Lapras (014/P-A) – Promo A Series Vol. 1
Date Reviewed: January 6, 2025
Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Our Honorable Mention from Promo A Series Vol 1. is Lapras ex (014/P-A)! I learned that what we’ve looked at until this moment are not part of the Promo A Series Vol. 1. Rather, the promos in the shop are still the Promo A Series, but without a Volume. Lapras ex is part of Vol. 1. I’m still not 100% certain I’ve got the exact name for these promos correct…
…but back to the card! Let’s not skip that, as a Pokémon ex, Lapras ex needs to justify being worth an extra point when KO’d. Eventually, it may also need to worry about anti-ex effects, but for now there’s only Tauros (Mythical Island 060/068). Its attack normally does 40 damage, but does 120 when used against a Pokémon ex. The attack costs (C)(C)(C), so it isn’t a massive concern, but one does need to be aware of it.
As a (W) Type, Lapras ex not only enjoys +20 damage against nearly all (R) Pokémon, as Weakness grants +20 damage in Pocket. More importantly, Lapras ex can use Misty. Misty has you select one of your (W) Pokémon on the field, then flip a coin until you get “tails”. Each “heads” letting you attach a (W) Energy. Even one “heads” means is a big gain. There’s also the new Vaporeon (Mythical Island 019/068, 072/068); its Ability lets you move (W) Energy from your Benched (W) Pokémon to your Active (W). Sometimes handy on its own, and if you attach more than you need with a Misty, Vaporeon can prevent it from going to waste.
Lapras ex has 140 HP, which is good for a Basic Pokémon ex. You can be OHKO’d still, but it’ll require a heavy hitter, or near heavy hitter if your opponent can exploit Giovanni and/or Weakness. Speaking of which, Lapras is (L) Weak. This doesn’t put Lapras ex into OHKO range for any additional (L) Pokémon, but Jolteon (Genetic Apex 102/226) needs to flip one fewer “heads” and 2HKOs will significantly increase. Lapras ex has the second highest Retreat Cost in the game at (C)(C)(C). This is difficult to pay without help, and would require one X Speed and one Leaf in the same turn to retreat for free.
Lapras ex has one attack, “Bubble Drain”, priced at (W)(W)(W). The attack does 80 damage, and lets Lapras ex heal itself by 20. You’ll OHKO most Basic Pokémon outside of fellow Pokémon ex, but the chunkier non-evolving Basics can survive. This can buy multiple turns against low damage attacks, and one turn against mid-range, but heavy hitters are mostly still going to 2HKO or OHKO. Even mid-range gets dicey when certain combos are considered. You could use Blue and/or Potion to help Lapras ex survive longer, but even then lots of attacks can still get the OHKO or 2HKO they had coming.
Lapras ex’s biggest problem, though is the competition: Articuno ex (Genetic Apex 084/226, 258/226, 275/226) either ties with our outperforms Lapras ex in every way except for two: Articuno ex’s big attack requires (W)(W)(W) and not (W)(W)(C), and Lapras ex might be easier to obtain. There was a drop event for it, and even if there’s never another chance at Promo A Series Vol 1. boosters, the Pokémon TCG Pocket App claims a Trade feature will be coming. So either you might already have Lapras ex, or you could trade for it.
This allows Lapras ex to be a budget Pokémon ex. Something you can use until you obtain Articuno ex, or you can even try running Lapras ex alongside Articuno ex. I did. The results weren’t great, but I didn’t think they were bad, either. If you don’t have a better (W) Pokémon combo, give it a try. If you’ve got something already proven, though, only try it for fun.
Rating: 3/5
If the above score sounds high, remember Lapras ex is being outperformed by Articuno ex. That’s a little different to just being “bad” in its own right. There’s also a clear way for Lapras ex to become better: additional healing or damage reduction cards. Healing isn’t an uncommon theme for (W) in the full TCG, but even something like Super Potion would be great for Lapras ex. At the same time, this could be as good as it gets for Lapras ex.
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