If you think this review is too long to read, just skip
straight to the Ratings and Summary sections!
Hmmm… looks like a Yu-Gi-Oh player snuck into TPC and
use Polymerization on Full Heal and Potion
Energy…
Name:
Heal Energy
Set:
EX Deoxys
Card#:
94/107
Type:
Energy
Subtype:
Special Energy
Symbol:
(C)
Text:
Heal Energy provides (C) Energy. When you attach this
card from your hand to 1 of your Pokémon, remove 1
damage counter and all Special Conditions from that
Pokémon. If heal Energy is attached to Pokémon-ex, Heal
Energy has no effect other than providing Energy.
Attributes:
Heal Energy is your standard Special Energy card: up
to 4 per deck, provides a single Colorless Energy, etc.
Abilities:
Heal Energy lives up to its name pretty well. First,
it removes a damage counter when attached to a Pokémon from
your hand. At the same time, it also removes all Special
Conditions from that Pokémon. Neither healing a single
damage counter nor removing all Special Conditions is really
worth a slot in your deck, even if you get to attach a
Colorless Energy at the same time. Doing both at once shows
some promise though. However, it only provides Energy for
Pokémon-ex, which is better than many other recent Special
Energies that couldn’t even be attached to them, but
obviously not good as a whole.
Uses and
Combinations:
Pity this didn’t exist when I built my first Gojira deck
around Expedition Tyranitar and Auqapolis Espeon:
it’d have been rather handy being able to “bounce” the
Energy to my hand for re-attachment (via Espeon’s
Poké-Power), repeatedly healing my Tyranitar (which I
did with Potion Energy). Oh well. As is, any deck
that fears Special Conditions and can make use of a
Colorless Energy should consider it: just removing Special
Conditions tends to be a waste, but providing Energy and
removing a damage counter while doing it is worth a card
slot.
Ratings
Unlimited:
3/5-Plenty of Colorless Energy costs, Trainer denial being
common, and Pokémon ex not being common mean that it’s not
too bad here. While you could also use Warp Energy
to shake a Special Condition, that’s dependant on a Pokémon
with a free retreat being available so you can get your
former Active back up front. Not for every deck, but it
works for some.
Modified:
2/5-It just isn’t all that useful hear, unless there is a
Pokémon that can return Colorless Energy to the hand for
re-use (and get some benefit from doing just that). Ever
Pokémon I can think of that returns Energy to the hand can
only affect Water and/or is a Pokémon-ex. If it removed up
to 2 damage counters while removing all Special Conditions,
then I could see it working its way into any deck with a
Pokémon that didn’t need a lot of specific Energy types and
wasn’t a Pokémon ex. Too be fair though, they’d probably
need another restriction on it. Still, it’s progress.
Limited:
4/5-I pulled one and it was great. Sure, you have to draw
into it for most decks, but removing even a single damage
counter can ruin so much planning. Plus, we all know that
Special Conditions tend to be sick in how effective they are
in this format. Finally, most of us don’t get a lot of
Pokémon ex and focus on Pokémon who have mostly Colorless
Energy costs for attacks.
Summary
This is great in Limited and solid for Unlimited, but I just
can’t see it playing a huge role in Modified. I do think
that in the end, it ends up being a tad under-powered. It
is a step in the right direction; maybe it needs some
different fusion materials. ;) Say, Super Potion (discard
an Energy and remove up to 4 damage counters), Bounce Energy
(provided (CC) but forced you to return a basic Energy to
your hand and couldn’t be attached otherwise), this card… so
that we had a card that forced the discard of an Energy to
be played but supplied CC while removing up to 4 damage
counters and removing all Special Conditions… and doing next
to nothing for Pokémon ex. ;)
