Baby Mario
Top 4 UK Nats |
Electivire FB
One of the things that has made a lot of the SP LV X
Pokémon playable (apart from the brilliant support
cards) is the fact that many of the Basic forms are good
cards in their own right (Dialga G, Luxray GL, Blaziken
FB). There have been a few exceptions though (Alakazam 4
and Rayquaza C come to mind), so which category does
Electivire FB belong in?
Well, its first attack, Dump and Draw, offers excellent
support to its LV X. For a single Colourless Energy (or
an Energy Gain), you can discard up to two Energy Cards
from your hand (which provides fuel for the LV X’s
Energy Recycle Power) and then draw two cards for each
Energy you discarded. Draw is always good in Pokémon,
getting your options into your hand and helping you to
set up faster. The second attack, Electric Current, is a
rather underwhelming 40 for [L][C][C] with a forced
switch of a [L] Energy to a benched Pokémon. Really, you
are going to want to use this for emergencies only and
prefer to attack with the LV X.
Electivire FB has a solid 90 HP, a Resistance to Metal
(not totally useful, but better than nothing), and the
expected X2 Weakness to Fighting. This is a potential
problem as there are quite a few Fighting techs that see
play (Toxicroak G Promo, Lucario GL, Relicanth SV). The
Retreat cost of 3 is a considerable drawback . . . how
Electivire is slower to get out of the way than a Palkia
or a Dialga, I’ll never know, but all Electivires have
this problem, it seems. If you play this, you had better
be prepared to use your PokeTurns on it.
Electivire FB is not a bad card, and does at least have
some synergy with its LV X form. Ultimately, though, its
playbility is decided by how good that LV X form is, and
right now I’m afraid the LV X is a bad card for the
format: slow, utterly destroyed by Power Locking, and
easily KO’d by Fighting tech (it is a OHKO for Mankey
SV!).
Rating
Modified: 1.5 (decent Support for a useless LV X)
Limited: 2.5 (the draw alone makes it somewhat playable) |
drtomoe123
Professor
League Leader |
Electivire FB
Supreme Victors
Holo Rare
Once again, we're covering a card that's already had its
Level X card reviewed. Honestly, that's pretty
interesting, mainly because when I picture a Pokemon
with a Level X, I don't really separate the two in my
mind, so it's kinda cool thinking about just the
original card, and its strengths and weaknesses WITHOUT
the Level X involved. I've realized that some cards
really do have potential without their Level X (Gardevoir
SW anyone?), but some really rely on their Level X in
order to be seen as good cards. Is Electivire FB one of
those Pokemon?
Pretty much.
So the basics of this card are okay, which has been
pretty common lately. It's got 90HP, which is pretty
good for a non-legendary SP, great for a Basic in
general. The 2x Weakness to Fighting is so dangerous in
this format, with Machamp, Relicanth, Primeape, and all
of those other fighting types running around. The -20
Resistance to Metal is okay, although you don't really
see many Metal Pokemon with the exception of Dialga G
and the occasional Aggron. The Three Retreat Cost is
absolutely horrible, especially compared to good
Electric Pokemon like Luxray GL. Thank God for PokeTurn,
right? Right?
Anyways, the attacks are what make this Pokemon tick,
obviously. The first attack, Dump and Draw, for one
Colorless, allows you to discard up to 2 energy cards
from your hand and you can draw a card for each energy
you discarded. Like the Rayquaza C the other day, this
attack is GREAT when used with cards that retrieve
Energies from the discard, and convieniently, Electivire
FB Lv. X is one of those cards. However, without the Lv.
X, this attack lets you get some small draw support
while placing energies in the discard for cards like
Electivire SW and Typhlosion MT (or even Rayquaza C!).
While draw power is always nice, I don't really like
this attack too much, ESPECIALLY if you're not running
the Lv. X along with it. Keep it for the Pre-Release.
The second attack, Electric Current, does 40 damage and
makes you move one Lightning energy from Electivire FB
to one of your Benched Pokemon, but it does all this for
1 Lightning and 2 Colorless. Pretty worthless attack, in
my honest opinion. Might be nice if Electivire's going
to die and you can get a KO real quick, but otherwise,
why don't you just go ahead and PokeTurn? Once again, it
works much better if you're using the Lv. X, but if not,
you're better off using this card only in dire
situations.
Ratings:
Modified: 2.5/5 It's an okay card, but don't run it
without the Lv. X. It can work okay in a deck where you
need to get cards in the discard, but honestly, why not
use Rayquaza C if you're not running Electivire FB Lv.
X? You actually get to do damage! I have mixed feelings
about this card, and hopefully I'll start seeing it used
in creative ways...but for now, it's pretty normal. Too
many weaknesses.
Limited: 3.5/5 Better here, mainly for the draw support.
The second attack could be a lot more useful, mainly
because you can power up stuff on the bench since you
don't have PokeTurn. If you can get the Lv. X here,
you're pretty much set until they get Mankey out.
So pretty much, the normal Electivire FB is a pretty
average card with average abiliites. If you agree,
disagree, or have some cool ideas, just e-mail me at
drtomoe123@gmail.com.
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