Cramorant – Vivid Voltage
Date Reviewed: March 8, 2021
Ratings Summary:
Standard: 2.00
Expanded: 3.00
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Cramorant (SW – Vivid Voltage 040/185) continues our run of baseline Pokémon: Cramorant only gives up one Prize when KO’d, lacks a Rule Box, and isn’t part of any other named or designated card groups. Cramorant is a Water type, which is handy against Fire types and will likely prove important due to a particular piece of [W] support; more on that later. Cramorant is a Basic Pokémon, so it is fast and easy to use. 110 HP gets KO’d by just about any serious attacker, though it is just enough to survive certain technical attackers or decks with a poor field. [L] Weakness is dangerous and any Resistance a nice bonus… but the HP mitigates most of this. The Retreat Cost of [C] is still good.
Cramorant has just one attack, “Continuous Gulp Missile”. For [CC], it lets you discard as many Arrokuda cards from your Bench as you want, then Cramorant does 60 damage per. This means the attack’s base damage maxes out at 240, with 120 to 180 being more likely. It also means your Bench is largely taken, even though you mostly empty it each turn. The Energy cost means the attack is quite accessible, and while you may only fun four copies of Arrokuda in your deck, there are many ways to search out and recycle Pokémon. Which is important, because the idea of this attack is to hit hard and fast. Well, relatively hard; remember, anything in your deck may be prized. This old article puts the odds at about one in three that happens to at least one Arrokuda.
Cramorant doesn’t really compliment the other versions of itself, so let’s look at Arrokuda. All are your typical vanilla filler, with “the best” being Arrokuda probably being Arrokuda (SW – Vivid Voltage 041/185) because at least you can attack with it to fetch two more Arrokuda from your deck. This means you might also combine Cramorant with Barraskewda, as you’re already running its Basic and they’re the same type. Barraskewda (SW – Rebel Clash 053/192; Shining Fates SV032/SV122) can do 130 damage for [W], provided you discard two [W] Energy from your hand (which means basic Water Energy). Barraskewda (SW – Vivid Voltage 042/185) can target an opponent’s Benched Pokémon and does 20 damage per damage counter already on it, for [W].
Nessa is a must for a Cramorant deck. Yes, you can use Items to recycle your Arrukda, but they typically shuffle said Pokémon back into your deck, while Nessa can add up to four [W] Pokémon (or [W] Energy or up to four in combination of both) from your discard pile directly to your hand. If you do decide to Cramorant with Barraskewda (SW – Rebel Clash 053/192; Shining Fates SV032/SV122), Nessa also helps with keeping [W] Energy in hand, though there we have Items as strong alternatives (Energy Retrieval). The reason to use either Pokémon is for a single-Prize Pokémon focused 2HKO deck. If all Arrokuda are available and you have room on your Bench, you can slap a Twin Energy onto Cramorant and OHKO up to a 240 HP Pokémon…
…but as already stated, at least one Arrokuda ends up Prized, stuck in your deck, or still in your discard pile some of the time. You may only run four Twin Energy, and those aren’t easy to search or recycle, either. So a secondary attacker you’re already half-supporting seems like a decent option, while staying on-theme. I don’t expect Cramorant/Barraskewda decks to dominate the metagame. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if almost no one runs them. Still, they look fun and somewhat functional. My main concern would be the Zacian V matchup, as you’ll struggle to OHKO a properly kitted Zacian V. Then again, instead of Barraskewda, maybe Cramorant ought to look into Welder and a Fire-type partner?
Ratings
- Standard: 2/5
- Expanded: 3/5
I may have been overly generous with the Expanded Format score, but we’re not dealing with something reliant on Abilities or Items, and this Format adds Aqua Patch and/or Double Colorless Energy as alternate Energy sources. Otherwise, we have a gimmicky beatstick that just seems… fun. If you have the cards and time, maybe give Cramorant a shot. Even if I’ve grossly overestimated its potential, isn’t the mental image of one Pokémon spitting another at your opponent’s Pokémon worth a try?
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