aroramage |
Anything that can deny your
opponent a KO is always worth a second look, and Focus
Sash is no exception. Sure the Pokemon needs to be at
full HP to be used, and it has to be on a Fighting-type,
but in a format where OHKO's are aimed for and can
easily be performed on anything that isn't a Pokemon-EX,
Focus Sash can help those out at the bottom fight off
those at the top.
Rating
Standard: N/A
Expanded: 4/5 (a very useful Tool,
if only useful on very specific Pokemon)
Limited: 4/5 (but it can always
find a good spot)
Arora Notealus: Do you like these
focused concise reviews? I write them up while wearing a
bandanna around my head at 3 in the morning. Remember
kids, don't do drugs, eat your vegetables, and stay in
school, and never forget to wear that extra sash for
when you need to focus on your studies cause it's 3 AM.
Next Time: The scientist that was
and could've been...
|
Otaku |
Our 13th place
finisher is Focus Sash (XY: Furious Fists
91/111). It is a Pokémon Tool, so anything that
affects Trainers or Items also affects Focus Sash,
in addition to Pokémon Tool specific effects. Focus
Sash can be attached to Pokémon of any Type, but its
effect only triggers when
·
Focus Sash
is attached to a Fighting Type
·
That Fighting Type has full HP
·
That Fighting Type would be KO’d by damage from an opponent’s
attack
Meet all three of
those, and the Pokémon in question is not KO’d
but instead has its HP set to 10 and Focus Sash
discards itself. The self discard might seem bad,
but unless you can heal all damage from the Pokémon in
question, this is actually a bonus as it clears
the way for another Tool (should you wish to risk one on
something so damage). So how can this go wrong?
Well in the unlikely event your opponent can somehow
make your Fighting Type into a different Type (devolving
certain Evolutions, card effects only legal in Unlimited
play, maybe something else I missed) that would do it.
Placing at least one damage counter on your Pokémon that
otherwise has full HP would also prevent Focus Sash
from triggering, but this only matters if you’re
immediately following up with an attack for the KO;
obviously you can always shoot for a 2HKO. If you
can easily Poison or otherwise place damage counters
between turns (again without requiring a second attack),
then a single attack will effectively score a OHKO.
The most obvious is using a card like Startling
Megaphone, Tool Scrapper, or Xerosic
to toss Focus Sash. Just remember that
again you need to follow up with a OHKO or you just
burned a Tool removal effect to enable your opponent to
replace a now useless Focus Sash.
When we
first
looked at this card, it didn’t even manage a three out
of five average for Standard or Expanded play. So
how did it make this list? Times change, dear
reader, times change. This card released when
Hypnotoxic Laser was still legal; having an Item
based method of Poison that was already reasonably
popular as a way of buffing attacks is a significant
issue. We still have Ariados to try
something similar in Standard but a Stage 1,
using an Ability, which hits your own Active as well
(unless it’s a Grass Type) is a far cry from an Item
that also has a 50% chance of inflicting Sleep as well
(and only to your opponent’s Active). We got rid
of Hypnotoxic Laser and saw more and more OHKOs
via raw damage, such as from the Night March Pokémon,
and decks struggling to make room for Tool removal.
Suddenly it was a great little trick for any Fighting
deck, with Korrina snagging both a Fighting Type
Pokémon and a Focus Sash to go with it.
Certain Pokémon were amazing with it as well; Primal
Groudon-EX (XY: Primal Clash 86/160, 151/160)
and Regirock (XY: Black Star Promos XY49)
which each have the Ancient Trait “Ω Barrier” which
protects your attached Pokémon Tools (among other
things) from the effects of your opponent’s Trainer
cards not put into play. Medicham (XY: Primal
Clash 81/160) has the Ancient Trait “Ω Barrage”,
which allows it to attack twice; normally you prefer to
slap something on there that increases damage yield, but
ensuring your 90 HP Stage 1 with two Strong Energy
attached survives the next turn still enables high
damage yields.
The big reason
though is that the easy counter of “just discard the
Tool” is no longer easy in Standard. Again there
are still a few workarounds like Ariados but this
card being legal would have all but guaranteed your
opponent couldn’t score a OHKO. No more Xerosic,
no more Startling Megaphone, and the best
alternative is Beedrill-EX, a Pokémon using an
attack that does no damage. Yes the Fighting Type
lost Korrina, but we still have Skyla,
Trainer’s Mail, fantastic draw Supporters and
Shaymin-EX (XY: Roaring Skies 77/108,
106/108), plus search like Hoopa-EX (XY:
Ancient Origins 36/98, 89/98; XY: Black Star
Promos XY71) and Ultra Ball to further help
with set up. You’ve got Pokémon like Carbink
(XY: Fates Collide 50/124) that are protected by
an effect (Safeguard) but a Focus Band means a
simple Hex Maniac and OHKO won’t stick. Focus
Sash won’t be mind blowing in Expanded, but it will
still be a good card and nasty trick you’ll have to
worry about versus the Fighting Type, and it is also a
good pull for Limited play unless you lack Fighting
Types.
Ratings
Standard:
N/A
Expanded:
3.35/5
Limited:
3.5/5
Summary:
Fighting Sash is a good trick, proven even in a
somewhat hostile format that could Poison to get around
it, discard it relatively easily, block it from being
played, or sometimes even negate it after it had already
been played. Even a chance at living through a
OHKO can lead to major swings in advantage, forcing your
opponent to re-take a Prize while potentially taking a
Prize with resources that should have been discarded due
to KO. Should it be reprinted, it would become a
must for Fighting Type decks with a few using it
brilliantly, doing what it is already doing but without
as many counters.
Fighting Sash
earned 24 voting points, just edging out the tie we had
in
14th
and
15th
place by one point, and only a single point below
tomorrow’s
subject.
It was my 10th place pick, but 14th place is still a
respectable finish… plus I’m worried I was overly
excited about the combo. Like I said in the
review, it only matters when you’re facing
something that would score a OHKO in the first place and
is not able to utilize one of the remaining
counters (Item lock, Poison, etc.).
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