One Hit KO

Editors Note:  This article was supposed to be published about a week or two before Nationals, but it was delayed.  Because of the fact that I am too lazy to update it, I will just publish it in the original form.  So if it seems like it was written 3 weeks ago, its because it was.

 

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a Pikk three article for you.  In case this is your first time at the rodeo, a Pikk Three article is like a big card review article.  I will review three cards for you, one card is a commonly used card in the format while another is a card that I feel is under-rated, and the final is a card that is from a new or yet unreleased set.  Before we get going I should introduce my extra-dimensional sidekick Pedro.  Hey Pedro.

How’s it going Pikkdogs?

Going well.  Hey Pikkdogs do you have a news article for us today?

Well, not so fast.  Listen, I have been your “sidekick” for about a year now.  I think it’s time that I get my own sidekick.

How would you get your own sidekick?  You don’t even write your own articles normally.  You are my sidekick and that is it.

How do you get a sidekick?  You suck.  You haven’t did well in a tournament in a long time.  In fact, the last time you top cut Kim Kardashian was still married.

That wasn’t bad, do you have some more of those?

The last time you top cut……………Larry King was only 20 years old.  The last time you top cut the pregame show of a basketball game on TNT was understandable.  The last time you top cut the History Channel actually had shows about history on it. 

Well, since I do appreciate the joke about the TNT pregame, I guess I can let you try out a sidekick for one article.  I still don’t know how that’s gonna work, but maybe you will surprise me.  Look for the Pedro Sidekick article in the future…………I guess.  No after that foolishness, let’s just get to the article.

Card #1 The Staple- Double Colorless Energy

Description– I usually don’t review energies, especially one as common as DCE, but I think it would be cool to take a closer look at it.  The effect of this special energy card is that it provides two units of colorless energy.

Analysis– DCE has been a very popular card ever since we heard it was coming out in Heart Gold Soul Silver.  It was first used to revive the Gardevoir and Gallade deck that was popular back in the old ex days.  This is kind of the bridge card between the ex and the EX era.  DCE never succeeded in bringing back Gardevoir and Gallade, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t successful.  It went on to  fuel the SP age with its work with Garchomp C.  The SP age is now over and DCE is still used in a myriad of different decks.

As mentioned, DCE is a very popular card today.  It is used with Pokemon like Zoroark, both the regular and EX versions of the Unova dragons, Mewtwo EX, and both the regular and EX versions of Tornadus.  I don’t really have to mention how successful Mewtwo EX and Tornadus have been, their success and their futures speak for themselves.

Not only is DCE instrumental in attacking, but it is very instrumental in retreating.  Eelektrik would not have been as near as successful as it has been if the Eelektrik player didn’t have DCE at his/her disposal to retreat the stage 1 Eel.  This makes DCE  very versatile, and if there is one thing that I like it is salted meats.  But, if there were two things that I like they would be salted meats and versatility.

It is hard to think of bad things about DCE.  The one that pops up into my head is that you can only run 4.  If you could run 7 or 8 I probably would.  Another bad thing is that it is a special energy that can be taken away with either Lost Remover or Enhanced Hammer.  People will be targeting your DCE with these removing cards, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t play the card, you just need to be careful and see the play coming.

Final Rating– 9.5/10– I love DCE, and I don’t think many people will disagree with me.  It is just a great versatile card.  No DCE is not perfect for every deck, but it works great with a lot of cards, and the cards that it does work with are great just because of DCE.  The format would be very different without it.  The SP age would never have been without it, and Mewtwo EX will not be as successful without it.

Card #2- The Underdog-Ruins of Alph

Description– Ruins of Alph is a simple card.  It is a stadium card.  The effect of this stadium card is that all resistances are ignored.

Analysis– Ruins of Alph was a joke card when it came out.  Nobody thought of using it and people laughed at the notion of using it.  As the format changed there was a little use for the card at some times.  I even played this card in my Donphan/Samurott deck last year at Nationals.  Since then it kind of dropped off the table, until now.  Now people are using it in a fighting deck to lessen the impact of a card like Tornadus EX.  Tornadus EX has a resistance that makes it hard to knock out, so fighting decks don’t have a fighting chance against Tornadus without Ruins of Alph.

As mentioned, today this card is mostly used in fighting decks.  With Ruins of Alph, Fighting Decks will have a great chance of beating almost any deck out there.  I don’t know why more people don’t use this card, without it Tornadus EX can beat the pants off of Terrakion and Groudon EX.  A lot of people who play fighting decks don’t use it, but they probably should think about this card.  If more people use this card Fighting decks would have a better chance against Dark and Electric decks, because they normally play Tornadus and Tornadus EX.

There are not many bad things about this card.  There are not really  any resistances on Terrakion and Groudon EX that will get you into trouble, so there is no drawback to playing this card.  You do sacrifice the amount of energy removal cards that you can run, but it is almost always better to do more damage than to remove energy.

Final Rating– 8/10-  This card is no longer a laughing matter, people should take this thing seriously.  I don’t think that I would play a fighting deck right now without Ruins of Alph, it is a needed card right now.

 

Card #3- The Young Gun- Boufallant Dragons Exalted

Description– One of the highly anticipated cards that will probably come out in our next set, Dragons Exalted, is Boufallant.  I don’t know where Pokemon gets their names from.  Most of the BW sets sounds like titles of Porn movies, this one kind of sounds like a rank in the Klu Klux Klan.

Anyway, let’s look at the Bouffalant.  It has 100 HP, is a basic, a 2 retreat cost, and has a fighting weakness.  The Ability is called “Afro Guard”, which sounds like the name of a militant terrorist group in the 1970s.  Although the name is terrible, it is a good Ability.  It is basically like a built in Eviolite, it reduces any attack by 20.  It has one attack called “Golden Break,” which costs CCC and does 60 damage.  The cool thing about this attack is that if the defending Pokemon is an EX, “Golden Break” does 120 damage instead of 60.

Analysis-  This is one of the most interesting cards that I have heard about in a while.  Although there is currently no hype about this card, that doesn’t mean that the good players aren’t waiting for this thing to come out.

Let’s start by looking at the basics.  100 HP isn’t that great, but its okay.  The 2 retreat cost is not that good, and the fighting weakness is terrible.  Those things don’t sound good, but the rest of the card is good.  “Afro Guard” is like a built in Eviolite, which is great, but the best thing is that you can also attach an Eviolite and stop 40 damage from each attack.  The fact that you can stop 40 damage each turn would make this un-OHKO-able except with Weakness and Zekrom EX/Reshiram EX.  The attack is also very interesting.  Almost every deck runs Double Colorless Energy, so Bouffalant will be able to get powered up in just 2 turns.  If you run energy acceleration like Eelektrik you can get it going in one turn without too much luck.  Doing 60 damage for 3 energies is not good, but doing 120 damage to an EX is good.  Even with an Eviolite, no EX can survive 2 “Golden  Break” attacks.  It is a great tech in case you run up against a non-fighting EX.

I think this card will get some play when it is released.  It is good against a ton of EXs like Darkrai, Tornadus, Entei, Mewtwo, Kyurem, Zekrom, and others.  It would be very good in a CMT or Zekrom deck as a tech against rogue EX decks.  It may not be a card that jumps out at you, but if you do play it at a tournament you will find a lot of use for it.

The bad thing about this card is the fighting weakness.  Cards like Terrakion, Terrakion EX, and Groudon EX will make quick work of Boufallant before it can get a knockout.  So if you plan to struggle against fighting decks, don’t rely on Bouffalant.  But, if you have a good match-up against fighting decks already, Boufallant will not be a huge liability for you.

Final Rating– 7.75/10– Right now it is just a rogue tech, but if the format changes so that fighting decks aren’t played as much, it would be a very very very good card.  Right now it is just a good tech choice.

                                     

Well, that is all I have to say, do you want to end the article with a news story?  Or are you going to insult me again?

Both are pretty enticing, but I will go with the news story.  Foxnews.com is reporting that archeologists believe they have excavated an English Renaissance theater that they believe is The Curtain, the theater that Shakespeare first used before he used The Globe.  This is a great find because Shakespeare wrote plays that are the basis for a lot of the crap movies that Hollywood produces these days. 

Of course.   There are few movies crappier than  Romeo Must Die and Shakespeare in Love.  Where would Hollywood find all the inspiration for this crap if it wasn’t for Shakespeare?

I’m sure that they would find ways to screw other movies up, they seem to like to make Spiderman movies with redheads playing Gwen Stacey and blondes playing Mary Jane Watson. 

I wonder what the qualification is for adapting works of writing into movies?  Probably a second grade reading level and a love of tv shows like Sex and the City,

Sounds right.  Have a good night everybody. 

 

 

Category: Pikks Three | Tags: