Hi. When it comes to the Pitch Black set, there is hype about Mega Darkrai ex for collectors. From a game perspective, Mega Darkrai ex does not seem good. One of the cards that seems good competitively and is worth trying is Toucannon.
Why this bird? In short, it has a good attack that does more damage when there are more Pokemon in play.
Let's take a closer look at Toucannon, supporting cards and some decks. (This post is long.)
The Toucannon line starts with Pikipek.
Toucannon as an attacker is really good. For any 1 energy, you deal 60 base damage. Toucannon deals 20 more damage for each Benched Pokemon on each side (yours and opponents). To hit something like 220 damage, eight Benched Pokemon in total need to be in play. Hitting for 220 damage is good as it is one hit knockout on popular Pokemon ex like Latias ex, Fezandipiti ex and Teal Mask Ogerpon ex.
Supporting Cards - Fan Rotom and Rare Candy
What works well with the Toucannon line are Fan Rotom and Rare Candy.
Some deck builds may use Dudunsparce or Noctowl (with Tera Pokemon).
To further increase Toucannon's damage, the deck may include Tera Pokemon with Area Zero Underdepths.
There is no set way to play Toucannon. Toucannon can be a main attacker or as an alternate/backup attacker. Other than the last deck list, these deck lists are not from large tournaments. It is unknown if these decks are S tier or not.
Arboliva ex with Toucannon
Arboliva ex requires one Grass energy for the first attack and Toucannon requires any 1 Energy for the attack. Combining these two makes sense as one deck idea. Arboliva spreads damage or knocks out weaker Pokemon while Toucannon is there to deal bigger damage.
Sample decklist.
Pikachu ex with Toucannon
To boost Toucannon's damage, it makes sense to use a Tera Pokemon with Area Zero Underdepths. Area Zero Underdepths allows you to go from maximum 5 Benched Pokemon to a maximum of 8 Benched Pokemon as long as you have a Tera Pokemon in play. Pikachu ex is the Tera Pokemon of choice as its ability prevents one hit knockouts on it if it had full HP.
Sample deck (Japanese decklist):
Solrock + Lunatone + Cornerstone Ogerpon ex with Toucannon
Instead of Pikachu ex as the Tera Pokemon, Cornerstone Ogerpon ex is another Tera Pokemon that can be used. It is a Fighting type so the Solrock & Lunatone draw engine is used as well. Add Fighting Gongs for more consistency.
Toucannon is the main attacker in this deck with Solrock being able to hit weaker Pokemon. Attacking with Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex would be rare though.
Sample deck:
Teal Mask Ogerpon ex With Toucannon
Another good Tera Pokemon option with Toucannon is Teal Mask Ogerpon ex. Teal Mask Ogerpon ex's ability accelerates Basic Grass Energy onto itself and you draw 1 card.
Teal Mask Ogerpon ex is a good attacker against Pokemon with Grass weakness while Toucannon can be a draw engine and a secondary attacker.
Sample deck (Japanese decklist):
Alakazam with Toucannon
Having two Stage 2 evolution lines is not ideal in a lot of decks. This pair works as both Alakazam and Toucannon requires 1 Energy for its attacks. That way you do need to play alot of energy in the deck.
Alakazam does suffer from counters like Mist Energy, Team Rocket's Articuno and Rocky Fighting Energy. Alakazam does not deal direct damage but it places damage counters which is an attack effect. Toucannon bypasses these counters as an alternate attacker.
This deck archetype is fairly new and kind of unknown. This top 8 list from an Indonesian Master Ball tournament does look scary and competitive. It could be the best version of Toucannon (even though it is mostly Alakazam).
(+) Toucannon evolution line cards should be easy to find cards and should be inexpensive.
(+) Toucannon as a single prize attacker with a cheap 1 Energy attack that threatens opponent's two prize Basic Pokemon ex.
(+) Area Zero Underdepths (AZU) with Toucannon can get it to hit up to 320 damage. (5 Benched on opponent and 8 on your side with AZU)
(-) Toucannon can take time to get in play as it is a Stage 2 Pokemon.
(-) Opponent could purposefully not put many Pokemon in play to limit Toucannon's damage.
(-) Team Rocket's Watchtower shuts down Toucannon's ability and Colourless Pokemon abilities.
I don't think there is a best way to play Toucannon. As the metagame shifts, one version of Toucannon may be good while another version could be bad.
Toucannon is not the most hyped card in the Pitch Black set but it has great playability in the Pokemon TCG. It may take time to get Toucannon in play but its attack and firepower is too hard to ignore. Toucannon serves as a great alternate attacker in many decks.
Thank you for reading.
