Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
Bisharp
76/101 (Noble Victories)
We finish the week with one of the two
Bisharp from
Noble Victories. Yes, this Pokémon
really does look like a Power Ranger,
but I still think it’s pretty cool.
Bisharp
is a Dark Type Stage 1 with a relatively
low 90 HP. The Fighting Weakness isn’t
too bad right now as
Donphan
Prime has become something of a rarity,
while Terrakion
NV deals with
Bisharp regardless. The Psychic
Resistance is better than nothing, but
honestly not likely to be a
game-changer. These things rarely matter
on low HP Pokémon.
Bisharp
comes with two attacks. The first,
Finishing Blow, costs just a single Dark
Energy and deals 20
damage. Nothing especially good
about that, except in the case that the
Defending Pokémon already has damage on
it, which triggers the attack’s effect
and increases the damage from this
attack by 50. Now 70 for one Energy (80
if it’s a Special Dark)
is very good,
but the issue remains that you are
relying on another attack or
PokéPower to
get the initial damage. The clue to how
this was intended to be used is in the
name: you spread damage around with
another Pokémon (Tyranitar
Prime is an obvious suggestion), and
then use Bisharp
to finish them off. Is this a workable
strategy? Not really I’m afraid. You are
almost certainly better off either
continuing to spread damage until you
take multiple KOs, or using your
spreading Pokémon to KO the damaged
active (which
Tyranitar is more than capable of
doing). Bisharp
is even inferior to
Mandibuzz which can at least
snipe damaged Pokémon on the Bench.
The second attack, Night Slash, is
hit-and-run style, and does 30 damage
for [D][C]
and then switches
Bisharp out of the active slot.
This kind of attack can have its uses in
the TCG (remember the old
CurseGar
decks?), but need to be a) hitting for
more than 30 damage and b) have
something to hide behind when they bench
themselves. Sadly, neither of those
conditions applies here in the current
format.
This is another one of those Pokémon
cards that is superficial attractive and
seems to lend itself to a few combos. In
reality though, even the decks where it
seems like a good fit don’t really need
it, and would be better off using the
space for something else.
Rating
Modified: 1.5 (Not as much use as you
think)
Limited: 3.75 (pretty good here. Can
help get cheap 2HKOs and protect itself
by running to the
bench)
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virusyosh |
Happy Friday, Pojo readers! Today we're ending our
Card of the Day week by reviewing one of the new
Darkness-types from Noble Victories. Today's Card of the
Day is Bisharp #76.
Bisharp is a Stage 1 Darkness Pokemon. Darkness
Pokemon are very rare in Modified right now, as only the
rare Absol Prime tech or Hydreigon see some play, and
even that is widespread. 90 HP is average for a Stage 1,
and should allow to take Bisharp to take at least a weak
hit in Limited, and maybe occasionally in Modified as
well. Unfortunately, 90 HP isn't quite enough to stand
up to Modified's major threats. Fighting Weakness is to
be expected on a Darkness-type and makes life difficult
against Donphan and Terrakion; Psychic Resistance is
good against Mew and will be against Mewtwo; and a
single Retreat Cost is cheap and easily paid.
Bisharp's two attacks are both fairly interesting.
Finishing Blow starts off at 20 damage for a single
Darkness Energy, but does 50 more damage if the
Defending Pokemon has any damage counters already on it,
for a total of 70 damage for one Energy! Finishing Blow
makes Bisharp worth using by itself in Limited, and can
potentially see some play in Modified if one builds a
deck tailored to its strengths. However, 70 damage is
just a tad too weak for Modified (notice how no one
plays Yanmega anymore), and with the release of the new
Pokemon-EX, 70 damage is going to seem even weaker.
Night Slash deals 30 damage for a Darkness and a
Colorless, while also switching Bisharp with one of your
Benched Pokemon. It's a nice hit and run attack that may
have some applications in Limited, but Bisharp will
probably just be Pokemon Catchered up in Modified.
Additionally, this attack's damage isn't close to what
is needed in Modified to be effective.
Modified: 2/5 Bisharp isn't totally useless, but it
is somewhat average. 90 HP is uninspiring, and while
Finishing Blow can do decent damage, Night Slash is a
bit of a letdown. Bisharp could theoretically work in a
deck revolving around spread/snipe damage (as with
Kingdra or Kyurem), but chances are that 90 HP and a
Fighting Weakness limit Bisharp's effectiveness a bit
too much for this format.
Limited: 3.5/5 Bisharp is quite effective in Limited.
90 HP still isn't anything to write home about, but
Finishing Blow is an excellent move for the cost, even
if you opponent doesn't have damage counters on them.
You can Finishing Blow until Bisharp is weakened, and
then Night Slash away into the next attacker that you've
powered up. If you end up pulling something that can
spread like a Kyurem, even better. Overall, Bisharp is a
worthy Pokemon for Limited, and should easily make its
way into decks running Darkness or in need of a cheap,
efficient attacker.
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