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Hard Charm
Yes, it’s pretty much Eviolite
that works for Basics
and
Evolutions. There is a subtle difference though:
Eviolite reduces all damage
by 20, while Hard Charm only reduces damage done by the
opponent’s Pokémon. 99% of the time this will make no
difference at all, but there are few Pokémon in the
format that have a self-damaging attack (such as
Zekrom LTR), and in those
cases you would obviously stick with
Eviolite.
Is it worth playing at all though? Hmmm . . . the effect
is quite good but there are reasons why most decks
stopped using Eviolite a
while ago, and they apply to Hard Charm too. Partly it
is because attacks have become so powerful that it is
difficult to use defensive cards any more. Strategies
based on walling opponents simply don’t work unless they
offer substantial immunity from damage (such as Silver
Mirror vs Plasma decks or
Klinklang PLS
vs EX decks). A 20 point
reduction is easily subverted by Muscle Band or
Hypnotoxic Laser, or made
irrelevant by attacks like Rayquaza
EX’s Dragon Burst and Black Kyurem
EX’s Black Ballista.
The other reason is that decks are so aggressive these
days that it is hard to find a reason to use attach a
Hard Charm when you can just boost your Prize-taking
power with Muscle Band. Non-attacking Pokémon would
rather have Float Stone, or protect
themselves while they sit on the Bench with Mr
Mime PLF.
Hopefully, there will come a time when defence-orientated
decks will be able to take advantage of what Hard Charm
has to offer. Right now though, it finds itself in the
wrong kind of format.
Rating
Modified: 3 (may get a chance to shine later)
Limited: 4.25 (excellent in a relatively low damage
environment)
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