One of the new ACE SPEC cards for Pokémon TCG’s upcoming Night Wanderer set has been revealed and, based on its description, it is going to be suboptimal. Night Wanderer is one of the next expansions to be released in Japan. The set is due to arrive in early June, though it is expected to eventually merge with another Japanese set and be released in the West at some point in August under a new moniker. The Night Wanderer set for Pokémon TCG is expected to return to Kitakami, as it is themed after Pecharunt and the Loyal Three.
While most eyes are drawn toward the new Pokémon cards, there are some Trainer cards that are being slowly revealed and the most recent one is an upcoming ACE SPEC card called Pokevital A. Showcased by Pokebeach, Pokevital A is a Trainer – Item card that will be released with the Night Wanderer set. According to the website’s translation via Jake C., the upcoming ACE SPEC card will instantly heal 150 points of damage from one of the player’s Pokémon cards. While the effect itself is good, there seems to be a downside to its usage in Pokémon TCG.
Another part of the card’s alleged description is that the Pokevital A ACE SPEC card cannot be put back into the player’s hand or deck after it is placed in the discard pile. This could be a major drawback for the card, as it imposes a big limitation on its usage. The effect it provides is great, but with no means of recursion, the card from the Night Wanderer set seems to pale in comparison to other ACE SPEC cards from Pokémon TCG. This was even noted by some users in the comment section of Pokebeach’s post.
As highlighted by a few commentators, the lack of a recursion method for Pokevital A makes it suboptimal. In fact, this card seems like a poorer version of another ACE SPEC card called Scoop-Up Cyclone. This card, originally from the Plasma Blast set, is being reprinted with the release of Pokémon TCG’s Twilight Masquerade expansion. Scoop-Up Cyclone allows the player to put 1 of their Pokémon and all of its attached cards back into their hand. While it does set the player back when it comes to restructuring their strategy, it does impede the opponent from knocking out their Pokémon.
Another good thing about Scoop-Up Cyclone when compared to Pokevital A is that the former card does not have the limitating factor that impedes it from being redrawn from the discard pile after its usage. If the player’s deck offers means of recursion, Scoop-Up Cyclone can be used a few times during a game, which can destabilize the opponent’s wiping strategy, for instance. This puts Pokevital A at a disadvantage, and seeing only one ACE SPEC card in Pokémon TCG is permitted per deck, this new one from the Night Wanderer set will likely not be a priority.
Of course, Pokevital A is likely one of the multiple new ACE SPEC cards being added to the set and is going to be one of many options for players to choose from when building their decks. The game continues to progress and adapt content released for the Generation 9 games into cards. In fact, one of the next expansions to be released is Pokémon TCG’s Stellar Miracle, inspired by Scarlet and Violet’s The Indigo Disk DLC, which could blend with Night Wanderer for a Western release.
Source: Pokebeach