Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
Sawsbuck
16/98 (Emerging Powers)
I like the concept behind
Sawsbuck and
Deerling:
Pokémon whose appearance changes subtly
with the seasons. It was a really cool
addition to the Black and White Pokémon
games. Unfortunately, the Pokémon have
yet to make any impact in the TCG. Let’s
see if that is about to change.
Sawsbuck
is a Stage 1 Grass Pokémon with 100 HP:
all factors which substantially reduce
his durability in the present format.
The Water Weakness is a bonus (but not
one that is likely to make a big
difference), but the Retreat cost of two
seems harsh. This is not a card that
needs that kind of drawback.
Push Down,
Sawsbuck’s first attack, does
30 damage for the
cost a Double Colourless Energy.
Not great, but it does have the effect
of forcing your opponent to switch their
active for another Pokémon of their
choice. Although this mild disruption
can be useful, it isn’t so attractive
when you compare it to the effect of
Pokémon Catcher (a Trainer where you
choose the benched
Pokemon), or even
Muk UD’s
Sludge Drag (where, again, you can
choose). Take Down is probably even less
appealing. The 60 damage for [G][C]
is ok, but the 20 points of self damage
really isn’t. Once again, we can find
Pokémon that do similar damage for less
cost, as well as being superior in other
ways (Yanmega
Prime with free Retreat,
Donphan
Prime with the ability to tank).
All of which leaves
Sawsbuck as an outclassed,
mediocre Pokémon. It would be foolish to
run it in a competitive deck when there
are so many better options.
Rating
Modified: 1.5 (yes there are worse cards
out there . . . but so many better ones
too)
Limited: 3.25 (cheap attacks, and the
disruption is very useful in this
format)
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virusyosh |
Greetings, Pojo viewers! Today we continue our
reviews with yet another new card from Emerging Powers.
Today's Card of the Day is Sawsbuck.
Sawsbuck, like many of the Pokemon we've reviewed
recently, is a Stage 1 Grass Pokemon. Grass Pokemon
aren't terribly common outside of Yanmega Prime and
Vileplume. 100 HP is actually pretty good for a Stage 1,
although the number is still a bit low for our format.
Fire Weakness is as terrible as always, meaning that
Sawsbuck won't survive against the likes of Reshiram,
Typhlosion Prime, and Emboar. Likewise, Water Resistance
can keep Beartic and Samurott at bay, at least for a
little while. A Retreat Cost of 2 is surprisingly high,
and you won't want to pay it very often unless you
absolutely have to.
Sawsbuck has two attacks: Push Down and Take Down. Push
Down deals 30 damage for two Colorless Energy, and
forces your opponent to switch out. Not terrible, but
this attack doesn't do that much damage for the cost,
and while the switch out effect can be nice, it's
probably just easier (and better) to use Pokemon
Catcher. In Limited, this attack can be quite
disruptive, just remember that your opponent gets to
choose, so they can go to their heavy hitter that was
benched and waiting to be powered up. Take Down deals a
rather nice 60 damage for a Grass and a Colorless, but
Sawsbuck deals 20 damage to itself in the process.
Damaging yourself is never really a pleasant option
(with some exceptions, like Zekrom), but the attack is
serviceable in Limited. In Modified, Yanmega Prime
outclasses Sawsbuck as a Stage 1 Grass-type, having more
HP and dealing more damage for (usually) cheaper.
Modified: 1.25/5 Sawsbuck isn't useless, but it is badly
outclassed by Yanmega Prime. Being a Grass-type is
somewhat of a liability in this format, and unless you
can do something really special, you won't see play.
Sawsbuck doesn't make the cut in this regard.
Limited: 3.75/5 Sawsbuck is much better here. Grass
overall is very strong in Emerging Powers, as Fire is
very rare in the set and there are many good choices
around which you can build a solid deck. Sawsbuck has a
great HP score for the format, along with cheap attacks,
Colorless Energy requirements, and decent damage output.
You'll want to watch out for Take Down's self-damage,
but aside from that, Sawsbuck is quite a solid choice in
Limited.
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