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Ahhh, Blastoise, getting more of
that EX treatment. Shame about the Spirit Link though,
but maybe this one will be able to see some play that
the other Blastoise-EX didn't? Let's see if it can work.
So the only other card to compare
this with is Blastoise-EX from the XY expansion. A lot
of their stats are the same - 180 HP, Weak to Grass,
Retreat Cost of way too high to pay for without some
form of compensation - but there are some notable
differences in their attacks. Blastoise-EX (XY) has
Rapid Spin, a 2-for-30 strike that can push Blastoise-EX
back to the Bench and the opponent's Active Pokemon as
well, and Splash Bomb, which is 3-for-120 and a coin
flip to maybe hurt himself a bit. So that's the kind of
stuff Blastoise-EX (GEN) has to beat out.
His first attack though doesn't
help, starting off at 3 Energy already. Hyper Whirlpool
though can end up being more useful than just switching
things around, dealing a larger 60 damage and even
offering a coin flip to discard an opponent's Energy
card on their Active Pokemon. This actually gives
Blastoise-EX some viability as a disruption card, and
combined with stuff like Head Ringer, Xerosic, and the
Hammers, there could conceivably be a good deck for
this. The trick though is actually getting up to 3
Energy so fast, and that's not solved by his second
attack. Hydro Press ends up at 4-for-100, which isn't
that great in the grand scheme of things, but on the
plus side he can also deal 20 damage to a Benched
Pokemon. It's not much, but it's something more than
what Blastoise-EX (XY) can do with his second attack.
So what's the verdict? Do we run
XY's EX or Generations' EX? Well while Blastoise-EX
(GEN) does have more expensive attacks, his Hydro Press
beats out XY's Splash Bomb for a better second attack.
You get effectively the same output without the risk of
damaging yourself, and that alone is noteworthy. Not to
mention Hyper Whirlpool does a lot more for Blastoise-EX
than Rapid Spin does, even if it is reliant on a coin
flip. Sure, Rapid Spin has the advantage of switching
things around and getting rid of any Status Conditions
affecting Blastoise-EX, but it's more of a defensive
option, and this has been a gradually more offensive
format.
That being said, would I run either
of them? Maybe not on their own...
Rating
Standard: 2.5/5 (hefty costs for
attacks, but coming from this Blastoise-EX, I'd say
they're worth it more than the other one)
Expanded: 2.5/5 (if you combine him
with the right cards, he could even deal with a lot of
your opponent's threats)
Limited: 3.5/5 (just...try not to
pair him up against Grass-types)
Arora Notealus: A thought did occur
to me that maybe the two Blastoise-EX could work well
with each other. You know, Rapid Spin around with XY to
bring out Generations and then Hydro Press and Hyper
Whirlpool them to victory! Or worst case, well, they
both do have a back-up option.
Next Time: AND THAT BACKUP IS MEGA
EVOLVING
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