Steam Siege Player's Guide (TCG)

The Steam Siege Player's Guide is a booklet included within the detailing the expansion of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. The booklet is written by Wolfgang Baur and was published by The Pokémon Company International in 2016. The content features strategy for the new cards introduced within the Steam Siege expansion as well as a complete checklist for the expansion.
==Contents==
===Welcome to the Pokémon TCG: XY—Steam Siege Elite Trainer Box===
This Elite Trainer Box contains a great combination of boosters, Energy cards, dice, card sleeves, and extras—congrats on stepping up your game to the Elite level. The Pokémon Trading Card Game: XY—Steam Siege expansion adds more than 110 cards to the Pokémon TCG and provides a wealth of new Pokémon to charge up your game!
This expansion includes seven more Pokémon BREAK as well as six new Pokémon-EX, including the shining metallic power of Steelix-EX, the dark rays of Gardevoir-EX, and the courageous heart and soul of Magearna-EX.Full steam ahead!
Train hard, choose your Pokémon companions, and take the journey of an Elite Trainer! Mighty engines and heroic Pokémon and Trainers are preparing for battle the XY—Steam Siege expansion.
===New Dual Type-Pokémon!===
Most Pokémon are easy to define by their type, but these new dual-type Pokémon have a foot (or a claw) in two worlds. Check out Shiftry (11/114), Volcarona (15/114), Volcanion-EX (26/114), Bisharp (64/114), and Azumarill (77/114)—many with art showing Shiny Pokémon! There are also dual-type Mega Evolution Pokémon in this expansion, and we'll get to those, too!
====What are dual-Type Pokémon?====
Dual-type Pokémon are just like regular Pokémon, but they have two types at the same time. For example, Azumarill is both a Pokémon and a Pokémon, so any card that affects one of those types will affect Azumarill.
If a dual-type Pokémon attacks a Pokémon that has Weakness or Resistance to either of its types, the attack's damage will be affected. And if the Pokémon has a Weakness to one of the types and Resistance to the other, remember to apply Weakness and then Resistance!
:Azumarill
A Water and Fairy type, Azumarill can use PPlay Rough for 30 damage plus 30 more on a coin flip, and the delightfully playful Bubble Drain to do 80 damage and heal itself for 30. It's a cheerful beating—but a beating all the same—from this bouncy little Pokémon!
:Volcarona
As a Grass and Fyre type, Volcarona is a union of opposites and brings two kinds of battle to the arena. Its Shimmering Scales attack does 20 damage for and leaves an opposing Pokémon either Confused or Paralyzed—you win either way on that coin flip! And its Power Hurricane for does 120 damage at the cost of discarding all of Volcarona's attached Energy.
:Volcanion-EX
A dual-type Pokémon-EX? Two different flavors of beatdown make this Fire- and Water-type Mythical Pokémon awesome, with a Stream Up Ability that lets discard a Energy to add 30 damage to your Basic Pokémon's attacks, and a Volcanic Heat attack for that does 130 damage—but it leaves Volcanion-EX out of steam for a bit, because it can't attack next turn.
:Bisharp
This Shiny Bisharp is a Darkness and Metal type, and it comes with the Retaliate attack for that does 30 damage on its own, and 90 damage if any of your Pokémon were Knocked Out by an opponent's attack the previous turn. Its Mach Claw does 60 for and avoids Resistance entirely—pretty sharp!
:Shiftry
This Evolution line has always had a dark side, and now Shiftry brings it full circle with Grass and Darkness types combined on a single card. Its Wicked Wind attack nullifies the effects of Stadium and Pokémon Tool cards in play, and its Extrasensory attack doubles its damage if you have the same number of cards in hand as your opponent. Full of tricks, this one!
===New Pokémon BREAK===
Expanding the growing ranks of Pokémon BREAK in the Pokémon TCG, this set includes 7 amazing new Pokémon BREAK: Yanmega BREAK (8/114), Talonflame BREAK (21/114), Pyroar BREAK (24/114), Clawitzer BREAK (35/114), Yveltal BREAK (66/114), Xerneas BREAK (82/114), and Hydreigon BREAK (87/114).
====Overview of the New Pokémon BREAK====
:Yanmega BREAK has the Barrier Break attack, which cost to do 100 damage that is not affected by Weakness, Resistance, or other effects. Even better, if you have exactly 4 cards in your hand, Yanmega's (7/114) Sonic Vision Ability means the attack requires no Energy!
:Talonflame BREAK has the amazing Flare Blitz attack, a 150-damage attack for just —though it does require you to discard all of the Talonflame BREAK's attached Energy. There are ways to get that Energy right back, of course, so flame on!
:Pyroar BREAK has the Kaiser Tackle attack, which costs and does 180 damage to the opposing Pokémon—but also does 60 damage to itself! It's playing very rough, but this Pokémon BREAK can keep up with Pokémon-EX in the damage department.
:Clawitzer BREAK has an interesting attack: Lock-On. When you attack for , the Defending Pokémon cannot retreat on your opponent's next turn—and during your own next turn, you increase damage to that Pokémon by 120. Stay on target, Clawitzer BREAK!
:Yveltal BREAK has Baleful Night, an attack for that does 120 damage to your opponent's Active Pokémon, plus 30 to each of your opponent's Benched Pokémon that has any damage counters on it already. It combines well with Pokémon like Crobat (XY—Phantom Forces, 33/119) and Dusknoir (XY—Flashfire, 40/106) that let you put damage counters directly onto your opponent's Pokémon. The combos here could crush the opposition!
:Xerneas BREAK has the Life Stream attack for , which does 20 damage times the total amount of Energy attached to all your Pokémon. It's a nice trick to evolve your Xerneas and suddenly deliver a highly energetic hit—clearly one of the powers of this Legendary Pokémon is surprise!
:Hydreigon BREAK has the Calamity Blast attack for , which does 150 damage to the opposing Pokémon and discards 3 Energy from itself. It also does 50 damage to 2 of your opponent's Benched Pokémon—it's entirely possible to get a triple Knock Out with this attack!
===Six Combos to Build On!===
The XY—Steam Siege cards brings some great tools for power combos, along with some great tricks! Here's one combo using Pokémon BREAK and four more showing off Energy and Trainer tricks—there are lots of ways to put together a winning combination!
:Double Heat:
Two Volcanion really are better than one! You'll need to have Volcanion (25/114) as your Active Pokémon and Volcanion-EX on your Bench. Discard a Energy card from your hand to use Volcanion-EX's Steam Up Ability. Then, use Volcanion's Power Heater attack to attach discarded Energy to 2 of your Benched Pokémon and do 20 damage to the opposing Pokémon—plus 30 more thanks to Steam Up—for just ! They're a terrific team.
:Energy Launcher:
Mega Steelix-EX (68/114) has that fantastic Canyon Axe attack, but it requires a pricey . Clawitzer (34/114) has the astonishing Mega oost Ability to attach a Special Energy card to a Mega Evolution Pokémon, so it's exactly what you need: you can attach two Double Colorless Energy (XY—Fates Collide, 114/124) in a single turn to power Mega Steelix-EX up faster than your opponent will believe. Boom, you've got that Canyon Axe ready in no time, ready for some prime Pokémon clobbering!
:Double Geomancy:
Similar to the Double Heat combo above, this one uses Xerneas (81/114) and Xerneas BREAK together to double effect. Use Geomancy to bring extra Energy into play, and then let rip with Life Stream to hit for big amounts of damage. Don't mess with Xerneas!
:Judging Yanmega:
Use Judge (XY—BREAKthrough, 143/162) to give both players exactly 4 cards in hand, which activates Yanmega's Sonic Vision Ability. Then, Yanmega can attack for free! For a bonus, you can even evolve to Yanmega BREAK and use its Barrier Break attack for free as well,since Yanmega BREAK keeps the Sonic Vision Ability.
:The Foongus Poké Ball Deal:
Play up to three Poké Ball cards (Generations, 67/83) to find the Pokémon you need. Then use that clever little Foongus (12/114) and its Play Ball Ability to get them back from the discard pile and use them again! You get 6 Poké Balls for the price of 3—it's a Poké Mart super deal!
:A Royal Combo:
Nidoking (45/114) and Nidoqueen (XY—Primal Clash, 69/160) are a royal couple that can really help each other out! Nidoking's King Palace Ability adds 20 damage to Nidoqueen's attacks, which is especially nasty since Nidoqueen Ω Barrage Ancient Trait allows it to attack twice. Nidoking's Power Lariat attack does 30 extra damage for each Evolution Pokémon on your Bench, so a Benched Nidoqueen boosts Nidoking's attack power as well. Long live the Drill Pokémon!
===Crush It with New Power Cards!===
In addition to those new combos, you'll find 6 great Pokémon-EX and Mega Evolution Pokémon in the XY—Steam Siege expansion, from Mythical Pokémon like Volcanion-EX and Magearna-EX all the way to Mega Steelix-EX and Mega Gardevoir-EX! And of course not every power card is a Pokémon-EX: check out Cobalion and Talonflame for some amazing attacks!
:Steelix-EX (67/114)
Heavy Metal-type Pokémon are, well, heavy! Steelix-EX has a Wild Edge attack for that does 80 damage—or 130 if you're OK with it doing 20 to itself. It has an Iron Tail that's ferocious but also requires a lot of Energy: flip a coin untile you get tails, and Steelix does 100 damage times the number of heads!
:Mega Steelix-EX (69/114)
Mega Steelix-EX is a dual-type Fighting- and Metal-type Pokémon. It has the Canyon Axe attack for , which does 160 damage, plus 10 to each of your opponent's Benched Pokémon. It could team up rather nicely with Yveltal BREAK and that dual-type Bisharp in a Darkness/Metal deck with a "nightblade" theme. (Or would that be Night Axe?)
:Cobalion (74/114)
With its Quick Guard attack making it immune to attacks from Basic Pokémon, Cobalion can buy you time. With its Revenge Blast for for 30 damage plus 30 more for each Prize card your opponent has taken, it can help you mount a comeback when you're behind!
:Magearna-EX (75/114)
Magearna-EX has the Mystic Heart Ability, which prevents all effects of opposing attacks (excepts for damage) done to your Pokémon that have any Energy attached—really nice for preventing Special Conditions and keeping your Pokémon battling. In addition, its Soul Blaster attack does 120 damage for —sure, it powers down to 60 damage on the next turn, but sometimes 120 is all you need!
:Gardevoir-EX (78/114)
Some Pokémon are really, really in tune with their environment—and Gardevoir-EX seems to tune in to its opponents and hit 'em where it counts with the Link Blast attack for . It does just 30 damage—unless your Gardevoir-EX and the opposing Pokémon both have the same amount of Energy attached to them. In that case, look out, because Link Blast does 100 damage! Don't have a perfectly attuned set of Energy cards with the opposing Pokémon? No problem—Gardevoir-EX also has the Luminous Blade attack, for 120 and discarding one of its attached Energy.
:Mega Gardevoir-EX (79/114)
As a Psychic- and Fairy-type Pokémon, Mega Gardevoir-EX is ready to unleash the awesome power of its Despair Ray—and it doesn't seem to care who gets hurt in the process! This attack cost just and does 110 damage, but you can increase that by discarding as many of your Benched Pokémon as you like! Each Benched Pokémon that goes to the discard pile adds 10 damage to the attack—enough to make the difference between a Not Quite and a Knock Out! Your opponents will gaze upon this Mega Evolution Pokémon and despair!
:Talonflame (96/114)
Talonflame is a Stage 2 Pokémon, but it has a never-before-seen mechanic that can bring it into play before you even start the game! That's right—if Talonflame is in your had as you're setting up to play, its Gale Wings Ability allows you to set it up as your starting Active Pokémon, getting you a huge jump on the game. The Aero Blitz attack is a fantastic first attack, too, searching for any 2 cards and putting them into your hand. And in you're fortunate enough to have a Talonflame BREAK to play on turn two, you're well on your way to a flawless victory!
===Top 4 Trainer Cards===
Sure, Trainer cards don't have big HP and pulse-pounding attacks—but a Trainer's role is vitally important! Items, Supporters, and other cards can give you the margin of victory. Here are some of the cards to watch for in the XY—Steam Siege expansion!
:Captivating Poké Puff (99/114)
Nummy nummy Poké Puffs! This Item card is great for luring your opponent's Pokémon into play at just the wrong time. One thing to note: if your opponent's Pokémon has an Ability that can be used when it comes into play, that Ability still works. But you can certainly use the timing to your advantage—imagine making someone play Shaymin-EX (XY—Roaring Skies, 77/108) when they already have 6 cards in hand! You could also bring in a Pokémon that has Weakness to your own deck. Lots of options with this one for clever players!
:Greedy Dice (102/114)
This odd card is a bit of a risk—it has no effect unless you take it as a Prize card, and even then, you have to use it before you put it into your hand. But if you do, and if you win a coin flip, you get an extra Prize card right away. This is especially nice if you just defeated a Pokémon-EX, because suddenly you're getting 3 Prize cards for a single Knock Out. Sometimes risk brings reward!
:Ninja Boy (103/114)
What if one of your Basic Pokémon were actually a ninja? Play this card, and you get to search your deck for any Basic Benched Pokémon (which could be a Pokémon-EX) and sneakily switch it in to replace one of your Basic Pokémon in play! All attached cards, damage, Special Conditions, and other effects from the original Pokémon are carried over to the Pokémon that just appeared out of nowhere, while the first Pokémon gets shuffled back into your deck. Surprise!
:Pokémon Ranger (104/114)
This card remove all the effects of attacks on players and Pokémon. That sounds simple, but it covers all kinds of stuff—damage-reducing effects, "trap" effects that keep a Pokémon from retreating, even effects that prevent someone from playing certain kinds of cards—which makes it a game changer if you time it right. (Note that Pokémon Ranger doesn't remove damage, though!)
===Pokémon TCG: Generations Card List===
This section lists out the 116 cards of the XY—Steam Siege expansion, and their rarities.
===Credits===
====Original Japanese Game====
* Executive Producer: Tsunekazu Ishihara
* Producer: Yuji Kitano
* Original Game Design: Tsunekazu Ishihara, Kouichi Ooyama, and Takumi Akabane
* Game Development: Creatures Inc.
* Game Director: Atsushi Nagashima
* Art Direction: Kenshi Koga
* Special Thanks To: Satoshi Tajiri, Ken Sugimori, Junichi Masuda, Takao Unno, GAME FREAK inc., and Milky Isobe
====English-Language Version====
The Pokémon Company International
* Producer: Kenji Okubo
* Director of Production: Richard Simpson
* Director of Product Development: Yasuhiro Usui
* Production Coordination: Russ Foster, Jay Moon
* Game Development: Dylan "ExoByte" Mayo, Kyle Sucevich
* Project Coordination: Junko Takaba and Noriko Tseng
* Translation: Ben Regal
* Theme Deck Development: Mike Fitzgerald
* Elite Trainer Box Booklet Writing: Wolfgang Baur
* Rulebook Writing: TPCi Editing Staff and Dylan "ExoByte" Mayo
* Editing: Hollie Beg and Wolfgang Baur
* Design Direction: Eric Medalle
* Graphic Design: Kumi Okada, Adam Law, Doug Wohlfeil, Matt Freund, Josh Manderville, and Cara Weiss
* Card Typesetting: Ginny Baldwin and David Bennett
* Packaging Illustrations: PLANETA
* XY—Steam Siege Logo: Doug Wohlfeil
* Special Thanks To: Creatures Inc., The Pokémon Company, and The Pokémon Company International
===Pokémon TCG: XY—Steam Siege Showcase===
This final section details the two : and .
==Trivia==
*The Player's Guide is wrong about the effect of . As stated by the TPCi Rules Team, Captivating Poke Puff does not trigger any coming into play Abilities.
Category:Pokémon Trading Card Game publications