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.