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Hello readers! This week we will be looking at some of
the cards that played role at the U.S. Nationals, as a
precursor to the pending World Championships. Our
second such offering is Garbodor (BW: Dragons
Exalted 54/124; BW: Plasma Freeze 119/116;
BW: Legendary Treasures 68/113). The Pokémon that a
lot of us don’t like to think too deeply about, this
Garbodor showed up in Brandon Salazar’s U.S.
National’s winning deck (Master’s Age Bracket), backing
up an interesting selection of attackers as a 2-2 line.
It was also present in the same count in Isaiah
William’s deck (3r place, Master’s Age Bracket) in the
same quantity, though backing up decidedly different
attackers. So why?
If you’ve remotely familiar with the game, you already
know, but for the sake of the newest of players (and so
I don’t have to get out of my writing comfort zone),
I’ll break it down the whole card. First though the
answer is of course its Garboxotin (I still think it
should have just been called “Garbotox”) Ability that -
as long as Garbodor has a Pokémon Tool attached
to itself - shuts down all other Abilities in play, in
the discard pile and in each player’s hand, which to my
knowledge covers the locations for any currently
available Ability to be in effect, though hypothetical
future cards might activate in the deck or in the Lost
Zone (if that were ever revived). The rest of the card
does matter, but not in a good way.
It’s Psychic-Typing is pretty much useless as the one
piece of Psychic-Type support at least currently
available - Gardevoir (BW: Next Destinies
57/99; Dark Explorers 109/108) - will be have its
Ability (the part that makes it Psychic-Type support)
shut down by Garbotoxin. Being a Stage 1 hurts it, but
not as much as being a Stage 2 would have; at least you
can try to get it into play on your second turn. Being
a 100 HP Stage 1 Pokémon definitely hurts it. 100 HP is
a probable OHKO - often without boosting - for main and
even some secondary attackers, and while actually fairly
average in terms of what we see printed on Stage 1
Pokémon, its functionally low… plus its 10 HP over what
could have been searched out by Level Ball just
to add another rub. Its Psychic Weakness makes that HP
even more relevant; Mewtwo-EX has been enjoying
relatively easy OHKOs against it since it debuted.
There is of course no Resistance, which while only a
small bonus would still have been nice for the odd
occasions when it would have mattered. The Retreat Cost
of three definitely matters; for now it makes it a legal
Heavy Ball target, and explains why Float
Stone is the preferred Pokémon Tool to attach.
Garbodor
also has an abysmal attack; for [PPC] it only does 60
points of damage. Even when desperate it is rare for a
player to attack with Garbodor… and given
everything else about it, the Ability is truly its one
redeeming feature. Well… perhaps one other thing;
Trubbish (BW: Plasma Storm 65/135) has its
Tool Drop attack that actually made it the main attacker
of its own deck until Startling Megaphone killed
it off, as the attack does 20 points of damage times the
number of Pokémon Tools one has in play. It didn’t mesh
with Garbodor all that well anyway (the deck
relied heavily on Abilities), but unlike Garbodor
this little fellow can provide a decent follow up
attacker, especially in a deck that can accelerate
Energy to it while also getting four to six Pokémon
Tools into play (your opponents’ Pokémon Tools count as
well). So yeah… in every other way Garbodor is
mediocre to bad (especially after we lose Heavy Ball).
Imagine if we got Memory Berry or a similar
Pokémon Tool back, though; Tool Drop might make a
comeback in a lower damage but Ability-Locking form.
Out of the top four decks of every age bracket, only
Salazar’s had no Abilities; even William’s deck had one
(presumably not heavily relied upon). Decks that use
Tool Scrapper can attempt to shut down Abilities and
reactivate them when advantageous, turning a weakness of
the card into a possible strength. XY: Furious Fist
gives us Tool Retreiver to help with that, an
Item that allows you to bounce two of your own in play
Items back to hand. Even without such things,
Garbodor itself is surprisingly versatile; a deck
that has no Abilities or can get by without constant
access to its Abilities basically needs a good reason to
not run Garbodor. Space consideration is
often legitimate; while most decks run Pokémon Tools,
they usually aren’t available to spare to even a 2-2
Garbodor line functions more like a 2-2-2 line once
you add in two extra Pokémon Tools.
Tool Scrapper (soon to rotate) and Startling Megaphone (not going
anywhere anytime soon) do counter Garbodor while
also providing their usual benefits, and Garbodor
is why Ability-reliant decks always need at least one
copy of either of those and probably two (if space
permitted, four might even be desirable!), but
Garbodor remains potent even in the face of such
counters. Lysandre (and Escape Rope and
Pokémon Catcher) can be huge because of the low
HP and high Retreat Cost on Garbodor; stranding
it up front or setting it up as an easy OHKO to get your
Abilities back and move towards a win. Depending upon
the exact match-up, getting Abilities back either way
for a turn can be huge or barely matter; Abilities that
need to be used constantly or repeatedly to be truly
effective, or that need to function on your opponent’s
turn are apt to be shut down again (though KOing
Garbodor is a bit more effective as the competitive
lists I have seen favor running just that 2-2 line).
I don’t expect Garbodor usage to decline in
BCR-On and possibly could even increase; given that it
had a presence in BW-On under the previous iteration of
rules, I expect Garbodor to similarly good there
(and again, perhaps a bit better). Where Garbodor
is probably not worth running is Limited; BW: Dragons
Exalted is the only set with both Pokémon Tools and
Trubbish anyway. Still if you really want an
answer to the possible Abilities you may face and have
the room, go for it. The HP and attacks are a hair
better there, but not by much (and I wouldn’t actually
plan on attacking it with unless you already run
sufficient Psychic Energy).
Ratings
Modified (NEX-On): 4/5 - While it is always as a Bench-sitter, it has helped to shape
this format and is featured in multiple decks. It can
even bolser less-than-good ideas, so long as those ideas
still contain a solid attacker.
Modified (BCR-On): 4/5 - As stated above, it may even rise in popularity, as there is
little reason not to run this card if a deck runs
few or no Abilities, even with the added hassle.
Expanded (BW-On): 4/5 - Abilities are still a force, so odds are Garbodor
will remain useful here.
Limited:
2.5/5 - As decks are made out of what you pull, your
opposition likely isn’t relying on any Abilities because
there is no way to reliably get Pokémon into play.
Running a 1-1 line you can’t search out may be a total
waste, or even backfire if you’re stuck with a useless
Garbodor up front (or have no Abilities to
counter)... and that’s for BW: Dragons Exalted;
BW: Plasma Freeze lacks a Trubbish from
which to Evolve and BW: Legendary Treasures lacks
Pokémon Tools. Speaking of which, don’t forget you also
need to pull at least one Pokémon Tool in addition to
the line.
Summary:
Garbodor is a card that at first glance looks
underpowered, but as the designers keep proving, they
want a format where you either rely on Abilities for
something crucial to your deck and run a counter to
Garbodor, or you’re running Garbodor itself.
This card is even better than when it originally
released.
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