Maushold Damage-per-Energy Efficiency in Scarlet & Violet Meta

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Maushold card art from Paldean Fates (sv04.5)

Image courtesy of TCGdex.net

Analyzing Maushold's Damage-per-Energy Efficiency in the Scarlet & Violet Meta

Maushold has quietly become a fascinating case study in how damage per energy can swing a match, especially in the Paldean Fates era of Scarlet & Violet. This little Colorless Stage 1 Pokémon clocks in at a modest 70 HP, but its two attacks tell a bigger story about board presence, tempo, and the way players balance risk and reward when building around a card that scales with its own population. The concepts here are not just about raw damage; they’re about optimizing energy usage, bench management, and pivoting between early chip damage and explosive late-game finishes.

Card snapshot

  • Name: Maushold
  • Set: Paldean Fates (sv04.5)
  • Rarity: Uncommon
  • Stage: Stage 1
  • HP: 70
  • Type: Colorless
  • Attacks: Slap — 40 damage for 1 Colorless energy; Family Attack — 70× damage for each Maushold in play, for 2 Colorless energy
  • Illustrator: KIYOTAKA OSHIYAMA
  • Weakness: Not listed in the provided data
  • Evolution: Stage 1

Illustrated by the renowned KIYOTAKA OSHIYAMA, Maushold’s art captures the playful energy of a family of Pokémon ready to surge forward. The Paldean Fates set brings this motif to life with crisp lines and a sense of motion that mirrors the way fans watch Maushold’s damage scale escalate across turns. The card’s Uncommon rarity keeps it accessible for midrange decks, while its Regulation Mark G eligibility makes it a practical pick for both Standard and Expanded formats in the current rotation.

Damage-per-energy math: why this card becomes interesting as you populate the board

The math behind Maushold’s two attacks is the heart of its strategic allure. Slap costs a single Colorless energy and delivers a solid 40 damage—a respectable opening swing when you’re setting the tempo. But the real juice comes from Family Attack, which costs two Colorless energies but delivers 70 damage multiplied by the number of Maushold cards you have in play. In other words,:

  • With N Maushold in play, Family Attack deals 70 × N damage for 2 Energy.
  • That translates to an energy efficiency of 70×N / 2 = 35×N damage per energy for the Family Attack line.

Compare this to Slap’s 40 damage for 1 energy. Early on, Slap is clean and efficient, giving you a reliable 40-damage tempo with minimal setup. As you stage more Maushold on the bench and active line, Family Attack can eclipse Slap in a big way. For example, with just 2 Maushold in play, Family Attack hits 140 damage for 2 Energy (70×2), which equals 70 damage per energy—already superior to Slap’s 40 per energy. If you can push to 4 Maushold, you’re looking at 280 damage for 2 Energy, or 140 per energy. The trend is clear: the more Maushold you can safely populate, the more dramatic the energy efficiency becomes.

Of course, the trade-off is real. Family Attack demands two Energy and requires you to sustain board advantage, protect your benched Maushold, and defend against disruption. The payoff, however, is a potential one-turn knockout on an opponent’s vulnerable threat when you can assemble a sizable Maushold army in play. In the Scarlet & Violet meta, where big swings and tempo shifts are common, Maushold’s scaling attack can tilt the game by enabling a single, high-damage burst after a careful setup turn sequence.

Practical deck-building tips for maximizing efficiency

  • Energy acceleration matters: Since Family Attack costs two Colorless energy, you’ll want to pair Maushold with basic energy acceleration or Energy retrieval so you can put the two Energy on the same Pokémon quickly. Look for draw engines and energy-dense supporters that don’t disrupt your curve.
  • Bench-sustain and recovery: To keep Maushold flooding the bench, you’ll want cards that refill your bench space and re-establish Maushold when necessary. A streamlined approach is to keep a non-Maushold setup that can search and place additional Maushold onto the bench as needed, maintaining a strong supply for Family Attack.
  • Order matters: Because Family Attack references the number of Maushold in play across the field, you want to maximize the count before you swing. Timing your bench fills to align with the last-second opportunity to use Family Attack can be the difference between a KO and whiffing a heavy attack.
  • Protection against disruption: Maushold’s plan hinges on keeping at least a handful of copies on the field. Include counter-disruption options—articulate ways to protect your bench and to recover if your opponent disrupts your setup (e.g., targetted disruption removal or cards that heal or shield your main board).

From a collector’s viewpoint, Paldean Fates’ Maushold sits in a neat spot for players who want a scalable damage option that scales with a board state rather than a single-card power spike. The Uncommon rarity makes it relatively accessible, and the card’s set, logo, and dex number place it squarely among memorable Paldean-era staples. In market terms, the CardMarket data for this specific card (sv04.5-074) shows a low baseline price for non-holo variants, with holo versions typically commanding a higher premium. As of late 2025, the average non-holo has hovered around a few euro cents to a few tenths of a euro, while holo exhibits greater volatility. This trend reflects a broader appetite for Rainbow or holo variants—though the pure mechanics of Maushold’s Family Attack continue to reward a well-timed, well-populated bench rather than fancy foil styling alone.

“Maushold flips the script on damage math—you’re not just paying energy for 1 big hit, you’re paying for the potential of many little hits to add up to something decisive.”

Illustration aside, the card invites experimentation: how many Maushold can you safely support on your bench while maintaining pressure and keeping your opponent from stabilizing their own board? The answer will vary by matchup, but the underlying principle remains consistent: energy efficiency improves as your Maushold count grows, turning a two-energy attack into a scalable battlefield lever.

If you’re curious to explore a real-world setup that blends Maushold’s potential with reliable draw and energy acceleration, the Paldean Fates line offers a lot to test in casual formats and early-Season Standard metas. And for readers who want a tasteful, ergonomic workspace when you’re online testing builds, consider a practical accessory like the Ergonomic Memory Foam Wrist Rest Mouse Pad—because a comfortable setup helps you think clearly as you optimize damage-per-energy planning. ⚡🔥

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