Hello, welcome to the second day of a new week and
month, with todays card being the new Infernape 4, one
of the new uncommons with a Lv.X. We aren't reviewing
the Lv.X today, so I'll just go on about this normal
version instead. First off, the basics of it, and it has
a mighty 90 HP, which is fairly good for an SP Pokémon,
and actually, not that much lower than that of a normal
Infernape, which is strange, really. x2 Weakness to
Water is to be expected, and I suppose not too bad since
there aren't that many Water Pokémon being played, apart
from the odd Palkia G (PL) and Kingdra (LA) I suppose.
No Resistance is no Resistance, simple as that. 1
Retreat Cost is about average, so you can't complain
there. Also, in case you haven't guessed, it's an SP
Pokémon, so has all the usual benefits of being one.
The abilities aren't too bad either. Split Bomb is a
classic attack really. RC or R and Energy Gain for a 20
snipe on 2 of your opponents Pokémon is weaker than
other Split Bombs, mainly because they used to be the
domain of Evolved Pokémon and were more expensive as
well. Personally, I think this one is better for sheer
speed, and the double 20 snipe isn't exactly bad either.
Nice for weakening your opponents Pokémon, ready for
your Lv.X to KO it. Simple, effective, and brilliant.
High Jump Kick puts me in mind of the original one on
Hitmonlee (Fossil). However, this one is much better,
since instead of costing FFF like old Hitmonlee, it
costs RCC or RC with Energy Gain for the same 50 damage.
Not a massive difference, but one that makes Infernape
4's that little bit better than Hitmonlee's. Anyway,
back to the flaming monkey, and really, it's just a
medium power attack that is only really useful if you
can KO your opponents active with it, rather than
needing to discard energies with the Lv.X's attack.
Again, brutally simple, but really, you time is better
spent Split Bombing threats instead of High Jump Kicking
whatever your opponent brings active.
Combos, well, it works quite nicely with Infernape 4
Lv.X (RR), would you believe it, Split Bombing your
opponents bench so the Lv.X can sweep what ever your
opponent puts active. Simple and brilliant. If you don't
like that, you could use Infernape 4 in some sort of SP
themed spread deck. OK, it isn't quite as good at
spreading as some over SPreaders (Gallade 4, Palkia G,
Electrode G, I could go on), but it can be a nice sniper
in these decks. Probably not worth it though, and you'd
be better off just using it in it's own deck.
Counters, and if you can prevent sniping, that's a good
little thing to do. Manectric (PL) is the obvious
counter here, but it still leaves you active and your
Manectric open to attack, and is also easily countered
by the easily teched in Dialga G Lv.X (PL). If you main
attackers can take a High Jump Kick or 2, then that'll
do as well. However, you'd be better off finding a way
to counter the Lv.X form rather than this.
Ratings:
Modified: It's a rather nice card. Decent HP and a low
cost Split Bomb make a nice Split Bomber, perfect for
weakening your opponents bench ready for your Lv.X to
sweep through them with it's own attack. High Jump Kick
is a bit of waste really, but it can be used if you
really don't want to use your Lv.X's attack to KO
something, I suppose. 3.25/5
Limited: You are unlikely to get the Lv.x here, but
Infernape 4 can still work nicely. Split Bomb is
brilliant here, since sniping in Limited really helps,
especially if your big hitter is actually a bit feeble.
High Jump Kick will probably be a bit more useful here,
2HKOing most of what you find if you ever become
bothered to actually power it up. Still worth it for
Split Bomb alone really. 3.75/5
Baby Mario Top 4 UK Nats
Infernape 4
All Infernapes have two things in common: good attacks
and high vulnerability. Infernape 4 is no exception.
There isn’t a lot to say about the second attack – High
Jump Kick – which does a pretty ‘meh’ 50 for [R][C][C],
but the first attack deserves a second look. Split Bomb
is a slightly weaker version of Empoleon MD’s Dual
Splash, doing 20 Damage to two of your opponent’s
Pokémon for just two Energy (or one with Energy Gain).
This is a very nice attack for softening up your
opponent’s benched Pokémon before you level up Infernape
and force a switch with the LV X.
With 90HP and a X2 Weakness to Water, it’s just as well
that Infernape is fast, and it really does need another
Pokémon in the deck to cover its weakness (Luxray GL
comes to mind). Nevertheless, it’s ability to start
spreading damage, coupled with the LV X’s ability to hit
hard, makes Infernape 4 a card worth building a deck
around.
Rating
Modified: 3 (With the LV X, it’s a glass cannon, but a
good one)
Limited: 4 (decks tend to be slow and Pokémon survive
longer here, so repeated Split Bombs are made of win)
