Gengar EX and Mega Gengar EX from Pokemon X&Y Phantom Forces - Pokemon TCG Card Reviews

by Phoenix Desertsong

Gengar EX, not to be confused with the Gengar EX from EX Fire Red & Leaf Green, is an EX-Pokemon from the  X&Y Expansion, Phantom Forces. There's also a full-art version of this edition of Gengar EX. Like all of the newer EX Pokemon, Gengar EX is a Basic Pokemon, whereas Gengar is ordinarily a Stage 2 Pokemon. He has 170 HP, which is a bit below average for newer Pokemon, but he does have the -20 Resistance to Fighting. However, he also has the times 2 weakness to Dark type Pokemon’s attacks.

One of the best things about Gengar EX is that his attacks are not Energy-intensive. His first attack costs a colorless Energy, Night Attack, and it puts 3 damage counters on one of your opponent’s Pokemon. This gets around any Resistance and you can assign the damage to opponent’s Benched Pokemon, which can be very useful if they have a weak Basic Pokemon on their bench.

Gengar's EX's second attack, Dark Corridor, costs only a single Psychic energy and two Colorless Energy. It deals only 60 base damage, but it Poisons your opponent’s Active Pokemon, essentially allowing this attack to do much more. However, Gengar EX must switch out after using Dark Corridor.

Overall, this looks to be a pretty good Pokemon. It can attack right from the get-go and its ability to Poison an opponent and run is fairly good, especially if you have a big beater to switch into. But that’s not all. There’s a Mega Evolution for this guy.

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Mega Gengar EX has 220 HP, which is a very high number, indeed. Unfortunately like all Mega Evolutions, your turn ends upon playing him. But he only has a retreat cost of 1, unlike regular Gengar EX which has a retreat cost of 2.

His attack is incredibly interesting. It costs one Psychic energy and two Colorless Energy, just like Gengar EX’s Dark Corridor attack. You get to choose 1 of your opponent’s Pokemon’s attacks and use it as this attack. That’s pretty silly, considering that you ignore any energy requirements for it.

This guy could just win you the game out of nowhere if deployed correctly. The only downside is that if your opponent brings out a Pokemon without any really good attacks, Mega Gengar EX isn’t too good. But his retreat cost is so cheap, why not play him?

Gengar EX and Mega Gengar EX are a great pair of EX cards. They are very playable and are a force to build around.

Photo credits: Bulbapedia

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