Remember, if you think this review is too long, skip
straight to the Ratings and Summary!
Name :
Rocket’s Mission
Set :
EX: Team Rocket Returns
Card# :
88/109
Rarity :
Uncommon
Type :
Trainer
Sub-type:
Supporter
Effect
Text:
You can play only one Supporter card each turn. When you
play this card, put it next to your Active Pokémon. When
your turn ends, discard this card.
Discard a
card from your hand. Draw 3 cards. If you discarded a
Pokémon that has Dark of Rocket’s in its name, draw 4 cards
instead.
Attributes:
This is a Supporter, which doesn’t matter a whole lot in
Unlimited, but means it faces steep competition for deck space
in Modified. Even if that wasn’t the case, being a limited
category of card allows it to have a more potent effect.
Abilities:
The natural comparison for this card with Team Aqua’s Schemer
and Team Magma’s Schemer. Both cards require a discard
to draw three cards. The difference is the Schemers
require it be a Pokémon, but Rocket’s Mission allows you
to discard any card. Then, again like the Schemers, if
you discard a Pokémon of the appropriate alignment (Dark
or Rocket’s), you get to draw four cards. So in reality
it is better than the Schemers and in some decks arguably
better than the much vaunted TV Reporter.
Uses/Combinations:
A must have for decks with more than one or two Dark or
Rocket’s Pokémon. I also recommend it to player’s like
me whose hand size tends to always stay high. The deck I have
been testing it in for Modified has only six cards that can
trigger the extra draw power. Now, I have a few tricks to make
it easier, but even if I had no cards to trigger it, it would be
tempting. Between this, Bill’s Maintenance, and TV
Reporter you can build a deck with solid, reliable, albeit
it an incremental draw power. Still, with each of these and
VS Seeker maxed out, you can more or less have almost
constant, even draw pace.
Ratings
Unlimited:
3.5/5-Most decks won’t bother, but I believe this is one of the
cards that could help make a Rocket’s Haymaker or
Beatdown supported by Slowking or Dark Vileplume
into a viable deck.
Modified:
4/5-I find it’s pretty rare to top deck in Pokémon. As such,
this card is almost the equal of TV Reporter in general
decks. In fact, if TV Reporter didn’t exist, this could
very well have fill the void. It
wouldn’t be a perfect fit, but very, very close. Plus it gets
bonuses in the right deck. Oh, and anyone paying attention
should note that if we were to re-review TV Reporter, in
the current iteration of Modified I would definitely boost it’s
rating to at least this high.
Limited:
4.5/5-Draw Power, hello. Plus, you should be getting access to
the bonus draw most of the time.
Summary
Team Rocket
proves they are more experienced than their Aqua and Magma
counter parts by making their customized draw card almost as
good as TV Reporter. The difference between the two is
that Rocket’s Mission sadly requires the discard be
first. On the bright side, if it is a Dark or
Rocket’s Pokémon, you get to draw four. This makes it a
must for decks with those Pokémon, and a solid choice for
Modified decks without them that want steady, reliable draw
power.
