Scizor Prime

You Can’t Touch This: Walls in the Pokemon TCG

Pikkdogs February 25, 2011 5 Comments

Hey everyone in Omar-Nation.  This is Pikkdogs here with a strategy article. This article is all about Pokemon that act like walls in the Pokemon TCG. Wall Pokemon are Pokemon that are defensive in nature and either prevent your opponent from attacking you or getting a knockout on one of your Pokemon.   Walls are on of my favorite aspects of a TCG.  I think its great when you can give your opponent a situation in which they can’t hurt you.  It feels deliciously evil.

Before we get started we have some news to deal with first.  Ed and I are happy to announce that we have a new member to the teamomar.com family.  Renae from the “Renae Collects” Youtube show will soon be joining our team.  I think its great that we are getting some more views from collectors, rather then only competitive players.  So expect some collection videos from her in the future.  If you can’t wait for the first video or article, check out her archive of videos on youtube at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/RenaeCollects

Okay, so anyway back to the article.  Just a refresher, we are talking about walls.

You might ask ,”Pikkdogs, Why might one want to run a wall Pokemon?  And why aren’t you wearing any pants?”

Well the answer to the first question is that you might need to put up a wall to buy your deck some time to setup, or you might want to try to attack your opponent and then switch your opponent right after you attack (as you can with some Pokemon like Gengar Ar, Magnezone Sf, and Uxie La).  Having an effective wall will frustrate your opponent and hopefully buy you enough time to get you a good prize lead.

Here are a couple of the most used Walls in the current format, listed in no particular order.

Shedinja Sv

The Basics– Shedinja is possibly my favorite wall.  It is a stage 1 Pokemon with 60 HP,a +20 Fire weakness, and a 1 retreat cost.  Those stats are less than stellar, but this card is here for its Poke-Body, called “Marvel Shell.”  This body states that Shedinja cannot be effected by any effects of an attack if it has a Poke-Body or Poke-Power.  It also has an attack called “Spike Wound” that does 30 damage for 1 energy to any of your opponent’s Pokemon, if it already has at least one damage counter on it.  This attack isn’t great, but combined with Crobat G it can be an okay attack if you need to attack with it.

When to use it– Shedinja does have its use in the current metagame.  Although it has below average stats and attacks and has to be evolved, it still works well for what it is.  It also can be played around by using Crobat G “Flash Bite” drops, is unaffected by some Pokemon like Gyarados,  and by sniping around Shedinja.  It is mostly used in a Shuppet/Dunsparce decks as a wall.  But, it can be used in other hit and run decks like Gengar Ar, Quagsire Gl, and Magnezone Sf.

Unfortunately these decks aren’t very successful right now, but as long as you don’t expect to win states you can take a deck like this to States and do fairly well.

Umbreon Cl and Ud

The Basics– Umbreon is a Stage 1 Pokemon with 90 HP, a 1 retreat cost, a fighting weakness, and a -20 resistance to Psychic.  It has two attacks for DC “Quick Blow” (do the TPCI people stay up and night trying to come up with names that have sexual connotations?) will do 30 damage and a chance to hit for 60 if you flip heads on one coin flip.  Its other attack “Moonlight Fang” will do 30 damage for D and not allow you to be effected by any effects of an attack next turn by Pokemon with Poke-Bodies or Poke-Powers.  So its basically like an attack that does the same thing as Shedinja’s  Pokebody but with 30 damage.

When to Use–  A lot of people love the Eevelutions, so they love to play Umbreon.  Me, I’m not so sold on this card, because it can also be played around.  Also it only does 30 damage, which is not substantial.  Yes, more damage can be added with Special Darkness Energy and an Expert Belt, but those things can be harder to setup.

It is mostly used in Machamp Decks.  Why do they use it in Machamp decks? Well the play really doesn’t make much sense, but it does cover Machamp’s Weakness.  It also can be used in certain decks as a tech to give it an advantage against a certain deck.  For example, if you are running a Gyarados deck and are getting run over by Luxray Gl you can try to add in Umbreon to make sure he or Luxray Gl does not bother your active Pokemon.  I don’t think this is a great option, but it’s a card to keep in mind if you ever need a Dark Pokemon that can stall.

Scizor Prime                        

The Basics– Scizor Prime is a Stage 1 Metal Pokemon with 100 HP, a x2 weakness to Fire, a-20 resistance to Psychic, and a 2 retreat cost.  These stats aren’t great, the HP is only average and the weakness is tough to go against.  Its attack is called “Metal Scissors” and does 30 damage for MC plus 20 more damage for each Metal energy attached to Scizor.  This attack isn’t great, but if you can make Scizor Prime a tank with a lot of Special Metal energies you can create quite an effective tank.  Its Poke-Body is called “Red Armor” and prevents damage done to Scizor by any Pokemon with Special Energies.  This means that if your opponent is using Special Energies, they cannot attack Scizor.  And, every time they choose not to attack Scizor you can attach another energy that makes Scizor hit harder.

When to Use– Scizor can be an effective wall.  It is the only wall in the game that can actually hit for a decent amount.  If you are able to get 4 Special Metal energies on him you will be doing the magic number of 110 damage, and will be making it hard to hit Scizor.  Scizor can be used in his own deck, or as a tech in other decks that run Metal energies.

The problem with Scizor is that he can be easily played around.  Although he will stop some decks did in the water, like Steelix Prime, most decks have other options then relying on special energies.  If you play a LuxChomp deck, they will either snipe around you or drag up other Pokemon, you will not have enough time to attach a lot of energies to Scizor.  Scizor can also be burned and poisoned by an effect of an attack, so your opponent could slowly wear down Scizor if they wanted to.   Although it isn’t the best deck around, Scizor Prime can be an effective tech, and may be a good card in the future.

Mamoswine Gl                                                                                             

The Basics– Mamoswine Gl is a basic water type Pokemon with 100 HP, a Metal Weakness, and a resistance to Lightning.  It also has an attack that you will never want to pay for and a retreat cost that you will never pay, but that does not matter.  Mamoswine does have a good solid HP for a basic and a good weakness and resistance.  It will help you in the SP matchup and since there are not many Metal attackers around, the weakness will only hurt you against Dialga G, Steelix Prime, and Scizor Prime.  It has a Poke-Body called “Icy Aura” that puts 1 damage counter on each Pokemon during turns that is not a Water type.   This is a good body because it provides a Poison like effect every turn that he is active.

When to Use- So why is this Pokemon a wall?  It does not block certain effects of an attack or damage.  But, it does have a high HP and can be used with PokeTurn.  So If you are using a Shuppet/Dunsparce or Mamoswine Gl deck, you can attack and then promote Mamoswine Gl.  Hopefully Mamoswine will be able to survive any attack that your opponent throws at you, and you can PokeTurn it next turn and heal all damage.  And, because of “Icy Aura” you will be able to add in a damage counter between turns.

The problem with this wall is the problem that is wrong with the other walls, it can be easily played around.  If you can do 110+ damage you can just run over Mamoswine, or you can snipe around it.  This wall also requires a free Poke-turn which is not easy to come by in Shuppet/Dunsparce decks.  So its not a great card, but it is a decent wall so keep it in mind.

So when it all comes down to it, walls aren’t all that effective in the current format.  Because of how versatile SP cards are, it can be hard to slow down your opponent.  But, I like the idea of walls, and think that after the next rotation comes into effect they could be better.  So keep an eye on these walls they might be effective in the next format.

So long and thanks for all the fish!