Pansage Inclusion Rate Across Deck Archetypes in Pokémon TCG

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Pansage card art from Darkness Ablaze

Image courtesy of TCGdex.net

A Closer Look at Pansage’s Role Across Deck Archetypes in the Pokémon TCG

In the vast landscape of the Pokémon TCG, even a modest Basic like Pansage can spark a surprising discussion about inclusion rate across different deck archetypes. This particular card—the Grass-type Pansage from Darkness Ablaze (set swsh3), illustrated by Mina Nakai—presents a classic case study: how a Common, 60 HP beater with two modest attacks finds a niche, and why it often sits on the bench rather than in the active lineup. Its low energy requirements, combined with a flavor that centers on berries and friendship, invites both practical strategy and collector curiosity ⚡💎.

Card snapshot: what makes Pansage tick

  • Type: Grass
  • Stage: Basic
  • HP: 60
  • Attacks: Seed Bomb (Grass) for 10; Bite (Colorless, Colorless) for 20
  • Weakness: Fire ×2
  • Retreat: 1
  • Rarity: Common
  • Set: Darkness Ablaze (swsh3)
  • Regulation: Marked D (Expanded legal; not standard)
  • Illustrator: Mina Nakai
  • Flavor text: "It's good at finding berries and gathers them from all over. It's kind enough to share them with friends."

From a gameplay standpoint, Seed Bomb is an approachable one-energy Grass attack that can help apply early pressure, while Bite provides a second, lower-cost option to finish off weakened threats or pressure low-HP Pokémon. The 60 HP stat means Pansage is especially vulnerable to faster threats, and the Fire weakness becomes a real consideration in expanded formats whereFire-type attackers can loom large. Because Pansage sits in the Expanded pool but not Standard, its practical inclusion rate will reflect the cadence of Expanded-era decks rather than the current standard-rotation meta ⚡🎴.

Why inclusion rate matters—and how Pansage fits the bill

Inclusion rate isn’t just about raw power; it’s about tempo, cost, and the flavor you want to mentor in your deck. Pansage embodies a few key dynamics that influence where it shows up:

  • Cost and tempo: A one-Energy Seed Bomb is appealing for early-game tempo in Expanded decks that can reliably accelerate Grass energy or use low-energy draws. However, with a punishing Fire weakness and a modest 60 HP, Pansage is often a supplementary piece rather than a battleline cornerstone.
  • Expanded-only legality: Regulation Mark D means this card can’t shine in Standard decks, narrowing the field to Expanded archetypes where older Grass lines and berry-themed synergy can occasionally pull it into more casual or budget-focused builds.
  • Rarity and accessibility: As a Common card, Pansage is plentiful in bulk and easy for players to obtain, lowering entry barriers for theme decks, casual play, and collector-oriented plays that celebrate Mina Nakai’s art rather than raw power.

These factors combine to give Pansage a modest but tangible presence in Expanded decks—roughly consistent as a budget bench option in small-grit Grass strategies, and occasionally included in theme-driven builds that lean into berry motifs or family-friendly aesthetics. In practical terms, expect a small but steady inclusion rate in Expanded lists, with noticeable dips in more competitive, high-pressure Grassy archetypes that rely on higher-HP basics or stronger transitions.

Archetype breakdown: where Pansage might appear

  1. Budget Grass decks (Expanded): Pansage can fill a bench slot while a stronger Grass attacker powers up. Its low energy cost aligns with fast-energy strategies that prefer tempo over brute force. A few discarded or recycled berries in the flavor text vibe can be echoed in deck themes, making Pansage feel thematically on-point ⚡.
  2. Berry-themed or flavor-forward lists: The card’s lore about finding berries makes it a natural fit for decks that lean into “berries” as a motif or storytelling through cards that reward berry-search or berry-sharing synergy. Even if the practical impact is light, the thematic resonance can push inclusion in novelty builds.
  3. Bench-filler lines for evolving stages: In Expanded formats that still value a diverse bench, Pansage’s Basic status makes it a convenient stepping stone toward more powerful evolutions, even if it isn’t the star of the show.
  4. Budget collectors’ curiosities: Beyond play, the card’s artwork by Mina Nakai and its common rarity make it a popular print for collectors assembling Darkness Ablaze-themed sets or mixed-grip collections that celebrate the era’s art direction.
  5. Market-driven inclusions in non-meta lists: With price points often observed in the pennies to dimes range in markets like EUR and USD, Pansage offers a low-risk, low-commitment slot for players experimenting with Expanded decks without big financial exposure.

For collectors and players chasing price-to-performance balance, the card’s market spread—where normal cards hover around a few cents but with occasional spikes—suggests that Pansage is more about accessibility and theme than about bang-for-buck power in this era. Current pricing snapshots show typical market values in the pennies to tenths of a dollar range, with rare outliers in non-holo or misprinted variants—still a friendly target for budget-minded builds 💎🎨.

Art, lore, and the collector’s eye

Mina Nakai’s illustration for Pansage captures a friendly forest vibe that aligns perfectly with the card’s flavor text. The soft humor of a Pokémon that gathers berries and generously shares them with friends translates well into a deck-building mindset: support your team, keep the bench humming, and cherish the little wins that accumulate over a match. The Darkness Ablaze era offered a bright palette and cozy character moments, which collectors often seek out when curating themed sets. This is not just a gameplay card; it’s a little piece of the story that many players enjoy adding to their binders 🎴.

When you’re thinking about how often Pansage appears in an expanded lineup, remember that its value to a deck rests more on tone and tempo than on raw damage output. It’s a storyteller’s card as much as a playable one—and in the right, laid-back Expanded list, it can help knit a theme together while you chase the bigger wins later in the game.

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