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Name:
Team Magma’s Torkoal
Set/Card#:
Team Magma vs. Team Aqua, #12/97
Type:
Dark/Fire
Stage:
1
HP:
80
Weakness:
Water
Resistance:
None
Retreat:
CC
Attack#1:
(R) Magma Burn [10]
Discard the top
card from your opponent’s deck and flip a coin. If tails, discard
a (R) Energy attached to Team Magma’s Torkoal.
Attack#2:
(RC) Hot Air [30]
Discard a (R)
Energy attached to Team Magma’s Torkoal, and your opponent
switches the Defending Pokémon with 1 of his or her Benched
Pokémon, if any.
Attributes:
There is just one Team Magma’s Torkoal (TMT) available. It is a
Basic, Dark/Fire Pokémon, another unique quality, I believe. This
is good, as it carves out a niche for use by TMT. Being both Dark
and Fire is nice-there are Pokémon Weak to both, but none are
Resistant! Very nice indeed… TMT has 80 HP, which is really good
for a Basic (if this were a Pokémon ex, then it wouldn’t be).
Water Weakness is expected, and just needs to be dealt with.
While no official leaders for Water decks have come forward,
several promising decks based around new and old Water cards are
floating around. XD I say this every time: no Resistance is the
worst Resistance. Finally, we come to a retreat of two. This is
average normally, but On a Fire Pokémon,
it’s almost a little better due to a combo I’ll talk about later.
As is, it can be paid without a lot of waiting, but will take time
to recharge.
Abilities:
Magma Burn seems a touch over-priced to me, but the lack of
discarding cards means that if you can get it up front at the
right time, you can take an opponent by surprise. The second
attack, since it appears mandatory to discard if possible, is
lame. First, you may not want to discard, and second making the
opponent Switch Actives can backfire. On the bright site, with a
true Darkness Energy, the attack will do 40 for (RD), which is
passable.
Uses/Combinations:
… I guess in a Modified depletion deck. Maybe
as an opener for a Fire deck like BAR, just to diversify it.
Ratings
Unlimited:
1.25/5-Even though depletion is rare, we still have a card that
can do it better and is a basic Fire Pokémon. Attack is even
about the same price, but instead of a token 10 damage, they
discard one card per Fire energy you discard from that Pokémon.
And that Pokémon is… Fossil
Moltres.
Modified/2-on-2/ TMP:
1.75/5-Honestly, I am probably being a bit generous, but who
knows? Maybe it could push BAR even farther… yeah, right. XD
Limited:
3/5-Here it can be nice. The HP is a real boon on a Basic in this
format, and forcing switches and depletion are much more effective
too.
Summary
Another Pokémon
that only shines (slightly) in Limited.
It seems the fear of Big Bad Basics returning claims another
victim.
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