CARD INFORMATION

SUBTYPES:
- Basic
HP: 70
TYPES:
- Darkness
EVOLVES TO:
- Krokorok
WEAKNESSES:
- TYPE: Grass
- VALUE: ×2
RETREATCOST:
- Colorless
- Colorless
RETREAT COST: 2
RARITY: Illustration Rare
FLAVOR TEXT: They live buried in the sands of the desert. The sun-warmed sands prevent their body temperature from dropping.
REGULATIONMARK: I

CARD ABILITIES

This card has no abilities

CARD ATTACKS

NAME: Tighten Up
COST:
- Darkness
ENERGY COST: 1
DAMAGE: 10
DETAILS: Your opponent discards a card from their hand.

MARKET PRICES FOR SANDILE 💰

Last updated: 2025/11/21

HIGH	19.99	USD
MID	5.66	USD	TREND
LOW	5.33	USD

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Sandile from Black Bolt enters the competitive scene as a disruptive Basic Darkness-type that can pressure your opponent's hand.

With a modest 70 HP and the ability to evolve into Krokorok, this little desert dweller might seem unassuming at first glance, but its hand disruption potential makes it worth a closer look for players seeking to control their opponent's resources.

Offensive rating: 3/10

Sandile's offensive capabilities are quite limited.

Its single attack, Tighten Up, deals a mere 10 damage for one Darkness energy, which is far below the damage-to-energy ratio needed to threaten KOs in the current meta.

However, the attack includes a disruptive effect that forces your opponent to discard a card from their hand.

This disruption can occasionally snag a key card, but since your opponent chooses what to discard, its impact is often minimal.

Against decks that rely heavily on specific combo pieces or have limited card draw, this effect becomes more valuable, but the negligible damage output severely limits Sandile's offensive presence.

Survival rating: 3/10

With just 70 HP, Sandile falls into the lower tier of Basic Pokémon durability.

This health pool makes it extremely vulnerable to being one-shot by most developed attackers in the current format.

Its Grass weakness is problematic in metas where Grass-type attackers are prevalent, turning even modest attacks into guaranteed KOs.

A retreat cost of two energy is relatively high for such a fragile Pokémon, potentially leaving it stranded in the active position after its disruptive attack.

Sandile offers no built-in defensive abilities or effects to improve its survivability, making it a liability against aggressive decks that can quickly capitalize on easy Prize cards.

Versatility rating: 4/10

Sandile's versatility stems primarily from its typing and evolutionary potential rather than its immediate impact.

As a Darkness-type Basic, it can be incorporated into decks that leverage Dark-type support.

Its evolution into Krokorok (and presumably Krookodile) gives it a pathway to greater utility, though this requires additional cards and setup time.

The hand disruption effect provides a niche function that can occasionally disrupt combo-oriented opponents, but since the opponent chooses what to discard, its effectiveness varies wildly depending on the matchup and game state.

Overall, Sandile functions primarily as an evolution stepping stone rather than a versatile tech option.

Speed/Setup rating: 7/10

Sandile scores decently in the setup category due to its status as a Basic Pokémon, requiring no evolutionary prerequisites to hit the field.

It's immediately playable on turn one and can start applying its disruptive pressure right away with just a single Darkness energy.

This allows it to slot into strategies that aim to limit opponent resources early in the game.

Its accessibility through standard Pokémon search cards like Quick Ball or Ultra Ball makes it consistently available when needed.

However, if your strategy involves evolving Sandile into its higher forms, additional setup time will be required, reducing its speed advantage significantly.

To maximize Sandile's effectiveness, pair it with cards that amplify hand disruption, protect it from being KO'd easily, or accelerate its evolution.

Darkness energy acceleration and cards that increase the impact of discard effects can turn this modest Basic into a more meaningful threat within a coordinated strategy.

Perfect Partners examples:

Marnie

This Supporter card complements Sandile's hand disruption by shuffling your opponent's hand and giving them a smaller hand, making their discard choice from Tighten Up more impactful and potentially forcing them to discard key resources.

Scoop Up Net

Allows you to return Sandile to your hand after using its attack, protecting it from being knocked out while preserving your energy investment and enabling reuse of its disruptive effect without requiring retreat costs.

Rare Candy

Skip evolving into Krokorok by going straight to Krookodile from Sandile, accelerating your evolutionary line and quickly getting to the more powerful stage 2 Pokémon while bypassing the vulnerability of the middle evolution stage.

Sandile occupies a peculiar space in the competitive landscape.

Its disruptive capability gives it a niche role in controlling strategies, but its low damage output and fragile defenses make it difficult to justify as a standalone attacker.

Where this card shines is as an evolution base in Darkness-type strategies or as an early-game disruptor that can occasionally steal tempo by forcing a critical discard.

To leverage Sandile effectively, focus on quickly evolving it into its stronger forms or pairing it with additional hand disruption tools to amplify its modest pressure.

In the current high-powered meta, Sandile's best use comes in decks that can protect it while capitalizing on its evolution line or in very specific metagame situations where early hand disruption creates meaningful advantage.