Pokemon TCG Pocket’s new Porygon-Z card has the power to sabotage any deck

The upcoming Space-Time Smackdown expansion in Pokemon TCG Pocket is adding a fascinating card that has the power to sabotage any deck you face.

In the latest set of leaks revealing what’s coming in the next expansion, it was confirmed that Porygon-Z will be making its first appearance in the mobile game.

Porygon-Z has 140 HP and a single attack – Buggy Beam. To use Buggy Beam, you’ll need three energy of any type to deal 80 damage. That alone might not sound too impressive, but it’s the secondary effect that’s so scary.

This effect reads, “Change the type of the next Energy that will be generated for your opponent to 1 of the following at random: Grass, Fire, Water, Lightning, Psychic, Fighting, Darkness, or Basic.”

Getting set up with Porygon-Z will make it incredibly difficult for your opponent to do just about anything. After all, a lot of decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket require specific energy, and Porygon-Z makes generating that energy on a consistent basis impossible.

How will Porygon-Z fit in the meta?

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If you manage to get set up, Porygon-Z will be one of the most oppressive cards in the entire game. Most decks won’t even be able to attack back if they can’t produce the energy they need, making it a brutal matchup.

Thankfully, TCG Pocket players probably don’t have to worry about the Virtual Pokemon taking over anytime soon. For all its strengths and clear potential, Porygon-Z has some issues that make it more situational than it may first seem.

For one, it is a Stage 2 card, so you’ll need to get lucky to draw and play a base Porygon first. If you don’t draw both a Porygon and Porygon-Z early on, the strategy has already failed.

The other key issue is that it can’t do much until you have at least three energy. Without a reliable energy-boosting card like Misty, setting this up before your opponent is powered up is a big ask. This makes Porygon-Z a luck-based card that will be frustrating to play against but hard to use.

However, the same can’t be said of Dialga EX and Cynthia, both of which look certain to be the backbones of the new meta once Space-Time Showdown goes live.