Pokemon Home

Pokedex

Price Guide Set List

Message Board

Pokemon GO Tips

Pokemon News

Featured Articles

Trading Card Game
- Price Guide
- Price Guide
- Card of the Day
- Professional Grading
- Killer Deck Reports
- Deck Garage
- William Hung
- Jason Klaczynski
- Jeremy's Deck Garage
- Johnny Blaze's Banter
- TCG Strategies
- Rulings Help
- Apprentice & Patch
- Apprentice League
- Spoilers & Translations
- Official Rules
- Featured Event Reports
- Top of the World
- An X-Act Science
- Error Cards
- Printable Checklist
- Places to Play

Nintendo Tips
- Red/Blue
- Yellow
- Gold & Silver
- Crystal
- Ruby & Sapphire
- Fire Red & Leaf Green
- Emerald
- SNAP
- Pinball
- TCG cart
- Stadium
- PuPuzzle League
- Pinball: Ruby/Sapphire
- Pokemon Coliseum
- Pokemon Box
- Pokemon Channel

GameBoy Help
- ClownMasters Fixes
- Groudon's Den
- Pokemon of the Week

E-Card Reader FAQ's
- Expedition
- Aquapolis
- Skyridge
- Construction Action Function
- EON Ticket Manual

Deck Garage
- Pokemaster's Pit Stop
- Kyle's Garage
- Ghostly Gengar

Cartoon/Anime
- Episode Listing
- Character Bios
- Movies & Videos
- What's a Pokemon?
- Video List
- DVD List

Featured Articles

Pojo's Toy Box

Books & Videos

Downloads

Advertise With Us
- Sponsors
- Links

Chat

About Us
Contact Us

Pojo's Pokémon Card of the Day

Baby Mario 2010 UK National Seniors Champion	Audino (Boundaries Crossed)  Hello and welcome to the week of reviews here on Pojo’s CotD. This week all the cards have been suggested by Otaku, and he’s done a great job of finding us some interesting cards to look at.  We kick off with Audino, which might just be the most interesting card of the lot. I must also say that I love the artwork by Mistuhiro Arita (who, along with Ken Sugimori has been with Pokémon since the beginning): the colourful background and listening pose gives Audino a lot of personality, and that’s what I like to see on a card. Back to the more relevant stuff, and we see that Audino is an unevolving Basic with an ok-ish 80 HP, an awkward Retreat cost of two, and an unfortunate Weakness to Fighting. Nothing much to recommend it here.  The attack is nothing to write home about either, although it does at least have an amusing name. Hip Bump costs two Energy of any Colour (or a Double Colourles Energy, of course) and does just 30 damage. On the plus side, there is a Defensive effect which means that the Defending Pokémon needs to flip heads next turn in order to attack. This can cause your opponent a few minor problems as the effect doesn’t just apply to attacks on Audino (so the opponent can’t just use Pokémon Catcher and attack something else). Basically, it forces them to either retreat for another Pokémon (assuming they have one with sufficient Energy), or risk wasting their attack. This makes it a fairly solid early game option, despite the low damage output.   Even so, Hip Bump is hardly sufficient justification for every including this card in a deck. For that, you have to look at the Ability, Busybody. This states that, during your turn, you may discard Audino from your hand in order to heal 10 damage and remove a Special Condition from your active Pokémon. Now that really is interesting. Audino is the first Pokémon ever to have an Ability (or Power) that is activated by discarding from the hand. In the past, this kind of effect has always required you to play the Pokémon on to the Bench (compare Uxie LA, or Amoonguss NEX), so the massive advantage this new mechanic gives you is that it does not take up Bench space and give your opponent something to target if they are looking to take an easy Prize.  Of course all this would be irrelevant if the Ability wasn’t good. Busybody itself isn’t spectacularly good (like Uxie LA), but it is decent enough that it may have its uses. The healing effect is minimal, but it may well be sufficient to turn a two-hit KO into a three-hit KO in some reasonably common circumstances (a 180 HP EX Pokémon facing 90 damage attacks, for example). The Special Condition removal provides an answer to the tricky and annoying Paralysis and Sleep, and the ability to deal with Poison could be crucial once Plasma Storm is released and we are all facing decks with Hypnotoxic Laser in them.  Of course, a lot of decks will already have answers to those problems in the shape of high Switch counts or Keldeo-EX, and they won’t likely be interested in running Audino. Nevertheless, I’m not prepared to dismiss the card completely: it has a few uses in the current format, can be easily searched out and re-used (via Super Rod). What’s more, because it’s Colourless, Audino is easily splashed into any deck type and being forced to open with it isn’t a total disaster, thanks to its mildly disruptive attack. If I was running a deck that was having trouble dealing with Status effects, I would certainly take a second look at this card: it could buy you a crucial turn of attack when your opponent thinks they have you locked down, or it could deny them a Poison KO that they were counting on. Either could prove invaluable.  Rating  Modified: 2.75 (underappreciated for now, this is a card to keep in mind for the future) Limited: 3.75 (decent HP Colourless Basics are always useful and both the Ability and the attack work well here)
virusyosh	Welcome back, Pojo readers! We're doing more Boundaries Crossed reviews this week, so be sure to check back for more updates! Today we're reviewing a Colorless Basic that may not be amazing, but uses some interesting design space not often seen in Pokemon. Today's Card of the Day is Audino.   Audino is a Basic Colorless Pokemon. Colorless Pokemon are great because they can fit into any deck easily, as they can use any type of Energy to fuel their attacks. 80 HP is fairly standard for a non-Evolving, non-Legendary Basic, and it means that Audino will likely only be able to take a single hit before going down, so its Abilities and attacks had better justify it seeing play. Fighting Weakness is a major problem against the likes of Landorus-EX and Terrakion, both of whom will deal significant damage to Audino; no Resistance is what we've come to expect; and a Retreat Cost of 2 is payable in a pinch, but you'll still probably want to use something like Switch or Escape Rope.   Audino has an Ability and a single attack. Busybody lets you discard Audino from your hand in order to remove all Special Conditions and 10 damage from your Active Pokemon. While the Ability ends up being essentially a mix of a Full Heal and a poor man's Potion, the ability to discard Pokemon from your hand to have an effect is something that should be explored more in Pokemon. Additionally, with Plasma Storm's Hypnotoxic Laser being very hyped (and potentially very powerful), it may not hurt to have the flexibility that Audino provides. Of course, being a Pokemon, there are several downsides as well: If you're primarily using Audino for its Ability, you'll rarely want to start with it, and there's always the fact that Switch or Escape Rope can remove Special Conditions equally well (if not better) than Busybody. Therefore, Audino does have a niche in the metagame, albeit a small one that many players may not utilize.   Hip Bump is Audino's attack, dealing 30 damage for two Colorless Energy with a Smokescreen-like effect: If the Defending Pokemon tries to attack during your opponent's next turn, they flip a coin and if tails, the attack does nothing. These kinds of attacks are much better in Limited than they are in Modified, as your opponent in Modiified can pretty easily switch out of this effect by retreating. In Limited, however, this attack can be very frustrating for the opponent.   Modified: 2/5 Audino is a very interesting card, as Busybody can potentially be a tech against the likes of Hypnotoxic Laser and other status-inducing cards (the one damage counter it removes is often negligible, but is still welcome). Of course, there are some downsides: First, your opponent will likely only be playing Hypnotoxic Laser when they can get a KO. Second, Full Heal has never been a good card in Modified, and Audino's abilities as a Pokemon aren't stellar in a format dominated by big Basics, either. Therefore, you're still probably better off using Switch, Escape Rope, or Super Scoop Up to heal your Active's status conditions, and leaving Audino for the likes of Limited.   Limited: 5/5 Audino is quite powerful in Boundaries Crossed Limited. Status attacks are much more common in Limited than they are in Modified, and Busybody can easily get rid of them for you, while slightly healing your Active to boot. In addition, Hip Bump is a fairly powerful attack in terms of disruptive potential that can fit into any deck, even if the damage output isn't amazing. Overall, Audino is a very nice Colorless Support Pokemon for the Limited format that you should probably consider in running in most decks.
Jebulous Maryland Player	Audino   Audino is a Basic Colorless Pokemon with 80 HP.  It is weak to Fighting and has a retreat cost of 2.  It is searchable by Level Ball.   'Busybody' is an ability where you discard Audino from your hand to heal 10 damage and remove all special conditions from your Active Pokemon.  Essentially its the Pokemon version of 1/3 Potion and Full Heal.  Since the metagame is a game of numbers, the 10 damage healed is pretty much a moot point.  Potion, Gold Potion, and Max Potion all heal enough to turn 2HKO into 3HKO or more.  10 damage healed will rarely do this (at least not often enough to justify doing it).  The full heal effect is about the same as Full Heal.  Do you see Full heal being played? Exactly.  Switch and Keldeo EX are plenty better than Full Heal (and this).   'Hip Bump' costs 2 colorless energy and does 30 damage.  Its effect makes the Defending flip for its attack next turn (if tails it doesn't go through).  The cost is a little pricey, seeing as how I wouldn't want to invest a DCE on this guy.  The 30 damage isn't really worth mentioning.   When this card came out, I thought it would see a little play (1 per deck).  That was when Victini was helping Eels to stall Darkrai/Hydreigon Decks.  Switch was a quick and viable fix that happened, and left this card in the dark.  Healing 10 doesn't really help and not many status conditions are out there now (no one really uses Sleep and Paralysis has faded since Keldeo is big).   And the worst part about this card: starting with it at the beginning of the game.  It really is just used for its ability, and if you get stuck with it at the beginning, it's just a target.    Modified: 1/5 Limited: 2/5 Combos With:  ...   Questions, comments, concerns: jebulousthemighty@yahoo.com
Otaku	Welcome to a new week of Card of the Days, dear readers.  We begin with Audino (BW: Boundaries Crossed 126/149).  You know, the only Black & White-era set lacking a version is BW: Dark Explorers… well, and now BW: Plasma Storm but it isn’t street legal yet.  Soon, though.  Stats  Type: Audino is a Colorless-Type Pokémon.  Nothing legal is Weak or Resistant and there is support available in the form if Aspertia City Gym; +20 HP isn’t huge but the difference it makes in some decks is!  All in all, a solid Type to be right now.  Stage: Being a Basic is the best right now, and if you’re actually playing the game you already knew that.  The format is too fast for most Evolutions to stand a chance, so even a weak Basic is better off than all but the strongest Evolutions.  Basic Pokémon even have support just for them.  Hit Points: 80 HP is within OHKO range of most attacks, but as a Basic Pokémon that (peaking ahead) isn’t something we actually want in play, 80 isn’t horrible; at least if you are stuck opening with Audino it shouldn’t be taken down in one hit first turn without at least a minor combo boosting the aforementioned attacker.  Weakness: Again, Weakness isn’t as important because this isn’t a Pokémon we actually want to put into play even when we run it.  That being said, Fighting is a dangerous Weakness to have right now and in particular Landorus EX (BW: Boundaries Crossed 89/149, 144/149) has a chance of a OHKO because of it (though a PlusPower is also required).  Most other Fighting-Types would score a OHKO even before Weakness with their usual attacks.  Resistance: No Resistance is the worst Resistance, but it is both understandable: Audino is a Normal-Type in the video games, and as I have come to grudgingly accept the only appropriate Resistance (Ghost) includes two other Types right now (Psychic and Poison) in the form of the TCG Psychic-Type.  So few Pokémon are Resistant that it is at worst a missed opportunity, and yet again this card shouldn’t actually hit the field much even if it sees play.  Retreat: A Retreat of two is roughly average, in that it is still low enough you’ll often both be capable of meeting it and without crippling your field.  Skyarrow Bridge can reduce this to a single Energy as well, which is much better.  You may want an alternative like Switch as well, for effects that block manually retreating, and not for the last time… even if you run this card, you don’t want it in play so most of the time the Retreat doesn’t matter.  Effects  Ability: At last, we come to Busybody, the Ability on Audino.  Its effect allows you to reveal an Audino in your hand, then heal 10 points of damage and remove a Special Condition from your Active Pokémon.  My main gripe is that it is only 10 points of damage and a single Special Condition on the Active; all Special Conditions and allowing you to use it just for healing damage on the Bench would obviously have been better, and the limitation does hurt this card.  Attack: For the last time, if you do for some reason have to put Audino into play, the attack isn’t great, but it isn’t without merit, either: for (CC) you hit for 30 and if your opponent can’t shake the effect, the Defending Pokémon has to pass a coin flip check in order for its attack to actually do anything.  Since you would probably be desperate attacking with Audino, it is a fitting attack.  Usage  Card Family: Audino may be a Basic Pokémon that doesn’t Evolve (or have a “Baby” form), but so far we’ve seen six releases of it: Black & White 87/114, McDonald’s 2011 12/12, BW: Emerging Powers 83/98, BW: Noble Victories 85/101, BW: Dragons Exalted 108/124 and today’s version.  Black & White 87/114 and McDonald’s 2011 12/12 are just different releases of the same card, so there are only four distinct versions apart from today’s review.  All are Basic, Colorless Pokémon with Fighting Weakness, no Resistance, and the same Retreat of two.  None but today’s have an Ability.  Black & White 87/114 and McDonald’s 2011 12/12 has 80 HP and for (CC) allows you to flip two coins, doing 30 points of damage per “heads”.  Slight “donk” potential, but other versions have it beat.  The other three versions also enjoy having 90 HP.  For (C) the BW: Emerging Powers 83/98 version allows you to flip one coin per Energy attached, scoring 40 points of damage per “heads”.  For (CCC) it allows you to heal 50 points of damage from one of your Pokémon; no I don’t know what the designers were thinking – even if every other worthwhile attack didn’t exist, this Audino would make do too much damage to make such healing worthwhile.  BW: Noble Victories 85/101 sports a version of “Do The Wave”; (CC) to use and it does 10 points of damager for each of your Benched Pokémon.  BW: Dragons Exalted 108/124 can hit for 40 while Removing all Special Conditions from the Defending Pokémon (yes, the Defending Pokémon) for the same price, and for (CCC) it hits for 60 while healing 30.  A reliable, self-contained 40 again provides donk potential.  After all that, I’ve got to say none really compliment today’s version, and you aren’t really out anything by choosing to run today’s Audino; you had little to no reason to run these other versions.  Modified: So should you run today’s Audino and if so, why?  Currently, I would say you should skip it; but I would keep it in mind.  It can be easy to forget given recent cards, but Items are typically harder to search and recycle than Basic Pokémon.  Instead of burning a Skyla or Computer Search, Audino allows you to drop a Level Ball or Ultra Ball and search it out.  BW: Plasma Storm officially brings Hypnotoxic Laser to the world outside of Japan, and it is expected to see a lot of play.  A lot of decks will be able to deal with its effects (guaranteed Poison and a flip to inflict Sleep) via Switch, Escape Rope (also in BW: Plasma Storm), or the popular combination of “Rush In” via Keldeo EX (BW: Boundaries Crossed 49/149, 142/149) and Dark Cloak via Darkrai EX (BW: Dark Explorers 63/108, 107/108; BW Promo BW46).  For those decks that either can’t or don’t want to use the above options, Audino works.  If a deck already uses Level Ball, a single copy (or even two) is an easy fit.  The main drawback is off course the potential for Audino starts.  It might be a small niche, but it is there.  If avoiding actually changing out your Active becomes a bigger deal, then Audino would become more useful as well.  Just remember that Audino only treats one Special Condition.  Unlimited: Shaking Special Conditions is not really an issue for decks in Unlimited.  Obviously decks that win first turn aren’t going to need to worry about it at all (or the deck losing to them), and if you encounter a deck trying a more traditional approach to winning, free Retreat scores are common.  Still, some might prefer this to the other options that would get by Trainer-blocking effects (Heal Energy and Warp Energy).   Limited: Audino is a top pick here; 80 HP is good, attacking for any Energy Type is good, and even defensive effects that are coin flip based are good.  The Ability also improves, because any healing is unexpected and Special Conditions are more formidable here (and thus more likely to see play).  Unless you are doing the 39 Energy plus big Basic Pokémon trick, this is a must run.  Ratings  Unlimited: 2/5  Modified: 2/5  Limited: 5/5  Summary Audino is only a must-run card in Limited, but doesn’t quite do enough to justify use in constructed.  As soon as Hypnotoxic Laser is street legal, this card should get at least a small bump in usefulness.  I wouldn’t go out of your way to secure a play set, but you probably won’t have to so still get a few.