Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
Nidoqueen
(Plasma Freeze)
Today’s Pokémon is one of the original 151, which is
always nice to see for long term players/fans of the
franchise. A lot of the time,
Nidoqueen cards tend to have some kind of Ability
or attack which combos with her partner,
Nidoking. Not this time
though . . . for this card she has to stand on her own
two feet.
Unfortunately, both of Nidoqueen’s
attacks are pretty mediocre (although not actually bad).
Poison Horn costs a Psychic and a Colourless Energy and
does 50 damage plus Poison: not bad value, but nothing
that is likely to really swing a game either. Add
another Energy to the cost and you can do Double Stomp,
which has a horrible base damage of 60, but gives you
two coin flips, each with the chance of adding another
30 damage if heads. Really then, the attack will do 60,
90 or 120, depending on how Arceus
feels about your coin flipping. Again, there’s nothing
there that’s good enough to build a deck around.
And that is Nidoqueen’s
problem. She’s not offensively terrible, she just
doesn’t offer that something really special which a
Stage 2 needs to be offering to see play these days.
Everything about the card, from the standard 130 HP to
the predictably heavy retreat cost, just screams filler.
Rating
Modified: 1.75 (not close to good enough)
Limited: 3 (solid enough, I suppose)
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virusyosh |
Hello once again, Pojo viewers! Today we're reviewing
a new Stage 2 from Plasma Freeze that could be pretty
good in Limited. Today's Card of the Day is Nidoqueen.
Nidoqueen is a Stage 2 Psychic Pokemon. Psychics are
somewhat common right now, although Deoxys-EX does see a
lot of play in Plasma variants, and Gothitelle also sees
play in its own deck. That being said, as a Stage 2,
Nidoqueen is going to have to do a lot in order for it
to see Modified play, so let's see if it measures up to
the competition. 130 HP is a decent start, as Nidoqueen
should be able to survive at least one hit before going
down. Psychic Weakness is to be expected, and will be
problematic against Deoxys (but not terrible otherwise),
no Resistance is unfortunate but expected, and a Retreat
Cost of three is obnoxiously high, so you better have a
Switch, Escape Rope, or Float Stone handy.
Nidoqueen has two attacks. Poison Horn does 50 damage
and Poisons for a Psychic and a Colorless, which is
pretty mediocre in every sense. While Poison is better
now due to the popularity of Virbank City Gym,
Hypnotoxic Laser makes the secondary effect of this
attack wasted (in addition to 50 damage not being all
that much to begin with). Double Stomp isn't much
better, starting at an expensive 60 damage for a Psychic
and two Colorless, but you also flip two coins and deal
30 extra damage for each heads. 120 damage isn't bad for
three Energy, but you'll average 90, which once again,
won't quite cut it. On the other hand, both attacks are
very usable in Limited, so if you pull a full Nidoqueen
line there, you can play it nicely there.
Modified: 1.5/5 Unfortunately, Nidoqueen's attacks are
too weak to be of any real use in Modified. If you're
looking for a Stage 2 Psychic in this format, go with
Gothitelle.
Limited: 4/5 Nidoqueen is a great addition to any
Psychic-based Limited deck you may build. Poison Horn is
pretty good for its cost (as the extra Poison damage
actually makes a difference here), and while Double
Stomp still isn't great, it's still definitely usable.
As with most Stage 2s, if you are able to get Nidoqueen
out, you should win most of the time.
|
Jason Klaczynski
"Ness"
Two-Time World Champion
Check out The Klaczynski Open. August 31, 2013 |
Nidoqueen
It's been a while since 130 HP Stage 2 Pokémon without
abilities were good. Nidoqueen's damage output is
mediocre, and if you're going to dedicate all the spots
to a deck that Stage 2 Pokémon require, you're going to
want a lot more than that. If you're looking for a
better 130 HP Psychic Stage 2, go with Emerging Powers
Gothitelle, which prevents your opponent from playing
item cards.
Modified: 1/5
Limited: 1/5
Combos with: Virbank City Gym
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