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Carnivine G LV 43
Not as strange-looking as Probopass, but still . . .
weird.
With the exception of Beedrill, Grass Pokémon are a
rarity in competitive decks, although Roserade GL did
see some play as an interesting tech in some SP decks at
Worlds. Two reasons for this are that Fire Pokémon are a
real threat once again (Blaziken FB, Infernape 4,
Magmortar SV), and that there really aren’t many
playable Pokémon that have a Grass Weakness (Claydol
should never be active, and Rampardos is hardly ever
seen).
A third reason, is that Grass Pokémon often lack raw
attack power. Carnivine G pretty much falls into this
category, though it’s attacks are not completely
hopeless.
The first, Power Whip, does 10 damage to a Pokémon of
your choice for every Energy that is attached to it. The
fact that there is no restriction on the type of Energy
is nice, and makes Carnivine somewhat splashable as a
bench sniper. Unfortunately, Energy is a precious
resource in Pokémon, and Honchkrow G can snipe 40 to any
damaged Pokémon for [D][C] or [D] and an Energy Gain. To
get the same result with Carnivine would need 4 Energy!
The second attack, Grass Know, cost a very reasonable [G][C]
and does 20 damage plus 10 more for each Energy in the
defending Pokémon’s retreat cost. It’s cheap, yes, but
you will seldom do much worthwhile damage. Most Pokémon
have a retreat cost of one or two, so you will be
struggling to do more than 40 damage a turn, and cards
that reduce retreat cost (such as Moonlight Stadium)
will also modify the damage that Carnivine G can do. You
could combine it with Ariados MT but . . .is it really
worth it just to get an extra 10 damage?
Carnivine G falls into the same category as the
Probopass G that we reviewed yesterday. Interesting
attacks, reasonably costed, but in the end, just not
doing enough damage to be worth including in your deck
in place of the more obviously powerful cards.
Rating
Modified: 1.75 (snipe is ok, but the card is
underpowered)
Limited: n/a
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