January 2012

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Kyurem NV, Jumpluff HGSS, and Pokemon Center

Pikkdogs January 25, 2012 19 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there.  This is Pikkdogs here with a Pikk Three article for you.  I don’t expect to hear anything about the next set until Thursday or Friday, so while we wait for all the card scans and the official list, let’s do a Pikk Three article.  This time it will be an old school Pikk Three, with one card that is used a lot, one card that I feel is under-rated, and one card is from a new or yet to be released set.  But first, I must introduce my extra-dimensionary sidekick, Pedro.  Hey Pedro?

Yo.

I was thinking-

That’s a first.

Will you let me talk for one moment.  Geez, extra-dimensionary sidekicks ya can’t live with em, ya can’t destroy their interdimensionary portholes.  As I was saying, I was thinking that since you have been with me on my articles for so long, there are probably new readers who don’t know much about you. 

Could be.

So, why don’t you re-introduce yourself so that new readers will know who you are, and it won’t be so weird. 

I think the ship has sailed on the weird thing, but I’ll go along with it.  I am a half human/ half alien humanoid from a different dimension.  I sometimes write articles with Pikkdogs to help him out.  Things are a lot funnier when I’m around, and I can be here to knock him down once he starts to get proud or boastful. 

True.  But, what it all comes down to is that you are my sidekick.  You assist me as I write articles.  You are the Ed McMahon to my Johnny Carson.

Or, the Lamar Odom to your Khloe Kardashian.

I guess, but I thnk it’s more like the Robin to my Batman.

I see it more as the Ava Braun to your Hitler. 

Hey! How come in my examples I am Batman and Johnny Carson, and in yours I am a Kardashian and Hitler?

Hey, I just go with what I know man.  I don’t  look that good either.  I get to be an old guy that is known for giving away money, a little above average basketball player who is married to the big Kardashian , and  a young guy who always wears spandex.  Come to think of it, I could get used to the Spandex.

I’m sure you could,but, I don’t wanna hear it. Let’s just do the article. 

The Staple-Kyurem

Description– Kyurem is the long lost brother to the Unova Dragons, Reshiram and Zekrom.  His card is just about the same as the other dragons.  He has 130 HP, he has a 2 retreat cost, and he has the “Outrage” attack.  Unlike the other dragons, Kyurem is a Water Pokemon, is weak to metal, and has the “Glaciate” attack.  “Glaciate” spreads 30 damage for WWC. 

Analysis– Reshiram and Zekrom have had so much success so far that is always great to have a little more of the Unova dragons.  If a little is good, more is better. 

This card has seen a lot of play despite the fact that it has only been in the format for the City Championship season.  It saw play in three different decks.  It first saw play in a Donphan and Dragons deck.  This deck already used the other 2 dragons to soak up damage counters and reflect them onto the opponent, so Kyurem was a logical fit here.  It gave the user a lot better matchup against fire decks, such as Reshiphlosion.  It could really maximize the potential of “Outrage” without needing to rely on the fickle “Glaciate” attack.  Next, the card saw play in the CaKE deck.  This deck used Electrode Prime to bring together Kyurem and Cobalion NV.  The deck was versatile and maximized the potential of both Kyurem and Cobalion.  The problem was that it wasn’t as consistent as some other decks, and didn’t have the best matchups ever.  It survives today as a good deck, just not the best one.  The third deck it saw play in was the Six Corners deck.  This is a very strange deck that uses the Unova Dragons and Virizion NV as the basics for a deck that is able to take advantage of weakness on nearly every deck that it plays against.  In this deck, Kyurem again served as more of an “Outrage” attacker, and only used “Glaciate” when absolutley neccessary.  I do not see much of a future for Six Corners because the format is becoming smaller and less diverse. 

The stats of this card are very similar to the other dragons.  Of course, 130 HP and the “Outrage” attack are a deadly combo.  This card is weak to metal, which is good, but not as good as it was without Cobalion NV in the format.  With just the “Outrage” attack, Kyurem was destined to see some play.  But the key to it seeing long lasting play is “Glaciate”.  I never liked this attack.  Sure if you can get this attack off 4 times you probably have just won the game, but it rarely is that simple.  Some decks have healing or damage counter moving abilities that would mess with this strategy.  Other decks would take away Kyurem before it could attack more than once or twice.  Because the attack takes three energies, it will be hard to get more than 1 or 2 powered up in one game.  You could use Pokemon like Feraligatr Prime for energy acceleration, but that just leads to more problems than it solves.  I never really liked this card for more than the “Outrage” effect. 

The bad things about Kyurem are as follows.  Firstly, Cobalion can hit it for weakness, this is not a huge problem, unless Cobalion becomes a widely played  anti-Mewtwo EX tech.  The last negative about Kyurem is the “Glaciate” attack.  I just don’t think it is on the same level as “Blue Flare” and “Bolt Strike”.  The spread has been dead for a long time, and this card does nothing to bring it back. 

Final Rating– 7.75/10– Although “Glaciate” is a dissapointment, “Outrage” is still perhaps the best attack in the game,  It can always fill a roll for hitting fire Pokemon for weakness, even though it is not the main attacker that Reshiram and Zekrom are. 

The Underdog-Jumpluff HGSS

Description– It’s hard to believe that Jumpluff has never been in a Pikk Three.  It has been in the format forever and seems to be the elder statesman of the card pool.  It is a stage 2 Grass Pokemon with 90 HP, a weakness to fire, and a free retreat cost.  It has two attacks that both cost one grass energy.  The  second one, “Leaf Guard”, does 30 damage and reduces damage done to him next turn by 30.  The first attack, “Mass Attack”, does 10 damage for every Pokemon in play. 

Analysis– Jumpluff has been in the game a long time and has an impressive resume.  When it first came out,it had its own deck.  The Jumpluff deck was one of the best decks around, it ran lots of Claydol GE and Uxie LA.  It had draw power that is light years ahead of anything that we currently have in the format.  It was a fast deck, and needed to be,, since it needed to replace a Jumpluff each turn.  Because it only had 90 HP, the Jumpluff player knew that he/she might be in a prize race.  So, the goal was to always have a Jumpluff on the bench waiting for next turn, because both players could take 6 prizes in around 7-8 turns.  It was a really good deck, but it left the format once Claydol GE was rotated out.  The next deck for Jumpluff was in a rogue Vileplume deck after Unleashed came out.  It didn’t do that well, and was only a weird rogue play.  Then, during this season the card saw play in a Mew Prime deck.  It gave the deck the attacking power that it was missing.  It was a good deck for a while, but never won anything of note.  It left the format as quickly as it came.  So, Jumpluff stands here today waiting to possibly recapture its former glory.  The question is, can it be done in a Mewtwo EX dominated format?

Before we answer that question, let’s look at the stats.  Of course, 90 HP is terrible for a stage 2.  The fire weakness is not good with Reshiram around.  All Reshiram needs to do is have 3 damge counters on it, and it can OHKO Jumpluff for a DCE.  However, Jumpluff makes up for being fraile by the fact that he attacks very quickly.  Jumpluff will be ready with just 1 energy, and can do up to 120 damage!  He may be fragile, but he can sure attack quickly and hard when needed. 

I really think that Jumpluff needs some more hype in the upcoming format.  Although he has been around for a long time and his playability has been low for over a year, he might have a second wind when Mewtwo EX comes out.  I don’t think that Jumpluff will ever see itself in a deck like it did in a Claydol format, but I do think it can still win with Mew Prime.  If you put Jumpluff in the Lost Zone, Mew Prime can use “Mass Attack” and hit Mewtwo EX for weakness.  That means that there only needs to be a total of 9 Pokemon in play to OHKO Mewtwo EX, or less if you factor in Plus Powers.  Since you only need to knock out Mewtwo EX 2 or 3 times to win, Mew Prime and Jumpluff seem like a great Tag Team to get rid of Mewtwo EX. 

This combo is not perfect, you do need a first turn “See Off” to get Jumpluff in the Lost Zone in time. Mew Prime is also very fragile, and is vulnerable to any attack that Mewtwo can throw at it.   What is also unknown, is what this combo will do when it goes against non-Mewtwo EX decks.  Will it be able to “See Off” something else?  Will it need something like Donphan Prime to keep it in the game?  There are still loads of questions to be answered. 

haha, loads

Final Rating–8/10– It has yet to be proven if this combo can work on Mewtwo EX, or the format as a whole.  But, it does show a lot of promise.  Remember, you don’t need to match Mewtwo EX blow for blow, you just need to get 2 or 3 good attacks off on him.  Right now nothing is sure about the coming format, but if it is Mewtwo EX dominate, Mew and Jumpluff could become fast friends. 

The Young Gun- Pokemon Center

Description– Pokemon Center is a stadium card that will probably be released in the set after Next Destinies, though it still could come out in ND.  Don’t get this card mixed up with the Base Set trainer card of the same name, that card did something like Blissey Prime’s Poke-Power.  This card is different, it is a stadium card.  The effect of the card is that once during your turn you can choose one of your benched Pokemon and remove 2 damage counters from it. 

Analysis– The format is low on healing right now, especially quick and consistent healing.  It is also very low on Stadium cards, so it is possible that this card is just what the format needs. 

Healing 20 from your Pokemon is always a good thing, and you get to do it each turn for only the use of 1 Stadium card.  It is very good for Pokemon like Donphan, because Donphan Prime damages its own bench.  It also would be good for Ross Decks, because they have the problem of damage counters that pile up.  Even if you don’t have a deck made  for healing you almost always will want to get rid of damage counters when possible.

One thing about this card that makes it possibly not as playable, is the fact that you cannot heal your active Pokemon.  If you want to do so, you would need to use a card like Switch, use the effect of the stadium card, and then retreat for the attacker.  It is a complicated process that probably won’t consistently work. 

Another bad thing about this deck is that both sides can play it.  This means that your opponent could get just as much help from it as you will.  It is possible that this card may help you more than your opponent, but it always have the potential of doing the opposite. 

I do like this card and I think it will have its use.  It may never be a staple, but I think I could see a couple decks using this card.  I love when new mechanics are added to the game, like healing and milling, so I am happy to see this card see some play.  It also is nice to see a stadium card out there, after no stadium card has made a real impact since Broken Time Space.   

Final Rating–7.25/10– Not a great card that everyone will use, but it will see play and it will be a really fun card. 

Well, that’s all I got for today, why don’t you close out the article Pedro?

Okay, today we have a news topic to discuss before we leave.  In the world of entertainment, the American Bus Association, one of my favorite orgainizations, has asked Priceline.com to pull a commercial that shows spokeman William Shatner dying in an exploding bus.  I say that it will take more than a bus explosion to kill Captain Kirk.  Is he your favorite Star Trek captain Pikkdogs?

Nope.

So you’re a Picard guy then?

Well I do love Picard, and Archer and Kirk are great, but I gotta go with Captain Pike as my favorite. 

Pike?  He was in like one episode. 

Well, two actually.  But, he was still a cool captain.  Known for being very brave. 

Sure he was, but so were the other three.  You are crazy to like Pike, nobody likes Pike. 

Didn’t we know that already? 

I guess so.   What is your favorite Star Trek series. 

I of course have to go with The Next Generation, but I do like the others.  I didn’t get to see much of Deep Space Nine, but let me tell ya, Voyegar is pretty under-rated.

Voyager.  That’s not a good series.  The only thing it had going for it was Jerri Ryan in a one piece outift.

So, what’s your point?  Jerri Ryan in a tight suit is more than enough to sustain a series. 

I guess.  Good night everybody.