One Hit KO

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there, this is Pikkdogs here with another Pikk Three article.  First, I have to apologize for not posting an article in a couple days.  I am just getting over a double ear infection that has had me in constant pain for about 5 days now.  I seem to be getting over it, but man those things hurt like the dickens.

Before I get into the Pikk Three article, I want to congratulate one of our www.onehitko.com readers for winning a Battle Roads with one of the deck lists on this website!  The reader (who has not revealed his name) won a BR this past weekend with the deck I made called, “Who Let The Dogs Out.”  A big congrats goes out to him.  If you would care to see the article and decklist, you can check it out  here.

Now lets time to review three cards: one that is a well known card, one that I feel is under-rated, and one from a new or un-released set.

The Staple- Reshiram BW

Description– Reshiram is a basic Fire Pokemon with 130 HP, a water weakness, and a 2 retreat cost.  Its first attack is called “Outrage”, and for CC it does 20 damage plus 10 more damage for each damage counter on Reshiram.  Its second attack is called “Blue Flare”, and for FFC it does 120 damage and you must discard two fire energies attached to Reshiram.

Analysis- Wow, 130 HP for a basic is something that we haven’t seen before.  The highest HP basics before Reshiram and Zekrom each had 100 HP (Dialga, Palkia, Snorlax, Rayquaza, etc…).   130 HP is awesome and should be enough to take a hit.  Not only can Reshiram take a hit, he can then deal it back to you.  If you don’t do 130 damage to him, his “outrage” attack will probably knock you out next turn.    Those things are awesome and make him a great Pokemon, but we haven’t even talked about his second attack yet.  For two fire energies and a colorless you can do 120 damage, and a discard of 2.  While we may have seem similar attacks like this in the past, none of them have been on a basic Pokemon with 130 HP.

Most people have been using Reshiram with Emboar Bw.  Emboar has the “Inferno Fandango” ability, which lets you attach as many fire energies as you want during your turn.  Other people have been using him with Typhlosion Prime.  Whoever you pair him with, it will be a dangerous combo.

From what I have seen Reshiboar is probably the best deck in the HGSS-on format.   If you cannot take Reshiram down in 1 turn, it is very hard to beat this deck.

Final Rating–9.25/10– Right now Reshiram is the gold standard for the HGSS-on format.  All decks are being measured by if they can beat Reshiboar, while that may change in the future, right now this deck is very hard to beat.

The Underdog- Noctowl HGSS 

Description– Noctowl is Stage 1 Pokemon with 90 HP, a weakness to lightning, a resistance to fighting, and a 1 retreat cost. Its only attack, “Extrasensory”, does 40 damage for CC, unless you have the same number of cards in hand as your opponent, in which case it will do 80 damage.  Its Poke-Power, “Night Sight”, lets you draw 1 card from the top of your deck.

Analysis- If you played this game for a over a year, you would have known the awesomeness that was Claydol Ge.  For those of you that don’t know, Claydol just sat on the bench and let you draw a lot of cards.  Noctowl is a far-cry from Claydol, but its the same principle.

Its stats aren’t very impressive, 90 HP is okay and a 1 retreat cost is good but not great.  Its attack is very iffy, it relies on you having to change your handsize to equal it with that of your opponent’s, which can be easy or difficult.

Even though Noctowl is akin to a round steak in the world of draw engines, a round steak is still better than going hungry.  With the format being as slow as it is, any kind of draw engine is a good thing to have.  I have tried out Noctowl, and have learned that if you have the room to add in Noctowl, you should do it.  It makes most decks more consistent.

Final Rating– 7/10- While its not for every deck, a lot of decks can benefit from this card.  It speeds up a lot of decks and makes them more consistent.

The Young Gun- Chandelure Red Collection

Just a note about this card.  Chandelure is a card that is coming out soon in the Japanese “Red Collection” set.   It has not been confirmed for release outside of Japan, but I think it will probably get here in the next set or two.

Description– Chandelure is a stage 2 Psychic Pokemon with 130 HP, a dark weakness, and a retreat cost of 2.  Its ability, “Shadow Curse” lets you put three damage counters on your opponents Pokemon in any way you like, at any 1 time during your turn.   Its attack is called “Mysterious Light” and does 50 damage for PPC, it also burns and confuses them.

Analysis- Well, talk about an exciting Pokemon card, this is it.  The ability to drop 3 damage counters a turn is amazing.  It brings a lot of combinations to mind, it could go with a lot of other cards.  The most notable is probably Mandibuzz BW.  But, it also works well with spread decks, though spread decks haven’t been seen in a while.

130 HP is good for a stage 2, and the dark weakness isn’t that bad.  The attack isn’t great, but is good enough.  The ability to burn and confuse the defending Pokemon is pretty good.

I think because of the versatility of this card it will get a lot of play.  Im not sure if it will last too long, but I think people will get very excited over this card, at least initially.  It could be a deck to contend with next season.

Final Rating– 8/10– Its impossible to guess how well this card will do, but I see a lot of potential.  Its ability is like 3 Crobat drops, Kingdra Prime might see a little play and his Poke-Power is only like 1 Crobat drop.

So thats what I think about these cards.  I’d love to hear your opinion, please leave them in the comment box.

So long and thanks for all the fish!

Category: Pikks Three | Tags: Chandelure Red Collection, Noctowl HGSS, Reshiram BW