Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
Lapras
#25 (Next Destinies)
I’ve always liked Lapras as
a Pokémon. He’s big, but he’s also gentle and helpful.
Plus he’s one of the original 151, which is always good.
He was a pretty solid Pokémon card in Fossil, but since
then has fared less well at the hands of the card
designers, with Lapras-ex
notorious for being one of the worst –ex cards ever
printed. Let’s see if this latest version has anything
to offer.
Lapras
is a Basic with a respectable 100 HP (well, respectable
for a non-Legendary). His Lightning Weakness severely
reduces his durability however, with Lighting being by
far the most popular Type in the format. Also bad is the
Retreat cost of two: in fact it’s
so bad that
it may well be the thing that stops this card ever
seeing play . . .
Lapras’
first attack is something we have seen before many, many
times. Yes, it’s Call for Family (CFF) and in this
version it lets you search for and Bench
two Basic Pokémon. The
viability of CFF-style attacks has varied over the
years. At times it has been a valuable set up tool in
slower formats (see Pachirisu
GE and, best of all, Dunsparce
SS), but in super fast formats like the one we are in at
the moment, it is not often worth it (though slow decks
like The Truth and Vanilluxe
will still use Pichu GS).
That said, people are looking to the future and
anticipating a Rotation that will take Pokémon
Collector, and maybe even Dual Ball, out of the game,
leaving us with nothing that can search out multiple
Basics. In an environment like this, CFF attacks become
very attractive, so could Lapras
possibly be a contender?
Sadly, no.
Firstly there is that problem of the Retreat cost I
mentioned earlier. When a CFF Pokémon has done its job,
he needs to go to the Bench, and he needs to do it
quickly and efficiently. Because
Lapras needs two Energy to Retreat (or a Switch,
or one Energy plus Skyarrow
Bridge), he is straight away less appealing that cards
with similar attacks that Retreat for a single Energy (Stantler
UL, Elgyem NV). Secondly,
there is the cost of CFF. With
Stantler and Elgyem,
the cost is Colourless, so they can be splashed into any
deck. Lapras, on the other
hand, needs Water Energy, so is limited to Water decks.
I guess decks that run Prism could also use
Lapras, but who would want
to waste a valuable Special Energy on him?
Lapras
does have another attack, but it’s not really very good:
reckless charge does 40 for two
Colourless Energy (oh so NOW it uses Colourless!),
but also self-damages Lapras
for 20. It isn’t something you would want to use unless
you were desperate, and doesn’t really do anything to
make the card more appealing to players. In the current
format, Lapras really
doesn’t have a place; in a maybe-future one, he’s
already outclassed.
Rating
Modified: 1.75 (Call for Family might be good next
format . . . but we won’t be using
Lapras to do it)
Limited: 4 (CFF is absolutely brilliant here, and being
a durable Basic is a big plus too)
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virusyosh |
Hello, hello, Pojo readers! Today we're going to
review a Rare from Next Destinies that could see some
play after Pokemon Collector rotates. Today's Card of
the Day is Lapras (#25) from Next Destinies.
Lapras is a Basic Water Pokemon. Water isn't so common
right now, but as I've stated before, this card could
potentially see some play if the conditions are right.
100 HP is great for a Basic, although it still sadly
falls below the accepted standards for taking hits from
prominent metagame threats, although Lapras will tend to
be an early-game Pokemon if it sees any Modified play at
all. Lightning Weakness is a problem against Zekrom,
Zebstrika, and Zapdos; no Resistance is to be expected;
and a Retreat Cost of 2 is payable if you're in a bind,
though you'll likely be better off using something like
Switch.
This Transport Pokemon has two attacks. Call for Family
allows you to search for 2 Basic Pokemon and put them
onto your Bench, shuffling your deck afterward for a
single Water Energy. This attack has the potential to be
great in a format without Pokemon Collector, where
setting up quickly is still key, even without the help
of the fantastic Supporter (it's excellent in Next
Destinies Limited, for example). However, the single
Water Energy cost could be a problem with the relative
lack of Water-types that see play, therefore restricting
Lapras use to Water decks or decks that run Rainbow or
Prism Energy. Reckless Charge, Lapras' form of offense,
deals 40 damage for two Colorless Energy, while dealing
20 damage to itself. Self-damage effects are never
great, although the Colorless Energy requirements make
the attack at least usable in Limited. Overall, Lapras
is a fantastic supporter for Limited, but may get a
chance to shine in Modified if the format can be kind to
it.
Modified: 2/5 Lapras may see play in the future, but
probably won't right now. While Call for Family is an
excellent setup option, most decks will simply run
Pokemon Collector or Dual Ball instead (and rightfully
so). Lightning Weakness and a not-so-useful offensive
move also hurt Lapras' viability, as well as being
somewhat of a useless bench sitter in the late game.
Overall, you're probably better off not using Lapras
here, as there are many other better options.
Limited: 4/5 Lapras is an excellent setup Pokemon for
Limited...if you run Water Energy. Call for Family's
Energy requirements are sadly restrictive, so if you
want to use Lapras, you'll have to at least throw a few
Water Energy into your deck for this reason. Reckless
Charge isn't great, but does serviceable damage for a
Colorless cost, even if it does cut into Lapras' great
HP score. Chances are if you run Lapras here, you won't
be disappointed.
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