Pikks Three

Pikkdogs Pikks Three Future Card Edition: Mew EX, Terrakion EX, and Garchomp

Pikkdogs July 13, 2012 1 Comment

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there. This is Pikkdogs here with a special Pikk three article for you. This Pikk Three article is not special because it has to take classes in school away from the rest of the class, it is special because it is all about cards that are coming out in the Dragons Exalted set. This set will come out early in August, but the pre-releases start in just a couple weeks. We do not know for sure what cards will be coming out in the set, but we do have some that are confirmed. Luckily for us the ones that are confirmed are pretty good. So let’s take a look at three of the better cards coming out in Dragons Exalted. I regret to inform you that Pedro will not be joining me on this article. Pedro is on vacation this week, so he will be off for a while. I also will probably not be making articles regularly, so bare with us during our vacations. Because this article is about cards that don’t always have official English scans, I will put in pictures of things I ate from my summer vacation. I know it doesn’t make sense, but if you have ever seen this site before you will know that things rarely make sense.

Card #1 Mew EX

Description– Mew EX is a 120 HP Psychic EX basic Pokemon with a psychic weakness and a 1 retreat cost. It has an Ability that is translated as “Versatile”, this let’s Mew EX use the attacks of all the Pokemon in play. It also has one attack that is translated as “Replace”, for one energy this attack let’s you move energy on your side of the field any way you want.

Analysis– Mew EX is a very interesting card. It has one of the lowest HP of any EX Pokemon, but people are still excited for the card. I haven’t heard many people making decks for it yet, but I have heard people saying that they wanted to put it in existing decks. It is a card that people are wanting to play with, so I think it should have a bright future.

Let’s take a look at the basic stats. 120 HP is very poor for an EX. The 1 retreat cost is very good, but the weakness is bad. For right now the career of Mew EX will be measured by how it can do against Mewtwo EX. Since Mewtwo EX is one of the best Pokemon out right now and it is psychic weak, Mew will have to deal with Mewtwo EX first. His attack is cool but not really something that would cause anybody to play him more. Sure Shaymin UL made a career of doing the exact same thing, but doing it as a Poke-Power is different than doing it as an attack. What everybody is talking about is the Ability. Having the ability to use either your opponent’s attack or one of your attacks and hit Mewtwo and Gothitelle for weakness will be a huge thing in the next format. It is something that you will need to plan for, you can’t just splash it into any deck, but if used right, Mew EX could be a great tool for you.

The big question now is, “what is the best situation for Mew EX.” If used wrong, Mew EX will just be an easy 2 prize for your opponent so you must use it carefully. He won’t be a good starter, so don’t plan to use a lot of copies of this card. I could see this card being used in something like an Emboar deck. If you are using Emboar to put energies on Reshiram and Entei EX, than you can easily fit in Mew EX to use one of your fire Pokemon’s attacks to hit Mewtwo EX for weakness. It would also be a cool thing to copy Tornadus EX’s attack to get an easy attack off.

There are going to be good uses for Mew EX, but I think that it also has a lot of bad things about it. The low HP means that a lot of good Pokemon can OHKO it easily. The retreat cost also gets me, if it has such a low HP you think they would at least give ya free retreat. The attack also does not really get you out of trouble if you are in any. Also, the fact that Mewtwo EX can also be used to counter other Mewtwo EXs also might hurt Mew EX.

All things considered, I think that Mew EX will see a lot of play. It is much more versatile than Mewtwo EX, and in an era where Pokemon Techs will be key, Mew EX will be one of the better ones. It is almost always going to be helpful to you if you play it, I really like the card.

Final Rating–8/10– It is hard to give a rating to a card that has not came out yet in a format that is not yet finalized, but this is a good guess. I think there will be room for Mew in this format, and that the use of this guy will be handy for a lot of decks out there. It seems like one of those cards that gives you a lot of options that a lot of the good players will use.

Card #2 Terrakion EX

Description– Terrakion EX is a 180 HP basic fighting type EX Pokemon with a 3 retreat cost and a weakness to grass. It’s first attack is called “Rock Tumble” and it does 50 damage for FC. This damage is not effected by resistance, this is a great effect to have with Tornadus and Tornadus EX still running around. The second attack is called “Pump Smash”, and if Pedro were here he might tell you that “Pump Smash” was the name of a movie he just saw. Anyway, this attack does 90 damaged and lets you attach 2 basic energies from your hand to any of your Pokemon.

Analysis– There has been some hype about this Pokemon. With Eelektrik decks still popular a lot of people are wanting to make better fighting decks, and Terrakion EX can sure make these decks better. As long as lightning decks don’t fall off of the face of the planet Terrakion EX should see a lot of play initially. The second attack on Terrakion EX makes me think a lot, but I guess we can talk more about that later.

Let us look at the basic stats. 180 HP seems to be the normal for big guy EXs, so that is good. The retreat cost could be better, but it is expected in a Terrakion card, so nothing new there. The grass weakness right now is really good, that could change but right now it looks good. The attacks are pretty good and can be used in a couple different ways. Overall the stats look very good on this guy and the playability looks good for the near future.

Initially I was just going to say that I think that this is a good card for fighting decks to do a lot of damage to counter lightning decks. It would be a big tank that could do a lot of damage and take hits. But, I think with the effect of the second attack this card has the potential to be something much different. Not many cards can deal a lot of damage and then attach 2 energy cards. This can open a lot of different opportunities for decks with Terrakion EX in it. I am much too dumb of a player to suggest a good Pokemon to run with Terrakion, but I think that there has to be another good Pokemon that you can combine Terrakion EX with, besides the normal fighting Pokemon. Even if there is not a big combo out there with Terrakion EX, I am sure that he will still be a great card.

Final Rating– 8.5/10– I see great things in the future for Terrakion EX. I am not sure exactly how it will play out, but I do think that this card will see a lot of play. Not only in mono-fighting decks, but in some different decks. I can see this card being in some tool boxey like deck, kind of like the Troll deck was last season. I could see Terrakion EX being a good starter in a deck that features a lot of different Pokemon. The ability to attach two energies from your hand after you do your big attack is just an amazing ability that opens up so many options for you. I don’t quite know what is in the future for this guy, but I know that it is all good things.

Card #3 Garchomp

Description– Garchomp is a 140 HP stage 2 Dragon Pokemon with a dragon weakness and a 1 retreat cost. It has two attacks. The first attack is called “Mach Cut”, this does 60 damage for F and lets you discard a special energy card attached to the defending Pokemon. The second attack is called “Dragonblade”, and does 100 damage for FW and forces you to mill two cards.

Analysis– The stats of this card get me excited. The 140 HP might not sound great in the BBP era, but it is good for a stage 2. The 1 retreat cost is very good for a non bird 140 HP Pokemon. So those things are very positive. It does have a dragon weakness, I am not sure how good or bad that will be since that is a new frontier for all of us. It sounds like with Rayquaza EX and this Garchomp running loose it could be a bad weakness, but we never know. I like both attacks. The first attack does 60 damage for one energy and discards an energy from the defending Pokemon, this is not a game changing attack, but it is good. The second attack does 100 damage for two energies and a mill of 2. The two energy attack is good, 100 damage is good because with 2 Plus Powers you should be able to 2HKO any Eviolited EX. I do not like the mill of two however, if you do it a couple times a game you should be okay, but if you are thinking of using this attack over 3 times a game you will be discarding a lot of good resources, and that will eventually hurt you. All of these attacks could get a lot better with the new Altaria (if it comes out in the next set), because he will increase the attacks by 20 damage. This should get you doing serious damage for 1 energy and an assured 2HKO on an EX for your two energy attack.

I like this Pokemon. With some good attacks that only cost one and two energies, you should have a pretty efficient deck. There has been some hype with this card. I have not heard a whole heck of a lot about this card in terms of exact plans, but I know that some people have been hyping Garchomp/Altaria. It should be a cool deck and a good card. Like I said before, it is really hard to forecast how good new cards will be in a new format, but I do think that this should be a good card.

I am kind of hesitant about this card though. It is a stage 2. As a rule of thumb for the last format you should stay away from stage 2s. The BBP do get a little better in the new format, but then again the format does get a little slower, so maybe Stage 2s will be a little playable. But, just make sure that your deck is fast and consistent if you are putting a stage 2 and some stage 1s in it. The jury is still out in evolutions in the BW-on format, but if any non-drawing deck can work, it could be this one.

As mentioned, the prevailing wisdom with this card is that it should be paired with Altaria from this set. Altaria is a stage 1 Pokemon that adds 20 damage to each attack by your Dragon type Pokmeon, this extra 20 damage could be stackable (we are still waiting on an official translation). With 3 Altaria’s in play you can do 120 damage for just 1 energy with Garchomp, and you can still discard a special energy attached to the defending! If you can get this deck setup and going on any regular basis you should be really good.

Final Rating– 8.25/10– I do like this card, but I am not quite sure about it. It should be a good card and deck, but I am not ready to step out and say that it will be. A lot of good players that I have talked to our anxious to test this card and get it going, so that should be a good thing for this card. Garchomp also seems to be fairly versatile, so it does not just have to be in a deck with Altaria. I think it could be in a cool tool box like deck if you worked it right. The future of this card is all in front of it, it should be a bright future. Just be careful about relying on Garchomp as your main attacker, those 2 cards you discard will eventually end up costing your resources if you keep on using the 2nd attack.

Well, that’s all I got to say

So long and thanks for all the fish!

Pikks Three

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Double Colorless Energy, Ruins of Alph, and Boufallant Dragons Exalted

Pikkdogs July 3, 2012 5 Comments

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.

Pikks Three Professor Cup

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Professor Cup Special: Seismitoad, Zebstrika ND, and Archaeops

Pikkdogs June 6, 2012 18 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there. This is Pikkdogs here with a special edition of Pikkdogs Pikks Three. This time we will be taking a look at three cards that will be good for the professor cup format this year at Nationals. Before we talk about to much we gotta do a disclaimer.

NOTE: EVERYTHING IN THIS ARTICLE IS NOT ABOUT THE MODIFIED FORMAT, IT IS ABOUT THE PROFESSOR CUP WHICH HAS SPECIAL RULES.

The rules for the professor cup are always a little bit different, this year we have rules that are very different. The first rule is that the format is Call of Legends on, only CL and Black and White set cards can be used. The second rule is that basic Pokemon are illegal. The third rule is that Stage 1’s are treated as basics and Stage 2’s are treated as Stage 1’s. That means you can start with a stage 1, and then evolve once into a stage 2. These rules make the format different and it should be a lot of fun. Before we talk about some cards for the format, let us say hi to my sidekick Pedro. Hey Pedro.

Hey Pikkdogs.

Do you have any news for us Pedro?

Well, it seems that it has finally come upon us.

What? Nationals?

No, the Zombie Apcolaypse. It seems that many newstories lately are linking up to hint that Zombies are already on the loose. First, a weekend or so ago a man in Miami was arrested for eating a man’s face, and would not stop eating even though the police shot him. A second zombie sighting did happen in Florida a week or so ago when a doctor was arrested by police officers. Apparently they could not restrain him with regular methods and he began spitting blood at the officers. A third story comes from New Jersey where a man is accused of throwing his own intestines at police officers. There is actually a fourth story. The Center for Disease Control released a pamphlett that contains survival tips if a Zombie Apocalypse did happen. Some are speculating that radioactive tuna found off the coast of California is the source for the current Zombie sightings. Do you think the Zombie Apocalypse is upon us Pikkdogs?

Of course not. All these instances can be explained. The story in New Jersey is not a zombie, because we know from watching Jersey Shore that all people from Jersey behave that way. The CDC was not insinuating that there could be a zombie event, they were trying to use it as a tongue-in-cheek metaphor for other disasters.

Well, then what about the face eating guy in Miami?

He was just hungry. Face is traditinally a good tasting part of the animal.

Well, I guess. Maybe the Zombie Apocalypse isn’t upon us. Did you see any Zombies the last time you went to Florida?

Nope.

Do you like it down there?

Yes……………..and I also like Florida.

I see what you did there. Do you like the Zombies?

Zombies are pretty cool. At least Zombies are always evil and badass, not like what modern people have done to Vampires. I haven’t heard about a Zombie love story yet.

True. We should get you an inter-dimensional porthold sometime so we could visit a dimension that is overun by zombies. Its a good summer vacation.

Sure.

Should we do it tomorrow?

No, busy.

Day after?

Gotta work.

Feasel day?

No, that’s when we take the children to see the feasels.

Why are we acting out a Cosby show sketch?

I guess we’re board, let’s just move onto another article.

Card #1 Seismitoad

Description– Seismitoad is perhaps the most hyped attacker in the Professor Cup format. In this format he is a stage 1 with 140 HP, a grass weakness, and a 3 retreat cost. The attack that everyone is talking about is “Round”, which does 30 damage times the amount of attackers that have the “Round” attack that you have in play.

Analysis– Let’s look at the stats here. 140 HP is very good in this EX-less format. The grass weakness will be no problem, and the three retreat cost is not great but it is workable attack in a deck that has many one energy card attackers.

Seismitoad will be in a deck that is all about the “Round” attack. I know something about being round, and it is a good thing. There are 2 other attackers that also have the “Round” attack, and in this format they are all basics. Since most of your attackers have CC attacks, you will be able to setup fast and attack fast. All of the bad things about the “Round” deck in the Modified Format are now gone in the Professor Cup format. Seismitoad should be a great attacker in this format, and it is well deserving of all the hype.

The operation of this deck should be fairly simple. This deck should have a bunch of Dual Balls and Pokemon Collectors to get you a bunch of “Round” attackers on turn 1. You might wanna start with Wigglytuff because he can attack on turn 1 without any energy acceleration. On turn 2 you can evolve into Seismitoad and start doing a lot of damage. The 140 HP is very good in this format and should be able to keep you alive in the format for a while.

There are some bad things about Seismitoad. The first is that Archeops is almost broken in this format, and Archeops can stop Seismitoad from hitting the board. Even though the “Round” deck is not dead without evolutions, it does hurt the deck. The 3 energy retreat cost is also fairly bad for Seismitoad. However, there is room enough in the “Round” deck to fit in some Switches, so it shouldn’t be too bad.

Final Rating–8.5/10-The Seismitoad “Round” deck will probably be the most popular deck during the Professor Cup. Although Archeops can hurt the deck, it is still one of the most solid decks in the format.

Card #2 Zebstrika ND

Description– The current format doesn’t really have a good deck that contains trainer lock, but the Professor Cup format does. Zebstrika ND has 90 HP, a fighting weakness, and a free retreat cost. It is a basic Pokemon in this format. It has two attacks. The first one is “Disconnect” and does 40 damage for LC and stops your opponent from playing trainer cards during his/her next turn. The second attack is called “Lightning Crash” and let’s you snipe for 80 for LLC while discarding all energy attached to Zebstrika.

Analysis– Zebstrika does not seem like a great Pokemon, but if you can deny your opponent the use of trainers for the entire game, you have a large advantage. Let’s start this analysis by looking at the basics.

90 HP is bad, but workable on what is now a basic. The fighting weakness is actually not bad in the Professor Cup format, so no problem there. The retreat cost is great, so that’s always a plus. So the stats are very workable.

Most people are thinking of pairing Zebstrika with Eelektrik. With a little help, the now basic Eelektrik can power up a Zebstrika on turn 1 and get the trainer lock going. Sniping for 80 is not a great thing, but if you do run evolutions, it could be a good way to take away Archeops. Discarding energy is not a big deal, because you can just use a bunch of Dual Balls for two Eelektriks and a Zebstrika, attach an energy to the Zebstrika and attach 2 more from the discard pile, and you are back to possibly doing 80 damage again. So these Pokemon do work well together.

It would be nice if there were a third Pokemon that could work in this deck to hit harder, but it may be able to work without another attacker. It is a great deck that is very fast and consistent, it should be able to work very well at the Professor Cup. The nice thing about this deck is that there is room for your own personal touch in it, so you can adjust it to your playstyle.

The bad thing about Zebstrika is the low 90 HP. It can now take advantage of Eviolite, but that still doesn’t do a lot of damage. The other bad part of this deck is that it can be a little challenging to get a lightning energy in the discard pile on turn 1, but if you make your deck for this purpose, you should be able to accomplish the task.

Final Rating– 8/10– This may not be a deck that has all the answers just yet, but it has a solid foundation. If you were to come up with some cool ideas and test it a lot, you could go deep into the Top Cut rounds.

Card #3- Archeops

Description– It is almost a crime that Archeops is a basic in this format. Archeops is a 130 HP basic Pokemon with a 2 retreat cost and a grass weakness. Its attack is called “Rock Slide” and does 60 damage for FFC and let’s you snipe two Pokemon for 10 each. The Pokemon is being hyped right now because of the Ability. It is called “Ancient Power” and does not let either player use Evolutions.

Analysis– Archeops is great at what it does, but it also leaves some questions for whoever plays it. Unlike the other two cards in this article, Archeops is not something to build your deck around. It is more of a tech against any stage 1 that you might come across. We don’t really know what kind of crazy decks you will see at the Professor Cup, but Archeops is sure to help protect you from most of them.

Archeops is cool because it is very splashable. Most people think of Archeops as a stage 2 in modified format, because that is what he would have been last year in Modified. But, now the fossil mechanics are different, while these rules changes have not affected the modified format whatsoever, they are now effecting the Professor Cup. Because we are by-passing the fossil mechanic because Archen no longer exists in the Professor Cup format, Archeops can be searched with cards like Dual Ball and Pokemon Collectors. That means you can easily get rid of all evolutions with just a basic Pokemon.

I am not sure what kind of decks Archeops is best in, but I do know that if I played a deck that did not contain one evolution, I would run Archeops without a second thought. It is just too good of a card not to run. It seems to protect you against almost every deck out there, all those good Stage 1s (Stage 2s) that are easy to get out now will be of no concern to you. He should be good in most decks.

There are some bad things about Archeops. The worst thing is his retreat cost. For some reason a bird Pokemon has a 2 retreat cost. This makes it very hard to retreat Archeops if your deck does not run DCE. You can run Skyarrow Bridge to turn the retreat cost to one, but that may take up more spots than you want to. The other bad thing about Archeops is that the attack is fairly poor. You are not going to want to spend the time of loading three energies on Archeops just go 60 damage. It would be nice if this guy could attack, but he is not here as an attacker anyway, so he can still be very playable.

Final Rating– 8.75/10– A very splashable versatile tech that can be very helpful. Yes the retreat cost sucks and it will hurt the deck if you start with this card, but overall it is a great card. It may not be in every deck in the Professor Cup, but it will be played a lot. As long as you don’t play any evolutions, you pretty much have to play this card.

Conclusion

Although I am not a professor and will not play in the Professor Cup, I still think the format is pretty cool. I kind of wish that I was able to play in this format, it should be really fun for all you professors. The cup will also be cool because you can win some cool prizes and stuff that is not available up to us normal players. Just one more hint, if you play in the cup but are not a professor, don’t tell everybody on Six Prizes that you aren’t. It didn’t work out too well for the last guy that did that.

Well, that’s all I got to say about these cards. Why don’t you wrap up the article Pedro?

Okay. Justin Bieber has been in the news lately. First, over the Memorial Day weekend he was brought to an L.A. police station for questioning because a paparazi accused Bieber of punching him. Then just a couple days later the Biebs left the country and headed to Norway. The Norweigian military was brought in to deal with the crowds of people effected with Bieber-Fever. So many people descended on the Scandanavian country that they could barely contain the crowds.

I think this reflects poorly on Norway. If you can’t contain a bunch of teenage girls, you shouldn’t be in the armed forces.

But these aren’t just any teenage girls, these are Bieber fans. You know that Bieber fans are a rowdy bunch of girls. They are of course known for starting many bar fights, and beating up the cops and stuff like that.

I think I could take a couple Bieber fans.

But then they’d probably have to take you to jail for rape.

I guess, there is that. Good Night everybody!

Pikks Three

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Dark Explorers Edition: Espeon DE, Hooligans Jim and Cass, and Raikou EX

Pikkdogs May 6, 2012 6 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there. Since we are in the time right before serious testing is about to start for Spring Battle Roads, I thought it would be a good time to do a Pikk Three article. This is a special Dark Explorers edition of Pikk Three, we will showcase some of the more interesting cards from the Dark Explorers set that I haven’t talked about yet.

But first, we must bring in Pedro because if we don’t, I think the government will have to start paying him unemployment. So its easier if we let him speak. Hey Pedro.

Yo.

Hey Pedro, you have been doing a lot of news articles lately, why don’t you try a this day in history.

Because I don’t know which day it will be published?

Well, just pick a day.

Okay, on this day, May 5th, John T. Scopes was arrested for teaching Darwinism. What followed was one of the more highly publicized trials of its day. The trial was nicknamed the Scopes Monkey Trial. Pikkdogs, you were once on trial for a crime that included monkeys weren’t you?

Well it’s best not to talk about that.

I guess. Do you like the evolution?

I’m a skeptic. I don’t not believe in it, but I’m not 100% sold on it either. It does make some sense, but then again there are some HUGE holes in it. Who knows what happened, I wasn’t there.

I don’t much like the evolution talk. But, when we talk about early man, we can show the picture of Raquel Welch in a fur bikini from the movie “One Million Years B.C.” because that was about early man.

Okay, show it.

Yep, much better than the Scopes Monkey Trial.

True, time to get on with the article.

Card #1 Espeon DE.

Description– Espeon is a stage 1 Psychic Pokemon with 90 HP, a 1 retreat cost, and a psychic weakness. Its Ability is called “Solar Revelation” and it stops all effects of attacks on any of your Pokemon that have energy on them. The attack is just okay. It is called “Psy Report” and it does 60 damage for PCC and lets you look at your opponents hand.

Analysis– Since Espeon has had no hype prior to its release, why don’t we go to the stats? The stats of Espeon are fairly bad. The one retreat cost is good, but it goes downhill from there. The weakness is terrible and the HP is terrible. It is a free prize to almost any deck.

The Ability is what we came here for. The ability to stop effects of attacks can be great. There doesn’t seem to be a great reason to use it right now, but this baby sure has potential to be used in the future. It is a good Ability to have, it reminds me a lot of Pokemon three years ago with Unown G. Unown G worked as a tool card that did the same thing as Espeon, but it was better since it was a basic Pokemon that didn’t really have to be on the field.

The attack of Espeon is not that great. Even though I will take a look at my opponent’s hand if you give me a free one, it is not a great thing to do normally. 60 damage is very low in this format, its not even that much if you double it against Mewtwo EX.

So we got the basics out of the way, let’s talk about if we think it will see some play. I already said that it could have some good uses in the future, which it could. But, it is hard to really rate based on potential. I do see some possible play with Mewtwo EX. If in the near future special conditions rule the format, than Espeon will be a great tech. Possibly there will be a good paralysis or burn deck out there that works well on EXs. It does have potential, but its not a great choice right now.

Final Rating– 5.75. Could be a good card in the future. Even though you shouldn’t keep it close to you, do not keep it too far away, it could be a good card if the format changes just a little bit.

Card#2- Holligans Jim and Cas

Description– HJC is a supporter card that is very unlike most supporters in the format. When you play it you get to flip a coin, if you get heads you can choose 3 random cards from your opponent’s hand and have your opponent shuffle them back into the deck. If you get tails, you get to swear in frustration.

Analysis– This is a very interesting card. We haven’t had much disruption in the game for about a year, so its nice to see the format get more versatile.

HJC didn’t get any hype before its release, and nobody talked about it being in any deck. So there’s not much to talk about in this category.

As I mentioned, disruption is not really something we have in this format. There are a couple cards like Weavile that can do the disruption, but it is yet to prove that it can be a viable deck. So, the question is; “will HJC be good enough to resurrect disruption?” While disruption is one of the best strategies in a TCG, I don’t feel that this card is consistent enough.

The problem with this card is not the 3 card max. Three cards are good. The problem is also not that you don’t get to see what cards you are sending back, with three chances you have a decent shot of getting something good with the low hand sizes in this format. The problem is also not that the cards go back in the deck, the discard pile would be better, but just getting it out of the hand is good enough. The problem is the coin flip. You have a 50 percent chance of it not working. In Pokemon you have to have a glass half empty philosophy, you just can’t count on luck to always bail you out. You need to rely on what will work 100% of the time, not 50%.

So, I think the lack of consistency will hurt this card. Does that mean that it will not be played? I don’t think so, other cards have worked that include a coin flip, so its not like all the odds are against HJC. But, this card just seems to be so all or nothing that it could be hard to get any consistency with it. If you do want to try it, maybe make a disruption deck that was popular at last year’s nationals (Ambipom and Weavile), and see if the deck is any better now.

Final Rating– 5/10– There is potential here for this card to be better, just not a lot. I don’t see this card doing well in the near future.

Card #3- Raikou EX

Description– Everybody went cockahoop when I didn’t put Raikou in my ten most impactful cards article. So, I decided it deserved another look, maybe it is a good card.

It is a basic lightning EX Pokemon with 170 HP, a 1 retreat cost, and a fighting weakness. The first attack isn’t that great. “Thunder Fang” does 30 damage for LC and lets you flip a coin, if you get heads you can paralyze the defending. The second attack is much better. “Volt Bolt” is hard to say 5 times fast, and lets you snipe for 100 and discard all energy attached.

Analysis– There was a small amount of hype when Raikou was announced, but not a whole lot. Some people thought he could be a good addition to the Zekrom deck. They didn’t think it was the best ever, but with Skyarrow Bridge and Eelektrik they thought it might work.

Let’s look at the stats. 170 and 1 retreat cost is normal for an EX, not bad. The fighting weakness could be really bad, but we will have to see if fighting Pokmeon become a big thing. The attacks aren’t bad, so the stats of this card aren’t that bad.

I do agree that this could be a good card in Zekrom. The 1 retreat goes well with Skyarrow Bridge if you would want to put it in this deck, that would make up for the discarding. Of course anything that uses electric energy works well with Eelektrik. The ability to snipe is something that is always nice to have. One good thing about this card in Zekrom is that it is fairly splashable. Using this card wouldn’t screw up consistency or anything like that, it is an easy fit. Plus, it is always nice to have the ability to paralyze, just in case you run into some weird rogue deck.

The reason that I didn’t include this card in my top 10 list is that I don’t think he will really impact the Zekrom deck at all, and I don’t see him making his own deck. Players can already play Zapdos, and that has a sniping attack. So, sniping is not something new in a Zekrom deck, there already is a sniping element there. Even if you find that Raikou is better than Zapdos, it still doesn’t really change the deck or make it that much better. The deck may be better with Raikou than without (or may not), but its not going to be that much better. With or without Raikou the deck will go on and be the same as it always was.

I also do not think that sniping is that important these days. There are no bench sitters these days, and in the rare event that you do want to hit someone for the bench, you can just run one of those little known cards called Pokemon Catcher. With Catcher there is no real reason to really want to snipe a lot, it is nice to do it in certain situations, but it could be nice. I just don’t think that being “nice” is very impactful.

Now, I am not badmouthing Raikou. I do think that it is a good card. Doing 100 damage with a 1 retreat is nice. I could see a couple chain of attacks going on with a couple Raikous and three Eelektrik. I could see it doing well in Zekrom. It could be a very successful card, but I just don’t classify it as “impactful.”

Final Rating–8/10- It is a decent card, it just doesn’t seem like the best EX out there right now. There are other options out there like Zekrom EX, he does 50 more damage for his big attack than Zekrom. So, I would just rather use Zekrom and Pokemon Catcher than Raikou. The best move for this format may be to add 1 or 2 Raikous to your Zekrom deck, but its not really going to push Zekrom over the top or anything like that.

Well, that was another below average article for us. Why don’t you end it with something exciting Pedro.

Alright, our final bit of news comes from the world of technology. It seems that scientists and robotics experts in Switzerland have created robots that you can control with your mind. Apparently, the Swiss scientists are designing these robots so that paralyzed people can still do things like open doors and stuff like that by just using brainwaves. Do you want a mind controlled robot Pikkdogs?

Of course. That’s like asking “who wants ice cream?” Everybody wants ice cream, and everybody wants a mind controlled robot.

What would you do with your mind controlled robot.

Probably teach him to fight.

Like that Hugh Jackman movie, “Real Steel.”

Love that movie, it was like Rocky but with robots. And if there was one thing that was missing from Rocky it was giant boxing robots.

Yeah, I think that that movie proved that all movies should have giant fighting robots in it. Movies are just better with giant robots.

Yeah, what if “Gone with the Wind” had robots in it, than whatever that was gone with the wind probably wouldn’t go.

And all those “Sex and the City” movies. The giant robots can just punch those whiny chicks in the face so we don’t have to hear them be annoying anymore.

Agreed, all movies are better with giant robots. Good night everybody.

Pikks Three

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Zekrom EX, Black Belt, and Empoleon DE

Pikkdogs April 12, 2012 8 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there. This is Pikkdogs here with a Pikk Three article. Right now in the Pokemon world people are looking towards Spring Regionals. After that there is the release of the Dark Explorers set, so that is all very exciting. But, we are still kind of in a slow period for a couple more days waiting till Regionals comes our way, so why don’t we do a Pikk Three article? Now it is time for my extra-dimensionary sidekick Pedro to start us off with a news article. Why don’t you talk about sports today Pedro?

Okay sounds good, I can do a sports thing. This is a busy time for sports we just got over a busy weekend with the opening day of baseball, and the Masters. But, what has been capturing a lot of the attention has been the scandal in Arkansas over head football coach Bobby Petrino. Petrino was fired this week for inappropriate behavior with a staff memeber. He was in a motorcycle accident two weekends ago, fortunately he was able to recover with only minor injuries. The intrigue started when the police report stated that he was riding on his motorcycle with a 25 year-old ex-volleyball player. Petrino did admit that there was a young woman at the scene of the crash, he just forgot to mention that that woman was the same woman who he was having coitis with outside of his marriage. So now Petrino is involved in a cheating scandal. What are your thoughts about this Pikkdogs?

Well, he shouldn’t be having an affair, but if he must, a volleyball player is the way to go.

Agreed, basketball players are too masculine.

No doubt that volleyball players are the sexiest athletes. Tennis players aren’t that far behind, but you can’t argue with those tight shorts.

Except the beach volleyball players, they get too sweaty.

Any more news about Petrino?

It seems that he isn’t the only who is channeling their inner Bill Clinton. The person who he was having coitis with, Jessica Dorrel, is engaged to be married. You can still go to their wedding website and buy them some gifts from their gift registry.

Is there a hoe on the list?

No. But you can buy them a set of wine glasses.

Well, I could, but that wouldn’t suggest that she is promiscuous.

I think she did that herself.

Agreed, start the article!

Card #1-The Staple-Zekrom EX

Description– Zekrom EX is a 180 HP basic EX Lightning Pokemon with a 3 retreat cost and a fighting weakness. It has two attacks. “Glinting Claw” costs LCC and does 50 damage plus a chance at 30 more with a coin flip. “Disaster Volt” does 150 damage for LLCC and requires a 2 energy discard.

Analysis–

Zekrom EX was of course released in the Next Destinies set, and has been one of the most played EX cards. Maybe it didn’t have the hype that Mewtwo EX did, but it did have about as much success as Mewtwo did at States Tournaments. It saw the most played in the Zekrom and Eels deck. This was a lightning hodgepodge deck that used Eelektrik for energy acceleration. Some of the more popular attackers in this deck are Zekrom BW, Zekrom EX, Thundurus, and Zapdos ND. It was a very popular deck in States 2012, grabbing the most number of outright victories.

Before we get too far into analysis, let us look at the stats of this card. 180 HP is the best in the format for EXs, so that is really good. The retreat cost could be better, but the rest of the card makes up for the sub-par retreat cost. The fighting weakness is not great, but it is manageable. Donphan Prime has fell out of favor among players, and the only real fighting Pokemon left is Terrakion NV. Terrakion is usually a Pokemon that you can deal with by an early attack and the use of Pokemon Catcher. So the stats as a whole are really good.

As mentioned, Zekrom EX had a lot of success in its short lifespan. It may or may not have been the most important card in the current Zekrom deck, but it certainly has a major impact on the deck. It is the card that can put the hammer down on the defending Pokemon. 150 damage is a whole heck of a lot of damage, it may not be the most damage ever recorded, but it is more than enough to knock most Pokemon out right now. Whenever this card hits the field we know that what happens to it will probably decide the game. It is a hugely impactful card that is one of the most feared right now.

The bad part of the card is of course the drawbacks that are inherent to most EX Pokemon, the high retreat cost and the 2 prize penalty at knockout. Although Zekrom EX is great, it is hard every time you have to give up an extra prize. Every time that Zekrom EX hits the field, there is a chance that it could cost you the game rather than helping you win it. You must think really hard whenever you drop this card, because an extra prize could go a long way in a close game.

Final Rating– 8/10– It is not the best card in the format, and there are some serious things wrong with this card. But, its success speaks for itself. It can be a very powerful card for you if you can use it right.

Card #2- The Underdog-Black Belt

Description-Black Belt is a supporter card that lets you do 40 extra damage when you are losing the prize battle.

Analysis-Black Belt came out in the Triumphant set. When the card came out, SP decks were ruling the format with Gyrados trailing not too far behind. Black Belt was thought of as a one of card that could be used in every deck to take an important prize card when you really need it. It was especially useful with VS Seeker, because you could use it or discard it, and then use it whenever you really need it. After the hype of the Triumphant set wore away, Black Belt fell out of favor. Once in a while it would pop up in a rogue deck, but for the most part it wasn’t played until the Durant deck came out.

Durant does sometimes play Black Belt. The Durant player could tech in an attacker like Cobalion, and do up to 120 damage in a single turn, something that Durant could never do without Black Belt. It is a nice card to tech in when Durant is playing a deck that can knock out Durants easily. There is a good chance that taking out just 1 attacker could play big part in the game, because most Durant counters are ran only as a one of card.

Black Belt is a good card because nobody expects it. It is so important to estimate how much damage your opponent can do next turn, but nobody factors in Black Belt. If you would tech this card into your deck, you will take your opponent by surprise. It is especially important now because of the two prize card giving EX cards. An EX knock-out out of nowhere will really change the shape of a game. So if you are looking for a card that will give you a surprise advantage for only a 1 card slot investment, Black Belt can be a good card to insert into almost any deck.

The bad part of Black Belt is that it is a card that is only useable in certain situations. If you get the card early game, it is basically a dead card. And, if you have to discard it with Juniper, Sage’s Training, or Junk Arm; it is now gone forever. Black Belt will only help you if you get it late in the game when you are trailing in prizes. You just can’t expect the card to stay in the deck that long and to come in to play exactly when needed, it really does not help your consistency. Consistency is very important in this game, and this card seems to go against this principle.

Final Rating– 6.75/10– This is a good card for this format because it works and your opponent is not expecting it. It is a card that will take your opponent by surprise and perhaps when you a game or two in the course of along tournament like Regionals. But, it is not without its drawbacks.

Card #3- The Young Gun-Empoleon DE

Description–

One of the cards that is expected to be in the Dark Explorers set that caught my eye the most is Empoleon. There hasn’t been an Empoleon in the game since the Platinum set (unless you count Empoleon FB, which if you do, you are probably crazy), so the format is due for a cool Empoleon card.

It is a 140 HP Stage 2 Water Pokemon with a lightning weakness and a two retreat cost. It has a cool Ability and a cool attack. The Ability is called “Diving Draw”, and it lets you discard one card to draw 2 cards from the top of your deck. The attack is expected to be called “Attack Command”. It cost 1 water energy, and does 10 damage for the amount of Pokemon in play. This makes it like a Jumpluff, but with more HP and a built in draw engine.

Analysis–

Let us start with the basics. 140 HP is decent for a stage 2, even though some EXs can one shot it. The lightning weakness is fairly terrible, because the Zekrom deck is one of the most played decks in the current format. Any deck that solely relies on Empoleon will not do that well because it will be auto-loss to Zekrom. The 2 retreat cost is not great, but it is what is expected from a stage 2 Pokemon.

The Poke-Power is very interesting. There is currently no Pokemon that is played a lot that has a built in draw engine. The fact that you need to discard one card from your hand probably is not a huge deal, in fact, it could be a good thing. Perhaps Zekrom decks will play it so it will be easy to attach energies with Eelektrik. It could also be played with rogue cards like Steelix Prime. The ability to draw 2 cards is not amazing, but it is very good if you plan to attack with Empoleon.

This brings us to the attack. I think that the attack is actually fairly good. For just one energy you can do up to 120 damage! The effectiveness of the attack will vary based on the deck you are playing against. A Zekrom deck will probably get you 120 damage, whereas a Terrakion deck may only get you 80 damage. Being able to attack for only 1 energy is always great, and if you splash Empoleon into another deck, you can still use it to attack with only one Rainbow Energy. But, the attack probably is not good enough to base an entire deck around.

So if you probably should not build an entire deck around Empoleon, what will Empoleon be played in? I don’t know for sure, but it seems like it has some promise. For just a 2-1-2 line, Empoleon can be a draw engine and a secondary attacker. I think it can make a real difference in a deck. But, I don’t know which deck it will be in. It might just be in a rogue deck, but I think it should see some kind of play.

The bad parts of Empoleon have to do with speed. Most decks right now rely on basics or Stage 1 Pokemon, really fast decks and Pokemon lines. Empoleon is a lot slower, so it will probably get ripped apart before it can be evolved. So, it should not be a primary attacker. However, I do think that it could be a secondary attacker. This is because it is a decent draw engine without being that much of a Pokemon Catcher target. If someone does use Pokemon Catcher on it, they will need to be a lightning Pokemon to get an easy KO on it. If they want to stall with Empoleon active, you can just attach a Rainbow Energy and hit for up to 120 damage.

Final Rating– 7/10– I am not sure if this card will be all that great, but I do see a lot of promise here. I think it can be a good tech in some decks as a draw engine. It is always great to draw more cards and increase consistency. It is weak to Zekrom, but Empoleon could be in the format long after the Zekrom deck falls out of favor. I could see this deck doing well.

Okay, that is all for me, do you have a news story to end the article Pedro?

Sure, according to The New York Press, a boy in China has sold his kidney for an IPad and an Iphone.

What does he use to pay for the monthly charges? Teeth?

I don’t know, back to the story. This story highlights two major problems in China, the poor wages that laborers are paid, and the amount of people that need organ transplants. It is assumed that over 1.5 million people need transplants, while only 10,000 operations are preformed each year. The boy, who is identified as Wang, had the transplant preformed in the black market without the consent of his parents.

Well, I can relate to that.

You have sold your organs on the black market?

No, I let my Wang do the thinking for me.

Sounds about right. Good night everybody.

Pikks Three

Pikkdogs Pikks Three Durant Counters: Victini #15, Volcarona NV, and Zebstrika

Pikkdogs March 30, 2012 2 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there. This is Pikkdogs here with another Pikk Three article for you. This will be a special Pikk Three, where I will review cards that are considered Durant counters.

For those of you that know Ed personally, I have just received some great news. Ed and his wife welcomed their fourth daughter Friday morning. Baby Primrose is 9 pounds and 21 inches. Both her and Ed’s wife are doing well. So, big congrats to my buddy Ed and his wife, very happy for you guys. On behalf of myself and the OnehitKo community, Congrats Ed we wish ya guys the best.

So now onto another baby, Pedro. Let us see what Pedro has for us today. Can you give us a news article to start things off Pedro?

Well sure Pikkdogs. Foxnews.com is reporting that a Turkish shampoo company is being asked to pull its newest commercial from the airwaves. It seems like the commercial features Adolph Hitler speaking to men and telling them to buy this new Shampoo. Jewish activists are appalled that a company would use someone who is associated with hate and genocide as a spokesperson. Would you buy shampoo from HItler Pikkdogs?

Shampoo, no. Mustache cleaner, probably. The question is, is it too soon? I grew up watching “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” and that had Napoleon eating ice cream and Ghengis Khan playing hockey. Napoleon and Ghengis Khan both killed thousands, maybe even millions, of people. Ghengis Khan once conquered a territory, and poured melted silver into the eyes and ears of the former leader of that kingdom. These were not good people, yet I grew up with them being a “ziggy piggy” and playing hockey in the mall, and nobody seemed to think that that was wrong. If people in the media can do that, I don’t think it’s fair to single out that one shampoo company for a Hitler advertisement.

Do you think Hitler could “eat the pig” like Napoelon did?

The bigger question is will anyone get all these “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” references?

I doubt it. You are better off just going to your article.

Than let’s do it. Cue the first review!

Card #1-Victini #15

Description– Victini is a basic 70 HP Fire Pokemon. He has a water weakness and a 1 retreat cost. It has one attack, and it is called “V-Create”. This attack does 100 damage for RC, but if you do not have 5 Pokemon on your bench the attack does not do any damage.

Analysis– To start off our look into Durant counters we have Victini. This is known as, “the other Fire Victini.” There were so many Victinis released in Noble Victories that this one got lost in all the hoopla. It was probably the one that got the least amount of hype. But not from me, when it was released in Japan’s Red Collection I immediately saw how good of a card it was. It seemed to me like a basic Cincinno BW, but that needed 2 energy cards to attack. 100 damage for 2 energy is always going to be good, I know that this card is the best out there, but it seems to be better than the amount of hype it got.

After its release, I cannot recall it getting that much play. At first I thought it would help revitalize the ailing Stage 1 Rush deck, but I can’t recall anyone giving it the time of day. I did use it in my Mew Prime/Unfezant/Vanilluxe deck as a Durant counter during Cities this season, but that’s the only play that I know that it had.

And that brings us to what we are here to talk about, Durant counters. I think that Victini is my favorite Durant counter. He is the only one on this list that is a basic Pokemon, so that is really great in a format where every card slot is crucial. He does take one fire energy, but a lot of people are using Rainbow and Prism energy in their decks, and these energies work with his attack. His attack is good because it does 200 damage to a Durant. There may be some way to stop something that does 100 damage to a Durant, but you would have to run a lot of Defenders and Special Metals in order to survive 200 damage. Because Victini is so versatile and powerful, I think he is the best Durant counter out there for an average deck.

There are some bad things about Victini. 70 HP is not good, and it can easily be KO’ed by your opponent’s Cobalion. He also takes 2 energies to attack, this is not good in a format where Durant can run 8 energy removers. It can be very hard to keep only 1 energy on the field at once, let-alone two. He also needs a full bench to be able to attack. This is not a huge problem because most decks run a lot of basic Pokemon and have a lot of Dual Balls and Pokemon Collectors. But, I could see a situation where this could be a problem.

Final Rating–7.5/10- Gotta love this Victini. He is the most splashable Durant counter. Whenever he sees a Durant, he cannot help but destroy it. Sure they can try to take his energy away, but they will do that to every Pokemon they face. It will always be a game of, “can I flip heads on Crushing Hammer.” For all that it is I would say that Victini is a great Durant counter, and almost every deck needs a good Durant counter.

Card #2-Volcarona

Description– This is a Durant counter that I saw this past weekend at States. I hadn’t considered it too much before, but it is not a terrible card.

Volcarona is a 110 HP Stage 1 Fire Pokemon with a 1 retreat cost and a fire weakness. It has two attacks. The first attack, called “Fiery Dance”, does 30 damage for R and lets you attach one basic energy card from the discard pile to one of your Pokemon. The second attack, called “Heat Wave” does 60 damage for RCC, and it also allows you to burn the defending Pokemon.

Analysis– Let’s start with the basics. 110 HP isn’t terrible for a stage 1, though its always nice to have more. The 1 retreat cost is about all you can hope for from a fire Pokemon. And the water weakness is not that horrible in this format, its fairly good.

As mentioned, I have seen this card played at States 2012. I don’t think I heard any hype from this card, and this card was not played during Cities. So any play that this card gets is fairly recent. I haven’t found any decks online that have the card in it, but a few have mentioned it as a secondary attacker in a fire deck like Reshiphlosion. Now, I think some people are using it as a Durant counter in non fire decks, because it works well with DCE.

Although you will need to evolve Volcarona, it is still a good Durant counter because you may only need 1 energy to attack if you run a decent amount of Plus Powers in your deck. Sure its first attack only does 30 damage, but with a Plus Power, that damage goes up to 80 on the fire weak Durant. That will be enough to OHKO one that has a Special Metal on it, but no Eviolite. If they do have Eviolite on it, you may need to use “Heat Wave.” Although this attack does use two energies to attack, a lot of decks use DCE’s in them anyway, so it should be an easy fit in most decks. Since “Heat Wave” also brings the burn into the game, it can also be good against those high HP SP Pokemon that seem to survive forever.

The bad things about Volcarona are obvious. It is a stage 1 and that means that it takes up 2 spots in your deck. It also means that it is twice as likely to be prized, and that it is harder to get out without being knocked out first. There also is no guarantee that the one energy attack will knock out a Durant. Because of Crushing Hammer and Lost Remover, it is very important to knock out Durant with only one energy, which this deck can do, but cards like Defender and Eviolite can stop that. This card is also reliant on Plus Powers and DCE, if your deck does not run a lot of those cards, you can’t run Volcarona.

Final Rating– 5.5/10- Not a huge fan of this card. Though it is useful against the EXs and a decent Durant counter, I think cards like Victini are much better Durant counters.

Card #3 Zebstrika ND

Description– This is the only Durant counter on this list that does not attempt to knock it out right away. This card does not use weakness to knock out Durants, instead, it tries to provide an item lock to slowly choke the life out of the Durant deck.

Kind of like David Carradine?

Well, kind of. But, if I talk any more about that we could get censored again, so we should just leave it like that.

Zebstrika is a 90 HP Stage 1 Lightning Pokemon with a fighitng weakness and a free retreat cost. It has two attacks. The second attack is called “Lightning Crash,” it costs LLC, and it lets you snipe for 80 at the cost of discarding all of the energy attached to him. The first attack is what we are all here for. It is called “Disconnect”, and it does 40 damage for LC. The effect is that it also stops your opponent from playing item cards during his/her next turn.

Analysis– Let us again start with the basics. 90 HP is fairly terrible, though you are not going to put him in a position to be attacked anyway, 90 HP is actually decent enough for what you are using him for. The free retreat cost is always amazing. It is always great to have something that you can use to just retreat for free whenever you need to. The fighting weakness is terrible. Again, you probably are not going to use this guy when a fighting Pokemon is around, but that doesn’t mean that this card has to have terrible stats either.

This card received absolutely no hype when it came out in Next Destinies. Every body was talking about all of the EX Pokemon, and nobody cared to talk about Zebstrika. Despite the lack of hype, it got play right away at the ECC as a Durant counter. I think the deck even made Top Cut, it did turn a lot of heads at the ECC and here in the U,S. It did not receive a ton of play at the States in the U.S., but it did see some play. I even played against someone who used it with Mew Prime.

It can be hard to see why this card is a Durant counter, so I will show you how. “Disconnect” does 40 damage and stops all trainers. This means that your opponent cannot remove energy or replace fallen Durants. The plan is to just keep this 40 damage up until all the Durants are gone. You will be like a Burmese Python slowly constricting your prey until it eventually cannot do anything.

Hey Pikkdogs, if Burma is no longer a country, shouldn’t they call it a Myanmarish Python?

No.

Anyway, on to the bad stuff about Zebstrika. Like Volcarona, it is a stage 2 Pokemon which means you need to devote 2-4 spots in your deck just for him. That is a lot for a Durant counter, so you will be investing a lot to your Durant counter. Yes, you can use it in other match-ups, but it is more useful against Durant. The amount of damage it does also scares me. If it only does 40 damage, that means 30 of that damage can be taken away because of an Eviolite and a Special Metal energy. That means you would only be doing 10 damage, and you cannot take out Durants 10 damage at a time. You will need to do that 40 damage, so if they attach the Special Metals and the Eviolites early, you are in trouble.

Final Rating–6/10– It does work in some Zekrom decks. If you have some space you can throw some Zebstrikas right in there and have a decent Durant counter without having to run any other kinds of energies. It can be fueled up fairly easy with all of the Eelektriks that people are playing now, so getting this thing out isn’t a huge deal. I don’t think this is a great tech against Durant, but if you are playing a lightning deck, this will probably work better than trying to bring in fire energies.

Well, Pedro, that is all I have today. Do you have something for us to close out the article with?

First, we must tell everybody to check out the OneHitKO store. We now offer singles on the same website where you get all of your questionable strategy and deck articles. So, make sure to help out the people who are helping you out by doing your shopping at the OneHitKO Store. We offer fair prices on everything from the Next Destinies set, and we will soon have the best cards from other sets. So, please follow this link and check out the store. If you are a rebel, you can also follow this link to get you to the store, but don’t follow this link, because that’s to a Noozles video.

Love the Noozles.

Anyway, for our real news story to close things out. Surgeons at George Washington University Hospital are reporting that this past weekend’s heart transplant on former Vice President of the United States, Dick Cheney, has been a success. Doctors say that the world will probably have to deal with Cheney for about 10 more years. Do ya like the Dick Cheney Pikkdogs?

Of course not, nobody likes Dick Cheney. I think he even creeps himself out when he thinks of himself. I do kind of have positive thoughts when I think about him, because he seems very close to a real life Penguin from Batman. All he needs is an Umbrella and a couple of henchmen and he could be the perfect Batman villan.

He would have to change his last name to Cobblepot though.

Wouldn’t that be the best name, Dick Cobblepot?

No, sounds too much like a porn name. And if anyone knows anything about us two gentlemen, it is that we don’t like to be involved with porn in anyway.

That’s right. Now I must go to…………….water my plant.

Is that what you call it now?

Just end the article!

Good night everybody!

Pikks Three

Pikkdogs Pikks Four: Engineer’s Adjustments, Seeker, Fisherman, and Copycat

Pikkdogs March 20, 2012 3 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there. This will be a special edition of the Pikk Three article. It will actually be a Pikk Four, and it will feature 4 supporters that have fallen out of favor in the format. Maybe we can drum up support for these cards and they will see some play.

This is where I usually introduce Pedro and we talk about boobies and stuff. But, not today. Today there will be no boobie talk or fart jokes. I just found out that the older brother of my best friend during high school has died from an overdose. He, Jeremiah, had always struggled with substance abuse problems, but he was a nice guy.

I just don’t feel like making fart jokes today. I don’t feel bad for Jeremiah, he knew what he got himself into. But, he left his 3 year-old daughter without a father, and he forced his parents to bury him, that’s who I feel sorry for. So instead of making jokes today, I just want to tell everyone out there to be careful. I know that college students make up a lot of our reader-base, and I know that there is a lot of drug use among college students. So, I just want to tell you to be careful, and to think of how your decisions effect other people.

A man died, my friend died, and a beautiful three year-old girl will never know her father. There is nothing funny about that, and so that’s why I have no comedy in my heart today. Pedro will be back later this week, but I just hope that at least one of our readers can learn from this terrible story. Feel free to share your similar stories in the comment section.

Card #1 Engineer’s Adjustments

Description– Engineer’s Adjustments is a drawing supporter card. It has a simple effect, you can discard one energy and then draw four cards. It is kind of like a colorless energy version of Ninetales HGSS’s “Roast Reveal.”

Analysis– Engineer’s Adjustements has always been a card that I have liked, but it has never received too much play. The most competitive play that this card has seen was when Steelix Prime was a playable deck. Since he had an attack, “Energy Stream”, that let you attach energies from the discard pile, this card worked well. But, when Steelix Prime fell because of the rise of Blaziken FB, Engineer’s Adjustments has fallen out of favor.

Like I said before, I really love this card. There are a couple reasons why you want energy in the discard, and this card can do it while letting you draw 4 cards. Although it is not the best drawing card in the format, it does 2 things fairly well. This makes it versatile and really good for some decks. I really like this card with Eelektrik, since he needs energy in the discard pile to be useful. I especially like this card in Magnezone/Eels, because Magnezone almost never puts energy in the discard pile. So, there would be no reason to use Eelektrik, unless you use Engineer’s and get energy in the discard pile quickly to power up attacks. It also works well with Typholosion Prime, since that card too can attach energies from the discard pile. Even though Reshiram does discard energy by himself, it never hurts to put a copy or 2 of this card in a Reshiphlosion deck, it can only make the card more consistent in the early game.

Without Eelektrik and Typhlosion, I probably wouldn’t use this card. I would probably go more for a hand refresh card like Professor Oak’s New Theory. Drawing 4 cards is great, but people do not usually have an abundance of energy in their deck, and this card is not worth playing more energy.

Final Rating– 7.75/10– I love this card in the format right now. It has a lot of decks that it can sneak into and do well. It is not a great card, but it is a really good card that works well with a lot of decks out there.

Card #2 Seeker

Description– This is a supporter card that forces each player to pick up one of their benched Pokemon.

Analysis– This card was used a lot when it first came out, and then it slowly fell out of favor. It first saw play in almost all decks when it came out. It was used to disrupt your opponent, and to re-use Uxie. A lot of donk decks were playing it for the ability to take one Pokemon out of the game. When Lost World came out, Seeker was used in conjunction with Gengar Prime to get Pokemon in the Lost Zone. But, Gengar Prime is not played anymore, Uxie has rotated out, and Donk Decks are a thing of the past. So Seeker is a very rogue card right now.

I do like this card, it is very versatile. You can use it for disruption or to accomplish a goal in your deck. It can be very damaging to unexpectantly have to pick up one of your benched Pokemon. You can lose evolutions and energy very easily. I think it would work very well against the Terrakion deck, since it does not traditionally have a lot of benched Pokemon.

There doesn’t seems to be a great use for Seeker right now. It is a powerful card, but there just isn’t a deck that it works well in. The only deck I have seen it played in is a disruption deck with Weavile. If you collectored for 2 Sneasels last turn, you can evolve into Weavile, use “Claw Swipe”, pick up Weavile with Seeker, and then evolve the other Sneasel so you can “Claw Swipe” again.

There is nothing about Seeker that makes it bad. It is a good card that works in a lot of ways. The only bad thing is that there are not a lot of Pokemon to go with it. Uxie and a lot of good coming into play Poke-Powers are all gone, so there is less of a reason to use Seeker.

Final Rating– 6.5/10– A good card that just needs a good reason for someone to use it. It is an under-rated card that can help some decks out there, a lot of people should consider running 1 copy of this card in their decks.

Card #3- Fisherman

Description– This card let’s you take up to 4 basic energy cards from your discard pile, and put them into your hand.

Analysis– This is probably the best energy recovery card in the format. Getting 4 cards in your hand is amazing. It works really well with Emboar, this card means that you do not skip a beat when you lose a Pokemon. You just attach the energies back onto another Pokemon and go from there.

This card has not seen a lot of play in the past, the most play has been with Emboar in Reshiboar. It was really easy to recover from a couple “Blue Flare’s”, and it was easier to load up RDL for a two prize knock-out. This card made the deck work. However, when Typhlosion Prime replaced Emboar, the card fell out of use.

It is still seen in some rogue decks. If you see any Blastoise decks, or maybe sopme Rehiboar’s, you will almost always see Fisherman. It is good in some rogue decks, but it does not have a lot of use in Meta decks right now.

I do like the card. 4 energies to your hand gives you a lot of choices on what you want to do next. That will set you up on energies for 4 turns, or you can use it with another card like Engineer’s Adjustment or Ninetales HGSS for draw power.

The bad thing about Fisherman is that the discard pile seems like a good place for energies right now. A lot of decks have Eelektrik and Typhlosion Prime to attach energies from the discard pile. So you don’t really want the energies in your hand. Another bad thing is that draw power is very supporter heavy right now. You always want to use your supporter for drawing, so you won’t have time to use Fisherman. There are a lot of bad things about this card, but it is still cool and fun to use.

Final Rating–6/10– It is a nice card, it just doesn’t fit that great with the format right now. It will see some rogue play, just not that much.

Card #4- Copycat

Description-Copycat is a supporter that let’s you match the handsize of your opponent. You shuffle in your hand and draw the same number of cards that they have.

Analysis– Copycat has been in the format since HGSS and has a long history. When it first came out people were not sold on it being a great card. It did seem like a lot of the better players did like the card, but it didn’t really catch on to the greater playing community. That is until Yanmega Prime came out. Yanmega Prime’s “Insight” Poke-Body let you attack for free as long as you can match your opponent’s hand size. After Yanmega Prime became super popular, Copycat became a staple. It was used a lot and saw a ton of play. But, all good things must come to an end, and that was how it was with Copycat. Once Reshiram and Zekrom became more popular, Yamega Prime fell out of favor, and so did Copycat.

Copycat is an old card that is still around and is still good. There is no longer a reason to want to match hand size, but you can always use the card just for hand refreshing and draw power. You should be able to get a decent number of cards each time, and this card has the oppurtunity to get you more cards than even Juniper can give you.

Of course, it also could give you 2 or 3 cards. You never know how many cards you will get with Copycat, it might be just a couple. Pokemon is all about consistnecy, and in a day when the average hand size is small, around 5 cards, it doesn’t make sense to rely on this card for draw power. You can’t be losing a game just because your opponent has a small hand, so there might be better supporters out there.

Right now, I think I would use this card as a general supporter. It really doesn’t have a good partner anymore, because Yanmega Prime is no longer played. So, it should be used as a general supporter. Decks that have Ninetales and Magnezone Prime in them usually have large hand size, so Copycat works well against opponents who play those cards.

Final Rating–6.75– This is no longer a great card like it used to be, but it is still a nice rogue choice. You don’t need to play this card, but this card probably deserves more love than it is currently getting.

That’s it.

Rest In Peace Buddy. This ones for you.

Pikks Three

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: States Edition: Thundurus, Virizion EP, and Battle City

Pikkdogs March 10, 2012 7 Comments

A big hello to all you OHKOers out there, this is Pikkdogs here with a Pikk Three article. As always, these articles are a three pack of card reviews. One is on a popular card, the second is on a card that I think is under-rated, and the third is from a new or yet to be released set. Before we go on to the reviews, let us first welcome my colleague from a different dimension, Pedro!

Hey Pikkdogs.

So, Pedro what do you got for us today.

Well today we have some news from DARPA.

The 90’s MTV cartoon?

No, that was Daria. This is a government agency called the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

That is a horrible name for an agency. I like the more classic and simple names like CIA and FBI.

I guess the guy who does the naming must have been sick that day. Anyway, DARPA has announced that it has made a robot Cheetah that has broken the Robot Land Speed Record.

I didn’t know they had a robot land speed record. Read More

Pikks Three

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.

Pikks Three

Pikkdogs Pikks Three Future Card Edition: Mew EX, Terrakion EX, and Garchomp

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Double Colorless Energy, Ruins of Alph, and Boufallant Dragons Exalted

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Professor Cup Special: Seismitoad, Zebstrika ND, and Archaeops

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Dark Explorers Edition: Espeon DE, Hooligans Jim and Cass, and Raikou EX

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: Zekrom EX, Black Belt, and Empoleon DE

Pikkdogs Pikks Three Durant Counters: Victini #15, Volcarona NV, and Zebstrika

Pikkdogs Pikks Four: Engineer’s Adjustments, Seeker, Fisherman, and Copycat

Pikkdogs Pikks Three: States Edition: Thundurus, Virizion EP, and Battle City

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

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