OK, can you say a card that is CLOSE but just not good
enough.
When this monster came out, everyone saw that power, and
the fact that Hippo and Machamp and Gengar each had one
energy attacks that could be abused and went…”There HAS
to be a combo here, right?”
We tried. We tried. It failed.
The power, if sprayed or shut off, could not be retried
for the REST of the game…bad.
Weakness to water, retreat cost of 4, both not real good
against a kingdra who could one shot the beast with a
pluspower.
Still, a card that you always have to watch out for. You
do get to shuffle everything in your deck, so it is
reusable, but still…
Attack, 4 for 40 to 2 pokemon is vastly overcosted.
Maybe as a finishing move, but still…meh.
Ratings…
Modified 3.5/5 Not the WORST card, but certainly not the
best. Has its “combo buddies” that it works well with.
With so much Luxray around, could actually be playable.
Limited 2/5 OK, you will draft it because it is a level
X, but much less playable here. People actually play
water in Rising Rivals Limited (Vaporeon, Glaceon,
Quagsire and others)
Vince
Baby Mario Top 4 UK Nats
Hippowdon LV X
Now this is a LV X that DID get some hype before it was
released.
Hippowdon LV X is a card that was never going to get
attention for its attack (40 to 2 benched Pokémon for [F][F][C][C]
is average at best, and the Stage 1 form does better).
Its HP (130 for a Stage 1 LV X) certainly gives it some
staying power, even with the X2 Water Weakness (just
watch out for Kingdra and Palkia G). Its Retreat cost of
four is horrible, but what did you expect? It’s a giant
hippo.
The main focus of this card has always been its Sand
Reset PokePower. This allows you ONCE PER GAME (remember
that bit) to return all cards on the field (apart from
Pokémon and Supporters) to their respective decks.
That’s all Energy, Tools, Stadiums and TMs gone just
like that! Obviously, this can be a great way of staging
a come back if your opponent gets a brilliant set up
(with all their Pokémon fully powered), while you
struggle. It is also one of the very few ways that the
game offers of getting rid of that pesky Unown G (KOing
the Pokémon it is attached to, or using Dusknoir DP’s
Dark Palm Power are the others). It may seem like a bit
of a desperation move (you lose your Energy and Tools
too), but if timed correctly, it could offer a way back
into a game from a losing situation.
So why isn’t Hippowdon LV X seeing more play, either as
a main attacker or as a tech? Well it all comes down to
a ruling that was made on the use of the Sand Reset
Power. That ruling states that if the Sand Reset Power
is stopped (for example by Power Spray or Alakazam MT’s
Power Cancel), it’s Power is still counted as being
used, even though its action was blocked. With all the
SP decks running around, nearly all of them running
Power Spray, it is a fair chance that you will not get
to use Hippowdon’s Power at all, as most opponents will
be saving up a Power Spray the moment they realise you
are running it.
So,what you are left with is a very risky and difficult
to play LV X. If SP is uncommon in your area (not
likely), then give it a try. Otherwise you probably will
find playing Hippowdon LV X a very frustrating
experience.
Rating
Modified: 2.25 (like Ludicolo PT, its playability was
severely cut by a ruling)
Limited: 3.5 (good attacks for Limited, and if you need
it, the Power can’t be stopped here)
Steel
Winger
Welcome back to the Pokemon COTD!
Today we're going to look at Hippowdon LV. X. Let's look
at the basics first: 130 HP is excellent for a Stage 1
LV. X, this guy will definately survive a hit or two...
unless you run into some Water-type Pokemon; it'll have
trouble with those guys due to it's x2 Weakness to them.
Kingdra (LA) with a PlusPower can OHKO this guy. There's
also a -20 Resistance to Lightning-types, so Luxray GL
will have a bit of trouble damaging it. A Retreat Cost
of 4 is, like Hippowdon itself, heavy. If you use this
guy, make sure you have a way to switch it out of need
be.
Now, Hippowdon LV. X has a Poke-Body that's very unique
in more ways than one: Sand Reset. It forces both you
and your opponent to shuffle everything in play except
Pokemon and Supporters already played into the deck.
Basically, all Stadiums, Energies, Pokemon Tools and
other cards that attach to a Pokemon (like PlusPower)
are shuffled back into the deck. Hippowdon LV. X doesn't
even need to be active to do it. If your opponent is set
up like an inpenetrable fortress, just Sand Reset and
get rid of the energy and everything else. T-Tar and
other Pokemon that rely on having a lot of Energy on the
field (such as Leafeon LV. X [MD] and Gardevior [PT])
really do not like this card. It's also the only way to
get rid of an opposing Unown [G]. Where Pachirisu (GE)
fails, Hippowdon LV. X prevails. It is a great power
that can turn a game around, especially combined with
Upper Energy when your opponent is ahead, but there's a
catch: Sand Reset can only be used once a game. Meaning
you must be very careful when using this against SP
Pokemon (because Power Spray will prevent the power from
taking effect) and Alakazam (MT) (because its power does
the exact same thing as Power Spray). Alakazam isn't
that widespread, but SP decks are abundant. I suggest
Looker's Investigation to view your opponent's hand
before pulling the power off.
Hippowdon LV. X also has an extra attack in additon to
whatever regular Hippowdon you place this on. Double
Shoot requires 4 Energy, 2 of which must be Fighting.
Discard 2 Fighting Energies attached to it for a 40
snipe to two Pokemon on the bench. This is a weaker
version of Blastiose's (PT) Double Launcher attack, but
unlike that attack, it's possible to use Double Shoot
next turn. How? Stark Mountain. Provided you already
have energy attached to another Pokemon, you can move it
around with Stark Mountain in addition to your normal
energy attachment. Claydol, and possibly something else,
can be 2HKOed with this guy if you play your cards
right.
So, how can you best use this card? Try to use Sand
Reset before your energy attachment, that way you'll
have a bit of a head start on your opponent afterwards.
Hippowdon (RR) can attack for 1 energy, and that
particular attack gives you energy acceleration from the
discard pile. Trapinch (RR) does the same thing with its
Power. Upper Energy is excellent with this if you're
behind. People like to combine Hippowdon with Flygon
(RR) to mitigate the high retreat cost. Togekiss (GE)
lets you attach a lot of energy at once to Hippowdon,
providing you with possibly another way to quickly build
energy for Double Shoot.
Ratings:
Modified: 3.75/5 The Power is great, and I believe it
merits a "once per game" stipulation. Great
survivability, and a sniping attack to boot.
Limited: 3.75/5 Due to Sand Reset, games here could go
on for quite a while. SP Pokemon have Flint's Willpower
though. Combine this with low cost attacks and energy
accelration, as always.
This is Steel_Winger, until next time!
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