Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
Klang
75/98 (Emerging Powers)
Hello and welcome to another week on
Pojo’s
CotD. This
week we are clearing the decks of
unreviewed
cards from the last couple of sets. I
can’t wait until we start looking at
Noble Victories, but before we get on to
that, we have some business to take care
of.
We kick off the week with
Klang. It’s
an evolving Stage 1, so it’s best not to
expect anything much, and then you won’t
be disappointed.
Klang has fairly average stats –
80 HP and a Retreat cost of one, and
while its Metal typing does give it
access to the damage-reducing properties
of Special Metal Energy, it also means
that it is Weak to Fire, which is a bit
of a disaster in a format where you
can’t move for
Reshiram decks. The Psychic
Resistance is marginally useful I guess,
though Psychic types are relatively rare
at the moment with only Mew Prime and
Gothitelle
really seeing any play.
Klang’s
first attack, Metal Sound, costs
one Energy of
any Colour, does no damage, but instead
inflicts Confusion. Confusion may be the
lamest of the Status Conditions in the
TCG as it can be
Retreated out of with no penalty,
but it does introduce some minor
disruption and at least does
something towards helping
Klang
survive long enough to evolve. There’s
not much more you can ask of an evolving
Stage 1 these days, so I’m inclined to
describe this attack as being at least
decent, verging on useful. The survival
theme is (sort of) taken up by Guard
Press, Klang’s
second attack. This does
60 damage and
reduces damage to
Klang on the next turn by 20.
Unfortunately, this isn’t really a
usable attack in Modified play. For a
start, the damage reduction is unlikely
to make a lot of difference as most top
tier decks will have little trouble
doing the necessary damage. For another
thing, the cost of [M][M][C]
is very high: if you haven’t got the
Stage 2 out before you get three Energy
on Klang,
something is going very wrong with your
deck.
Ultimately, Klang’s
playability is decided by how worthwhile
the Stage 2 options are. So far, I
haven’t seen or heard of anyone running
either the BW
Klinklang or the EP version
(which unsurprisingly is tomorrow’s
card) outside of a fun League deck. The
heavy Fire presence in the
metagame is
basically making Metal Pokémon an
impossible play right now and even if it
wasn’t, neither of the Stage 2’s really
has all that much to offer. Should that
change, then Klang
EP could well be the Stage 1 of choice
to run with its evolution. It stands
half a chance of being able to survive
long enough to evolve, and, relatively
speaking, that’s not bad for an evolving
Stage 1.
Rating
Modified: 1.75 (better than average for
a Stage 1 . . . but I can’t say the same
for its evolution)
Limited: 2.25 (I could see both its
attacks causing some minor annoyance
here)
|
|
virusyosh |
Welcome back, Pojo readers! This week we're going to
review the last few cards from Emerging Powers (and one
from Black and White) that we've previously missed
before we move on to Noble Victories (or theme weeks). I
also hope all of you enjoyed your Noble Victories
prereleases these past two weekends. Anyway, we're going
to kick off our COTD week with Klang from Emerging
Powers.
Klang is a Stage 1 Metal Pokemon. Metal Pokemon
aren't commonly seen in our current Modified metagame,
with only Scizor Prime and Steelix Prime making rare
appearances. As an evolving Stage 1, Klang will most
likely find a place in a deck utilizing Klinklang. 80 HP
is just about average for an evolving Stage 1, although
sadly it still won't be able to take too many hits,
boosted or not. However, it is worth pointing out that
since Klang is a Metal-type, it can take advantage of
the damage reduction from Special Metal Energy. Fire
Weakness is terrible against Reshiram, Emboar, and
Typhlosion, Psychic Resistance is great against
Gothitelle and Mew Prime, and a Retreat Cost of 1 is
easy enough to pay.
Klang's two attacks, Metal Sound and Guard Press, are
more useful in Limited than in Modified. Metal Sound
Confuses the Defending Pokemon for a single Colorless
Energy, which can be fairly useful if you're looking to
stall in both Modified and Limited (then again, if
you're attacking with Klang in Modified, you're probably
in a lot of trouble). That being said, your opponent can
simply just retreat to get rid of the Condition, but I
suppose it can be disruptive in a pinch. Guard Press is
Klang's only form of offense, inflicting 60 damage for
two Metal and a Colorless with the additional effect of
giving Klang 20 points of damage reduction during your
opponent's next turn. This attack is quite expensive for
Modified (as in you probably won't be able to power it
up given Klang's low HP), but it can work just fine in
Limited, and the damage reduction can really give your
opponent problems.
Modified: 1.5/5 The entire Klinklang evolutionary
line isn't really worth using in Modified, as Fire decks
are everywhere and they don't really do a whole lot of
reliable damage. That being said, if you want to build a
deck with Klinklang (and Klang), this is probably the
better choice for Klang due to consistent damage and a
lower Retreat Cost.
Limited: 3.25/5 Klang is very solid in Emerging
Powers Limited. Fire is a relatively rare type in that
set, and Klang's two attacks are both fairly useful in
Limited. Metal Sound's automatic Confusion can serve to
disrupt the opponent, while Guard Press deals good
consistent damage and provides damage reduction, but is
a bit expensive. Overall, if you find yourself playing
Metal, Klang is a very good choice for Limited, even if
you don't have a Klinklang.
|
