Dear Pojo,
Please post this in the single card strategies, it took me an hour to type
this up. Thanx
Today in pokémon, there are many different types of stallers.
Each one
of them has its own way of stalling, but the basic goal is the same - to
stall for time in order to power up you own pokémon. In this article, I
will
take a look at some of the most popular and most underestimated stallers in
the Pokémon TCG.
First, let's have a look at a VERY popular staller: Kangaskangh.
Name: Kangaskhan
Type: Basic Pokémon
Card #: card 5 of 64
Rarity: Rare - Holo
Color: Colorless
HP: 90 HP
Weakness: F
Resistance: P -30
Retreat: 3
Pokémon #: 115
Species: Parent
Level: 40
Attack: [1] Fetch
Draw a
card.
Attack: [4] Comet Punch (20x)
Flip 4
coins. This attack does 20 damage times the number
of
heads.
Kangaskhan can be used for stalling or for getting a card
advantage over
the opponent. Its 90HP makes him one h*ll of a punching bag, and its Fetch
attack allows you to draw card after card while he takes the beating.
Comet
Punch, in my opinion, isn't a good attack. The chances of dealing too
little
damage are too great for my money. Even though it is a colorless attack,
an
average of 40 damage for four energies isn't what I call a good attack.
Very
few people actually use Kangaskhan for its offensive abilities. There are
two big weaknesses I see in Kangaskhan. First, it's weak to fighting.
That
means it's probably going to be Hitmonchan bait. One special punch with a
PlusPower is all the opponent need to send Kangaskhan to the discard pile.
The second weakness that Kangaskhan have is that your opponent controls him.
What I mean by that is that your opponent can actually use Kangaskhan to
his/her own benefit. Because of Kangaskhan's high retreat cost, it is
difficult to retreat him. That means that your opponent can fully power up
his/her bench before actually they KO Kangaskhan. If the opponent is
running
a Haymaker, then they can ER or SER your bench to death while they power up
theirs.
Name: Chansey
Type: Basic Pokémon
Card #: card 3 of 102
Rarity: Rare - Holo
Color: Colorless
HP: 120 HP
Weakness: F
Resistance: P -30
Retreat: 1
Species: Egg
Level: 55
Pokémon #: 113
Attack: [2] Scrunch ()
Flip coin. If heads, prevent all damage done to Chansey during
your opponent's next turn. (Any other effects of attacks still
happen.)
Attack: [4] Double-edge (80)
Chansey does 80 damage to itself
Tied for the highest HP in the game and armed with an attack
that can
prevent all damage done to it the next turn, Chansey is what many people
consider to be on of the best stallers in the game, and I agree. It's low
one retreat cost means that you can save the poor thing before it gets
knocked out. Personally, I like Double-edge better than comet punch.
Double
edge is more of a suicide attack then anything else. You send the Chansey
in
there, get two prizes, then sacrifice her. Chansey, like Kangaskhan, is
also
weak to fighting. But unlike Kangaskhan, Chansey has a higher HP, which
means that it would take at least two attacks for a Chan to KO her.
Chansey
also has a low retreat cost, so you cant bring him back without sacrificing
too many energies. Third, Chansey can prevent the damage with scrunch,
something that Kangaskhan can't do. The only thing that Chansey lacks is
that he can't stall on the first turn unless you have a DCE. Getting both
of
them in the opening hand is unlikely. Overall, Chansey is a GREAT staller.
Name: Snorlax
Type: Basic Pokémon
Card #: card 11 of 64
Rarity: Rare - Holo
Color: Colorless
HP: 90 HP
Weakness: F
Resistance: P -30
Retreat: 4
Pokémon #: 143
Species: Sleeping
Level: 20
Power: "Thick Skinned"
Snorlax
can't become Asleep, Confused, Paralyzed, or
Poisoned. This power can't be used if Snorlax is already
Asleep,
Confused, or Paralyzed.
Attack: [4] Body Slam (30)
Flip a
coin. If heads, the Defending Pokémon is now
Paralyzed.
I have to admit that this is one of the WORST stallers in the
game of
Pokémon! I don't know why anyone would want him as a staller. So
what if he
has 90 HP, Kangaskhan also has 90 HP and at least Kangaskhan can actually get
you some cards. Then people say that his Pokémon Power is good, and I
say,
how many good decks these days depends on status affects to win? The answer:
not many! And this fat thing can't even do anything unless he has FOUR
energies on him, and then Body Slam is a horrible attack. I pity anyone
who
actually uses him for stalling because he is the absolute worst staller ever!
(Man did that feel good.)
Name: Lickitung
Type: Basic Pokémon
Card #: card 38 of 64
Rarity: Uncommon
Color: Colorless
HP: 90 HP
Weakness: F
Resistance: P -30
Retreat: 3
Pokémon #: 108
Species: Licking
Level: 26
Attack: [1] Tongue Wrap (10)
Flip a
coin. If heads, the Defending Pokémon is now
Paralyzed.
Attack: [2] Supersonic
Flip a
coin. If heads, the Defending Pokémon is now
Confused.
Now here's a good staller. A nice 90 HP, a one-energy
stalling move that
can actually deal damage, a colorless pokémon to stick into any deck, and two
different types of status effects, this guy is almost too good to be true!
Likitung has an advantage over all of the other stallers because he can deal
damage while stalling. That makes sure that the opponent doesn't take
advantage of Likitung the way they can take advantage of Kangaskhan or
Snorlax. They either have to KO him, or watch the life sucked out of their
active. The biggest weaknesses I see is that he is weak to fighting, and
that 3 for retreat cost, which makes it hard for him to move around. Other
then that, Likitung is an EXCELLENT staller.
Sorry for the long article, but many people needs to know the strengths and
weaknesses of each of the stallers. That way, trainers all over the world
can pick the best one for their deck and raise their level of skill and
accomplishment. Thanx for reading.
David "PokéTrainer" Zhang
Hatemails, comments, or others are welcomed at:
PokemonDWZ@aol.com