Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
Excadrill 57/98 (Emerging Powers)
Bet you didn’t see this coming did you? Yes, today we
review the other Excadrill from Emerging Powers. Which
one is best? Hmmm . . . this is going to take some
figuring out.
Today’s card has 120 HP, which is
10 more than yesterday’s. That fact, combined with the
useful Lightning Resistance, means that Zekrom would
have to drop two PlusPowers to get a
OHKO, though of course Reshiram wouldn’t need to bother.
Being a Fighting Type is pretty good right now too:
Magnezone, Cinccino, and Zoroark all fear Fighting
Pokémon, and the Water Resistance isn’t too much of a
drawback either: it’s certainly better than the more
common Psychic Weakness which would make a match up
against Gothitelle even more unpleasant than it already
is.
Excadrill’s Dig attack costs [F][C]
and does 30 damage . . . which is most definitely
subpar. It does have the nice effect of giving you a
coin flip for next turn immunity from damage and effects
though. This can be useful and annoying for your
opponent (even though it is unreliable), but it’s
nothing like the unbreakable wall it appears to be:
Pokémon Catcher, Yanmega sniping, Muk’s Sludge Drag (in
Mew-based decks) are all
extremely common ways of playing around it.
In yesterday’s review, Excadrill got compared to Donphan
Prime and was found to be inferior. Today’s card
practically forces the same comparison once again. This
is because, just like Donphan, it has an Earthquake
attack. Excadrill’s version actually does slightly more
damage than Donphan’s (70 as opposed to 60), while doing
the same 10 spread to your own Bench. Unfortunately, it
costs quite a bit more. While Donphan does it for a
single Fighting Energy, Excadrill requires [F][C][C].
Ok, so you can easily pay for it with a Double
Colourless, but you are still looking at two Energy
attachments, and on a less
durable Pokémon too.
It’s even harder not to see today’s Excadrill as a poor
man’s Donphan . . . maybe because that’s exactly what it
is. It’s certainly easier and cheaper to get hold of,
but it’s slower, and won’t stick around as long. With
Donphan itself seeing a slight decline in play (which
looks set to continue when strong Water Pokémon like
Kyurem and Cryogonal are released in the next set), the
value of Excadrill seems even more dubious.
Rating
Modified: 2 (Maybe this is a slight improvement on
yesterday’s card, but I don’t consider it playable)
Limited: 3.25 (easier to make the attack lock stick
here, but the Bench Damage from Earthquake will
eventually hurt you)
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virusyosh |
Hello once again, Pojo readers! Today we're reviewing
the second Excadrill from Emerging Powers.
Excadrill is a Stage 1 Fighting Pokemon. Much like
yesterday, Excadrill's primary competition in Modified
is Donphan Prime, therefore Excadrill has to do
something better than Donphan in order for it to warrant
a deck slot. 120 HP is great on a Stage 1, matching that
of Donphan Prime and will probably keep Excadrill alive
for at least one unboosted hit (although the dragons
still sadly OHKO). Water Weakness is a problem against
Beartic and Samurott (who will OHKO you), Lightning
Resistance is good against Zekrom and Magnezone, and a
Retreat Cost of 2 is fairly decent and easily payable,
but chances are you'll still want to use a Switch
anyway.
Excadrill has two attacks, Dig and Earthquake. Dig deals
30 damage for a Fighting and a Colorless Energy, with
the "Agility" protective effect: if you flip heads, you
prevent all effects of attacks, including damage, done
to Excadrill during your opponent's next turn. Not bad
for the cost (and especially nice in Limited), but these
types of attacks are generally too unreliable in
Modified to be of much use. 30 damage for two Energy is
a little low in Modified as well, even with the
potential protection.
Earthquake is nearly identical to Donphan Prime's,
although Excadrill's version does 70 damage for a rather
expensive Fighting and two Colorless, dealing 10 damage
to each of your Benched Pokemon. This attack can be nice
in Limited for steady damage output, but Donphan Prime's
Earthquake is strictly better in Modified, so if you
want a hard-hitting Fighting-type in Modified, go with
something like Donphan, Machamp Prime, or even Gigalith
in the right deck.
Modified: 1.5/5 This Excadrill is totally outclassed by
Donphan Prime, even more than yesterday's Card of the
Day. If you're thinking about using this Excadrill in
Modified, use Donphan Prime instead.
Limited: 3/5 Excadrill #57 is serviceable in Limited,
although it's not a standout. Dig provides a nice
potential protective effect, allowing you to power up
Earthquake and start dishing out 70 damage a turn (which
is very good for the Limited format). Just keep in mind
that Earthquake does damage your Bench, so you may want
to draft high HP Pokemon along with Excadrill, or have
some way to heal the damage, like Max Potion.
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