Blastoise VMAX – Promo
Date Reviewed: June 16, 2021
Ratings Summary:
Standard: 2.00
Expanded: 2.00
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Blastoise VMAX (SW – Black Star Promos SWSH103) is a [W] type Pokémon VMAX with 330 HP, [L] Weakness, no Resistance, Retreat Cost [CCC], and two attacks. For [WWW] it can use “Grand Falls” to attack for 120 damage and attach up to three [W] Energy from your deck to your Benched Pokémon as you like. “G-Max Bombard” costs [WWWW] and does 220 damage, plus 30 to two of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon.
Is this card worth giving up three Prizes when KO’d? I’m thinking just barely. The HP is just 10 shy of the printed max, and while its Weakness is dangerous, it isn’t the absolute worst to have right now. The lack of Resistance and awkward Retreat Cost don’t help, but they don’t really hurt, either. How about being a [W] type? I’m not sure how [R] decks fair after SW – Chilling Reign, but if they don’t take too much of a hit, smacking them for double damage should come in handy. [W] support is mixed because Frosmoth can be a massive help for fueling Blastoise VMAX’s pricey attacks…
…but it also makes its first attack border on redundant. Grand Falls is actually the better attack, the [W] equivalent of Pikachu & Zekrom-GX’s “Full Blitz” attack. There are definite differences; swap [W] symbols for [L], and Full Blitz does 30 more damage but may only attach to one of your Pokémon (Bench or Active), while Grand Falls cannot attach to your Active at all but can split its “up to three” Water Energy between up to three different recipients. Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, while smaller and still worth three Prizes when KO’d, is a Basic, has a killer GX-attack that attaching to itself can optimize, and some proven tricks to get the first Pikachu & Zekrom-GX up and running. Which means that first one can fuel subsequent attackers.
Blastoise VMAX also has a trick to get up and running quick but it’s Frosmoth. Attaching from the deck is sometimes (I’d say often) better than attaching from the hand, but with Frosmoth you can just fuel something like Lapras VMAX or some other [W] attacker and benefit from better attacks. Grand Falls is good because of attaching and doing just enough damage. G-Max Bombard is… “okay”. It can OHKO nearly all Basic Pokémon V (and smaller) Pokémon, and 2HKO nearly all of the larger targets, while doing a tiny bit of Bench damage. For [WWWW], like I said, that is merely “okay”.
Pretend, for a moment, that Rose was actually as good as I predicted when it was new. Then Blastoise VMAX would probably be good. Just use Rose to get the first one up and running, and then Grand Falls to set up the next. Manually Retreat the original (if necessary), and use Cheryl to flush away all of its damage while the second Blastoise VMAX attacks and attaches more Energy to the original. Periodically use Energy recycling effects so your deck doesn’t run dry. I’m out of touch with the current metagame of Expanded, but I’d worry about your Weakness to [L] and other great [W] types… though cards like Aqua Patch are a great way to get Blastoise VMAX up and running.
Ratings
- Standard: 2/5
- Expanded: 2/5
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