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The new Stadium card from Phantasmal Flames, Battle Cage, has a huge chance to disrupt the current Pokemon TCG meta. Here are the details.
While there are plenty of new Mega Evolutions in Phantasmal Flames to be excited for, the biggest impact on the Pokemon TCG meta may come from the new Stadium card, Battle Cage. When in play, Battle Cage prevents the placement of any damage counters on the Benched Pokemon on both sides. Given how many decks employ tactics that involve sniping Benched Pokemon, Battle Cage seems ready to change that.
What Does Battle Cage Do in the Pokemon TCG?
Battle Cage prevents all damage counters from being placed on Benched Pokemon. Keep in mind the card text says damage counters, not damage. So any cards that deal damage to Benched Pokemon with their attacks, like Ground Crasher from Ting-Lu from Twilight Masquerade, will not be prevented by Battle Cage.
However, if a card tries to place damage counters like Munkidori through its Ability Adrena-Brain, Battle Cage will prevent that.
Notable Pokemon TCG Cards Affected By Battle Cage
These cards will struggle heavily in a meta where Battle Cage is legal:
- Dragapult ex: This card‘s move Phantom Drive was extremely hard to play around due to its tendency to clean up damaged Benched Pokemon by placing 6 damage counters on them. While Phantom Drive will still attack the Active Pokemon, the Benched Pokemon cannot be touched by it when Battle Cage is in play.
- Dusknoir: Dragapult ex’s frequent ally Dusknoir (as well as its Stage 1 Dusclops) used to KO itself with its Ability Cursed Blast to place 13 damage counters on a single Pokemon on the opponent’s side of the field. However, if it tries to do that on a Benched Pokemon while Battle Cage is in play, those counters will not be placed. What’s worse is that Dusknoir and Dusclops will still end up KOing themselves. However, they can still pull this off against the Defending Pokemon.
- Munkidori: A staple of many meta decks, including Gardevoir ex, Munkidori will no longer be able to redirect up to 3 damage counters on the opponent’s Benched Pokemon. However, the healing effect of removing three damage counters will still work. As such, while its effectiveness will decrease, Munkidori might still see some play.
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