Take a moment to thoroughly look over Dialga G LV.X‘s scan. This article shouldn’t sway you towards this card, because any great Pokemon player can see it’s potential already with their own two eyes.
In my opinion, this card has been thrown into the closet ever since Rising Rivals came out, but why? It still has major potential in a meta where Poke-Body’s and Poke-Powers rule the format.
First off, Dialga G LV.X has it’s pros and cons like most cards (let’s save the discussion about Flygon LV.X for another day), it has a decent amount of 120 HP followed by a Weakness of x2 to Fire and a Resistance of -20 to Psychic. When dealing with SPs, you already know it’s going to have a x2 Weakness and most likely a -20 Resistance to one type of Pokemon, so all and all, Dialga G LV.X doesn’t look too bad already. Granted, a Fire Weakness in a format where Blaziken FB is extremely popular is not a good thing, but it can be countered if you pair Dialga G LV.X with other techs such as Palkia G or even a lesser known SP such as Empoleon FB / Quagsire GL.
Anyways, Dialga G LV.X truly shines through it’s Poke-Body: Time Crystal. The cool name isn’t the most spectacular part about this Poke-Body because it allows no other Poke-Bodys (not including SPs) to function. Goodbye Flygon LV.X, Mewtwo LV.X, and Machamp LV.X. With this Poke-Body, you are shutting out several deck strategies such as the Flygon deck out, Machamp’s ‘No Guard’ if you have a Pokemon Guard’ed, or Mewtwo LV.X’s ‘Psybarrier’ to prevent you from attacking with SPs. This factor alone gives Dialga G LV.X some thought to be tech’ed into an SP deck.
Next, Dialga G LV.X’s ‘Remove Lost’ can grant the attacking player some pretty heavy damage as well as a great effect. Moving energies to the lost zone doesn’t sound so great on paper, but try playing Dialga G LV.X and see the chaos this attack brings. Although energy heavy itself, requiring 2 Metal Energies as well as 2 Colorless, Remove Lost definitely has the bang for it’s buck with an Energy Gain and a Special Metal Energy or two if you ask me.
This article hasn’t even covered the regular form of Dialga G yet, which helps against almost every deck in the format. ‘Deafen’ doesn’t allow the Defending player to play any trainers or stadiums from their hand during their next turn, which slows down almost any SP deck as well as Gyarados and Stage 2′s as well. The inability to play Rare Candys, Energy Gains, Poke Drawer + and Pokemon Rescue/Night Maintenance can give you the one almost automatically. If your opponent is playing a 1-0-1 line for a tech, they can’t set that tech up without the use of Rare Candy. This attack, followed by Second Strike, which can do up to 70 damage for 3 or 2 with an Energy Gain are overpowering reasons to play Dialga G LV.X.
Finally, if you’ve made it this far through this unnecessary novel, you’ll understand that Dialga G has a lot going for it. Pairing the card with other SPs such as Garchomp C, Luxray GL, or Palkia G can be great decks. You can even pair Dialga G LV.X with a Stage 2 deck if necessary, but be sure to watch out for Poke-Body reliant cards in those decks.
Here’s the shortened guide for you lazy folk:
Pros:
‘Deafen’
No Poke-Bodies (excluding SP)
Moving energy’s to the lost zone
120 HP, Psychic Resistance, SP Card
Special Metal Energy’s can reduce amount taken
Cons:
2 Energy Retreat (Nothing Poke Turn/Switch can’t take care of!)
Fire Weakness (Special Metals may help you here)
Could be slow setting up (Run 3-4 Call Energy as well as 3-4 Energy Gains to avoid this!)
Thanks for reading, hope some people play this card at the upcoming State’s / Regionals, otherwise – prepare to test against this beast!
