Name:
Magcargo ex
Set/Card#:
Dragons #97/97
Type:
Fire
Stage:
1 (Evolves from Slugma)
HP:
100
Weakness:
Water
Resistance:
None
Retreat:
CCC
Attack#1:
(R) Melting Mountain [20]
Discard the
top card from your deck. If that card is a basic Energy card,
attach it to Magcargo ex.
Attack#2:
(RRC) Lava Flow [40+]
You may
discard any number of basic Energy cards attached to
Magcargo ex when you use this attack. If you do, this
attack does 40 damage plus 20
more damage for each basic Energy you discarded.
Name:
Slugma
Set/Card#:
Dragons #72/97
Type:
Fire
Stage:
Basic
HP:
50
Weakness:
Water
Resistance:
None
Retreat:
CC
Attack#1:
(C) Ram [10]
Attack#2:
(RC) Luring Flame
Switch 1
of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon with 1 of the Defending
Pokémon. Your opponent chooses the Defending Pokémon to
switch. The new Defending Pokémon is now
Burned.
Attributes:
Magcargo ex is the only one of its kind.
It does share a common lower stage with the normal Magcargo, but
for time concerns, I leave it to you to look those up. Both are
interesting, and could be useful, but it would be next to
impossible to do those cards justice in another card’s CotD.
As stated,
this is a Stage 1 Pokémon ex. Evolving from Slugma means slim
pickings-Dragons seems the best, as it disrupts their bench and
Burns at the same time. Probably the better
one for Unlimited, which is kinda bad. Still, like most
basics that have Evolutions, that’s all it’s for. As a Stage 1,
this card needs to be a bit better than a basic, since otherwise
you’d just use a basic instead. Attributes vary according to
Pokémon, so this will usually be seen in abilities.
Similarly, as a Pokémon ex, it needs to be
roughly twice as good as a non-ex Pokémon of similar quality.
It’s a Fire
Pokémon, which does mean that enjoys a lack of Resistance and
being the weakness of Metal Pokémon and most Grass Pokémon. Its
HP is too low, like its set-mate Muk ex. A Stage 1 Pokémon ex
really needs to have 120 HP. It has Water Weakness, appropriate
but predictable. This can be a big problem-a Suicune can OHKO
this slug, and a Wailord can still put the hurt on it. It has
no Resistance, also predictable. It is also the worst you can
have in the “resistance” department. Retreat is three-a bit
awkward. You will want to avoid it as best as you can.
Abilities:
Melting Mountain is a so-so attack. In terms of damage, it’s
good: you pay for 15, and get 20. The effect can be
problematic. Discarding a random card from the top of your deck
is risky. Fortunately, a deck can be built to maximize the
attachments and almost eliminate the needless discards. If the
effect was optional it’d be out and out good, as is, it’s more
or less average. The second attack is a winner though. Lava
Flow is fairly priced for a basic with its base damage: RRC
yields 40 (15+15+10). It’s the optional effect that makes it
good: the discard cost is a bit better than you’d expect. While
not “perfect” (10 per energy would kick butt), 10 per basic is
still pretty nice.
Uses/Combinations:
While I considered it as a partner for Sceptile (along the same
vein as Camerupt), I realized that it would be the lesser of the
two-twice the prizes but not twice the Pokémon. So perhaps
Roselia, as you can discard any basic Energy. Speed Growth,
retreat to Magcargo, then Switch or Warp Energy back so Roselia
can re-power… but that seems a touch difficult. Harvest Bounty
Venusaur could keep it going, but again, it works just about as
well for most such Pokémon. Blaziken could power it up, but
again, after all that effort of making it active and benching
it, you probably should just use something that lacks the same
hassle. The best bet would be to run it in a deck of mostly
Fire Energy. I normally make my Eon decks 18-22 Energy. You’d
probably want the deck to be more like 25, or even upwards of 30
Energy. Also, you would be running less Pokémon and more
Trainers, to filter your deck to almost pure energy so you can
maintain a steady assault. Still, this leaves the deck fairly
weak-you have almost no room for error. Of course, in
Unlimited, you could use it in a typical
Encargo deck, but the normal Magcargo is superior due to
the ex-rule.
Ratings
Unlimited:
1/5-Not even 20 more HP and a fall back attack make this thing
worth considering as TecH in a normal Magcargo deck-the card
you’d discard would probably be more useful than a mere 20
damage attack.
Modified:
3/5-Originally I had high hopes for it… now I just don’t know.
The combination of low HP and Pokémon ex status really hurts
it. Unlike Muk ex, it does not slowdown most opposing decks,
and it’s not as fast as Muk ex either (since Muk ex matches
Roselia).
Limited:
3.25/5-Due to the ease of playing a most Energy deck, I suppose
it could work… barely.
2-on-2:
2.5/5-I don’t think it can take the
beating
TMP:
2.5/5-Ditto.
Summary
When I first
saw it, I thought it was overrated, then feared it, then
discovered AQ Suicune, then had that “taken” away by the
original Pure Body rulings, then got it back when Nintendo
corrected WotC’s ruling, then… well,
this card keeps flip-flopping in my mind. If someone finds a
way to make it work, e-mail me.
-Otaku (nintendotaku@hotmail.com)
