GLC Update 1.6
Double Colorless Energy and Twin Energy are banned from Gym Leader Challenge.
Effective April 24, 2025 Double Colorless Energy and Twin Energy will be banned from Gym Leader Challenge format.
My Ban Philosophy
Gym Leader Challenge as a format is constantly growing and evolving. With each new set released, strategies are born and new combinations discovered. But at the crux of a non-rotating format like Gym Leader Challenge is an inherent issue: decks get faster, stronger and more efficient while the power-level of the format never resets via rotation. To keep the format in a healthy and enjoyable state, it is inevitable that some cards will need to be banned or “rotated” out when they no longer align with the newer cards.
As a general rule of thumb, I try to be as hands-off as possible with Gym Leader Challenge bans. I don’t want to micromanage the format to a point where we try to make every type equally balanced. That pursuit is not possible since we don’t design the cards ourselves! Not to mention, more bans makes it less fun to build decks and less inviting for new players. Nothing says “get me out of here” like a 100 card ban list (sorry YuGiOh). I also have no interest in designing a power level system like they are doing for Commander in Magic the Gathering. I firmly believe that simple is better for Gym Leader Challenge.
When working out bans, I also give preferential treatment to new cards over old ones. The reason for this is that new cards are easier to access while also reflecting the most recent design trends from Creatures. Rather than look at every new set and ask, “Which one of these cards is too strong for the format and deserves a ban?” I say, “Let’s do everything we can to incorporate these new cards into the format, and if we have to ban an old card to accommodate a new card, we’ll do that.”
It’s this guiding philosophy that led me to ban Forest of Giant Plants instead of Torterra BRS. It’s why I banned Research Lab instead of Archeops, and Duskull instead of Dusclops. And when you step back and look at cards like Forest of Giant Plants, Research Lab and Duskull, they all have one thing in common: they speed up the pace of the game by cheating evolution Pokémon into play. In a similar way, unrestricted double energies like Double Colorless Energy and Twin Energy speed up the pace of the game by allowing players to easily launch and stream powerful attacks that ought to be more challenging to access.
The Evolution of Colorless in GLC
Colorless decks have been powerful for a long time in Gym Leader Challenge, but most agree that things started getting problematic around the time Lost Origin and Silver Tempest were released in late 2022. Snorlax from Lost Origin redefined the power level of big basic Pokémon across the format with its impressive 150 HP and Thumping Snore attack that deals 180 damage for three Colorless Energy. Then, Archeops was released in Silver Tempest with its Primal Turbo Ability, which accelerates two Special Energy into play from the deck every turn. Archeops was consistently evolved into play on turn two thanks to Pokémon Research Lab, which enabled players to search their deck for an Archen and put it straight onto the bench. After a year of dominance, Pokémon Research Lab was banned from Gym Leader Challenge, which pressured players to find alternative routes to power up Snorlax and company.
After the Research Lab ban, Colorless rediscovered itself and continued to operate as a top (but more balanced) deck by relying heavily on Double Colorless Energy, Twin Energy, and Double Turbo Energy, which all provide two colorless Energy for a single Energy attachment. With its robust draw engine, Colorless decks were able to consistently stream Raihan and Mela to get an extra basic Energy attachment, then draw into one of their three double Energies to attach for turn. With access to Double Colorless Energy, Double Turbo Energy and Twin Energy, it was not uncommon to see Snorlax’s Thumping Snore attack powered up three or more times a game.
The power of Double Colorless and Twin Energy on full display during the Full Grip Games Journey Together $1,000 Tournament
The past year has seen more monumental gains for Colorless with the release of Fan Rotom from Stellar Crown and the Hop’s package from Journey Together. With Fan Rotom, Colorless decks are some of the most consistent decks in the format thanks to the Fan Call ability. And with Hop’s Cramorant and Hop’s Snorlax, Colorless decks now have access to even more powerful and efficient attackers to complement Snorlax from Lost Origin. The power and consistency of the modern Colorless build was put on full display at the Full Grip Games Journey Together $1000 cash event where 25% of the field was made up of Colorless decks and Ben Morse defeated Trevor Redding in an all-Colorless finals.
Banning Twin and DCE
With access to three very similar “double Energies,” it started to feel as if Colorless decks were playing by a different set of rules than every other type in GLC. While every other deck only has access to one of their most powerful cards (like Dragon decks with Double Dragon Energy) Colorless decks have access to three very powerful Special Energy that all functionally do the same thing. It’s like Colorless has access to three Double Dragon Energies. Not only is that against the spirit of a singleton format, it’s also just incredibly broken!
In Expanded format, the Pokémon Company has set a precedent by making it so that you can only play Lysandre or Boss’s Orders in your deck. Same with Professor’s Research / Professor Sycamore / Professor Juniper. Notably, the game design team at Pokémon has not gone through and put this clause on every card in the Expanded pool with a duplicate effect, just the ones that they deem too powerful to be played together. As the Gym Leader Challenge card pool grows, we will need to enact similar limitations on cards with similar effects that are too strong when played together.
In this instance it has become clear that having access to Double Colorless Energy, Twin Energy and Double Turbo Energy gives Colorless decks too much of an advantage, allowing them to skip too much of the typical Energy acceleration process that every other type has to abide by. Rather than give players the choice to select Double Colorless Energy, Double Turbo Energy or Twin Energy for their decks, I have decided that it is a cleaner solution to ban Double Colorless and Twin Energy all together. I can’t guaruntee that Creatures will not print Double Colorless Energy ever again, but if you look at their most recent design choices, it seems as if that is the case. All double Energies that have been printed since the Sun and Moon era have qualifications on them now. Even Twin Energy has a qualification on it, one that just doesn’t apply to Gym Leader Challenge. The new Rocket’s Energy only works on Rocket’s Pokémon. Rapid Strike Energy only works on Rapid Strike Pokémon, and Double Turbo Energy applies a -20 debuff to your attack. I’m confident that eliminating “unconditional double colorless Energy” from Gym Leader Challenge will help to align the format more with the most recent design trends of the Pokémon TCG, while also making the format more fun to play overall. And you know, a little nerf to Guzzlord in Dark isn’t such a bad thing either.
Conclusion
The Double Colorless Energy / Twin Energy ban comes at a unique time for Gym Leader Challenge. In just a couple of weeks, Gym Leader Challenge will be a mode that you can select to play with on the Pokémon Trading Card Game Live (for a limited time)! While TCGL does not support the entire Black and White onward card pool yet, it does have cards from Sun and Moon onward. Additionally, players in China are starting to play Gym Leader Challenge with a limited card pool, as their simplified Chinese cards only exist from Sun and Moon onward as well. While playing Gym Leader Challenge with a Sun and Moon on card pool, the overpowered nature of Double Colorless and Twin Energy are exacerbated, making their lack of balance more evident.
When conceptualizing this ban, think of it like this: Double Colorless Energy was printed during Base Set, Heart Gold Soul Silver, Black and White, X&Y then Sun and Moon. In the Sword and Shield block, Creatures printed Twin Energy instead of Double Colorless, clearly deciding that giving VMAX Pokémon access to unconditional double Energy was too strong. Then at the end of the Sword and Shield era, they printed Double Turbo Energy, which is their most recent revision of the double colorless Energy formula. This card has a -20 debuff on it, and in my eyes, is the most balanced double Energy for Gym Leader Challenge. So that will be the one that is legal for play.
Thank you so much for playing Gym Leader Challenge! Gym Leader Challenge is a grass roots format organized, played and enjoyed by people all around the world, just like you! It would be immensely appreciated if you shared this article and news of the new bans with Gym Leader Challenge players and fans in your area to help spread the word. As with any update to the format, my primary objective is to make sure that players are having fun and enjoying unique games of Pokémon with their friends and community. Thanks for reading!
