At the recent Pokémon Europe International Championships (EUIC) in London, a previously little-used spin on one of the metagame’s staple decks put the Pokémon TCG world on notice. Isaiah Bradner claimed a runner-up finish with a seldom-seen take on the Giratina VSTAR deck: it included a Banette card from Lost Abyss [S11] and a Banette ex card from Violet ex [SV1V].

Banette ex is a defensive powerhouse that’s an ideal counter for the Chien-Pao ex deck which Giratina VSTAR decks often struggle with. With 250 HP, the Pokémon-ex version of the Marionette Pokémon possesses impressive tankiness. What’s more, for just one Psychic Energy card, its Everlasting Darkness attack denies the opponent a chance to use any Item card. This attack primarily targets the Rare Candy card from the Pokémon GO [S10b] set. Most Chien-Pao ex decks use it to set up the Snow Hazard [SV2P] Baxcalibur card; Banette ex sees to it that this won’t happen.

In the event that the opponent gets Baxcalibur in play and sets up the Chien-Pao ex card from the same set, Banette ex can still tip the balance in the player’s favor. Thanks to Banette ex’s massive HP, Chien-Pao ex players must discard five Energy cards to one-shot the Ghost-type Pokémon. Not only does this burn up a huge chunk of the opponent’s resources; if Banette ex is brought back from the discard pile, it will almost certainly be able to remain in play until the end of the game, wreaking havoc all the while.

Visually, this Super Rare (SR) card’s Full Art illustration features a close-up of Banette ex’s face—easily its most well-known feature. Banette ex itself is outlined in teal while the background is a shade of purple that exudes mystical vibes, adding to the card’s general aesthetic.

In English, this card is 229/198 from the Scarlet & Violet [SV1] set.

In its peak condition, a Banette ex (Violet ex [SV1V] 095/078) card carries a price tag of 3,850 JPY (~US$25).

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