The new Pokémon Pocket set Fantastical Parade added a ton of new and interesting cards to the game. Most notable of all are the new Stadiums, which bring a neat new layer of strategy to both deckbuilding and gameplay.
But along with this, and the usual assortment of new Megas and ex cards, comes a trainer card that's caused quite a stir. Online, I've seen people criticize this card as OP and even claim to have quit the app because of it. Top-voted Reddit posts call it 'disastrous' and 'an abomination'. That card is, of course, Lucky Ice Pop.
At first, this trainer card looks innocuous: an alternative to Potion, which has the advantage that it can be reused, but the disadvantage that it only heals the active Pokémon. The problem is this card has a coin-flip mechanic, which can - with a bit of good luck - see it used over and over during the same turn.
Coin-flip cards have always been a thorny issue in Pokémon Pocket, since they unashamedly depend on pure RNG. They can be fun for casual players or streamers who like the occasional big splashy moment, but they're not so good for players that want the game to feel competitive. It doesn't feel great to lose a game where you did everything just right, but your opponent happened to get lucky.
While she was eventually power-crept out of use, the supporter card Misty was a constant focus of complaints during the first year of Pokémon Pocket, thanks to her ability to win games on the spot if you lucked into a few heads.
It seemed like the designers saw Misty as a mistake. Her existence seemed to warp the design of water cards ever since, and later cards relying on coin flips, such as Team Rocket Grunt, were far more niche or low-power.
But Lucky Ice Pop makes Misty look positively benign. For starters, it's not restricted to water decks but can (and does) go in any strategy. Looking at the top-performing decklists right now, it seems about half of them have a copy or two of this card. If you've got space for it in your deck, it's never a bad inclusion, since every so often it will outright turn a loss into a win.
Secondly, Lucky Ice Pop isn't a supporter card, which means there's little opportunity cost to using it. You're never making a tough choice between playing out Lucky Ice Pop or relying on a more reliable supporter, because you can do both.
Finally, Lucky Ice Pop has no fail state. When you play the card, you're always guaranteed to heal your active Pokémon 20 HP. This removes the major downside of most coin-flippers. While Misty could sometimes win you the game, she was just as likely to be a total dud and a waste of a spot in your hand. Team Rocket Grunt often needed two heads in a row to feel truly worthwhile, making its use a very risky gambit.
But while you'll be disappointed with a 20 HP heal knowing you could've had so much more, this is an effect we used to put in every deck without the promise of any upside.
Only time will tell how impactful Lucky Ice Pop will be - perhaps it'll be phased out of decks in the coming weeks, perhaps not. But it's easy to see why fans find this cursed confectionary a source of frustration.
Are you on team nerf Lucky Ice Pop or do you think the distress over this card is over the top? Let us know over on the Wargamer Discord.