Issue #11: "My Computer Search Crashed!"

Having a problem shaving your deck for the STS? The next few issues of the long-neglected Analyst will cover some of the substitutions you can make for the cards you can't use. Search cards, drawing, and big basics are some of the things Wizards has removed from the environment for the STS, and we'll see what from Team Rocket, Gym, and Neo Genesis you can use for your deck.

One of the big concepts that the STS has aimed to change has to do with search cards. With Base Set unusable, the trainer rares we have come to rely upon need subsitutes. No more Computer Search, Item Finder or Pokémon Trader to get the cards we need quickly. Not even their cheap subsitutes from Jungle and Fossil are useable, like Recycle and Pokéball.  Not even the energy functions we used to have are available: Energy Retrieval and Energy Search.

What can we use instead? I've pored over the lists of Team Rocket, Gym Heroes, Gym Challenge, and Neo Genesis for cards that provide these functions. Here they are:
 

Misty's Wrath (Gym Heroes UNCOMMON)
  Look at the top 7 cards of your deck.  Choose 2 of those cards and
  put them into your hand.  Discard the rest.
Comment: If only you didn't have to discard... if you don't mind discarding 5 cards on using it, go ahead and use Misty's Wrath.  It's not bad besides that.

Rocket's Secret Experiment (Gym Challenge UNCOMMON)
  Flip a coin.  If heads, search your deck for any card and put it
  into your hand.  Shuffle your deck afterward.  If tails, you can't
  play Trainer cards until the end of your next turn.
Comment: You should leave this card as the last card to play during your turn if you can... when it works, more power to you, but you should also be prepared to cope with a tails flip.

New Pokédex (Neo Genesis UNCOMMON)
  Shuffle your deck.  Then, look at up to 5 cards
  from the top of your deck and rearrange them as you
  like.
Comment: While not strictly a search card, you can order what you get next turn...
 

The Boss's Way  (Team Rocket UNCOMMON)
  Search your deck for an Evolution card with Dark in its name.
  Show it to your opponent and put it into your hand.  Shuffle your
  deck afterward.
Comment: Only works with DARK pokémon, meaning evolutions and not basics. Very useful for Dark Vileplume and other Dark-evo decks.

Challenge!  (Team Rocket UNCOMMON)
  Ask your opponent if he or she accepts your challenge.  If your
  opponent declines (or if both Benches are full), draw 2 cards.  If
  your opponent accepts, each of you searches your decks for any
  number of Basic Pokemon cards and puts them face down onto your
  Benches.  (A player can't do this if his or her Bench is full.)
  When you both have finished, shuffle your decks and turn those
  cards face up.
Comment: Not only does your opponent have to agree, but your opponent gets to fill his or her bench too. If you don't mind this, and wouldn't mind drawing 2 cards instead, go for it.

Nightly Garbage Run (see Searching from Discards)

Brock's Training Method  (Gym Heroes UNCOMMON)
  Search your deck for a Basic Pokemon or Evolution card with Brock
  in its name.  Show that card to your opponent, then put it into
  your hand.  Shuffle your deck afterward.            
Comment: If you're playing a Brock-themed deck, like Brock's Sandslash or Brock's Ninetales, you can greatly benefit from this. Otherwise, you don't need it. =P

Erika's Maids (Gym Heroes UNCOMMON)
  Trade 2 of the other cards in your hand for up to 2 Basic Pokemon
  and/or Evolution cards with Erika in their names from your deck.
  Show those cards to your opponent, then put them into your hand.
  Shuffle your deck afterward.   
Comment: For Erika players, it's a double Trader that works better. Any two cards from your hand become Erika's Sprouts/Bells or whatever evolution line you play. But if you don't, don't look at this card.

Good Manners (Gym Heroes UNCOMMON)
  In order to play this card, you can't have any Basic Pokemon cards
  in your hand.  Show your hand to your opponent, then search your
  deck for a Basic Pokemon card, show it to your opponent, and put
  it into your hand.  Shuffle your deck afterward.
Comment: Unless you play a 4-pokémon deck or one with very few basics, you won't find much use for this very conditional Basic Pokémon search card.

Master Ball (Gym Challenge UNCOMMON)
  Look at 7 cards from the top of your deck.  You may choose a Basic
  Pokemon or Evolution card from those cards, show it your opponent,
  then put it into your hand.  Shuffle the rest into your deck.
Comment: Not at all a bad choice to use for Pokémon searching. This is the closest substitute for a Trader you're going to get without getting restrictive like The Boss's Way or Erika's Maids.

Time Capsule (see Searching from Discards)

Pokémon March (Neo Genesis COMMON)
  Your opponent may search his or her deck for 1
  Basic Pokemon card and put it onto his or her
  Bench.  Then, you may search your deck for 1 Basic
  Pokemon card and put it onto your Bench.  Then,
  each player shuffles his or her deck.  (A player
  can't do any of this if his or her Bench is full.)
Comment: You get a Basic on your BENCH, and your opponent does too. If you don't mind that and not having it in your hand, be my guest and use it.

Super Rod (see Searching from Discards)
 

Sabrina's Psychic Control (Gym Challenge UNCOMMON)
  Flip a coin.  If heads, choose a Trainer card in your opponent's
  discard pile that isn't put in play (like PlusPower or Mysterious
  Fossil).  You may use that card as if it were in your hand, if
  you do everything required in order to play that card (like
  discarding cards).  The card stays in your opponent's discard pile.
Comment: It's a stretch, but if you see something tempting to use in your opponent's discard pile, go ahead and try to grab it. It's as good as searching. =D

PokéGear (Neo Genesis RARE)
  Look at the top 7 cards of your deck.  If any of them
  are Trainer cards, you may show 1 of them to your
  opponent and put it into your hand.  Shuffle your
  deck afterward.  You can't play any more Trainer
  cards this turn.
Comment: If searching for one trainer card out of only 7 is worth not playing it or any others for the rest of the turn, go ahead.
 

Nightly Garbage Run  (Team Rocket UNCOMMON)
  Choose up to 3 Basic Pokemon cards, Evolution cards, and/or basic
  Energy cards from your discard pile.  Show them to your opponent
  and shuffle them into your deck.
Comment: Can't use for trainers! But it's very versatile, you can get back any basic energy or pokémon. Read: no Dark or Steel energy.

Energy Charge (Neo Genesis RARE)
  Flip a coin.  If heads, shuffle up to 2 Energy cards
  from your discard pile into your deck.
Comment: Just keep in mind that it can get non-basic energy too... that keeps this from becoming totally useless.

Time Capsule (Neo Genesis RARE)
  Your opponent may choose 5 Basic Pokemon, Evolution,
  and/or basic Energy cards in his or her discard pile.
  (If your opponent doesn't have that many, he or she
  chooses all or none of them.) If your opponent
  chooses any cards, he or she shuffles them into his
  or her deck.  Either way, you may do the same, and
  you can't play any more Trainer cards this turn.
Comment: A 5-card NGR that your opponent uses as well... and then you can't play any more trainers. If you need it, go ahead, but somehow I think you'd rather have NGR...

Super Rod (Neo Genesis COMMON)
  Flip a coin.  If heads, put an Evolution card from
  your discard pile, if any, into your hand.  If
  tails, put a Basic Pokemon card from your discard
  pile, if any, into your hand.
Comment: While you always get to take one card, it's up to chance whether you retrieve a Basic or Evo. At least it always works...
 

Nightly Garbage Run (see Searching from Discards)

Misty's Tears (Gym Challenge UNCOMMON)
  Discard 1 of the other cards in your hand in order to search your
  deck for up to 2 W Energy cards.  Show those cards to your
  opponent, then put them into your hand.  Shuffle your deck
  afterward.          
Comment: Of course, if you don't play water, you're out of luck.

Fervor (Gym Challenge COMMON)
  Show the top 3 cards of your deck to all players.  Put any R
  Energy cards there into your hand and discard the rest.
Comment: Of course, if you don't play fire, you're out of luck. But with this there's the chance that you'll draw no fire... but other good cards instead.

Energy Charge (see Searching from Discards)

Super Energy Retrieval (Neo Genesis RARE)
  Trade 2 of the other cards in your hand for 4 basic
  Energy cards from your discard pile.  If you have
  fewer than 4 basic Energy cards there, take all of
  them.
Comment: It may look like overkill compared to Energy Retrieval, but you've got to play with what you have. If you need it, use it. You might need those two extra energies. =)

Time Capsule (see Searching from Discards)
 

Hope you find all of this info useful in making your STS-legal deck. Next time on The Analyst we'll go over every card you can use to draw, besides Oak.

-- Hackman