Pokémon TCG: Top 10 Best Special Energy Cards

Hello to all. I'm Rodrigo, bringing news, curiosities and information about Pokémon TCG.

When we look at all the cards that were released for Pokémon TCG, there are those who marked us for generations – ever since the early days on Wizards of The Coast's Base Set, the Ruby/Sapphire days. Then to Diamond and Pearl and the consolidation, at the time, of the Expanded format, now from Black/White era onward, with our emotional memory and also the memory of Expanded format decks which can wreak havoc with combos, or that play with the help of a very different deckbuilding.

Down below I write down my Top 10 Best Special Energy cards that I consider relevant, both for their power level and playability, as for the memories they filled.

10 - Scramble Energy

Though this energy was released in the Ruby/Sapphire: Deoxys era, and can't be used in the Expanded format, this card at the beginning of the 2000s was very efficient.

Its effect is that it provides 1 energy of any kind, but if the opponent was winning the game and you had more Prize cards than them, it would provide 3 energies other than 1.

If this energy came back to the meta game in the future, it would be great.

9 - Recycle Energy

Recycle Energy was already old at the time of Neo Genesis, but it had its reprint at the Sun/Moon: Unified Minds era.

This card is very useful because when discarded, it can come back into your hand.

8 - Burning Energy

Inside the X/Y set, there were many special energies focused on the archetypes from that set, with the classic types: grass, fire, water, electric, fighting, psychic; and for the "newer" types such as dark and steel (because their energy became basic from Heart Gold/Soul Silver onward, as before their energies were considered specials) and finally the release of the fairy type, which happened in this set, besides one special energy only for the dragon type, which was also a new archetype that had been released in Black/White.

From my own experience, as I used a lot of fire decks, this energy was a big help because of its effect: any attack that paid a tribute of energy discard as its discard gets its energy turned back into the Pokémon.

At a time that Fire Crystal UNB 173 didn't exist to guarantee energy on your hand, and you needed to count only with Blacksmith FLF 88, but just for basic energies, this special energy is very efficient. It is standard that this type of signature move for this archetype to discard fire energies, such as with a Charizard VMAX DAA 20, Charizard VSTAR BRS 18 and a Talonflame V VIV 29.

7 - Mystery Energy

Among the classic archetypes, Mystery Energy is without a question the most advanced of all, as the psychic Pokemon that is attached to it, its retreat cost costs two colorless energies less. This card had a combo at the time with the Dimension Valley PHF 93 Stadium and with M Gengar-EX PHF 35.

In the Expanded format, we can highlight Mewtwo VUnion, Mewtwo & Mew-GX UNM 71, Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX CRE 75, Gengar & Mimikyu-GX TEU 53.

6 - Blend Energy

These energies at the Black/White era were like a kind of Multi Energy EM 89, but limited to four types each. These came from the initial Garchomp and Hydreigon decks from the Dragons Exalted expansion.

5 - Counter Energy

This "colorless double" energy only has one difference, as it can only be equipped in a Pokémon that isn't GX or EX and only gives out its benefit of two energies in case you are losing the game, with more Prize cards than your opponent and, also, it provides any kind of energy.

Counter Energy is very common in Mew FCO 29 decks which its ability of copying basic Pokémon's attacks, one of them being a "Single Prize" card, it could copy GX or EX Pokémon, and the most common are Garchomp & Giratina-GX UNM 146, Togepi & Cleffa & Igglybuff-GX CEC 143, Marshadow-GX BUS 80 and Amazing Rare cards, specially those who demand a lot of energy, being the most common one the Kyogre SHF 21.

All these decks with the combo created by Electrode-GX CES 48, which with its instant self-knockout ability, recharges 5 energy from your discard pile ( be it basic energies or special energies) for the Pokémon you choose, and, of course, as it "self-destructs", the opponent already gets two Prize cards, activating the Counter Energy CIN 100 effect automatically.

4 - Prism Energy

Prism Energy is amazing and needs no introduction. It is practically a Multi Energy EM 89 for the Expanded format, serving as the energy you'd like best for the Pokémon in which it is equipped.

It sees a lot of play in Mewtwo & Mew-GX UNM 71 decks due to the combo of Mewtwo/Mew ability that copies GX and EX Pokemon attacks coming from discards, and usually are from other types placed in the deck, coming out of psychics, such as Reshiram & Charizard-GX UNB 20, Greninja-GX PR-SM SM197, Noivern-GX BUS 99, Glaceon-EX FCO 20 and Jolteon-EX GEN 28.

3 - Triple Acceleration Energy

This energy went by unlit for a while, being useful only in certain situations such as "Single Prize" Pokemon that hit for 3 colorless energies, be it in stage 1 or 2.

The most known and useful was with Raticate BCR 105 in the "One Hit Kill" deck with bad status, which got a great upgrade when this card came out in the Sun/Moon: Unbroken Bonds era.

But now, when Arceus VSTAR BRS 123 was released this year in Sword/Shield: Brilliant Stars, being also a stage 1 card, this energy got even more value for the Expanded format. As it is a card that from the start helps you deal 200 damage instead of losing a turn using the Double Turbo Energy BRS 151 which is a terrible energy and one more turn for some basic energy - this way, Arceus VStar got a great upgrade to speed up its attack.

The effect of this card is simple: it provides 3 colorless energies and can only be equipped to a Pokémon which is an evolution, and at the end of your turn, it is discarded.

2 - Double Dragon Energy

Being the only special energy of the dragon type of all times, it is basically a "Double Colorless Energy" for this archetype, and it can provide any type of energy for dragons.

Before, this card was more aggressive for speeding up the GX effect of the polemic

Arceus & Dialga & Palkia-GX CEC 156, which has the effect of dealing 30 more damage in every match and still causes the effect of additional prize card draw for each knockout performed by you. The presence of Dragonite V PR-SW SWSH154 made the deck dynamic for its archetype.

Now withSword/Shield: Silver Tempest bringing out the Regidrago VStar, which is literally a "copy" of Mewtwo & Mew-GX UNM 71 , only for the dragon type Pokémon, in which it copies attacks from Pokémon that are in the discard pile, Regidrago Vstar will have one more resource for quick energy, which makes this Pokémon stronger than it already is.

You can write it down: this energy will be sought out a lot when they figure out its potential in the Expanded format.

1 - Double Colorless Energy

We can't forget our favorite wild card ever since the first days of this TCG, since the Wizards of the Coast Base Set era, which had a lot of reprints for this card in future expansions, such as Heart Gold/Soul Silver, X/Y, and Sun/Moon.

It provides two colorless energies for the Pokémon that is equipped with it.

In the old TCG, coming back to Japan in 1996 and 1999 for the rest of the world, this card saw a lot of play with the classic and eternal Charizard BS 4, thanks to its ability that any energy connected to it became basic fire energies, that is, the colorless energies payed the Charizard's damage tribute, which besides being heavy as it was 4 energies, also had the tribute of discarding two energies to deal 100 flat damage.

Double Rainbow Energy

Just like Scramble Energy, it can't be used in the Expanded format, as it was in many decks, including in champion decks from the Ruby/Sapphire era, precisely for its versatility of being a "Double Colorless Energy". Though it only served to provide any type of energy and also the reduction of 10 damage from opponent's attacks to the Pokémon that had this energy on, but the Pokémon that had this energy linked had to be an evolution and couldn't be type ex (not to be confused to the EX type that came along Black/White).

It is very good just for the fact it provides any type of energy and also has opponent damage reduction. And there we have the question: will we see this type of energy being reprinted in the future? It would be interesting to see this card return.

Here the most classic example was with the Ludicolo Deck that used this energy, and you can check the list out here.

Holon's Magneton / Holon's Electrode

Another card that saw a lot of play at the Ruby/Sapphire era and still stared in the Holon Phantons Pokémon focused expansion, and also can't be used in the Expanded format, but also made its mark in the 2006 champion decks.

Even being Pokemon, they could be converted into energies and were practically two of your preferred energies, almost like a type of "Double Rainbow Energy".

We can't forget the 2006 decks that used through and through these cards such as the infamous Lugia ex and Blastoise ex decks.

Here are the lists from 2006 that gained notoriety at Worlds:

- B.L.S

- Eeveelutions

- Mewtrick

Mist Energy

Coming from the Scarlet/Violet: Temporal Forces collection, it became very strong in Standard 2024.1, at its launch, due to its effect of inhibiting any attack effects from the opponent's Pokémon, whether these effects are "bad status" " (the special conditions) as well as moves that cause "instant K.O.", very present in the meta such as Giratina VSTAR LOR 131 and Roaring Moon ex PR-SV 67, in addition to preventing Tools effects such as Technical Machine: Devolution sv4 177.

Again it is worth mentioning, it is a personal list of cards that had a relevance factor to me and of course, besides also considering playability factor in general and importance.

What about you? Which were your relevant cards? Comment down below your personal list and share your thoughts.

This is my cue, see you next time!