After the Neo sets and the small e-Reader sets, the next major group of cards released in the Pokémon TCG universe was the sixteen EX sets. It might be hard to pick the best card from so many sets, but it’s worth a shot. Let’s go!

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10. Beautifly (EX Ruby & Sapphire)

Aside from the cool art common to all holo cards, this card is a pretty decent addition to your deck. To start things off, Beautifly has a Poké-Body called Withering Dust that lets you not apply Resistance as long as Beautifly is in play. Since Resistance reduces the amount of damage you do to an opponent, to be able to simply ignore it is great. Beautifly’s two attacks, Stun Spore and Parallel Gain, aren’t bad either. Stun Spore, just like in the video games, can cause paralysis while Parallel Gain lets you remove 1 damage counter from each of your Pokémon.

9. Plusle (EX Dragon)

As a Pokémon Ranger fan, I obviously have a soft spot for Plusle. But that aside, this card is very good. Plusle’s Poké-Body, Chain of Events, takes full advantage of the new double-battle format introduced to the TCG by the Ruby & Sapphire set by allowing you to use Cheer On, Plusle’s main attack, after your partner attacks (but only once). Cheer On lets you remove one damage counter from each of your Pokémon, which would be a big help to your partner. Plusle’s other attack, Extra Circuit, lets you choose one of the opponent’s Pokémon and do 20 damage to it, or 40 if it’s a Pokémon-ex. Not bad. more…

Ever since it came into being in 1996, the Pokémon TCG has promoted itself through special, rare promo cards. They’ve been released for everything from movies to CD’s to tournaments to readers of CoroCoro Comics.

10. Marill (ANA Promotion)
Most TCG fans are familiar with the Pikachu promo card for All Nippon Airways (ANA), but Pikachu wasn’t the only Pokémon to promote the major Japanese airline. Marill, the aquatic mouse known for accompanying Pokémon watcher Tracey, also got its own ANA promo card. Similar to the Azumarill card that made #8 on my last list, the appeal of this card is two attacks that work well with each other. Marill’s first attack, Rebound, triples the damage of its second attack, Jump On. Jump On in turn has a chance of paralysis if the coin flips in your favor, and 10 damage either way (30 if you use Rebound first). Plus, the card art (featuring an airborne Marill over a sunset-lit sea) is really pretty. more…

In my first article, I wrote about the top 10 cards in the first three TCG sets. My intention was to write my second article about the new Platinum TCG expansion around the time Pokémon Platinum came out, but unfortunately, school kept me from finishing this article in time (such is university life). But the recent announcement of the Gold and Silver remakes, HeartGold and SoulSilver, has given me a new idea – talking about the top 10 cards in the Generation II-based TCG sets, or the “Neo” sets. So here we go.

10. Holo Blissey (Neo Revelation)

Aside from the cute art, this card is useful because of the massive healing power of this Blissey’s Softboiled Pokémon Power (either 8 or 4 damage counters removed) and because of the possibility of paralysis from its one attack (Body Slam). The only problem is that both are dependent on coin flips, although with Softboiled you get healed either way. All four Neo sets are ridiculously reliant on coin-flipping, though, so this comes as no surprise. more…