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X- Act |
Colorless Neo 3 Ho-oh
It's my choice for COTD again, and,
seeing that Skyridge should be out soon (or is already out), I
thought we'd review some of the old Neo cards. I thought it'll
be interesting to dedicate this week for Colorless Basic Pokemon
that can't evolve. :D
Inevitably, I chose Ho-oh as my
first card, and the reason is threefold. First of all, it makes
the people at #pojo happy. :) Secondly, I've talked about it a
lot in previous COTDs, so it deserves a more thorough review as
a COTD itself. And thirdly, because it can be part of a pretty
deadly deck in Modified.
This Ho-oh has only one attack:
Rainbow Burn. For 4 Colorless, this attack does 30 damage, but
you add 10 more damage for each different Basic Energy card
attached to it. That means that, since there are 6 different
Basic Energy cards (Water, Fire, Grass, Lightning, Fighting and
Psychic), it has the potential to do 90. Note: I said _Basic_
Energy cards. So Rainbow Energy is useless with Ho-oh, since it
is NOT a Basic Energy card. I hope that makes it clear why
Energy Search is so cool with Ho-oh (as I said in last Friday's
COTD).
Let's go to the ratings.
Unlimited: In this format, where
Energy Removal is still frequent, Ho-oh is, of course, a joke.
Short and sweet.
1/5
Modified: In Modified, where
removing energies is a much more difficult proposition, Ho-oh
can be a force. But not alone. Ho-oh is weak to Water, and
unfortunately, Water is very commonly played in Modified. But
all is not lost. There is a Lightning card which makes Ho-oh
very playable: Expedition Ampharos. And for good reason, too.
First of all, it counters the type that Ho-oh is weak to, and
Ho-oh counters the type that Ampharos is weak to (Fighting).
Secondly, Ampharos' Poke-Power works superbly with Ho-oh. Think
about it. You attach 3 Energies to your bench (Cleffa, Tyrogue,
etc.) which you actually use early game, evolving Mareep in the
meantime. When Ampharos is out, just bring out your Ho-oh, move
Energies to it, optionally attaching a Strength Charm, and do
massive damage. If you manage to KO your opponent's main
attacker this way, this will probably shock him or her, and
throw him or her off-balance, especially if you bench your Ho-oh
at the same turn you do this. Ownage deck, which deserves much
respect.
3.5/5
Draft: Well, first of all, it's
Rare, but it's a Colorless Basic with 90HP and a colorless
attack. Even if you attach only two different basic energy cards
to Ho-oh, you're still doing 50 damage per turn. A 90HP Basic
Pokemon doing a consistent 50 or more damage per turn in Draft
(albeit after a slow setup) is broken, especially in Neo
Revelations. And if you later want to sell it, it's the most
precious Non-Holo card in Neo 3. I won't give it full marks just
because it's Rare (as usual).
4.5/5
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