|
Otaku |
Name:
Wobbuffet
Type:
Psychic
Stage:
Basic (but see main text)
HP:
80
Weakness:
Psychic
Resistance:
None
Retreat:
CC
Poké-BODY:
Safeguard
Prevent all effects of attacks,
including damage, done to Wobbuffet by your opponent’s Pokémon-ex.
Attack#1:
(PCC) Flip Over [50]
Wobbuffet does 10 damage to itself,
and don’t apply Weakness and Resistance to this damage.
.
Woo-hoo! Time to look at my second
favorite Pokémon: Wobbuffet. Yes, like so many, I am a
Wobbuffanatic. Just something about that seemingly dopey blue
blob… well, let’s break it down.
Attributes:
If you are wondering, this is the term I
prefer using to address everything about a Pokémon other than
Pokémon Powers and attacks. Wobbuffet is a Basic, Psychic
Pokémon. Psychic-types are getting stronger again: the evolutions
are no longer as HP handicapped (the original Alakazam had 80 HP,
while the last two have had 100), Colorless Pokémon no longer seem
to be Resistant, and Darkness Pokémon no longer lack a Weakness.
They seem to be getting stronger attacks and Pokémon Powers as
well. There several Basic, Psychic Pokémon, but most belong to
evolution chains, and as such are rarely meant to be in anything
but a deck that focuses on their evolved stages. So if we need a
solo Basic Psychic Pokémon for a deck, there are only a few
serious options. Certainly few have this much HP, and even fewer
have more: only Neo Discovery Wobbuffet (90), Neo Revelation Lugia
(90), Rocket’s Mewtwo (90), and Mewtwo ex (100) are what I
could find. 80HP is good for a Stage 1, and great for a basic.
We surpass that “magic” HP of 70, special because so few attacks
can do a flat 60, let alone 70, without any detrimental effects.
As for the other Wobbuffets, they are a lot like the versions of
my favorite Pokémon, Snorlax: all are good attempts at capturing
the essence of the Pokémon they represent, but aren’t quite
right. In this case, the Wobbuffets usually copy or adapt a
mechanism from the videogame Wobbuffet (who starts with and can
know only 4 moves, at least in G/S/C), but tend to come up short.
The Neo Discovery version only damages your opponent on a coin
flip, and then only if they attack and damage you on the next
turn. This is similar to the video game, except the attack does
double what they did to you and it’s actually two attacks: Counter
and Mirror Coat. For those unaware of this, Pokémon attacks are
either “physical” or “special”, and counter works on the former
while Mirror Coat only works against the latter. The Skyridge
version has a novel take on Mirror Coat, using it to “reflect”
Special Conditions, but it doesn’t work on all of them, just Burn
and Poison, only works if they are inflicted by an attack, and
Wobbuffet will still be Burned or Poisoned as well. Its attack,
Return Attack, does damage equal the number of damage counters on
Wobbuffet for (PC)… but only works 75% of the time. The other two
Wobbuffets has similar attributes to this one: Neo Discovery
version has 10 more HP and one more retreat, while the Skyridge
version has 10 less HP and the same retreat cost. As such, making
this a Wobbuffet was a good thing, as few decks use the other
Wobbuffets so once again, we are just losing the normal deck space
for the cards. A Weakness to Psychic is somewhat iffy, since most
Psychics possess this and Confusion now places damage counters, it
seems to be an “average” weakness. I’ll say it again: no
Resistance is the worst Resistance. The retreat: CC. This is
more or less average, in the sense that it’s neither especially
easy nor particularly difficult to pay. If you can avoid paying
it, fine, but if you have to pay it, you should recover in a turn
or two. Wobbuffet has no evolutions currently.
Abilities:
This is what I am using to refer to the combination of Pokémon
Powers and attacks. It’s Poké-BODY, Safeguard, is the reason most
people will think about using it. As a whole, the ex
Pokémon will probably be commonly used in Nintendo’s format.
While they are not the same as the “Big Bad Basics” of old, they
can be a solid starter for an early lead, or a nice fall back
guy. You can try running a deck around several of them, but if
you rely on them, Wobbuffet just shuts you down. You wouldn’t
believe how many people think that the Pokémon ex will
dominate the Nintendo only format. I tried that before Sandstorm,
and it just doesn’t work. Anyhow, this is one reason to play this
card if there is a Pokémon ex running rampant in
your area. Now we come to its attack, Flipover. For PCC, 50
damage is a little more than you pay for: P=15 and each C=10, so
there is 35 there. Now, this attack does do self-damage (but
thankfully ignores self Weakness and Resistance. Ignoring the
self Weakness is good, as Wobbuffet of course is weak to its own
type and would otherwise do 20 to itself. >_< It is good it
ignores self Resistance. As you don’t have any, the only time this
comes up is when something is copying you… not that I can think of
any copying cards resistant to their own type. :p Since it doesn’t
place a counter; there are some cards in Unlimited that could
reduce this damage, even under Nintendo rules. As for the “cost”
tally we were keeping, 10 to self is another 10 to them, so we are
at 45 now. See, a big 5 damage bonus, lol.
Combos:
Okay, so what can be used to make this better? If you were to
play it in Unlimited, you could use Double Colorless Energy to
power it up faster, Defender to prevent self damage, and Healing
Fields to take care of most of the self damage. However, the best
trick I can think of is this: run it with Wynaut. Wynaut has 50
HP, just enough to survive 2-3 turns against most other low key
basics (even the basic Pokémon ex as all of their big
attacks need three energy cards). It of course requires you to
think about it: if your opponent has something that is likely to
KO you, then don’t attack with the Wynaut. Otherwise, use its
attack to get the Pokémon you need, including a Wobbuffet at once
point. If you use your energy attachments at the right time, you
can grab 2-6 Pokémon, then “evolve” to a fully powered Wobbuffet.
This gives Wobbuffet a more practical role in decks, as opposed
to just TecH against the Pokémon ex.
Ratings
Unlimited:
2/5-Its actually a solid attacker for a Psychic Basic, but there
are many others that could do as good or better jobs. If the
Pokémon ex are a problem in your area, tuck it in.
Modified(Neon):
3/5-Why so much higher? I have a fun damage swap deck that uses
Wobbuffet… and this would really help it, just because it gives
reliable damage, and I can yank its damage off with Alakazam and
put it on the E3 Wobbuffet. :D Otherwise, it fills the same space
as above, but with less competition and to better effect.
Modified(LC-on):
4/5-What?!? Why so high? In this format, Mewtwo ex is a
beast, having Scoop-up and damage swap Alakazam available to it,
along with Juggler and Pokémon Nurse. I saw such a deck take
second at a recent local tournament… played by a 7-year-old (Hi
Timmy!). Now, Timmy is much better than the average 7-year-old,
having been paying attention to what the “big” people do. Still,
he beat players who, before that tournament, I would have been
certain could beat him. I only beat him because my deck featured
Strong Psychic attackers and I got a luck break and KO’d his only
Alakazam before he got another out. My point? This may very well
be the deck to beat in this format, and Wobbuffet was literally
made to take it down (after weakness, it does exactly the
100 damage needed to OHKO you-know-who).
Modified(Eon):
3.75/5-A Mewtwo ex-centered deck is only among the top 3-10
decks (and not the top one :p ) so it takes a hit. Still, it
borders on staple material. If you don’t run it, you should have
some other major way of dealing with the exers.
Nintendo Only:
3.25/5-Without the Trainer support, the Pokémon ex go from
deck focuses to strong TecH. As such, Wobbuffet also drops.
Still, it’s a solid attacker and the synergy between it and Wynaut
make it nice for many decks.
TMP:
3/5-I am going to have to say that with its solid starting HP,
Wobbuffet should still do well in TMP, once in gets going.
Obviously, the dual Tyrogues can be a problem, but if you run it
in the right decks, it should still be useful.
2-on-2:
3.75/5-More of the same really. Only Pokémon with special 2-on-2
effects or those that are bench sitters are really affected by
this.
Now, as a wobbuffanatic, I may be
over-rating this card. Still try it: see how it does for you. If
I got anything wrong (like Timmy’s age ;) ) you can contact me at
nintendotaku@hotmail.com.
Please, no spam or viruses, but if you disagree and will politely
state why I was wrong, then go ahead and let me know.
-Otaku |
