The Pokémon GO Professor Willow TCG card promotion, the Pokémon GO TCG expansion finally got a release date this June. Pokémon fans were surprised however when it was announced that the TCG set would include an incredibly powerful Ditto card.
When the Pokémon GO TCG releases on Friday, July 1st, players will be able to find Pokémon cards that are marked with a Ditto icon in the lower-left hand corner. These special cards have sticker artwork that can be peeled off to reveal a Ditto card beneath them. While most collectors were blown away by the new Pokémon card type, many collectors were surprised by how powerful the Kanto Pokémon appeared to be with its moveset.
Just like the disguise mechanic in Ditto's Pokémon GO April Fool's event, the new TCG card can use the moves of other Pokémon with its Sudden Transformation ability. The Pokémon GO card has some TCG players worrying that the Ditto can quickly overpower the game with several strategies. Below is a quick breakdown of how the new peelable Ditto cards could already be broken in the TCG.
New Pokémon TCG GO Peelable Ditto Cards May Be Overpowered
The first strategy that seems incredibly powerful centers around the TCG's Mad Party attack which adds an additional 20 damage for every Pokémon card with Mad Party in a player's discard pile. Because the new Ditto's Sudden Transformation ability allows TCG players to use any move from basic Pokémon that are in their discard pile, crafty players can purposely load up their discard pile with Mad Party Pokémon. Essentially the new peelable Pokémon GO TCG Ditto card can unleash an absurd amount of damage for as little as two energy if played right.
The second strategy that has some TCG players excited, revolves around Shedinja from the Sword and Shield TCG expansion Vivid Voltage. The Shedinja card has a powerful attack called "Life Squeeze" which lets players deplete their opponent's active Pokémon's health down to 10 HP. The card is usually balanced by the fact that Shedinja has to first use its Shell Survival ability to set up its move, and its incredibly low 30 HP. With the new Pokémon GO Ditto card, they can now just put the Shedinja in their discard pile and have Ditto use its "Life Squeeze" attack with a full 70 HP and without having to set the move up. The Vivid Voltage TCG expansion Pokémon card could end up shaking up the Pokémon Trading Card Game with the new Ditto card released in July.
