It Has it’s Uses: Some of the Cards You Don’t Play but Should
Let me start things off with a new idea of mine. Every so often I’ll ask a question at the beginning of an article. You guys can then send me your answers, and I’ll post yours along with mine at the end of my next article.
The first question is this: Wizards of the Coast has just come to you with a question. You can choose one card from Japan to be printed in American that hasn’t already been printed. What is your choice?
Email your answers to me at pokemaster1110@hotmail.com
On to the article.
There are certain cards that are just plain good. Those are the cards that win and do so consistently. Certain cards like that come to mind: Kingdra, Sneasel, Murkrow, and Steelix, among others. We trade for those cards, build decks around them, and play them in tournaments. But there are also cards that most people don’t usually play. There are basically three types of cards.
1) The Killer Kings: Sneasle and such. The cards we play when we are out to win, out for blood. No body who is a decent player tries to argue against the fact that they are good cards.
2) The Middle Class: Stuff that is fun to play, and can certainly win some games, but it takes a great deal of skill and know-how to use these cards effectively. This is the most broad category.
3) The Shoebox Sect: The trash, the garbage, the scum, the crap, the cards that are a waste of cardboard. Standouts include Base Gastly among others. You never have and never will play these cards, except for when you were learning the game basics.
I come today to discuss the second group. The average, mediocre and only somewhat useful cards. But more importantly, some of those cards that, IMHO, have been given that ranking unfairly. We’ll take a look at the top three most underrated cards from each set, and hopefully we can all grow as players and use a few cards besides the proven greats.
Note: I skipped Base Two because, lets face it, it did nothing for us as there was no modified when it was released.
Base Set:
Bill:
Yes, I know a lot of people do recognize how good this card is, but on the other hand, many players do not. Bill is just too good to look past. Card drawing and card advantage are extremely important to any card game. This is why more luck-based TCG such as Magic: The Gathering and Yu-gi-oh! can’t match up to the level of complexity of the game play in Pokemon. Any time you can thin the deck or draw new cards will help to speed up your deck. Think of it this way; if you have four Bill in your deck, that’s 8 cards you can draw more than without Bill.Charizard: Please, don't try to kill me. People seem to get very mad at me when I say this card it good for playing. A really popular deck in the old modified format was Typhlosion/Blaine’s Arcanine. Charizard, IMO, is better that Arcanine. He has thirty more HP, a resistance, a power to make him easier to power up, and still does a massive amount of damage while discarding one less fire energy. He can effectively attack every turn with just a little luck from Typhlosion.
Venusaur: Hey, I know a lot of people were talking about a Venucenter deck when he was re-released in Legendary Collection. What happened there? Sixty damage per turn is not something to laugh about. A full 100 Hp makes him hard to KO, and he abuses Pokemon Center and Pokemon Nurse. He really COULD win if people played him.
Jungle:
Pinsir: This card was good. And now with Meganium, he is even better. Fifty straight damage is good. And especially is Meganium is out, making it 50 for two.
Electrode: As your opponent didn’t play lightning, which no one did or does, then he could be a serious threat. Twenty damage adds up after a few attacks, and made all of your opponent’s pokes easy pickings for something with a decent 40 or 50 damage attack. 90 HP was nice too.
Venomoth: He could make himself super effective against you, and then do 20 damage and hit you with a double status effect for only 2 energy. A resistance and a free retreat only sweeten the deal.
Fossil:
Gengar: Although moving only ten damage per turn might not seem like much, it can add up, especially since he does ten to a benched poke every attack. No weakness, a resistance and a single retreat? Nice.
Lapras: How come no one played this guy? He was a honkin’ battleship! For water back in the day, there was no better starting pokemon. High HP, a cheap attack, and a status giver made him one who was good enough to be played.
Zapdos: Oh, get off it. He really is OK. Forty damage is decent, and he can pile on some good damage to the bench. He will most likely take only 39-40 damage, which can be easily healed with potion, berry, gold berry, moo-moo milk, etc
Team Rocket:
Dark Dragonair: He is good. Plain and simple, Dark Dragonair means two things. One is you have speed getting out your evolutions, and the second thing is that you can get back-up hitters out faster.
Dark Blastoise: He = power. Seventy for four with zero drawbacks. And an agility-like Rocket Tackle. Dark and Steel Energy only made him better.
Dark Charizard: Played with Typhlosion, this guy is a force, big time. You can basically attack every turn.
Gym Heroes:
Rocket’s Moltres: Hey, this thing was pretty nice. The major aspect that held it back was the low HP. The attack was real sweet, kinda with a build in Strikes Back, a power that made Machamp almost make the base cards.
Erika’s Vileplume: With high HP scores and an attack that deals damage while keeping him healthy, plus a power that really slows down an attacking opponent, Vileplume is tough to beat.
Erika’s Jigglypuff: Sure, some people saw the potential, some people played him, but why not more than they did? Sneasle who? This guy can take him out, one shot, first turn.
Gym Challenge:
Rocket’s Mewtwo: Hey, this guy is good, OK? On your second turn, you can use the solid Hypnowave, and two turns later, WHAM! 60 damage a turn. Power. Juxtapose is kinda weird, and is only situationally useful.
Blaine’s Charizard: He works, OK? Flame Jet, although a flip, can be very nice, especially now with babies running amok. Roaring Flames, when you have 4-5 energy on him, does massive damage with no flips. You may laugh at him, but you won’t be chuckling when your facing an un-hurt ‘Zard with 6 fire energies on it.
Misty’s Gyrados: Those who know me also know of my love for the big water snake. With Muk, he is, simply put, nearly unstoppable.
Neo Genesis:
Meganium: He is so powerful, it isn’t even funny. Him with Exeggutor, with Pinsir, with Venusaur, with with with... See? Too good.
Bellosom: He (or she, who knows?) just doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Dark Dragonair and Pokemon Fan Club make this thing lethal.
Militank: OK, so it’s no great, but it still is pretty solid, and it is awesome in draft.
Neo Discovery:
Umbreon (Holo): I can’t believe no body plays him. He takes out benched babies like no one else, and with two or three darks he does 50 or 60 damage to the active. No weakness, a resistance and a single retreat? Cool. And top it off with a nice 80 HP.
Wobbufett: Hey, hey, hey, don’t diss the blob man. Counter makes your opponent think twice about attacking the big blob of fun, and with 90 hp, they would have to have some nerve to attack with a powerful pokemon who may not even be able to KO ‘Fett in one turn. Focus Band and Pokemon Center can keep him healthy, and since counter takes only one energy to use, center barely phases him.
Tyranitar: He is just to powerful with Unown D in play. So your bench will take no damage from his attack. THAT is what I call power.
Neo Revelation:
Suicune (non-holo): His power is really good. Yes, it means that he can’t use Focus Band and all, or Gold Berry, but hey, it also means he can turn double gust into gust of wind. Free retreat only proves to help abuse Double Gust even further, and the attack isn’t half bad.
Rikou (non-holo): See above, just add in that his attack is a little better than Suicune.
Misdreavous: With dark Gengar, he is AWESOME! And I would have won Super Battlezone, had the guy at the tourney not gotten EIGHT DOUBLE HEADS IN A ROW!!! (Thanks a lot for that Tal >_<)
Neo Destiny:
Dark Gengar: This guy can absolutely make your opponent scream and pull their hair out. Him with the Promo Igglybuff and a focus band on Iggly? Can you say "Can’t touch this!"
Dark Sizor: Sheesh, the only pokemon who can use both Metal and Dark energy with no drawbacks. Fur of each on him with Rocket’s Hideout, and he does 70 damage, while taking 40 less and has 90 HP. That is absolutely disgusting.
Dark Espeon: This thing has much potential. The thing most people forget when they think of him is that he can use dark energy. So if your active has only 2 energy on it, Espeon can do up to 60 to it, and some damage to all other pokes with energy.
Expedition E-card:
Poliwrath: He can do so, so much damage that it is not even funny. Man, this guy can give a serious beatdown.
Professor Elm’s Training Method: I guess people don’t like playing this card because it takes away their opportunity to use something like Copy Cat. But what if your opponent only has 2 or 3 cards in their hand? Ah. I thought so.
Ampharos: I like him because it makes Shinning Kabutops and Shinning Raichu playable. It would be a hard deck to use, and only legal in Unlimited, but think about it with Blastoise =D
Aquapolis E-card:
Nidoking: I tell you, if people don’t start to play this card, I’ll cry. My friend has a deck with this guy. He whips me. I don’t get whipped, trust me. But this Nidoking does that like no pokemon has before.
Umbreon: The power is too good. You can absolutely cripple your opponent, and do so every turn. Noctowl compliments him well.
Ninetails: Two words; Fire Cube. He uses it, then roasts them for 60 damage. High HP too.
There you have it. Sheesh, this took a while, and I know not everyone will agree with me, but these are pokemon you should think about using.
Until next time...
The Pokemaster1110
Brian Stevenson
