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Pojo's Pokémon Card of the Day

Baby Mario 2010 UK National Seniors Champion	Bibarel (Dragon’s Exalted) We end this week of reviews with Bibarel, who (along with the Basic, Bidoof) has always been the subject of in-jokes to do with being the standard useless rodent Pokémon that you always see in the first area of the video games (just like Rattata, Sentret, Zigzagoon, and Patrat). Will the card itself turn out to be a joke, or do we need to take it seriously? Let’s find out. Bibarel is a Colourless Type Stage 1 with a 100 HP that is not especially impressive. Colourless Types don’t hit anything much for Weakness these days, and they are Weak to the popular Fighting Type, so that’s not good either. Neither is the Retreat cost of two, which is the worst of both worlds because it’s a bit much to pay, but not enough to make Bibarel searchable with Heavy Ball. On the plus side, Colourless Typing means Colourless attack costs, so Bibarel can be slotted into virtually any deck (if you really wanted to), and take full advantage of Double Colourless Energy. Bibarel’s first attack, Amnesia, is something we have seen a number of times before (including on the Bibarel from Stormfront). In this version, it costs three Energy and does 40 damage. That’s really very poor, but it’s all about the effect: you choose one of the Defending Pokémon’s attacks, and they can’t use that next turn. This sounds a lot more useful than it actually is. You think it would be a sure-fire way of stopping single attack Pokémon like Darkrai-EX or Hydreigon, or Pokemon with only one usuable attack like Mewtwo-EX (if they don’t run Psychic Energy), or Rayquaza-EX. Unfortunately, Amnesia is most often no more than a minor inconvenience, as your opponent will just switch in another attacker, or play Switch for a free retreater and then retreat that for the first Pokémon. Because it’s a Stage 1 that requires at least two Energy attachments, your opponent will see Amnesia coming a mile off. Even if they don’t, the low damage output gives them plenty of time to develop a strategy to deal with it. Tumbling Tackle isn’t a great alternative attack either: four Energy for 60 damage and both Bibarel and the Defending Pokémon are Asleep. Very poor value damage, and you are relying on the sleep flips going just the way you want them for this attack to be even the slightest bit good. Fact is, we already have a much better attack locking Pokémon in the format. Cobalion NVI is a Basic with 120 HP and Iron Breaker stops all the Defending Pokémon’s attacks while doing 90 damage. However, Cobalion hasn’t seen much play for a while now: decks these days just find it too easy to switch around their attackers and break the lock. Amnesia certainly looks appealing at first glance, but it’s just not going to stick in today’s format, leaving Bibarel as just another vulnerable, low damage Pokémon. Rating Modified: 1.75 (Derpy Pokémon, derpy card) Limited: 3.5 (Colourless is always good, and he’s not so easy to play around here)
virusyosh	Happy Friday, Pojo readers! Today we're ending our Card of the Day week by reviewing a Colorless Pokemon from Dragons Exalted. Today's Card of the Day is Bibarel.   Bibarel is a Stage 1 Colorless Pokemon. Colorless Pokemon are great because they fit into any deck due to their relaxed Energy requirements, making them excellent choices for support Pokemon (or supplementary attackers in Limited). 100 HP is decent for a Stage 1, meaning that Bibarel will probably (though not always) be able to take a medium sized hit before going down, although there are still some commonly used Pokemon that will be able to land the OHKO. Fighting Weakness is unfortunate against Terrakion and Landorus, but as a whole, Fighting-types aren't that common in Modified anymore. Unsurprisingly, Bibarel has no Resistance, but does have a Retreat Cost of 2, which is paid without too much trouble.   The Beaver Pokemon has two attacks: Amnesia does 40 damage for three Colorless Energy while disabling one of the Defending Pokemon's attacks during your opponent's next turn. 40 damage is very lackluster for three Energy, bu the secondary effect of this attack is quite powerful, as many commonly played Pokemon (Darkrai-EX, Sableye, Ho-Oh-EX, Keldeo-EX, Blastoise, Rayquaza-EX, the list goes on) either only have one attack, or rely on one attack for the deck to function. Of course, your opponent can simply switch out their Active Pokemon to nullify this effect, which greatly hampers its usefulness in Modified. In Limited, Amnesia can do well to disable your opponent's strongest attack, giving you more time to build up an assault of your own.   Tumbling Tackle is Bibarel's second attack, which deals 60 damage or four Colorless Energy and puts both Bibarel and the Defending Pokemon to sleep. I can't think of many reasons to use this attack (even in Limited) unless you're going to get a KO, so you'll likely just want to stick with Amnesia.   Modified: 1.5/5 Bibarel's combination of low HP and expensive attacks don't bode well for it in the Modified format. Amnesia is potentially useful, but with switching around being so prevalent, Bibarel's niche is wasted. Maybe in the future if there can be a way to both increase Retreat Cost (like Jellicent from Boundaries Crossed) and block Trainers/Items, but even then, it still probably wouldn't be worth it.   Limited: 4/5 In contrast, Bibarel is a great pick in Limited. Colorless typing means that you won't have to worry about Energy requirements, and Amnesia will likely frustrate your opponents to no end. While Tumbling Tackle has both an expensive cost and a negative drawback, there are even times where that attack may be useful in this format as well. All in all, Bibarel is a solid addition to any Limited deck.
Jebulous Maryland Player	Bibarel   Bibarel is a Stage 1 Pokemon with 100 HP.  It is weak to Fighting and has a retreat cost of 2.   'Amnesia' costs 3 colorless energy and does 40 damage.  You then choose an attack of the Defending Pokemon and they forget how to use it next turn.  The damage is not worth the cost.  So many more attacks do more damage for 3 energy.  The amnesia effect isn't that great (right now) either.  You can get around it by either retreating or using another attack.  It would be better if you could get a lock going, like the trainer lock Vileplume.  But even then the lock isn't tight enough to be competitive.   'Tumbling Attack' costs 4 colorless energy and does 60 damage.  Both Active Pokemon become Asleep.  Still, the cost isn't worth the damage output.  Especially putting 4 energy on a Pokemon with 100 HP.  If (when) it gets Knocked out, you lose 4 energy off your board (and the loss can only be minimized if you run energy acceleration).  Putting both Pokemon to sleep isn't that great either.  Now that Musharna (I can't remember the name) has an attack that lets it Attack while Asleep.  That's probably the best reason to put yourself to sleep (other than the Baby Pokemon that prevent damage while Asleep).   I just don't have an urge to try to play with this card.   Modified: 1.5/5 Limited: 2/5 Combos With:  ...   Questions, comments, concerns: jebulousthemighty@yahoo.com
Otaku	Time to review Bibarel (BW: Dragons Exalted 107/124)… typed on a laptop that is not my own! … So please pardon extra typos, errors, and formatting issues. Stats Bibarel is a Colorless-Type Pokémon. This allows it to tap into the not-technically-legal-yet Aspertia City Gym for a solid +20 HP, and nothing still legal is Colorless Weak or Resistant to my recollection (Pokepedia.net is down as of my writing this). So this isn’t as snazzy as being say a Darkness-Type, but it is somewhat useful. Bibarel is also a Stage 1 Pokémon, and this hurts it a little; definitely slower than a Basic Pokémon and it requires at least one extra slot to run, and unfortunately Basic Pokémon are the standard right now. Bibarel has 100 HP; this should allow it to absorb a hit outside of Weakness, though I wish it were a bit higher. Said Weakness is Fighting, so most Fighting-Types can OHKO it except with their weakest attacks, which may still 2HKO it. It is an obvious concern, so as a player you’d better be ready to handle it. The lack of Resistance makes me sad, but since this state is so common it isn’t really a drawback. This just leaves the two Energy needed to Retreat, which is functionally average in that it is small enough you can pay, but high enough to set you back… but I prefer having an alternative anyway. Effects Bibarel has two attacks. Unfortunately the least expensive still requires (CCC), making it fairly slow. The fact that all requirements are Colorless at least allows most forms of Energy acceleration to work for it. Said first attack is Amnesia, and it only hits for 40 points of damage. That is about half of what a competitive three Energy attack usually inflicts. All is not lost, however; the effect o the attack allows you to pick an attack on the Defending Pokémon, and said Pokémon can’t use that attack on the next turn… unless they do a trick (like Evolving) that removes the effect of Amnesia. Tumbling Tackle requires (CCCC) and hits for 60 points of damage, plus puts both Bibarel and the Defending Pokémon to sleep. This is way too low of a return, but if you’re going for the KO, it might be necessary. So both attacks don’t hit as hard as they should; why did I suggest this card for review? Usage I’ll tell you as soon as I point out we only have a single Bidoof (BW: Dragons Exalted 106/124) to pick and besides having a decent 70 HP and being a Basic, it has the same Stats as Bibarel. It also has a single attack that does 20 for (CC) and Confuses both itself and the Defending Pokémon. Nothing brilliant, but we’ve seen worse. If you are very lucky, then the Confusion might even protect Bidoof for a turn (and ideally you would then Evolve to cure yourself of it). So the Bidoof isn’t totally useless, but it isn’t going to make you use this card. Why did I pick it? Besides just finding Bidoof and Bibarel humorous, this is a metagame where some of the best attacks only have a single attack. This allows you to soft-lock them with Amnesia; constantly hitting for 40 points of damage until your opponent can change out the Defending Pokémon. Can that win a game, however? Maybe, if backed up correctly. I did a little testing with Lock, Stock & Bibarel, a deck built to soft-lock the opponent. The versions I tested were all backed by Garbodor (BW: Dragons Exalted 54/124), since the same Pokémon relying on a single attack often have or are backed by an Ability. The big hurdle is powering Bidoof up quickly and of course that the biggest Pokémon can survive four hits from Amnesia even without Eviolite, giving more time for the opposing player to draw into something to break the lock. You also have to break the lock anytime you score a KO unless you create some really kooky combos. Fortunately, the metagame shows one more favor to Bibarel: Pokémon-EX are worth two Prizes to its own single Prize, so while you’ll expend a lot of resources, you’ll come out ahead trading Prizes with a Pokémon-EX and if you aren’t OHKOed, you might be able to Amnesia a second Pokémon. Unlimited features better lock decks and various effects that make the soft-lock even softer, so I can’t recommend it here. For Unlimited, the lower average HP and greater average damage combined with requiring no specific Energy make it a great pull! Ratings Unlimited: 1/5 Modified: 2.75/5 Limited: 4/5 Combos with: Garbodor (BW: Dragons Exalted 54/124) Summary Bibarel makes for a very fun deck (well, less so for your opponent) but I was unable to make it competitive enough to take it to a tournament. Give the Beaver Pokémon a shot, at least for laughs.