Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
#3 Genesect-EX
As the poster boy for both this set and the latest
Pokémon movie, it’s no surprise that
Genesect gets a pretty
powerful card in Plasma Blast.
He has the high HP you would expect, an
easy-to-work-with single Retreat cost, and a very nice
Ability, Red Signal, which basically functions as a
Pokémon Catcher if you attach a Plasma Energy from the
hand to the card. For two Grass and one Colourless
Energy, you also get a pretty great attack too.
Megalo Cannon does 100
damage (so virtually guarantees a two-shot on any EX),
plus 20 to a Benched Pokémon (to set up future KOs or
finish off something that is badly damaged). This is
almost, but not quite, as good as
Darkrai-EX’s Night Spear. It doesn’t end there
either: for those situations where
Megalo Cannon isn’t enough,
Genesect-EX can use the G Booster Tool we looked
at last week to pick up unblockable
OHKOs on . . . well, anything really.
No surprise then that this card was hyped in advance of
release, but recently opinions on it have cooled
somewhat. Unlike Darkrai-EX
with Dark Patch, Grass Pokémon like
Genesect have no real non-attack based Energy
acceleration. Sure, you can use
Colress Machine/Plasma Energy for the Colourless
attack cost, but that doesn’t fix the Grass issue and it
means Red Signal won’t trigger. This is a problem, as G
Booster requires a double Energy discard to work, making
it difficult to chain on successive turns.
This fact, combined with the rotation of Energy Switch
(which could have helped to an extent) and the lack of
any really good secondary attackers of the same Grass
Type means that Genesect
hype has really died down in the last few weeks, and it
is no longer reckoned to be the dominant attacker of the
upcoming format. Make no mistake though, this is still a
very powerful Pokémon with excellent damage output and
it should never be written off: especially (as seems
likely) if Energy Switch gets a reprint in the next set.
Rating
Modified: 4.25 (even if its time is not right now, it
will surely come)
Limited: 4.75 (big bad EX Pokémon
are game-winners here.
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virusyosh |
Happy midweek, Pojo readers! Today we're reviewing a
new Pokemon-EX that is probably going to see quite a bit
of play this tournament season, in both Plasma decks as
well as a deck build around it. Today's Card of the Day
(and #3 on our countdown) is Genesect-EX.
Genesect is a Basic Grass Team Plasma Pokemon-EX. As a
Grass-type, it gets nice support from Virizion-EX, and
these two together form the foundation of a new deck
that is thought to be popular with the release of this
new Plasma Blast expansion. As a Team Plasma Pokemon,
Genesect gets all sorts of support, including Plasma
Energy effects, Shadow Triad recursion, and Colress
Machine. However, it is also important to note that
being a Plasma Pokemon makes Genesect susceptible to
Silver Mirror, so that's definitely something to keep in
mind, as well. Finally, as a Pokemon-EX, the opponent
will take two Prizes upon Knocking Genesect Out, so be
sure to plan accordingly with your plays.
Now, for stats. Genesect-EX has 170 HP, the standard
value for Pokemon-EX, and it should be able to easily
take a hit or two. Fire Weakness has the potential to be
problematic, but isn't too big of a deal right now, as
most common decks don't run a Fire-type Pokemon.
Genesect also has no Resistance, but it does have a
Retreat Cost of 1, which is easily paid for even if you
don't have a Switch, Float Stone, or something of that
nature.
The Paleozoic Pokemon has an Ability and a single
attack. Red Signal forces your opponent to switch
whenever you attach a Plasma Energy to Genesect from
your hand, acting sort of like a repeatable Pokemon
Catcher. Any Catcher-like ability is obviously excellent
(remember Luxray GL Lv. X or Ninetales?), and the fact
that this one can be repeatable is even more awesome.
However, with only four Plasma Energy allowed in decks
and a whole host of other Plasma Pokemon to play, this
ability is not as readily abusable as Bright Look was.
However, Genesect still has very good Team Plasma
support, and as such, expect this ability to see quite a
bit of use at the tournament tables this season.
Megalo Cannon is Genesect's attack, dealing 100 damage
for two Grass and a Colorless while also dealing 20
damage to one of your opponent's Benched Pokemon. 100
damage for three Energy is great, and the extra snipe
damage is also very good. However, if you find Megalo
Cannon somewhat lacking and want a few more options,
Genesect also has two exclusive Pokemon Tools, G Booster
and G Scope, which also grant the prehistoric metal bug
more attacking power. G Booster gives Genesect
frightening power, making it deal 200 damage while
ignoring any of the Defending Pokemon's effects. In
contrast, G Scope allows you to go the full sniping
route, dealing 100 damage to any of your opponent's
Pokemon. Both of these additional, Tool-fueled attacks
cost the same as Megalo Cannon, but keep in mind that
both are ACE SPECs, so you'll have to decide which one
you want to use and if it's worth giving up the ACE SPEC
slot.
Modified: 4/5 Genesect has the potential to be a
format-defining card. Red Signal seems to have finally
fixed the brokenness of Bright Look and other related
abilities, while still offering great power. In
addition, Genesect has a solid body, great typing, good
attacks, and a myriad of support options available to
it. Expect to see Genesect at tournaments for quite some
time to come, as it's a very powerful card built
specifically to change the current tournament
environment.
Limited: 5/5 It's a huge Basic with major disruption
potential and damage output. Genesect-EX could likely be
the only Pokemon in your deck and you'd win a fair
amount of your games, but even if you decide to go
another route, it's definitely worth using (and
splashing Grass) for.
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