Nobody really seems to understand the power of Base Set Electrode.  All those
high HP Pokemon with high energy cost attacks that you don't use because
you'll die before you get them charged up... use Base Electrode.  More Base
Electrode strategy later.

Anyway, to the point of this article, a combo that I've never seen anybody
mention (see the subject line).  First turn, you have your Rocket's Zapdos
and your Voltorb down.  You attach a L energy to Rocket's Zapdos... but make
sure there are NO L energy cards in your discard pile!!  Why?...  Second
turn, slap Base Electrode on Voltorb, use his Pokemon Power, two more L
energy.  Then, in case your opponent paralyzed you or somethin', slap a Full
Heal Energy on Zapdos, then a Defender.  What does this mean?  You're doin'
70 damage on turn 2 (courtesy of Electroburn) without suffering any damage. 
This is because even though it provides two L energy, the Buzzapped Electrode
only counts as one L energy card, and Zapdos's Electroburn attack says: "10
damage for every L energy card," not every L energy.  Thus, Zapdos would only
take 20 damage, which is covered by the Defender.  You'll kill his Pokemon to
make up for Electrode's sacrifice, and as long as you make sure Zapdos stays
alive with Defenders and Golden Berries, and doesn't get ER'd, you'll be
mowing down Pokemon left and right like I can with this much-improved version
of an old strategy.

Now to summore Base Electrode strategy....  Why isn't this Pokemon Power
taken advantage of in more decks?  Even though he works best with other
high-powered L Pokemon (i.e. Zapdos), he can also be used with non-L Pokemon,
particularly basics or stage 1's.  A deck I thought up ages ago was an
Arcanine/Electrode deck that had me doing 90 damage or more on turn 2 (with
PlusPowers, of course).  Now that's a real Cleaner!!  And Arcanine at 100 HP
is more resilient than Rocket's Zapdos, although having no weakness helps
Zapdos a little.  It's not as hard as it might seem to get out all the cards
you need to pull this off.  The main part of the strategy is to shell out
lethal damage from the gate using somebody other than Wiggly.  The only
setback to an Electrode-based deck is Voltorb at 40 HP with a weakness to
fighting.  As long as you go first and get out another basic or your opponent
doesn't have Chan or Machop you're in business.


Dave Smith
dss34@columbia.edu

ps -> I'll have more unique strategies for y'all down the road....