XY Player's Guide (TCG)

XY Player's Guide
XY Player Guide.jpg
ISBN: None
Published: February 5, 2014
Publisher: The Pokémon Company International
Author: Wolfgang Baur

The XY Player's Guide is a booklet included within the XY Elite Trainer Box detailing the XY expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The booklet is written by Wolfgang Baur and was published by The Pokémon Company International in February 5, 2014. The content features strategy for the new cards introduced within the XY expansion as well as a complete checklist for the expansion.

Contents

Welcome to the XY Elite Trainer Box!

The first section gives a brief introduction of the XY expansion, detailing the fairy types and Mega Evolutions.

Fairy Type: What You Need to Know

Don't let the pink Energy cards and the bubbly Pokémon fool you: the new Fairy-type Pokémon have serious chops! These cute creatures have different strengths and great power against Dragon-type Pokémon, so they're a great way for you to surprise other players -- especially those who rely heavily on Dragon types!

The addition of basic   Energy and Fairy-type Pokémon is one of the biggest changes to the Pokémon TCG since the addition of the Dragon type n 2012 -- so you need to know what new options and tools the Fairy-type Pokémon deliver for every player. You'll find a really solid core of helper cards for the new type in this set, including Fairy Garden (117/146), Aromatisse (93/146), and Slurpuff (95/146).

Slurpuff

Like Aromatisse, Slurpuff has a great Ability, but it also has a good attack: Draining Kiss does 30 damage for    and also heals 30 from Slurpuff, for a total of 60 points in your favor. It's decent for what it is, but you still might not want to take Slurpuff off the Bench, because its Sweet Veil Ability makes all your Pokémon with   Energy attached to them immune to Special Conditions. That's right -- they don't even need to be Fairy types, they just need   Energy attached! Expect to see this even in decks that don't use a lot of Fairy-type Pokémon.

Fairy Garden

Similar to Slurpuff's Ability, this Stadium card affects each Pokémon with any   Energy attached -- and lets them retreat for free. Very handy if you want to swap in and out fast! If works for both your Pokémon and your opponent's Pokémon, so think twice before playing it if your opponent has   Energy floating around.

Aromatisse

This Stage 1 Pokémon has an OK attack, but that's not why you want it. Instead, keep it on the Bench and use its Fairy Transfer Ability to shift your   Energy around to maximize your Active Pokémon's punching power. Your Fairy-type Pokémon will always be powered up! Not only that, but with Aromatisse in your deck, you will have a great resource to help power up Slurpuff and Fairy Garden!

Legendary and Mega Power

Pokémon-EX are always at the top of the list for big and bold, and that's the case here, but you'll find a brand-new and extra-powerful kind of Pokémon-EX: the Mega Evolution Pokémon. These evolved forms of the Pokémon-EX have the power to match! At the same time, when one of your Pokémon becomes a Mega Evolution Pokémon, your turn ends, so it's important to time it right!

Venusaur-EX (1/146) and Mega Venusaur-EX (2/146) might be the biggest bruisers you've ever seen in a grass type, enough to make opposing Trainers treat you with new respect. And this set has plenty more big guns, starting with Blastoise-EX (29/146) and Mega Blastoise-EX (30/146). You'll also find Emolga-EX (46/146), Yveltal-EX (79/146), Skarmory-EX (80/146), and Xerneas-EX (97/146) -- all crushingly awesome Pokémon with huge HP totals and brutal attacks. Which one's the best? Well, that depends on your play style!

Blastoise-EX and Mega Blastoise-EX (29/146 and 30/146)

This big Pokémon is all about riding the wave with water cannons. Blastoise-EX has a great    attack called Rapid Spin that lets it hit for 30 and then switch out to the Bench -- and makes your opponent switch Pokémon as well. Its Splash Bomb for      does 120 to the opposing Pokémon -- but it might do 30 to Blastoise-EX too, depending on how your coin flip goes!

Mega Blastoise-EX has just one attack, but it's a doozy: Hydro Bombard. For    , it does 120 damage to your opponent's Active Pokémon, plus 30 damage to 2 of your opponent's Benched Pokémon. Hose down the opposing side!

Yveltal-EX (79/146 and 144/146)

With 170 HP and the Evil Ball attack that does a base 20 damage, plus 20 more for each Energy attached to both Active Pokémon, this is a bruiser. Note that Double Colorless Energy counts as 2 Energy for this attack! The Y Cyclone attack does a flat 90 damage and also moves an Energy from Yveltal-EX to one of your Benched Pokémon. There are ways in the set to move Energy around, but you're better off with the Evil Ball attack most of the time. Yveltal's swift strike of darkness will leave your opponents in the dust!

Xerneas-EX (97/146 and 146/146)

The first Legendary Pokémon of the Fairy type is Xerneas-EX, and it delivers a strong Break Through attack: 60 damage to the Active Pokémon for      and a massive 140 damage -- but the attack can't be used again on your next turn, so retreating Xerneas for another Active Pokémon is a good plan. Maybe a visit to the Fairy Garden (117/146) will help?

Top Trainer Cards

The fourth section goes through seven of the most useful cards included within the expansion.

Evosoda

This soda really pops! Evosoda let's you do two great things with just one Trainer card: search your deck for an Evolution card that evolves from any of your Pokémon in play, and then use it to evolve that Pokémon. Here's a fun trick: you can use Evosoda to find a Mega Evolution card, too!

Muscle Band

Your Pokémon's attacks do 20 more damage when it wears the Muscle Band! This is a nice item to have for an early edge in the game, or as a surprise late on when your opponent thinks the Active Pokémon will survive one more turn before retreating. Muscle up and say helloooo, Prize Cards!

Red Card

Make your opponent shuffle his or her hand away and draw 4 new cards! This is the ultimate revenge card when your opponent has just used up a bunch of deck searching or card-drawing tools to create a hand of 10 or more perfectly curated options. Make 'em throw it away and start over!

Team Flare Grunt

You can only attack 1 Energy per turn, so a Supporter card that discards Energy from your opponent's Active Pokémon can really slow down your opponent's deck and turn a temporary Energy hiccup into a serious problem! This card is less useful against highly tuned with perfect card-drawing engines, but when played early, it makes a big difference.

Professor Sycamore, Rainbow Energy, and Double Colorless Energy

OK, so these will be somewhat familiar to players of the Pokémon TCG, but they're still very useful! Professor Sycamore discards your hand to draw 7 new cards (always great when he's the only card in your hand), and Rainbow Energy makes it easy to splash in a single Pokémon that doesn't match your deck's other Energy themes. As for Double Colorless Energy -- well, getting two Energy for the price of one is obviously great!

Pokémon TCG: XY Checklist

This section lists out the 146 cards of the XY expansion, and their rarities.

Credits

Original Japanese Game

  • Executive Producer
  • Producer
  • Original Game Design
  • Game Development
  • Game Director
  • Art Director
  • Special Thanks to

English-Language Version

The Pokémon Company International

  • Producer
  • Director of Production
  • Director of Product Development
  • Production Coordination
  • Project Coordination
  • Translation
  • Theme Deck Development
  • Rulebook Writing
  • Elite Trainer Box Booklet Writing
  • Editing
  • Design Direction
  • Graphic Design
  • Card Typesetting
  • Packaging illustrations
  • XY logo
  • Special Thanks To
  • Kenji Okubo
  • Richard Simpson
  • Yasuhiro Usui
  • Russ Foster, Traci Thomson, and Jay Moon
  • Junko Takaba and Satomi Honda
  • Tim Hove
  • Mike Fitzgerald
  • TPCi Editing Staff and Dylan "ExoByte" Mayo
  • Wolfgang Baur
  • Eoin Sanders and Hollie Beg
  • Eric Medalle
  • Kumi Okada, Kevin Lalli and Hitomi Kimura
  • Ginny Baldwin
  • 5ban Graphics
  • Eric Medalle
  • Creatures Inc., The Pokémon Company, and The Pokémon Company International

Pokémon TCG XY Showcase

This final section details the two XY Theme Decks: Resilient Life and Destruction Rush.


Publications relating to the Pokémon Trading Card Game
Strategy guides: Pokémon Trading Card Game Strategy GuideThe Official Pokémon Trading Card Game Guide
Pokémon Trading Card Game Player's GuidePokémon Trading Card Game Fossil Expansion Player's Guide
Pokémon Trading Card Game Volume 3: Team RocketPokémon Made Simple!Let's Play Pokémon
Team Rocket Strategy GuideGym Heroes Strategy GuideGym Challenge Strategy Guide
Platinum Player's GuidePlasma Storm Player's GuidePlasma Blast Player's GuideXY Player's Guide
Quick Guide to Fire-Type PokémonFurious Fists Player's GuidePhantom Forces Player's GuidePrimal Clash Player's Guide
Roaring Skies Player's GuideAncient Origins Player's GuideBREAKthrough Player's GuideBREAKpoint Player's Guide
Fates Collide Player's GuideGenerations Player's GuideSteam Siege Player's GuideEvolutions Player's Guide
Sun & Moon Player's GuideGuardians Rising Player's GuideBurning Shadows Player's GuideThe Making of Shining Legends
Crimson Invasion Player's GuideUltra Prism Player's GuideForbidden Light Player's GuideCelestial Storm Player's Guide
Dragon Majesty Player's GuideDragon Majesty: Dragons Then and NowLost Thunder Player's GuideTeam Up Player's Guide
Unbroken Bonds Player's GuideUnified Minds Player's GuideHidden Fates Player's GuideCosmic Eclipse Player's Guide
Sword & Shield Player's GuideRebel Clash Player's GuideDarkness Ablaze Player's GuideVivid Voltage Player's Guide
Shining Fates Player's GuideBattle Styles Player's GuideChilling Reign Player's GuideEvolving Skies Player's Guide
Celebrations Player's Guide
Collectors' guides: Beckett Unofficial Guide to Pokémon: 2008 Price GuideBeckett Unofficial Guide To Pokémon Diamond & Pearl
Collecting Pokémon: An Unauthorized Handbook and Price GuidePokémon Collector's Value Guide
Pokémon Unofficial Card Collector's GuideUnofficial Beckett Pokémon Collector Price Guide
Magazines: Beckett Pokémon Unofficial CollectorMonthly Coin Toss: Pokémon Card MagazinePokémon Official Magazine
PoJo's Unofficial Pokémon News & Price Guide MonthlyPokémon Card Fan Club
Manga: Pokémon Card GB The ComixHow I Became a Pokémon CardHimemaru: Pokémon Card ExplorerAim to Be a Card Master!!
Pokémon Card Game Battle ComicExciting Victory! Pokémon Card Game!!Let's Play the Pokémon Card Game XY!
Let's Play the Pokémon Card Game! Sun & Moon ArcLet's Play the Pokémon Card Game! Sword & Shield Arc
Let's Play the Pokémon Card Game! Scarlet & Violet Arc
Video game guides: Official Pokémon TCG Perfect GuidePokémon Card GB Final Tactical BookPokémon Card GB Official Guidebook
Pokémon Card GB2 Official GuidebookPokémon TCG: Official Nintendo Player's Guide
Pokémon TCG: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
Other: Pokémon Card Official Book 2000Pokémon Card Game BW National Illustrated Encyclopedia
Pokémon Card Game BW WorkbookIllust Story


  This article is part of both Project TCG and Project Merchandise, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon Trading Card Game merchandise.