Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
Gothorita #46/98 (Emerging Powers)
Ok, so you have decided to run a Gothitelle deck.
But which Gothorita to choose?
Yesterday’s version was an 80 HP Psychic Type with
generic and not very useful attacks. Today’s version is
exactly the same, except it has marginally more
interesting, but still not very useful attacks.
For one Psychic Energy, you get Deleting Glare, which
gives you a coin flip chance of discarding an Energy
attached to one of your opponent’s Pokémon . . . in
other words, it’s Energy Removal 2 or Crush Hammer in
attack form. This kind of effect is never bad (assuming
you get the flip), but in this format, it’s less
effective than it might be because the metagame is
dominated by either Pokémon with minimal Energy needs (Yanmega,
Donphan) or decks which have plenty of acceleration (Typhlosion
and Emboar variants, Zekrom/Pachirisu). This leaves us
with Super Psy Bolt – a vanilla attack which does 50
damage for the somewhat steep cost of [P][C][C].
In reality, neither Gothorita boasts attacks which you
would actually choose to use in a match. This, and the
fact that they have identical stats, means that there is
little to choose between them. You could go for the
minor Status-based disruption of #45,
or the risky
minor Energy disruption of #46, and I wouldn’t have much
of an argument against either choice. Like most evolving
Stage 1s, practically the only purpose they serve is to
get you that Stage 2 when you don’t have the option to
evolve via Rare Candy.
You may as well pick one based on which artwork you like
best. It really makes that little difference.
Rating
Modified: 1.5 (maybe this one
is slightly
more prettyful)
Limited: 1.75 (I’d go for the Energy disruption here)
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virusyosh |
Happy midweek, Pojo viewers! Today we continue our
reviews of the new Emerging Powers expansion. Yesterday
we reviewed Gothorita #45 from the set, and today we
will review Gothorita #46.
Gothorita is a Stage 1 Psychic Pokemon. Psychics aren't
so common, with only the rare Mew Prime, Reuniclus, and
Jirachi seeing play, though those are generally techs
and not the focal points of a deck. As said yesterday,
you'll probably only be using Gothorita in a deck with
Gothitelle in Modified, although it can stand pretty
well on its own in Limited. This particular Gothorita
has 80 HP, which is fairly decent for an evolving Stage
1, although it still could afford to be a bit higher (In
all fairness though, many Psychics have low HP). Psychic
Weakness is to be expected, but isn't that much of an
issue unless you're against a mirror match. Finally, no
Resistance and a Retreat Cost of 1 round out the bottom
stats.
This particular iteration of the Manipulate Pokemon has
two attacks: Deleting Glare and Super Psy Bolt. Deleting
Glare can discard an Energy on a coin flip for a single
Psychic Energy, acting as the new Crushing Hammer in
attack form. In Modified you'll rarely ever use this
attack (except maybe on the second turn, before you
evolve into Gothitelle), but it can be fairly good in
Limited to set your opponent back if they're already
having trouble with Energy. However, as with all flip
attacks, the major downside is that it only works 50% of
the time, so it's not something you want to be relying
on.
Super Psy Bolt, on the other hand, is Gothorita's only
offensive option, and it does a fairly good job
fulfilling that role, dealing a vanilla 50 damage for a
Psychic and two Colorless. This attack is excellent in
Limited, dealing a decent amount of consistent damage.
While you probably won't use it very often in Modified,
it can be good in a pinch, if not a bit expensive.
Modified: 2.25/5 Yesterday I alluded to the fact that
this Gothorita was a bit better than the other, with
Super Psy Bolt dealing a fair amount of damage for the
cost, and I still feel that way. That being said, I
think now it's more of a matter of personal preference,
based on whether or not you'd like the sheer attacking
power that this one provides, or the potential
disruption that automatic Confusion can provide. Either
way, chances are that you won't be using Gothorita very
much in Modified anyway, since you'll be skipping
straight from Gothita to Gothitelle.
Limited: 4/5 This Gothorita is excellent in Limited,
with the ability to both disrupt your opponent's Energy
as well as dealing a good amount of damage with Super
Psy Bolt. Even if you don't get a Gothitelle, this
Gothorita is easily usable on its own, although the low
HP is a bit of a problem and Psychics are fairly common.
Even still, Gothorita will easily be able to pull its
own weight in Limited, and should serve you well if you
decide to use it.
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