Muk
(Next Destinies)
Today we look at a Pokémon based around
a big pile of toxic goo. I’m sure
there’s some kind of environmental
message in that. In the distant past
there have been some excellent
Muk cards
(Fossil Muk,
Dark Muk)
and even more recently they have tended
to be right on the borderline of
playability (Muk
SW, Muk UD),
so it would be nice if this new one
could continue that tradition.
This Muk is,
as you would expect, a Stage 1 Pokémon.
The 110 HP seems ok, but is unlikely to
be able to help it survive for very long
against the kind of attacks that are
becoming standard in this format.
Psychic Weakness is of course horrible
as long as Mewtwo-EX
is still being played (and it will be),
as is the Retreat cost of four.
Muk’s
first attack, Gentle Wrap, costs one
Psychic and one Colourless Energy and
does 20 damage, and had the effect of
preventing the Defending Pokémon from
Retreating next turn. Although this can
be somewhat disruptive (especially when
used with Pokémon Catcher to drag out a
non-attacker like Eelektrik), it’s also
less useful that just . . . taking the
KO with a more effective attacker.
For a massive hike in cost to [P][C][C][C],
Muk’s second
attack, Toxic Secretion, offers 60
damage and double Poison (two damage
counters instead of one between turns).
You can see where they were going with
this card: trap a Pokémon, then hit it
for massive Poison damage, but the
execution is a long way short of
competitive, thanks to the low damage
output and relatively high cost of the
attacks. This card is even inferior to
the Undaunted
version of Muk,
which offered more effects and
potentially higher damage for less cost.
Even that didn’t see play except as a
See Off tech in Mew Prime decks.
This Muk is
typically on-theme with its Retreat lock
and Status Conditions, but not really a
competitive card.
Rating
Modified: 1.5 (overpriced attacks doom
it to the binder)
Limited: 2.5 (it’s
ok if it can survive long enough to
Poison, but you can do better)
