#7 Golisopod-GX
– Burning Shadows
Date Reviewed:
December 21, 2017
Ratings Summary:
Standard: 4.25
Expanded: 4.00
Limited: 4.50
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
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Golisopod GX (Burning Shadows, 17/147) stormed into the meta from the Burning Shadows expansion set. It came in second at Worlds, losing to its Burning Shadows counterpart Gardevoir GX in the finals. I’ve said in the past, I really don’t like how Pokemon schedules its ultimate championship. It seems very awkward to me that there is an expansion that becomes legal on the first day of the world championship. The world championship should be the culmination of all of the cards from the entire year. To me, having the 2016 – 2017 championship decided by two cards that weren’t standard legal for that entire championship year is illogical. And I know that for the people at worlds, it isn’t the cards as much to them as it is about the players. I get that. I just think it’s a failure on Pokemon’s part that the 2017 championship deck and the runner up weren’t standard legal for any tournament leading up to that championship. Perhaps the best single attachment attacker in the game, Burning Shadows was filled with cards to facilitate Golisopod GX’s success. Between Acerola, Super Scoop Up, and Guzma, Golisopod GX was poised to dominate the meta… were it not for Gardevoir GX. However, although Gardevoir won their first matchup at worlds, Golisopod has actually seen more success recently. Golisopod GX Zoroark GX won the EUIC last month, and two Golisopod GX’s made top eight at Memphis … while Gardy bubbled at nine. And with the upcoming Ultra Prism set (which should have been called Ultra Metal Decks Will Rule Over All), don’t count on seeing a whole lot of Gardevoir GX after January 2018. Rating Standard: 4.5 out of 5 Conclusion Golisopod GX has had a number of partners (Garbodor BKP, Zoroark, and Zoroark GX), and each new version has just made it better and better. It may have started out as the second best Pokemon out of CRI, but it’s moved well beyond Gardy as the best Pokemon from that set… and quite possibly the best Pokemon in the game. |
 Vince Golisopod-GX is very much like Guzma’s Golisopod, spamming First Impression while being the first to sent out. And it has Emergency Exit to force itself out when at half health so that once it gets sent out again, First Impression will hit hard once again. If that amount of damage is ridiculous in the video games, you won’t be surprised on how much this does in the TCG. 30 damage, plus 90 more if Golisopod-GX was positioned from the bench to the Active spot. All for a single Grass Energy! And that’s before factoring other damage boosting cards like Choice Band, Lurantis SM25 Promo, and Professor Kukui. That could potentially OHKO Basic EX/GX Pokemon just like that! Not to say that it’s other attacks are bad, but they aren’t used that often. Armor Press and Crossing Cut GX are good, especially the GX attack, which functions like a Switch item card while dealing 150 damage. And then your next turn, you bring this back to the Active by retreating a pivot Pokemon. Sometimes, Rainbow Energy is used on this Pokémon, and while the 10 damage may seem bad, Acerola can scoop that Pokemon to your hand, and your other benched Golisopod-GX can replace the Active and swing for 120. Guzma also facilitates the switching aspect as well, doing multiple things at once, like bringing your desired target up front while bringing your Golisopod-GX in front. Overall, Golisopod-GX still makes a strong showing, but with metal Pokemon and it’s support on the rise due to the next set, fire types are on the scene to counter those types, and this card is weak to it, unfortunately. Add on that three retreat cost, and you can see why I mentioned those Supporter cards, since you will have a difficult time with manual retreat and resorting to switching tactics. Another caveat would be that First Impression won’t work when your active Pokemon is KOed by your opponent’s attack, since that doesn’t happen on your turn. Other than those obstacles, this is still a good Pokemon to use. Even better is that Golisopod-GX is available in the Team Skull Collection with Salazzle-GX, helping you complete a playset if you’re willing to part some of your wallet; if not, then it’s better to buy singles for less hassle. Standard: 4/5 Notes: Again, I lowballed again on this card, and Golisopod-GX is quite strong for what it does. |
 Retro
Golisopod-GX is the full physical form of Guzma’s trademark line – to be the destruction in human, or in this case, card form. And its not linear too when it comes to provoking this statement; it excels at both bulk and brawn. A Stage 1 Grass type with 210 HP, there isn’t much that can one shot Golisopod-GX (spare Fire types because of Weakness). Its easy to get it to play and maintain it, thanks to its effective attacks. Its main and signature attack (as there is nothing like it before and during its time) is First Impression. For 1 Grass energy, it may at first deal 30 damage, but if any Golisopod-GX is the new Active Pokémon this turn, it deals 120 damage instead. This one attack made the entire Golisopod archetype to be the way it is – unable to claim one shots without Weakness but in return its very, very hard to get one shotted itself by opposing Pokémon without Weakness as well. With this attack only costing 1 energy, its really cheap and so there has been many ways to make Golisopod-GX go back and forth in the active slot abusing its cheap attack; the two most prominent ways are the switchback which involves bench switching cards like Guzma and Switch, and recycling which involves cards like Super Scoop Up and Acerola to put Golisopods into the hand, evolve Wimpods from the bench and put them to the active. However, it can’t manually retreat without burning many resources thanks to its heavy 3 retreat cost, but on the consistency side it can use Heavy Ball to search for any Golisopod-GX. Or it can do the first technique itself with its GX attack, Crossing Cut GX for an extra 2 colorless energies which deals 150 (180 with Choice Band) while getting itself back to the bench. Its once a game, but the damage output is ridiculously high, able to one shot most basic Pokémon-EXs and Pokémon-GXs. The other attack, Armor Press for the same energy cost as Crossing Cut GX, deals 100 damage and reduces damage taken by 20 after type matchups. So in the cases where Golisopod finds itself in a situation where it is disadvantageous or just unable to use either switching techniques, this is the attack they will use and it is noteworthy for this can make Golisopod last a lot longer and one trick that makes its Gardevoir matchups better. In short, between its massive bulk, consistent 2 shot attacks, and many prize denial techniques, Golisopod-GX is a true meta force and one must always watch out for the potential it brings to matches. Rating: Standard: 4.3/5 Expanded: 4.3/5 Limited: 4.3/5 |
 aroramage probably the breakout hit of Burning Shadows, Golisopod-GX has that quality of a cheap move that could dish out a lot of damage. His main means of doing so is in First Impression, a 1-for-30 move that could push for 120 if Golisopod-GX switched out from the Bench. With the right amount of switching cards, like Float Stone, Acerola, Guzma, etc., this card could very consistently dish out 2HKOs and has been the star of its own deck for a little while. It’s likely to remain competitive for a while, even if it’s not more than a Tier 2 deck. |
