Name:
Farfetch’d
Set:
EX Emerald
Card#:
107/106
Rarity:
Secret Rare
Type:
Colorless
Stage:
Basic
HP:
70
Weakness:
Lightning
Resistance:
Fighting
Retreat:
(C)
Attack#1:
(C) Spearhead
Draw a card.
Attack#2:
(CC) Nosedive [30]
Farfetch’d does 10 damage to itself.
Attributes:
Farfetch’d is a Basic that lacks either an
Evolved form or a “pre-Evolved” form. As such, it
needs a lot of breaks so that it can prove useful.
It is a Colorless Pokémon, which is solid:
Resistance is almost non-existent, but Weakness is
found on some popular Pokémon. Of course, thanks to
Crystal Shard, any Pokémon can take advantage
of Colorless Weakness, but not having to rely on a
Pokémon Tool is useful.
Farfetch’d
has a good 70 HP. This is what a non-Evolving
Pokémon tends to need to be competitive: it takes a
good, strong attack to OHKO it, so you usually only
need to worry about blows from Stage 2 Pokémon, or
from its Weakness, Electric-Types. Electric Pokémon
are popular enough, so be aware: Dark Ampharos,
Dark Electrode, Manectric ex, and
Zapdos ex are all common sights, albeit in their
own decks. Since there is no… be still my beating
heart, there is a Resistance! The very appropriate
Fighting Resistance is a welcome sight. Granted,
this is one of the easier Resistances to get around,
but at least it is there.
Farfetch’d
has a Retreat Cost of one. This is nice an easy to
pay. While not as useful as a free retreat, it is
low enough that if you already have Energy attached
to Farfetch’d, retreating will be no problem.
Abilities:
Spearhead is a simple, but solid attack. It lets
you draw one card, which makes it a decent opening
move. Many players are trying to wean themselves
off of Sandstorm Dunsparce in anticipation of
it rotating out of Modified, and thus are using more
alternative set up methods, like Lanette’s Net
Search and Great Ball. It may not be a
huge set-up advantage, but then again you have more
HP and a Resistance, something Pokémon like
Dunsparce lack.
Unfortunately, the second attack isn’t so great.
It’s a fair attack mind you: you pay for 20 points
of damage via the Energy and another 10 points by
doing 10 points of damage to yourself, for a
respectable 30 points of damage. At least, if this
wasn’t the cards “top” attack. If it was more like
the Fire Red/Leaf Green Kangaskhan has two
similar attacks, but also a third capable of bigger
damage with no draw back. This would be a suitable
“warm-up” attack for maybe a Stage 1 or 2, but as
the “big” attack for Farfetch’d it is not
quite enough.
Uses and Combinations:
This card does still have some use. The best I can
think of is if you want to go with a FTKO deck in
Unlimited. You need to watch out for things like
Rocket’s Zapdos, but Tyrogue can’t touch you,
and your base damage is enough to OHKO a “Baby”
Pokémon on a successful Baby Rule check. Since you
can use Double Colorless Energy to be ready
turn one, two or three copies of Plus Power
will let you snag some OHKO’s. Erika’s
Jigglypuff is of course better at it, but is
vulnerable to being “rogued” itself, so more
back up is a good thing.
Ratings
Unlimited:
2/5-FTKO might be able to use this, but that
deck-type isn’t as popular as it once was.
Modified:
2/5-Okay in a few decks that want something
reasonably big up front, providing extra draw power.
Limited:
N/A-You shouldn’t be using this, but if it gets
reprinted or you are doing something just with your
friends, it’s killer: draw power and a decent
attack.
Summary
Farfetch’d
is a bit of a disappointment: it just lacks the
“oomph” it needs to really be effective. It seems
it needs to either be a little better at drawing,
beefed up its second attack, or possess on a simple
but useful Poké-Power or Poké-Body.
-Otaku
