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Torterra (Unleashed)
Torterra is definitely a favourite of the people who
make cards for the TCG. Even though the TCG focus has
shifted back to the Johto Pokémon with HGSS, they still
find room for a Torterra in the new block (no Infernape
or Empoleon, please note).
Seeing as this is the sixth (!) modified legal Torterra
(including the LV X), we should know what to expect by
now: big HP, high Retreat cost, slow-but-powerful
attacks, and maybe a little healing. If you are a fan of
Torterra, then you will be neither surprised nor
disappointed by this card.
With 140 HP, Torterra has above average durability for a
Stage 2. The return of double Weakness in the HGSS block
does make it very vulnerable to Fire, but Fire is
largely absent from the metagame right now, so it isn’t
too much of a problem. If it ever becomes an issue, a
tech Metapod HGSS will remove the Weakness. One negative
is that Torterra loses the very useful Water Resistance
that its pre-Evolutions have. Another is the truly awful
Retreat Cost of four. Warp Points are simply not
optional in a Torterra deck . . . you need them.
Giga Drain, Torterra’s first attack, is very
underpowered, doing a mere 40 damage for [G][C][C]. The
nice bonus is that you get to heal as much damage from
Torterra as you did to the active. This healing ability,
along with the high HP, means that Torterra is a good
card to attach an Expert Belt to. Not only will it do
more damage, but it will also heal itself more, making
it difficult for your opponent to knock it out and pick
up two Prizes. Land Crush is Torterra’s second attack
and is disappointingly vanilla. Yes, 80 damage is nice,
but at a cost of four Energy? That’s terrible value in
this format.
True, Sceptile GE is still in the format, and that can
effectively cut Torterra’s Energy costs in half with its
Wild Growth PokeBody but still, it’s a Stage 2 and it is
vulnerable to sniping and/or being dragged active. DCE
can also help you to start spamming Giga Drain a turn
earlier.
So, Torterra is by no means a bad Pokémon. It can be a
problem KO for any non-Fire Pokémon and, even if its
damage output is poor, it does have serious staying
power. The trouble is that it isn’t really any better
than the other Torterras available to us. This one may
have more healing, but they all tend to do more damage.
Torterra doesn’t make the worst deck in the world, but
generally speaking it has proved to be much too slow in
the current format. This Torterra doesn’t offer enough
to change all that.
Rating
Modified: 2.5 (Did we really need yet another ‘not bad
but still too slow’ Torterra?)
Limited: 3.5 (Not much Fire in the set, so very
difficult to KO if you spam the healing attack)
Combos with . . .
All the usual Grass Support (Shaymin LV X, Sunflora
HGSS, Metapod HGSS)
Sceptile GE will help with the high Energy costs
Expert Belt increases both damage output and
self-healing
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