Top 5 Pokémon Cards from Black Bolt

Off to Unova

Welcome back to Unova, the home of Black and White Pokémon, and of course, the next stop on our Pokémon TCG adventure! Black Bolt, which is one half of our upcoming Pokémon TCG dual mini sets, features many iconic Pokémon from Unova, and maybe some of them will shake up the metagame! In this article, I’ll be sharing my personal top 5 favorite cards coming out in Black Bolt for use in our competitive metagame! Even if these cards don’t see success right away, I recommend picking them up because they often see success over their entire competitive lifespan! With quite a few cards to cover, let’s jump right into it!

Card 5: Zekrom ex

Kicking off the list, we have the face of Black Bolt, Zekrom ex [Black Bolt] itself! While it isn’t a self-contained archetype, it seems like it will see some success in Lightning-type decks because of its powerful Voltage Burst attack! For three Energy, you can do 130 damage + an additional 50 damage for each Prize Card your opponent has taken! This gives you an opportunity to catch up to your opponent in damage output during the latter half of a game, and possibly score a huge OHKO to jump back into the game! We can’t necessarily build a complete thematic deck around this singular card because Voltage Burst is too weak in the early stages of the game, so you’ll likely need to have a selection of different Basic Pokémon to attack with! If only there were a Lightning Pokémon that could accelerate Energy to piece a deck like this together…

Card 4: Eelektrik

… Oh… Eelektrik [Black Bolt] is back! This is exactly the card we need to piece together a Lightning-type deck because of its powerful Dynamotor Ability! Once during your turn, you may attach a Basic Lightning Energy to one of your Benched Pokémon, and you can use the Ability on each of your Eelektrik in play to quickly power up your Pokémon! Miraidon ex [Scarlet and Violet] can quickly search out your attackers, and even Tynamo [Black Bolt], which is a great base for a new Lightning-type archetype! Now it comes down to fine-tuning the tech cards you wanna add to this deck! Zekrom ex is going to be a must-have for late-game OHKOs, but what about the early game? Iron Hands ex [Paradox Rift] can help you keep the prize trade in your favor by drawing extra Prize Cards when you score an OHKO! I’m sure there are plenty of other tech options, so keep your eyes peeled for interesting options!

Yellow Katana Sleeves are my default favorite sleeves for any deck that I play, but they would especially look great on a Lightning archetype! Check them out here.

Card 3: Genesect ex

You’ll be hard-pressed to attack with Genesect ex [Black Bolt], but it seems like a great addition to any Metal-type deck featuring Evolution Pokémon! Its Ability allows you to search your deck for up to two Evolution Pokémon that are Metal-type, and put them in your hand. The deck that comes to mind that can instantly add this card is Gholdengo ex [Paradox Rift]. Being able to turn a Nest Ball [Scarlet and Violet] into a Gholdengo ex search machine by the way of Genesect ex sounds like a consistency clutch - definitely an auto add to that archetype if you ask me! It might even change the usual partner of Dragapult ex [Twilight Masquerade] to a Metal-type Pokémon, like Scizor [Obsidian Flames], which can also be searched by Genesect ex’s Metal Signal. Whichever Evolution Metal-type Pokémon deck you decide to go with, just know that Genesect ex is gonna tag along for the ride!

Card 2: Prism Energy

Ah yes, yet another reprint from the vault of rotated Pokémon cards, Prism Energy [Black Bolt] is welcomed back to add a splash of color for Basic Pokémon everywhere! As long as it's attached to a Basic Pokémon, Prism Energy provides every type of Basic Energy, but only provides one Energy at a time! Our current metagame is fueled by Stage 2 Pokémon ex right now, but that doesn’t mean it can’t change in the future! Being able to play many different Basic Pokémon, all of different types and different attacking requirements, allows Prism Energy to shine! I’ve seen a few players explore Prism Energy opportunities with Ethan’s Ho-oh ex [Destined Rivals] and Armarouge [Scarlet and Violet], and that's just the start. Right away, my mind thinks of Basic Pokémon decks that run Munkidori [Twilight Masquerade] - you can easily make Prism Energy count for both its Ability, and the Psychic Energy requirement for its attack! I’m sure we’ll see this card at the top tables soon enough!

Have your Prism Energy pop out by using Ultimate Guard’s White Katana Sleeves! Be sure to check them out here.

Card 1: Air Balloon

The most impactful card of Black Bolt is… drum roll please… Air Balloon [Black Bolt]! While it might not be featured on the pack art of Black Bolt, it is easily the most impactful card featured in this mini set. Being able to reduce your Retreat Cost by two instantly allows for new tech Pokémon to be featured in decks that were previously limited to reducing their Retreat Cost by Rescue Board [Temporal Forces] or Latias ex [Surging Sparks] to find their way into many more meta-relevant decks! Even for Pokémon that have more than two retreat, like Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex [Twilight Masquerade], an Air Balloon allows it to retreat for only one Energy. That is enough for it to retreat into a Budew [Prismatic Evolutions] to use Itchy Pollen where it otherwise would’ve needed an additional attachment for Rescue Board. Most decks will make the switch from Rescue Board to Air Balloon, and many other decks that feature Pokémon with two Retreat Cost will have an opportunity to be more playable! Air Balloon is definitely a huge quality of life inclusion in our card pool, and I can’t wait to start adding it to many different decks!

A Changing Metagame

As we rapidly approach the 2025 Pokémon TCG World Championships in Anaheim, California, we can’t forget that both Black Bolt and White Flare are going to be legal for that event! While Air Balloon is going to be a great addition to many decks, Eelektrik / Zekrom ex could end up being a real contender in the metagame, and maybe some White Flare cards might show up in the metagame too! Be sure to check out my companion article on White Flare, see which cards are the best of the best, and I’ll be sure to keep you all updated with more competitive Pokémon TCG content as always! Thanks so much for reading!