Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
Vanillish
28/101 (Noble Victories)
Hello and welcome to another week of
CotD here on
Pojo. We
kick off the week by looking at possibly
my favourite Pokémon line from the Black
and White Generation. I recently
discovered that they were designed by
James Turner, the first Westerner ever
to design Pokémon . . . and he’s from
the UK! It makes me proud to be British!
Those ice creams are awesome!
Vanillish
is the evolving Stage 1 of the line, and
that usually means something dull and
not much good. This card is just a
little bit better than that though, as
we shall see. Basic stats are
unimpressive though: 80 HP is no more
than standard for a card of this type,
while the Retreat cost of two can be a
bit of a pain. Metal Weakness is still
one of the better ones to have in this
format though, with
Cobalion NV being the only
serious threat.
When it comes to attacks,
Vanillish is
(as we will see tomorrow) kind of an
appropriately toned-down version of its
evolution. The first attack, Ice Beam
costs [W][C]
and has a pretty horrible base damage of
20. It does however give a coin flip for
Paralysis, probably the best of all the
Status Conditions, because it prevents
the Defending Pokémon from attacking or
retreating for a turn. If you are
running the
Vanilluxe line, then you are most
definitely running Victory Star
Victini (Fliptini)
in your deck as well, and his Ability
will up the chances of Paralysis from
50% to 75%, giving you a good chance to
buy some time with this attack. You
would definitely use it in preference to
Frost Breath anyway . . . unless two
Water Energy for a . . . well . . .
vanilla 40 damage
(what else?) would get you a crucial
knock out.
So, Vanillish
isn’t anything special, but it is a
Stage 1 that works well with the cards
you will be using anyway and can buy you
a turn or two of set up. That pretty
much makes it exceptionally good for
what it is.
Rating
Modified: 2.5 (a Stage 1 with some
synergy for your deck. More of this
please)
Limited: 3 (especially if you also pull
Fliptini)
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virusyosh |
Welcome back, Pojo readers! I hope that all of you
had a great time this weekend. We're going to be
reviewing more Noble Victories cards this week, so be
sure to check back daily for updates. Today we're going
to kick things off with Vanillish.
Vanillish is a Stage 1 Water Pokemon. Water Pokemon
generally seen in Modified are mainly Kyurem, but
Vanilluxe, Vanillish's Stage 2 form, sometimes sees some
play in builds with Mew Prime or with Vileplume and
Victory Star Victini. Vanillish's 80 HP is average for a
Stage 1, and will sadly fall to most assaults by the
metagame's main hitters, including the dragon trio,
Tornadus EP, and Virizion NV. Metal Weakness is only
really a problem against Cobalion, although you may
occasionally see Scizor Prime or Steelix Prime as well.
Vanillish has no Resistance, and a fairly average
Retreat Cost of 2, which you can pay if you absolutely
must.
Vanillish has two attacks that complement its Stage 2
form quite well. Ice Beam deals a weak 20 damage for a
Water and Colorless, but can also Paralyze if you flip
heads. This works very well with Victory Star Victini,
and can serve as a stalling tactic until you get
Vanilluxe out for even more Paralysis, even if the
damage output is slightly disappointing. Aside from
Victini, Ice Beam also works well in Limited as it only
requires a single Water Energy. Frost Breath deals a
vanilla (is that a pun?) 40 damage for two Water Energy,
which is fairly decent for its cost in Limited. In
Modified, chances are this attack won't be used very
often, although it can be used as a finishing move after
you've Paralyze locked your opponent with Ice Beam, so
in that way, it isn't so bad.
Modified: 3/5 If you run a Vanilluxe deck, Vanillish
fits in perfectly with what the deck is trying to do,
which cannot easily be said of most Stage 1 forms. Ice
Beam fits the Paralyze theme of the Vanilluxe deck
perfectly, and Frost Breath serves as a decent finisher.
The only real knocks on Vanillish as a Stage 1 are its
Metal Weakness, slightly high Retreat Cost, and low HP.
However, when combined with Victory Star Victini, you
will be sure to have one annoyed opponent.
Limited: 4/5 Vanillish is a very solid choice for
Limited, even if you don't get a Vanilluxe. Ice Beam can
wreak havoc on your opponent's plans (especially if you
get a Victory Star Victini) and Frost Breath does very
strong damage for its cost in Limited. Once again, be
sure to watch out for Vanillish's middling HP and
somewhat high Retreat Cost, which may cause some
problems. Overall, Vanillish is a very solid Stage 1 for
Limited, and should be definitely taken into
consideration if you run into an opponent playing Water.
Combos With: Victory Star Victini
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