Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
Houndoom
(Plasma Blast)
I’ve probably mentioned this a few times before, but
Houndoom is easily my
favourite Pokémon ever. Of all the creatures in the
Pokémon universe, I think this one would be the coolest
to have walking by your side. I’ve waited a very long
time for a good Houndoom
card with no luck (Unseen Forces back in 2005 was the
last really
good one, though Houndoom G
and even the one from Legends Awakened weren’t bad).
Sadly, it looks like I’m going to be disappointed again
. . . though at least this time it’s
close.
Houndoom
is a Stage 1 with a fairly low 100 HP and a couple of
decent attacks. The first, Dark Clamp, cost
two Energy and does 30 damage
plus stops the Defending Pokémon from retreating on the
next turn. Retreat Lock is actually not a bad disruption
strategy: if you can drag out the right Pokémon (a
Bench-sitter or something that needs a lot of Energy to
attack) you can KO it slowly with Dark Clamp and maybe
Hypnotoxic Laser.
Unfortunately, the upcoming errata
to Pokémon Catcher makes dragging out
Garbodors more difficult
than it has been.
Blazing Claws is another one of these Plasma-hate
attacks that we have seen a lot of in this set. For 3
Energy it does a poor value 60 unless the Defending
Pokémon is from Team Plasma. In that case it hits for
120 plus Burn, which is enough to OHKO a
Kyurem if they get unlucky
with the Burn flip. That’s nice I guess.
Houndoom
can also benefit from Dark Type support like Dark Patch
and Dark Claw (which makes him just about capable of
one-shotting a Plasma EX
with Laser/Virbank Gym), but
as much as I really
really
want to say this is a great card . . . it isn’t. It’s a
mediocre card against non-Plasma decks and a frail
counter to Plasma itself. Not horrible by any means, but
just lacking that bit extra which
would make it into a competitive card. Oh well, I
can at least enjoy the awesome artwork.
Rating
Modified: 2 (sorry Houndoom)
Limited: 4 (more than decent here. Lots of Plasma in the
set and retreat lock can be painful)
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virusyosh |
Hello once again, Pojo readers! I've been incredibly
busy lately, but with Legendary Treasures and Pokemon
X/Y around the corner (who else is going to the release
at the Nintendo World store in New York City?), there's
a lot to be excited about in the Pokemon world! Today
we're continuing our reviews with another card from
Plasma Blast, Houndoom.
Houndoom is a Stage 1 Darkness Pokemon. Dark types
still quite a good amount of play with the presence of
Darkrai-EX, so if Houndoom does something extraordinary,
it may be able to fit into that deck. 100 HP isn't a
great start, as our heavy-hitting metagame will make
very short work of the Dark Pokemon, even if you can get
it fully set up. Fighting Weakness comes as no surprise,
but shouldn't be a huge deal right now outside of the
rare Plasma Landorus and Landorus-EX. Likewise, Houndoom
has a Psychic Resistance which helps against Mewtwo-EX
and Deoxys-EX, even if just a little bit. Finally, a
single Retreat Cost isn't bad, being easily payable if
you must.
Houndoom has two attacks. Dark Clamp does 30 damage
for a Darkness and a Colorless, while also preventing
your opponent from retreating during their next turn. 30
damage isn't a lot, but the ability to lock the
Defending Pokemon in place is quite significant,
especially in Limited. That being said, this attack
doesn't do quite enough for Modified, and would have to
deal significantly more damage or be on a better body to
see a good amount of play. Blazing Claws is the second
attack, starting off at 60 damage for a Darkness and two
Colorless, while dealing 60 more damage and Burning the
Defending Pokemon if the Defending Pokemon is Team
Plasma. 120 damage and automatic Burn is pretty good
against Plasma, especially for the cost, but once again,
100 HP and being a Stage 1 let Houndoom down. You'll be
much better off using something like Darkrai in
Modified.
Modified: 2/5 Houndoom isn't actually that bad, but
this is definitely not the format for it. Dark Clamp has
great utility, and Blazing Claws have great utility
against the myriad of Team Plasma Pokemon we have in the
current Modified metagame. That being said, Houndoom is
a 100 HP Stage 1, and will easily be obliterated by many
of the hard hitting Pokemon-EX that see play right now.
I suppose giving it a Silver Mirror could provide a
little more survivability against Plasma Pokemon, but
there are generally better options for that, as well.
Limited: 4/5 Houndoom is incredibly effective in
Limited. Dark Clamp serves well to lock the opponent
into place, especially if they have a weak Pokemon
active, and it allows you to power up while they are
stuck with a poor matchup active and potentially giving
you a Prize. Blazing Claws is also quite nice here, as
there are still a good number of Team Plasma Pokemon in
Plasma Blast. Overall, if you're building a deck
involving Darkness and you pull a Houndoom line or two,
it will be a welcome addition to your Limited build.
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