The Seven Stages of Eevee
By Steffanie Saw
Deck building is a breeze with the Eevee evolutions found in
Diamond & Pearl—Majestic Dawn.
Pokémon TCG:
Diamond & Pearl—Majestic Dawn opens up new horizons for building an Eevee theme deck
with a kaleidoscopic array of evolutions to choose from. With two different Eevee cards and
seven Eevee evolutions ready for action, it may be tempting to use them all in a single deck. This
could lead to a scattered strategy, so it's usually best to limit yourself to four Eevee evolutions
per deck. This article will help you to decide which combination will work best for you.
To begin, let's examine the two different Eevees available in Majestic Dawn.
Eevee (
Majestic Dawn, 63/100) requires no Energy for its Gnaw attack to do 10 damage. Its Sand
Attack is useful because it gives Eevee a 50/50 chance of preventing your opponent from attacking
on the next turn. However, the other version of
Eevee (
Majestic Dawn, 62/100) can be a more strategic choice thanks to its Call for Family
attack. Call for Family allows you to search your deck for as many Eevee as you like and put them
onto your Bench. This is a great way to prep your Bench for an avalanche of Eevee evolutions.
Jolteon (
Majestic Dawn, 23/100) is a lightning-fast Eevee evolution that can swiftly return to the
Bench when times are tough, thanks to its free Retreat Cost. Jolteon's Lightning Strike attack will
make your opponent want to bolt! The attack's base damage is 50, but you have the option to
increase the damage to 90 if you discard 2 Energy attached to Jolteon. Jolteon also has the
possibility of Paralyzing the opponent with its Thunder Fang attack.
What's hot, and what's not?
Flareon (
Majestic Dawn, 19/100) is definitely on the hot list. Its Fire Fang attack only requires 1
Fire Energy to perform, but it strikes for 30 damage and has the possibility to Burn the opposing
Pokémon. Its Kindle attack delivers major damage and causes 1 Energy card attached to both
Active Pokémon to go up in flames. If you time it right, you might force your opponent to take an
additional turn to set up a crucial attack.
Vaporeon's (
Majestic Dawn, 34/100) Cleanse Away attack is also a purifying attack that really works
wonders for your damaged Pokémon on the Bench. Cleanse Away allows you to remove 2 damage
counters from each Benched Pokémon for a total damage detox. If your Eevee evolutions are banged
up, it's a great idea to pull Vaporeon into action, and then retreat if necessary.
Though not the strongest attackers,
Espeon (
Majestic Dawn, 18/100) and
Umbreon (
Majestic Dawn, 32/100) are both noteworthy considerations for Eevee decks due to their
exceptional Poké-Bodies. The inclusion of one or both on the Bench can greatly support the
Eevee-lution theme. Espeon's Sunlight Veil Poké-Body increases the endurance of your Evolved Eevees
in play by adding an extra 20 HP to each. Meanwhile, Umbreon's Moonlight Veil Poké-Body boosts the
power of the Eevee evolutions even further by eliminating their Weaknesses and giving each
evolution a free Retreat Cost.
New additions to the Eevee family, Glaceon (
Majestic Dawn,
5/100 and
20/100) and Leafeon (
Majestic Dawn,
7/100 and
24/100) play starring
roles in this set with two different versions of each Pokémon, and one
LV.X card for each.
Leafeon
LV.X's (
Majestic Dawn, 99/100) Poké-Power Energy Forcing allows you to attach an Energy card from
your hand to 1 of your Pokémon each turn. Its Verdant Dance attack harnesses the power of this
Energy by adding an extra 10 damage to the 30 base damage for each Energy attached to all of your
Pokémon. It's possible for the attack's base damage to go up by 20 each turn, as long as you have
enough Energy in your hand to make it happen.
Glaceon
LV.X's (
Majestic Dawn, 98/100) Poké-Body is chilling to say the least. The Chilly Breath Poké-Body
will stop many popular decks in their tracks by preventing the opponent's use of Poké-Powers when
Glaceon
LV.X is your Active Pokémon.
Set off its Avalanche attack for 70 damage, and then you're only a coin flip away from doing
20 damage to each of your opponent's Benched Pokémon. This card would complement
Empoleon (Majestic
Dawn, 17/100) very well, since that card is also able to target vulnerable Benched Pokémon.
Eevee may be cute and cuddly, but it's a fearsome base for the fiercest of decks if you tap
into its seven evolutions. Have fun building your own custom Eevee-lution deck!