With the newest TCG set Sword & Shield, we got a new supporter rule change to the TCG: The player going first cannot play any supporter cards! This is pretty big because supporter cards have always been a big factor in someone going first, whether it be through Brigette, Lillie, or Archies Ace In The Hole! In this post, I want to discuss and talk about all the cards available to improve your game when you end up going first!

The Supporters That Get Hit 

With this new supporter rule change, quite a few supporters that have strong uses on the first turn are affected, some are cut from people's lists entirely! The biggest loser with this rule change is Lillie as turn one Lillie was a very strong play a player could do as you can draw up to 8 cards. Which is great, as 8 cards can help you find multiple basics, energy and sets up play for the next turn! Now Lillie for 8 can still be used for the player going 2nd but playing Lillie now seems very risky as it is a 50/50 chance you get to go second now to be able to play Lillie for the draw 8, plus with Professor's Research out now Lillie's draw up to 6 is just not as good compared to the Research.

Another card that takes a small hit is Professor Elm's Lecture/Brigette/Professor Oak's Set Up. All these cards revolved around your first turn, being able to put multiple basics down at once. Well, now, with this supporter rule change, you can only make good use of this if you go second. Now you can still use these card effects on your second turn if you do go first, but you'll already be behind most likely, and your opponent would have already set up a Cross Division or Altered Creation by then, and it will be too late to win. Thankfully a new card called Quick Ball can fix this problem! Lastly, Archie's Ace In The Hole takes a small hit, because a lot of games people still end up doing second turn Archies due to missing it the first time. However, with the rule, change if you go second with Archies and you manage to pull it off, you can easily donk your opponent due to them having potentially a slow setup with no supporter being used! 

Just Play Dedenne GX! 

Since you can't play a supporter on the first turn of the game, of course, your best option is to play Dedenne GX! Dedenne GX discards your hand and draws 6 cards, so you almost get the effect of a Professor's Research just one card less! With the new set, we got Quick Ball, of course, which can allow you to find a Dedenne GX out of your deck to play and use Dede Change as a mini pseudo supporter for the turn! The only downside of using Dedenne GX is that it is an easy 2 prizes for your opponent to possibly take at some later point in the game, which can sometimes cause you to lose the game. But other than one downside having a few Dedenne GX in your deck can help you out if you go first and can give you some leverage with some draw power!  

Two Other Metal Mons To Use! 

Alongside Dedenne GX, there are 2 other good turn one Pokémon to use, Jirachi & Zacian V! Jirachi is nice because it lets you look at the top 5 cards of your deck and grab a trainer you find. This can be good to dig for a Quick Ball or a Tag Call to help get you a few extra Pokémon in play! Zacian V is perfect for the new rule change because if it is the first turn of the game, you can't attack so you can use its ability to draw 3 cards! Your turn usually ends when you use this ability, but on the first turn of the game, it doesn't even matter! If you're lucky, you might even get an energy onto Zacian to power it up!  

All Kinds Of Items To Use! 

Luckily for us alongside Dedenne GX, we also have a fair amount of good item cards we can use on the first turn to help us get some leverage! Some good ones to use are; Quick Ball, Tag Call, Mysterious Treasure, Net Ball, Pokémon Communication, Acro Bike & Rotom Bike! With the first 5 cards mentioned, all of them can grab you Pokémon. With Quick Ball, you can get a basic like Jirachi or Dedenne GX. Tag Call lets you grab Tag Team GX's. Mysterious Treasure will let you get a Psychic or Dragon basic like Inkay or Mew. Net Ball lets you get a grass basic like a Grookey or a Grass Energy card to attach for the turn. With Pokémon Communication, you can put a Pokémon from your hand into your deck to get another Pokémon! All these search cards can help keep you in the game by getting multiple Pokémon down to help you! Acro Bike is also useful as you can look at the top 2 cards of your deck, choose one to put into your hand, and you discard the other one, which is perfect because you could find a Pokémon or Pokémon search options! Finally, with Rotom Bike, you can draw cards until you have 6 in your hand, but your turn ends. However, like with Zacian V, it does not really matter on the first turn! 

The new turn 1 change is significant, and it will be interesting to see how people build their decks going forward to combat going first now! 

Post created by: LittleDarkFury