. I’m still trying to figure out the entire contents of our English set, but I guess I’ll have to wait until that gets formally announced. If you’re looking to pick up codes when this set drops or anything else in-game, remember to head over to PoTown Store. I will continuously work on discovering the newest archetypes in this set and let you know which ones have a chance in our metagame.

Zach Lesage is a contributing writer for PoTown Store. As a Toronto local, he has been playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game since 2005 and creates Pokemon content as his full time career. He creates YouTube content, coaches players to become better in-game, and provides hot takes on his Twitter. With multiple prestigious accomplishments in the game, such as the 2020 Players Cup 2 Champion and 2020 Oceania International Championships Finalist, he has proven his success in the game. Outside of the game, he travels the world, enjoys the culture of designer streetwear, and is a professionally trained chef. You can catch him at most Pokemon events and follow him on Twitter @ZachLesagePTCG.