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Pojo's Pokémon Card of the Day

 

Haxorus

Dragon Vault

Date Reviewed: Oct. 11, 2012

Ratings & Reviews Summary

Modified: 1.67
Limited: 3.00

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale.
1 being the worst. 
3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating.

Back to the main COTD Page

Baby Mario
2010 UK National
Seniors
Champion

Haxorus (Dragon Vault)

Haxorus doesn’t seem to get the love that Dragons from other Generations have. Maybe it’s his slightly weird, insect-like appearance, maybe it’s the fact that he’s nowhere near as good in the video games as Dragonite, Garchomp, Salamence, or even Flygon. So far his appearances in the TCG have been on cards that aren’t bad exactly, but are too mediocre to really be worth anyone’s while. Let’s see if being printed in the shiny Dragon Vault set will make any difference.

The fact that Haxorus is a Stage 2 means it will have its work cut out for it. Stage 2s need to be spectacularly good these days if they are going to compete with the immense power of the Basic EX Pokémon and cards like Terrakion NVI, and only a handful of Pokémon make the grade (Empoleon DEX, Hydreigon DRX, Garchomp DRX to an extent). It’s a Dragon Type which is on the whole a good thing as most decks will not be hitting it for Weakness and those that do are also vulnerable to Haxorus itself. It also has some support in the shape of Altaria for damage boost and Gabite DRX for Pokémon search. What isn’t good is that Retreat cost of two: too high to pay, and not high enough for Heavy Ball.

The First attack, Axe Slugger, is at least cheap. It costs two Energy of any Colour (or preferably a Double Colourless), and for that you get 60 damage. Not the worst value out there, but not enough to really put the hurt on the opponent’s Pokémon, especially when you consider this is a Stage 2. If, however, the Defending Pokémon is Colourless, Axe Slugger does another 60 damage. That 120 for two Energy is very good but . . . what would you be using it against exactly? Right now the only Colourless Pokémon you are likely to see are Tornadus-EX (which is fast enough to stop Haxorus before it can evolve) and Bouffalant DRX (which is only played as a counter to EX Pokémon). Neither of those cards are especially common, so you won’t often be getting to use Axe Slugger to its full potential.

Dragon Pulse, Haxorus’ second attack, is much more expensive. I don’t really understand why they give these cards such weird attack costs. What does Haxorus have to do with Fighting or Steel? Oh well, you’ll need both of those, and a Double Colourless to do 100 damage with this attack. Oh, and you also have to discard the top card of your deck. It’s like an overcosted version of Garchomp DRX’s Dragonblade. In fact, the whole card feels like it’s just a worse version of Garchomp, and that is not good news for its playability.

Still, I’m sure it will look nice in the binder.

Rating

Modified: 1.75 (does nothing to justify the inconvenience of running a Stage 2)

Limited: N/A (mini set)

Jebulous Maryland Player

Haxorus

Haxorus is a Stage 2 Dragon Pokemon with 140 HP. It is weak to Dragons and has a retreat cost of 2.

'Axe Slugger' costs 2 colorless energy and does 60 damage. If the defending Pokemon is Colorless, it does 120. That's great... if only there were a lot of Colorless Pokemon being played. Bouffalant comes to mind, which this attack would OHKO. Other than that, I can't think of anything else. Most cards are played because they are good and have a type (so as to hit for weakness). It would have been great if it said Dark, Dragon, or Lightning (though if Dragon it'd be doing consistent 240 damage).

'Dragon Pulse' costs 1 Fighting, 1 Metal, and 2 Colorless. It does
100 and you discard the top card of your deck. The damage output is not worth the cost. For example, Rayquaza EX, with 4 energy, can do 180. Zekrom EX does 150 for 4 energy. Darkrai EX and Rayquaza do 90 for 3 energy.

This card suffers from lackluster attacks. The first is great against a type not being played competitively. The second costs too much for how little it does. On top of that it is a Stage 2 Dragon. That means dedicating resources to build it up. Then you have Rayquazas and Hydreigons running around ready to hit it for weakness.

Modified: 1.5/5
Limited: 3/5
Combos With: ...

Questions, comments, concerns: jebulousthemighty@yahoo.com


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