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As this is the first Card of the Day since, I wish you a
happy New Year, readers!
I hope you took time to appreciate what you
enjoyed in the old year, received some comfort over old
wounds, settled any lingering grievances, and have taken
time to plan out at least the next few steps of your
future!
We are at last to the top three cards of 2012, and
number three is
Computer Search!
Now those paying attention should remember we
have a “no reprints” rule for Top 10 lists.
Computer
Search had a major change from the original (the
addition of the “Ace Spec” mechanic) while also being
Modified legal for the first time ever this year, and in
a sense even the official rules think this makes it
functionally a new card; older copies of
Computer Search
are not legal for play in Modified, even with a newer
copy for reference outside of your deck.
Computer Search,
recently reviewed
here, brings universal search back to the game.
Instead of costing you your Supporter for the
turn or requiring you run a particular Pokémon, it will
cost you your Ace Spec slot (of which you have just one
for your entire deck) plus two cards from your hand.
A classic example of “you get what you pay for”,
it has still proven to be a must for the vast majority
of competitive decks.
How does such a card not rank higher?
It was the review team’s number one pick for
BW: Boundaries Crossed, had a nearly perfect score
across the board no other card this year (reviewed or
not) matched, and is played in nearly all competitive
decks?
While this is true, it is important to consider what it
does, how it does it, and what would the format be like
without it.
Computer Search
increases the reliability of your deck, but the boost is
quite small without combos to aid
Computer Search.
Common though these combos are,
Skyla run
alongside Ultra
Ball (likely) and
Energy Search
(unlikely) would allow you to snag anything but Special
Energy… and while you would be out a Supporter anytime
you needed a Trainer (unlike when you add
Computer Search
to hand without resorting to
Skyla), your
Ace Spec is now free and you only have to discard two
cards when trying to get a Pokémon.
Only when
Sableye (BW: Dark Explorers 62/108) and ample
discard fodder join with
Skyla will
Computer Search
create impressive jumps in reliability.
Gold
Potion is the only other Ace Spec worth playing in
general (and some would say even accounting for specific
decks), and is well worth running if you lack
Computer Search.
It is hurt by a strange restriction of only
working on the Active Pokémon and by the format hitting
so hard that sometimes, even healing 90 points of damage
won’t be enough.
This lack of competition really helps
Computer Search.
For Unlimited, you will almost, almost always use
Computer Search;
it was already a staple here and usually at a three or
four count before it became an Ace Spec.
This may not hold true after future releases, but
at least for now the only format where it is more of a
must run is in Limited.
Ratings
Unlimited:
4.95/5
Modified:
4.75/5
Limited:
5/5
Summary
The scores
Computer Search receives may be a bit deceptive; its
status as an Ace Spec prevents it from being run in
multiples, and as a single card you would be foolish to
make it your only search option.
Despite thinking it off limits at the time, I
still considered
Computer Search for my 2012 list and rejected it.
At a single copy in a deck, even the decks that
can use it best still have to luck into opening with it
or burn a precious first turn Supporter usage on it.
If you think this is harsh, try looking up some of the
coming Ace Spec cards;
Computer Search
won’t seem as impressive when it has more competition.
This is a great example of a “shallow but wide”
impact; nearly every competitive deck runs a copy, but
if Computer
Search had been bumped to the next set, the format
would be largely the same save for
Gold Potion
being in every deck.
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