Image courtesy of TCGdex.net
Matchup analysis: Aipom in the Scarlet & Violet era—how a Majestic Dawn staple stacks up against top-tier decks
⚡ In the ever-evolving world of the Pokémon TCG, nostalgia often meets modern strategy in surprising ways. Aipom, the simple Colorless Basic from the Majestic Dawn era, returns to the spotlight as a case study in how even smaller, seemingly modest cards can influence matchups when the meta tilts toward engineering draw and tempo. While Aipom (dp5-50) isn’t a current mainstay in standard or expanded formats, its two-attack kit—Collect and Hand Trick—offers a compact lens into how players think about resource management, tempo, and resilience in Scarlet & Violet environments where top-tier decks press for early pressure and sustained momentum. Let’s dive into what this little monkey brings to the table and how it can inform both nostalgic play and modern decision-making. 🎴
Aipom’s key statistics are a snapshot of its role: Basic Pokémon, Colorless type, HP 60, and a tiny stack of tricks that hinges on drawing, exiting, and re-entering the fray. The card’s illustration by Tomokazu Komiya carries that signature Majestic Dawn charm, a reminder of a time when simple bench management could feel elegant and purposeful. The set’s rarity—Common—speaks to its accessibility, though in today’s market, even common cards can carry a surprising amount of sentimental and collector value. The full profile—HP 60, Weakness to Fighting, Retreat 1—frames the strategic constraints: you’ll rarely win by sheer brute force, and you’ll need to play around its vulnerabilities. 🧭
Card profile at a glance
- Name: Aipom
- Set: Majestic Dawn (dp5)
- Rarity: Common
- HP: 60
- Type: Colorless
- Stage: Basic
- Attacks:
- Collect — Cost: Colorless. Effect: Draw a card.
- Hand Trick — Cost: Colorless, Colorless. Effect: Return Aipom and all cards attached to it to your hand. If you don’t have any Benched Pokémon, this attack does nothing. Damage: 20
- Weakness: Fighting (+10)
- Retreat: 1
- Illustrator: Tomokazu Komiya
- Legal in formats: Not standard or expanded (as of the current data), making it a nostalgia piece or a casual-format curiosity rather than a go-to in modern competition.
In Scarlet & Violet-era discussions, where top-tier decks emphasize speed, disruption, and prize pressure, Aipom’s draw engine via Collect becomes a fascinating thought experiment. The Hand Trick option is the real heart of the card’s tactical value: by returning Aipom and its attached cards to your hand, you effectively recycle resources and potentially set up another draw or attack window in a way that feels almost like a deliberate tempo stall—if you manage the board state carefully. It’s not a “turn win” move, but in the right circumstances, it buys you a moment to search, draw into answers, or prevent a knockout by reusing an already-spent resource. 🔎
Strategic takeaways for modern Scarlet & Violet play
- Tempo over brute force: Aipom’s 60 HP is a liability against most top-tier threats, which in Scarlet & Violet-era decks often rely on high-HP attackers or rapid evolution lines. Use Collect to smooth your draws, and consider Hand Trick as a tempo tool to recycle energy or trainer cards attached to Aipom, buying time to search for safer bench options.
- Bench discipline matters: The Hand Trick attack hinges on having Benched Pokémon. In a meta where early aggression punishes exposed basics, Aipom can stall briefly if you’ve prepared a solid bench with attackers or draw engines waiting in the wings. If you don’t have a bench to protect, the attack loses its value, so plan bench development accordingly. 🧱
- Weakness calculus: Fighting-type pressure can abound in top decks, so Aipom’s vulnerability is a constant risk. Don’t rely on Aipom to carry the matchup; view it as a draw-lever and a tempo shifter that can extend your ability to find answers to evolving threats.
- Build-around ideas (casual thought experiments): In a casual or theme deck that embraces older cards, you could pair Aipom with a simple draw engine and a couple of targeted techs to sustain hand size. The concept is less about overcoming the top-tier behemoths in one strike and more about ensuring you don’t stall out entirely when a key prize runs low.
From a market and collector lens, Aipom’s Majestic Dawn print holds a nostalgic charm. The card’s price data—TCGPlayer shows a spectrum for normal versions (low around $0.05, mid around $0.41, high around $1.99) with holo and reverse-holo variants adding shine for collectors—speaks to a healthy interest in the era as a whole. The holo printing, and the reverse holo variant, often command greater attention from fans who cherish the era’s distinct aesthetic. For investors and collectors, the card offers an approachable entry point into Majestic Dawn’s broader catalog, where state-of-the-art reprints aren’t dominating the market, and older art remains celebrated. 💎
Art and lore enthusiasts will appreciate Komiya’s work, which helps anchor Majestic Dawn in a period of Pokémon’s history that prioritized simpler, character-driven miniatures on cards. The card’s small footprint in competitive play today is offset by its storytelling weight: it’s a reminder of how far the game has come and how a single Basic can teach a lesson about patience, hand management, and the joy of drawing into possibilities. 🎨
For players who enjoy the “what-if” flavor of the TCG, Aipom offers a tiny sandbox: how would a deck built around hand manipulation and repeated draws fare against a fast, prize-driven strategy? The answer, in practice, is likely that Aipom acts as a curiosity rather than a core engine in Scarlet & Violet formats. Yet discussing it—through the lens of a beloved set and a thoughtful illustrator—reminds us why the game remains a mosaic of strategies, eras, and memories that still spark excitement in pockets of the community. 🎮
Market and collector snapshot
For those cataloging the broader Majestic Dawn era, Aipom’s value is more about collectible appeal than tournament viability. The card’s common status means there are plenty on the market, and its holo or reverse-holo variants often fetch a modest premium for collectors who adore Nostalgia Complete sets. The price trends reflect a quiet but steady interest in the era, with peaks tied to art appreciation, not just playability. If you’re chasing a complete Majestic Dawn collection, Aipom dp5-50 is a welcome, affordable piece that pairs well with the rest of the set’s cheerful, simple creature lineup. ⚡
As we tease the possibilities, let’s keep the heart of Pokémon TCG in focus: the fun of building, testing, and storytelling—whether you’re chasing meta dominance in Scarlet & Violet or revisiting a favorite card from decades past. Aipom reminds us that every piece of the puzzle matters; its tiny 60 HP and dual-attack toolkit can still spark big conversations about deckbuilding, timing, and the beauty of a well-timed draw. 💬
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