Pokemon TCG: The Best Surging Sparks Cards

Surging Sparks, the Pokemon Trading Card Game’s latest physical expansion, has more to offer than just cover star Pikachu. Here are some cards from the set that drew our eye, organized by why you might care!

The coolest Surging Sparks cards

Much like the creature itself, the card for Tera Tatsugiri ex offers a lot but looks on the surface like not very much. Its three-energy attack, Cinnabar Lure, seems like a simple search: look at the top ten cards of your deck and put Pokemon there on your bench. But hey, that can be any Pokemon, no matter the evolution stage.

And it may just be vibes-based for us, but we think the new Bruxish is pretty cool. With 110 HP and an ability that deals 30 damage back every time it’s hit, it’s great as an early-game stall. We like adding a bit of indecision to our opponents’ minds on turn one, setting us up to drive the game’s narrative.

The most meta-relevant Surging Sparks cards

We’re expecting to see a lot of use of Latias ex. The Skyliner ability removes retreat costs from Basics, enabling a lot of strategies with quick-switching or active-only abilities. Some trainers could make the cut, too. Tera Orb is an Item-level search for a Tera creature, so if any strategy emerges for one, it’s a logical deck inclusion. Surfer is a two-in-one Supporter, switching out your Active and drawing cards while you do, making it good to draw almost always. Lisia’s Appeal brings the tried-and-true effect of pulling an opponent into the active slot, with the kicker of also making them confused.

There are eight ACE SPEC additions in the new set, and at this point there’s enough variety that only some stand out from the pack. Energy Search Pro lets you grab one of each Basic Energy type in one go, which seems appealing! Megaton Blower is a good counter to decks that rely on Special Energy, as it makes an opponent discard all of those in play, as well as Tool and Stadium cards. And Miracle Headset is a general-use reliable option, letting you retrieve two Supporters from your discard pile.

The most interesting Surging Sparks cards

We’re wondering if the new Sylveon ex could be the centerpiece of a deck strategy. Its Tera attack, Angelite, lets you move two opponent bench fighters and all attachments back to the deck, and you can use it every second turn. You’d have to protect it — though 270 HP and a second attack that provides damage reduction is no slouch — but that could really shut down strategies that take a bit of build-up.

Similarly experimental is this set’s Togekiss. As always, the effort to get a Stage 2 out is probably not worth the result, but the Wonder Kiss ability gives you a 50-percent shot at an extra prize for each knock-out. There’s probably some fun shenanigans you could manage if you paired it with the 151 print of Chansey. If you want to get really weird, you can do that too. Tyme is out here making opponents guess HP.

The cutest Surging Sparks cards

After a few sets with a shallower card pool, it’s nice to see Surging Sparks return with a lot of options for those looking for endearing little buddies. Marill and Togepi top our list, both in fields of grass and flowers but each bringing their own flavor of contentment to the proceedings. Tandemaus and Maushold are both hamming it up! And it’s not a special art or anything, but Fuecoco just sitting there is enough for us. In terms of Illustrator Rares this time around, our favorite is Slakoth. The card’s an empty field of grass with one li’l tired bud laid out in the middle. Relatable.

The latest Pokemon Trading Card Game expansion, Scarlet & Violet: Surging Sparks, releases November 8, 2024. For more information about the TCG, including an overview of the Surging Sparks set, check out our archive.