Pokémon TCG: Top 10 Best Tool 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 for the best Tool-type cards that I consider to be relevant, both for their power level and playability as for their impact in our memories.

10 - Weakness Policy

This card disables the weakness of the Pokémon it is linked to. Before the Weakness Guard Energy UNM 213 existed, this card was the salvation for the Grass and Fire Pokémon deal with their weaknesses.

9 - Sparkling Robe

This is another card that is also very underestimated by many in the Expanded format, but that helps a lot against "bad status" decks, because of its effect of disabling any Special Conditions of the Pokémon it is attached to.

Consideration: another card that has the same effect potential and it is more enhanced is Cobalion-GX TEU 106 with its Metal Symbol ability, in which each Pokémon in play that has metal energy attached is immune to Special Conditions.

8 - Wishful Baton

Wishful Baton was very common when it was released, at the Sun/Moon: Burning Shadows times, and it was usually very common in Fire archetype decks, such as the Ho-Oh-GX BUS 21 decks back then.

7 - Big Parasol

Big Parasol is relatively "new", being released two years ago (2020), since the Sword/Shield's Darkness Ablaze set. It was an essential tool for many GX and V Pokémon to be able to face head on against the "Single Prize" decks that were causing a lot of headache, such as Decidueye DAA 13 and Altaria CPA 49, which were immune to their attacks.

6 - Stealthy Hood

Released in Sun/Moon: Unbroken Bonds, already at the "second" set that was related to the Pokémon Tag Team-GX (as it was the tenth of the main expansions from the set in general), Stealthy Hood was very good against the infamous Alolan Ninetales TEU 111, in the rotation at the time, and Alolan Ninetales BUS 28, in the Expanded part.

Its effect is that the Pokémon to which this Tool is connected isn't affected by ability effects from the opponent's Pokémon.

5 - Counter Gain

Counter Gain is quite frequent in the Expanded format, and has many combinations with decks that use Mew FCO 29 with some makeup of base Pokémon's copies of abilities to lower the attack cost or heavy Pokémon that demand a lot of energy, such as Garchomp & Giratina-GX UNM 146.

The effect of this card is that if you have more Prize cards remaining than your opponent, the energy cost of your attacks lowers one colorless energy less in the tribute.

4 - Fighting Fury Belt

This card had a recent notoriety for Expanded format users who started to increase its monetary cost. The reason for this interest was sudden and inexplicable here in Brazil for a while, but it is obvious this is related to the interest in the format, and it's not for nothing, because the card is excellent.

It gives out 40 HP and 10 damage more for your attacks, and can only be attached to basic Pokémon. This is more suited to the Tag Team-GX Pokémon, such as Mewtwo & Mew-GX UNM 71 and Reshiram & Charizard-GX UNB 20.

3 - Tool Jammer

This card is part of the Sword/Shield's "recent cards", alongside Big Parasol.

Released in the Battle Styles set, it was very useful with its effect of disabling other Tool effects that were attached to the opponent, and in case your Pokémon was in front of the opponent's Pokémon that was advanced also in the Active Spot and had some Tool card attached to it. This resulted in players using Air Balloon SSH 156 as free Retreat cost, forcing them to pay the whole cost.

2 - Float Stone

Here is a broken card when it comes to mobility, in which if the Pokémon is attached to it, its Retreat is zero. It is much better than Air Balloon SSH 156, which only reduces two retreat costs.

The most famous deck that uses Float Stone BKT 137 is the Ultra Necrozma CEC 164 Garbodor BKP 57 deck, which with its Garbotoxin ability, if it is attached to any tool, it cancels out Pokémon abilities that are in hand, in play, and in the discard pile of all players.

1 - Forest Seal Stone

This one is basically a type of enhanced Computer Search BCR 137 just for the Pokémon V and this way they can use the VStar ability as if they were a VStar Pokémon. Another correlation is that this tool is similar to the Star Birth ability of the famous Arceus VSTAR BRS 123, only a bit more limited when it comes to how many cards you can search.

Its effect is to search any card in your deck and put it in your hand.

Protection Cube

This card goes into a more personal matter for me because of a Fire deck combo with Mega Evolution, placing a M Charizard-EX FLF 13 with a Kiawe BUS 116 to energize quickly to guarantee him to have all his energies, even before the Tag Team-GX question in 2018 existed: it was me using the Crimson Dive attack without getting its setback effect of 30 damage to each attack that was dealt.

So, it was possible to deal 300 damage without taking the 30 damage for each time!

Hypnotoxic Laser

Hypnotoxic Laser needs no introduction for its history with the infamous venom deck with the Virbank City Gym PLS 126 stadium combo, which amplified the damage counters of this status, very common in Darkrai EX, Mewtwo EX and the Garbodor list itself with the ability Garbotoxin, for those who were around for the Black/White era.

The effect of this card is to automatically poison your opponent and it also flips a coin, and in case it is heads, besides the poison, the opponent's Active Pokémon becomes Asleep.

Focus Sash

Focus Sash is like it was a kind of "recover" card for fighting type Pokémon.

If the Pokémon that is attached to this tool is knocked out, it comes back into the game, but with only 10 HP.

It is basically the same effect as the Focus Band N1 86 card in the Neo Genesis expansion, in the Wizards of the Coast era.

Panic Mask

I believe this tool will play well with control decks, specially the Trevenant & Dusknoir-GX PR-SM SM217 deck, as it has a relatively high life and in case your opponent deals a damage that isn't enough to Knock it out, this tool is perfect for it.

Its effect is simple: If the Pokémon to which it is attached has 40 HP or less, the opponent can't attack you.

Supereffective Glasses

Supereffective Glasses is a very underestimated card in the overall Expanded format scene, but it has a very strong role with one deck in particular: with Sword/Shield: Chilling Regin's Kecleon CRE 122 , which with its Chromashift ability, it copies the type of basic energy it is attached to.

With this versatility, being able to absorb all types, it can combo and complement 90 damage attacks with this tool, being able to triple the damage, which can reach powerful 270 damage for just 3 energies.

Again it is worth mentioning, it is a personal list of cards that had a relevance factor to me and of course, also considering playability factor, seeing opponents against physical matches and in PTGCO (when it comes to Expanded).

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

See you next time!