Archives: Featured Card

The Featured Card category contains reviews of notable cards from the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Featured Card(s): Reshiram/Zekrom (B&W)

Yeah, I realize my last Featured Card was done back in August, so this time I’m actually going to have two Featured Cards! What better cards to review than Reshiram and Zekrom from the recently released Black & White set? Both cards are very similar, yet they’re different enough to where I can make an interesting article. Both cards are projected to be in major decks in the HG/SS-on format, but how do they stack up?

Sorry, I currently don’t have access to a scanner, so no scans this time. When I do, I will edit this post to include them.

Reshiram
Type: Fire
HP: 130
Basic Pokemon

[C][C] Outrage 20+
Does 10 more damage for each damage counter on this Pokemon.
[R][R][C] Blue Flame 120
Discard 2 Fire Energy attached to this Pokemon.

Weakness: Water (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2

Zekrom
Type: Lightning
HP: 130
Basic Pokemon

[C][C] Outrage 20+
Does 10 more damage for each damage counter on this Pokemon.
[L][L][C] Bolt Strike 120
This Pokemon does 40 damage to itself.

Weakness: Fighting (x2)
Resistance: none
Retreat: 2

Analysis

HP
Both Reshiram and Zekrom have 130 HP, which is huge for Basic Pokemon! They can definitely withstand several attacks before they get KO’d. They can also withstand each other’s big attack (without PlusPower).

Weakness
Reshiram: Water Weakness isn’t terrible, so you should not have to worry about it too much.
Zekrom: Fighting Weakness isn’t bad, but watch out for Donphan Prime!

Resistance
Both dragons have no Resistance, so let’s move on.

Retreat
Both Reshiram and Zekrom have to discard two Energy to retreat. I’d advise using Switch, or Dodrio from Undaunted.

Attacks

Outrage: Both dragons have this attack, which can do some serious damage if their HP’s are low enough. Since they each have 130 HP, this attack can do up to 140 damage for a Double Colorless Energy.

Blue Flare (Reshiram), Bolt Strike (Zekrom): Both attacks can do 120 damage for three Energy, which is great for Basics, but unfortunately have drawbacks. Reshiram has you discarding two Fire Energy, while Zekrom does 40 damage to itself. Depending on the deck you’re facing and how you’ve built your deck, these drawbacks may be a non-factor. Ways to overcome these drawbacks will be listed in the Combos section.

Combos

Reshiram

Emboar (Ability): With Emboar’s Inferno Fandango Ability, you can use Blue Flare just about every turn. Just attach two more Fire Energy with Emboar, and you’re good to go. Also, it can help if you happen to lose a Reshiram by being able to set up a new one almost instantly.

Energy Retrieval: Going along with Emboar, Energy Retrieval gives you two basic Energy from your discard pile and puts them back into your hand, which you can immediately attach with Emboar.

Typhlosion Prime: Typhlosion can attach a Fire Energy from your discard pile to one of your Pokemon, at the cost of one damage counter on the Pokemon you attach the Energy to. You can actually fuel both of Reshiram’s attacks using Typhlosion’s Poke-Power, damage for Outrage, or Energy for Blue Flare.

Zekrom

Pachirisu (Call of Legends)/Shaymin (Undaunted): This combo can give you access to Bolt Strike as early as Turn 1! First, put Pachirisu on your Bench, then use it’s Poke-Power to attach two Lightning Energy to Pachirisu, then put down Shaymin and use it’s Celebration Wind to move the Lightning Energy to Zekrom, attach another Energy, and then Bolt Strike! Quite a combo!

Reuniclus/Seeker/Super Scoop Up: If Zekrom survives your opponent’s attack after you use Bolt Strike, you can use Reuniclus’s Damage Swap Ability to move damage counters off of Zekrom and onto something like Pachirisu, Shaymin, or even another Zekrom, and then use Seeker or Super Scoop Up to return that Pokemon to your hand and remove that damage. Reuniclus may not be the best thing to add to a Zekrom deck, but it’s at least worth looking at.

Ratings

Modified (HG/SS-on): Reshiram has things slightly better than Zekrom in regards to not dealing damage to itself, but it sets up slower than Zekrom. I can see both of them doing very well in tournaments, however, which one will be more popular has yet to be seen. 8/10 for both.
Modified (MD-on): With the current Modified format, Zekrom is much better than Reshiram since it doesn’t need Evolved Pokemon for support. I can see Zekrom taking a few Battle Roads this spring, however, Reshiram just can’t compete in this speed based format. 8/10 Zekrom, 5/10 Reshiram.

Conclusion

All three versions of these two cards are exactly the same except for artwork. Both Reshiram and Zekrom are easily accessible since they both come in tins, as well as being relatively easy to pull from the Black and White set.

Feel free to leave comments on this article. You can also request a card to be reviewed in this thread.

Featured Card: Umbreon (Undaunted)

I went to a Prerelease for Undaunted this past Saturday and played in the Theme Deck Challenge that was offered. (I posted a thread on the forums with the lists for both decks here) I decided to go with the Nightfall deck, since it apparently had better cards. The Featured Card this time is the cover card of the Nightfall deck, Umbreon. And yes, the foil in this scan is similar to the one used on the Rotom in Rising Rivals, and this is unique to the theme decks. The Umbreon (and Espeon) you pull from Undaunted packs will have the regular foil background.

Analysis

HP: 90 is pretty good for a Stage 1 Pokemon. Expert Belt will increase it to 110, which can help.

Weakness: Fighting is not a very good Weakness to have, as Machamp (SF) and Donphan Prime can both OHKO it.

Resistance: Psychic is a good Resistance to have, as there are still a fair amount of Psychic Pokemon played.

Retreat: One is good, and since Umbreon doesn’t need much Energy to attack, I’d just pay the cost, although you can use Moonlight Stadium to reduce it to zero.

Moonlight Fang: One Energy for 30 damage is really good for a Stage 1, and you can use Special Darkness Energy to increase the damage done by 10 for each one (up to 70!). Even better, it grants Umbreon the ability to prevent everything done to it by attacks from Pokemon with Poke-Powers and Poke-Bodies. With a majority of popular tournament level Pokemon having either, there’s a good chance you can keep Umbreon in play for a long time. Unfortunately, Machamp still gets right through Umbreon’s defense (unless the opponent leveled it up).

Quick Blow: Just a basic Quick Attack-type attack. 60 is really good for two Energy (more with Special Darkness Energy attached), but suffers from requiring a coin flip. In my opinion, just use Moonlight Fang over and over again. At least it gives Umbreon a chance to stay around longer.

Combos

Pokemon Reversal/PokeBlower: Just use either one of these to drag out a Pokemon with both a hefty Retreat Cost and either a Poke-Power or Poke-Body and just keep using Moonlight Fang. Your opponent’s Pokemon can’t retaliate unless they can switch it out.

Espeon/Umbreon from Majestic Dawn: Espeon gives all Eeveelutions 20 more HP, while Umbreon gives all Eeveelutions no Weakness and no Retreat cost. Since you would already be playing Eevees, why not add these guys to help support this Umbreon?

Ratings

Modified: This card just doesn’t have the muscle to take on Machamp, Gyarados, and Jumpluff, not to mention these Pokemon have no Poke-Powers or Poke-Bodies, so Moonlight Fang just doesn’t work against them. Umbreon, however, can stand up to Gengar, as all Gengars that are used in tournament play have Poke-Powers and are weak to Darkness types, but they can usually go around Umbreon and attack your Bench.  5/10

Conclusion

Umbreon is probably best used as a stalling Pokemon while you build up your main attacker.

Also, don’t forget that you can suggest a card for me to review here.

Featured Card: Uxie (Legends Awakened)

Regular visitors to the forums may or may not have noticed the Card of the Week feature in the TCG section. It has been renamed Featured Card, even though the change hasn’t been reflected in the forums yet. A complaint that I have gotten in the past was because I wasn’t reviewing a card every week, and I sometimes went months between articles. Another change is that it will be published on the front page here from now on instead of on the forums. My past articles will still be there, so check those out if you want to.

Anyway, the featured card this time is Uxie from Legends Awakened. As mentioned in my Claydol article, draw power will be scarce in the next format, and many say that Uxie will be more necessary than before. In this article, I’ll go over what makes Uxie one of the best cards in the game, and why it may see more play next format.

One of the complaints I got was the lack of scans in my articles. Starting today, that will change! This is the League promo version of the card, in case you didn’t know.

Analysis

HP: 70 is pretty good for a non-evolving Basic. It’s 10 out of range of Gengar’s (SF) Shadow Room, but unfortunately can be taken out by Machamp (SF), Garchomp C lv. X, as well as Raikou & Entei Legend in one shot.

Weakness: Psychic is a common Weakness, so be very careful.

Resistance: Nothing to talk about here…

Retreat: One is pretty good for a Basic, so pay it if you have to.

Set Up: Being able to draw up to seven cards can help you set up faster (hence the name of the Poke-Power). The only downsides to this are the fact that it can only be used when you play Uxie from your hand onto your Bench, and if you play against SP decks, Power Spray totally screws up this Poke-Power. There are ways to reuse this Poke-Power, which I’ll explain in the Combos section.

Psychic Restore: Being able to do 20 for one Energy of any type is pretty good. Being able to put Uxie on the bottom of your deck so you can reuse Set Up is even better. This is also one of the only damaging attacks in the current Modified format that can Knock Out a Gengar (Stormfront) without triggering Gengar’s Fainting Spell Poke-Power. Basically you place Uxie on the bottom of your deck, and since Uxie is no longer in play, Fainting Spell doesn’t have a target, therefore rendering it useless.

Combos

PlusPower, Expert Belt: These two cards add damage to attacks, and both have drawbacks. One way around these drawbacks is to attach these cards to Uxie, use Psychic Restore, and send these cards to the bottom of the deck with Uxie, therefore you can reuse these cards later.

Underground Expedition: With this card, you look at the bottom four cards of your deck, choose two to add to your hand and two to return to the bottom of your deck. Assuming that your opponent doesn’t make you shuffle your deck via Judge, you can grab your Psychic Restored Uxie and use it again.

Night Teleporter: Like with Claydol last time, using this and getting heads can get you Uxie, then you play Uxie down and get a fresh hand of seven. If you try this strategy against SP decks, watch out for Power Spray, as that card totally destroys the strategy.

Ratings

Modified (current): With Claydol in the format, Uxie isn’t as necessary in a majority of decks. It can still grab you cards you probably couldn’t have with Claydol otherwise. 7/10

Modified (after September 1st): Uxie will see much more play here, since Claydol will be gone. I expect Uxie to be run in threes in most decks with it’s Level X form as the fourth Uxie allowed. 9/10

Conclusion

Uxie can definitely help out in setting up your stategy. It will become much more useful in September, so if you have a League near you, there’s still a chance that you can get your hands on a set of four before they run out (not to mention that Leagues are a great way to practice with your deck, and maybe get some pointers).

Feel free to leave comments on this article. You can also request a card to be reviewed in this thread.