Another new day, another new card in the shape of
Rampardos GL! The basics of this card aren't
particularly exciting. 90 HP on an SP Pokémon is just
above average, so should survive a hit, but don't always
count on it, like with most SP Pokémon, really. x2 Grass
Weakness isn't the worst, though Beedrill (GE) and the
odd Tutwig GL (RR) decks might get a little annoying,
and no Resistance is no Resistance really, average. 1
Retreat Cost is also average, so there isn't a lot to
say there. Really, the best basic thing about this card
is the fact that it's an SP, so can use all of that
brilliant SP support.
However, to use that support effectively, you need a
good reason to play it, and I'm not certain Rampardos GL
has any reason to be played. First off, Trample, for FC
or F and an Energy Gain, allows you to flip a coin for
each benched Pokémon, and does 30 to that Pokémon if you
flip heads. This can be nice, but since it also effects
your benched Pokémon, it can turn nasty. Of course, one
way round this is to play with no bench, but then you
put yourself in a dangerous position, where if Rampardos
GL gets KOed, it's game over. There is another way round
it, as I'll talk about in the combos section.
For FCC or FC and an Energy Gain, Rend is a pretty
expensive attack, with a mere 40 base damage. If the
Defending Pokémon has any damage counters on it, then it
shoots up to a mighty, er, 60 damage. OK, it's easy
enough to place that damage counter on any Pokémon,
thanks to Crobat G (PL) and Gallade 4 Lv.X (RR), but 60
damage for that cost just isn't enough. If it'll finish
something off, it'll do, but really, it's otherwise just
an alright back up attack.
Combos next, and really, apart with the standard SP
support, there is only one possible combo, and it's to
be used, as I mentioned earlier, with Trample, and that
is Manectric (PL). It'll stop the damage done to your
benched Pokémon, so you can use it freely without the
fear of your own benched Pokémon getting damaged or,
worse, KOed. Unfortunately, it's stopped by Dialga G
Lv.X (PL), so what could be a good combo is stopped by a
popular tech, which will probably make it useless and
Manectric is still vulnerable, so it may still back
fire.
Counters? Well, if they can disable Trample, then they
will have very little to worry because Rend is hardly
the most threatening attack ever. Unless if OHKO the
Pokémon that used Disable/Amnesia, then they will have a
lot to worry about. To be honest, if you can stop
Trample in anyway, then the main threat of the card is
neutralised.
Ratings:
Modified: It only really has one good attack in the form
of Trample. Rend is way too expensive for the damage -
why use Rend when there are so many other attacks that
can do 40 or even 60 for less? Trample seems nice, but
the fact that your own Pokémon may get damaged by does
severely reduce it's playability. There are better, more
reliable spreaders around, including over SP's, so I'd
just ignore this one. 1.5/5
Limited: Maybe it's slightly better here. Trample is a
little more dangerous here, since your Pokémon are
likely to have less maximum HP than normal, but the
possible bench damage might still be nice. Rend is
slightly more useful I suppose, but it's more expensive
due to the lack of Energy Gain and no having Crobat G,
so Rend will do 40 damage first time you use it. It
might work here, but there are still other better
spreaders here. 2.25/5
Baby Mario Top 4 UK Nats
Rampardos GL
Wow, what a risky card!
Rampardos GL’s first attack, Trample [F][C], lets you
flip a coin for each benched Pokémon (yours and the
opponent’s) and do 30 damage for each heads. That could
get you set up for a few KOs, or finish off some damaged
Pokémon, but it could also really backfire. There are
ways to stop it from damaging your Bench too much (Manectric
PL or . . . umm . . . a bench full of Quagsire SP), but
there is nothing you can do about the risk that the
attack could be wasted and not hit your opponent at all.
For one more Energy, Gyarados G PL will do the same
attack without damaging your own Pokémon, and seems like
a much better choice.
Rampardos GL’s second attack has some synergy with the
first one, doing an extra 20 damage if the defending
Pokémon already has damage counters on it, but it’s not
enough to make this card playable.
Rating
Modified: 1.5 (damaging your own bench is a terrible
idea. Use Gyarados G instead)
Limited: 3 (a bit better here, the second attack can be
used as a finisher)
Hello friends and not-friends (?!). I hope you're all having an AMAZING WEDNESDAY! Well, except for the not-friends.
Ehh, you know what, you not-friends can also have an AMAZING WEDNESDAY! You owe me one though =P
Today's card is one that everyone dreads to pull from a booster: Rampardos GL. The GL stands for the "Game Losses" you will rack up by playing this card.
Rampardos GL RI
Rampardos GL is bad. Really bad.
Combos
Being an SP Pokémon, you'd assume that you could pair this card with Energy Gain and Pokéturn. You'd be wrong, as you should be saving those cards for good SP Pokémon like Dialga G or Luxray GL, not for Neo Dunsparce wannabes.
This card really does not have any combos. Sure, you could slap an Energy Gain on it, play it with Gallade Lv.X, go for a spread strategy, and run a few Crobat Gs to make Rend do a smidgeon more damage, but it's not really a combo if it's terrible. Similarly, the combo between Snorlax and Wigglytuff also doesn't exist, as the combo itself doesn't amount to anything, thus ruining the purpose of a combo.
Attacks
Trample is at best mediocre, and that's when you pair it with a rigged die. Rend is simply terrible. I thought SP Pokémon were supposed to have a high damage output? If I wanted a Fighting basic to do 40 damage for 3 Energy, I'd go back in time and play Haymaker. Sure, they reprinted Hitmonchan, but it was actually good for a Basic to do 40 damage for 3 Energy back then. We also walked to tournaments through all the snow. Uphill and downhill both ways. Durn kids.
Bottom stats
Being 2x weak to Grass isn't that bad, but Beedrill does have a field day with this card. But then again, so does EVERYTHING else, as it's so bad. No Resistance makes this card even worse. A Retreat Cost of 1 is reasonable, but nothing amazing.
Ratings(1 - Sux, 3 - Meh, 5 - Rox)
Modified: 1/5. I'm giving this card a 1. Do I think that this is the worst card in DP-On? Not really. There are worse cards out there. However, being an SP card, I must rate it against it peers, and it simply comes short in every comparison against good SP cards. Limited: 1/5. Even worse here, as there's no Energy Gain, nor Crobat G, to make this card a smidgeon better. Try to trade it right away, before other people realize how bad it is. Unlimited: 1/5. If it doesn't even work in Limited, what makes you think it would do _anything_ in Unlimited?
What a horrible card!
(4:14:42 AM) IAMJOBOSKI: thats not even the right rampardos
