What to buy from Pitch Black?

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The safest buys

Some cards are easy to justify right off the bat. Not that they go in every deck, but they've got a strong effect or show up across a lot of different lists.

Gwynn

Gwynn is probably the most important trainer card in the set.

It lets you discard up to two non-rule-box Pokémon from your hand and draw three cards for each one. Full send, that's two Pokémon gone and six cards drawn. That's an absurd digger for the early game.

The biggest winner is the new Hide and Sneak deck, which wants to fill the discard with Pokémon anyway, so Gwynn does both at once: it digs and feeds the discard. But it's not stuck in that deck. You can already see Grimmsnarl lists running it too, and any single-prize deck that's fine discarding Pokémon to dig deeper will take one or two.

I'd buy four.

Gladion's Final Battle

Gladion's Final Battle can only be played when it's the only card in your hand.

The main example is Festival Lead. That deck runs Thwackey, which lets you dig and shape your hand, so you can drop the Gladion at the right moment. Ending up with no cards sounds like a steep cost, but in practice it isn't: you play the Gladion, use Thwackey's ability, and still keep a supporter in hand to keep building next turn. That's what lets the deck hit the numbers it needs, because it's plus 80 on a non-rule-box attacker, and those 80 are usually the difference between hitting the number and falling short.

It's not for every deck, but anyone building Festival Lead is going to want it.

I'd have two copies.

Dark Bell

Dark Bell is an item that confuses both active Pokémon, except Darkness types.

The way you use it isn't the obvious one. It confuses both actives, so the trick is to have something up front you don't mind leaving there, like a Budew or a Dudunsparce. You play the Dark Bell, retreat or use Dudunsparce's ability to shake off the confusion, and then only the opponent's active stays confused while you attack normally. That's why you even see it in Dragapult decks. It also pairs with Mega Darkrai ex to close out a knockout.

It's not a must, but it's cheap and worth having one around.

Rust Syndicate Grunt

Rust Syndicate Grunt can only be played if one of your Pokémon was knocked out during your opponent's last turn.

When you can play it, it discards an energy from one of the opponent's Pokémon, benched or active. It's not a Mega deck card, it's a control and energy-denial piece. The good combo is with Elgyem stripping energy off the opponent nonstop: when they finally set up an attacker and knock out your Pokémon, you play Rust Syndicate Grunt and strip the energy again, so they just don't attack. Not for every deck, but in one that wants this plan it locks the game up.

I'd have a few copies if you plan to test control.

The Pokémon lines to test

Here go the cards that depend on their own deck. Some might take a while to find the right list, but they've got enough upside to justify the buy.

Hide and Sneak (Shuppet, Banette, Poltchageist and friends)

This is the line that caught my eye the most in the whole set.

It's a package of Pokémon that share the same idea. They can't be affected by the effects of your opponent's attacks and abilities (the damage still goes through, what's blocked is the effect), and the plan revolves around filling the discard with these Pokémon to power up bigger and bigger attacks. Shuppet also searches any card from your deck for one energy, so it sets up the game while it attacks.

The main attacker is Dhelmise. With four or more Hide and Sneak Pokémon in the discard, it hits close to 170 for a single psychic energy, and the rawest version of this line, with Shuppet and Banette up front, already took 2nd place at a championship in Japan. It doesn't take down a Dragapult ex by itself in one shot, because the thing has a huge HP pool, but it puts a ton of pressure on an expensive deck while spending almost nothing, and with a little damage boost it closes the math.

There's a second, more spread-focused version, with Poltchageist and Sinistcha, which drops counters on all of the opponent's Pokémon at once, and Spiritomb as the finisher: with 13 or more Hide and Sneak Pokémon in the discard, it quadruples the damage counters on two of the opponent's Pokémon and flips the game in a single turn. The catch is that this spread version struggles against single-prize decks, which don't give you big enough targets.

A line to start testing:

And grab Gwynn along with it, because it's what accelerates the discard and makes the deck run.

Mega Excadrill ex

Mega Excadrill ex is the Mega most people agree is worth it right away.

It has two attacks that matter. One for two metal energy that hits 90 and discards the top two cards of the opponent's deck, great for opening going second. And the big one, which reaches 330 when you've got extra energy attached, a number that kills Dragapult and most of what's strong right now.

What holds the deck together is energy acceleration. To get near that high cost, you lean on Metang and Metagross loading metal fast. It's a deck with a direct plan and results already showing up. Reminds me of Mega Lucario, which also didn't make noise and delivered.

The base of the line:

Mega Chandelure ex

Mega Chandelure ex is more of an own-deck line, but with an idea that scales fast.

Each Mega Chandelure in play raises the retreat cost of the opponent's active, and the attack hits 130 plus 50 for every point of retreat cost. With two or three in play, the opponent's retreat cost gets absurd and you knock out almost anything.

What actually makes the line work is Lampent, which searches up to three Lampent from your deck straight to the bench. That sets up the board in a turn and makes the Mega way less clunky. You can back it up with the fire Chandelure that already exists and with Rare Candy too.

The weak spot is basic-Pokémon decks, especially the ones that zero out retreat cost, like Latias ex giving everyone free retreat. Against those, the high-retreat plan just doesn't work, so it's not good into everything.

The line:

Marshadow comes in as a one-prize piece to close out small Pokémon, hitting based on the active's retreat cost, while Chandelure does the heavy lifting.

Fossil wall (Bastiodon)

Bastiodon might be one of the most annoying cards to face in the set, and it doesn't even need to attack.

While it's on the bench, it prevents all damage from attacks by opponent's Pokémon that have two or fewer energy attached. Think about how many single-prize decks attack with one or two energy today: Hide and Sneak, Festival Lead, a ton. Against all of those, Bastiodon just shuts off the opponent's attacker.

What makes the line run is Fossil Quarry, the new stadium that searches your Antique fossils and puts them straight on the bench, working like a Poffin for fossils so you don't get locked by Budew. It fits both a fossil deck and a basics list that just wants Bastiodon as a wall on the bench. If single-prize decks get popular, this card changes what you can and can't play in the format.

The base:

Toucannon

Toucannon is cheap and hits a lot harder than it looks.

It's a colorless attacker that hits 60 plus 20 for each Pokémon on the bench, counting both sides, for a single energy. With both fields full that easily clears 200 early in the game. And it's got an ability that draws a card, so on top of attacking it digs your deck.

Setup is easy because Fan Rotom searches out Pikipek to start the line. It's good mainly against decks that fill the bench, and you can push the number even higher with Tera Pokémon and Area Zero. It costs almost nothing right now, so it's easy to grab and test.

The line:

Wailord ex

Wailord ex is the most divisive card in the set, and I get both sides.

The plan is to stack 380-HP walls, accelerate energy with Misty's Vitality (which grabs four basic water energy at once) and keep hitting 270 while the opponent tries to break through one wall after another. The idea is fun and on paper it's solid.

The problem shows up against fast decks. 270 sometimes doesn't close out Dragapult in time, and then you have to lean on the extra-damage tool, which still dies to Jamming Tower.

I'd leave it to test without rushing, not as a must-buy. If you like a deck that takes a beating, it's worth the risk.

The line:

Slowbro and Mega Slowbro ex

The new Slowpoke with 70 HP opens up a different psychic line.

The nice part is it's searchable with Poffin, which makes the line way more consistent to set up. The Slowbro that comes with it hits 50 plus 160 when you have no cards in hand, so it plays right into the kind of deck that empties its hand, the same one that likes Gladion's Final Battle.

It's more of a niche line, but with a good search piece and a different plan. Worth picking up to test.

One-copy cards

Some cards don't need many copies, but they solve specific situations.

Chi-Yu

Chi-Yu is a darkness attacker that hits 110 for a single energy once it already has two damage counters on itself. It fits Tox Box, where Toxtricity keeps dropping poison and counters to turn that attack on early. It already had results in Japan and could be the reason the archetype comes back. I'd have one copy.

Relicanth

Relicanth hits for a single energy and the damage goes up for each Antique fossil you have on the bench. With Fossil Quarry setting those fossils up for free, you can close out a prize early in a fossil deck, and it already knocks out a Dreepy right off the bat. Not a priority, but it's a cheap copy for anyone messing with the archetype.

Mega Slowbro ex

Mega Slowbro ex is a luxury. It solves some tough matchups for Slowbro, tanking and dealing damage back, but the line wins fine without it. I'd have one copy just to see if it's worth the space.

Jynx

Jynx forces the opponent to discard their active Pokémon at the end of their next turn. It's cheap to slot into a psychic deck, but the effect vanishes if they retreat or switch the active. One copy does it, if you like the idea.

Special energies

The set only has two special energies, and both have a use, each in their own kind of deck.

Voltaic Lightning Energy gives 20 extra damage, for free, to the lightning Pokémon holding it, and it's also what powers Vikavolt's big attack. The effect is really good. The problem is lightning is weak right now, so it's more of a bet on the future than a card to use today. Even so I'd grab four: it's cheap, and the day lightning gets better you'll want the playset on hand.

Shadowy Darkness Energy protects the darkness Pokémon holding it from bench damage. That's better than it sounds against Dragapult: you lock the energy onto a support piece on the bench, like a Munkidori, and it stops dying to the spread. It's not for every darkness deck, but in one that leans on keeping the bench alive it's worth having. I'd grab four.

What I'd leave for later

Some cards have an interesting idea, but I wouldn't buy them as a priority.

The Mega Darkrai ex is the most expensive and flashy card in the set, and its knockout engine with Dark Bell is real, I won't deny it. What holds me back is that Absol already does something similar for a lot less, and it still depends on setting up the right pieces to pay off. As a collection pull it's gorgeous. As a deck buy, I'd wait for the price to settle before spending much.

Mega Zeraora ex loads energy onto itself and hits based on how much it has, but on a 270-HP body that's too demanding, and there's no good lightning acceleration today. Good to keep, not to build now.

Mega Delphox ex does nothing on the first turn and stays slow after that, so it loses to fast decks. Doesn't look like a priority.

Morpeko ex gives up two prizes and, even with triple poison to reach 280, it's too much work for too little return. Not worth it today.

Rampardos ex has 330 HP, but it hits 150 off a coin flip, has grass weakness and is clunky. I'd only touch it alongside Bastiodon and Fossil Quarry, and even then with one foot back.

Lurantis ex (which needs healing on the same turn to pay off), Vikavolt (a cute meme, but it doesn't knock out what it needs to), Primarina (a stage 2 healer, too slow), Miraidon (the self-damage still helps Dragapult) and Manectric (no Mega and low damage) also go on the later pile.

Maybe one of them finds a spot down the line, but I wouldn't start there.

The no-nonsense buy

If you just want to buy what looks most useful to start, I'd go with this:

If you want to test more decks, I'd add:

And, if it's cheap, I'd round it out with:

Wrapping up

Pitch Black is a small set, just 84 cards in the base set, the smallest in the Mega Evolution series so far, but it's got good stuff for competitive players.

The highlight is still Hide and Sneak: cheap to build, knows what it wants to do, and doesn't struggle against the strong decks of today. Alongside it, Mega Excadrill ex looks like the safest Mega, and cards like Gwynn, Dark Bell and Bastiodon have a shot at showing up in a lot of lists.

Not everything needs to be bought on day one, especially for a set this size. But if the idea is to show up ready for the format, this buy list already covers what looks most important now and a few bets that could pay off down the road.