Yeah sorry, I had the application open when I sent it... I thought I sent it
to the right department. Oh well here it is...
After playing with a Rain Dance in many tournaments I have noticed one thing, it
is VERY powerful. A correctly made rain dance can make mince meat of almost any
other deck. Even most Anti-Evolution decks I play against have trouble stopping
a Rain Dance. And why? Because of one simple Fossil Pokemon called Articuno.
Let's take a look at this prodigy of a Rain Dance Pokemon shall we?
Articuno- 70 HP, Water
3 Water Energy- Freeze Dry: Flip a coin. If heads, the Defending Pokemon is now
Paralyzed.
30 Damage
4 Water Energy- Blizzard: Flip a coin. If heads, this attack does 10 damage to
each of your opponent's Benched Pokemon. If tails, this attack does 10 damage to
each of your own Benched Pokemon. (Don't apply Weakness and Resistance for
Benched Pokemon) 50 Damage
Weakness: None Resistance: Fighting -30 and a two retreat cost.
At first look it's a simple Pokemon that takes to long to power up and has a
dangerous second attack. But that's not true. With this basic Pokemon there is
no need for Gyrados! One of the reasons Rain Dances before could be eaten more
easily by Haymakers was because of Scyther killing Gyrados. And Electabuzz
killing Blastoise! Now I admit that there still is a threat of Buzz killing
Blastoise. But this card has no weakness and has a resistance to fighting! It
does as much damage as dragon rage. And can paralyze your opponent. Even better
than Gyrados it has a two retreat. The only disadvantage? 30 less HP. But it
makes up for that since it now takes a Scyther three turns to kill Articuno
while Articuno takes 2. And since all the other Pokemon in a Rain Dance have
more than 70 HP. Blizzard won't affect them! (Except of course for Scyther,
which is an optional card) And combined with a Rain Dance that plays 3 Plus
Powers and Gust of Winds. It takes out Aerodactyl! Now lets look at the next new
card from Rain Dance. Lapras!
Lapras, 80 HP Water type
For 1 Water energy, Water Gun: Does 10 damage plus 10 more damage for each water
energy attached to Lapras but not used to pay for this attacks Energy cost. You
can't add more than 20 damage in this way.
10+ Damage
For 2 Water Energy, Confuse Ray: Flip a coin. If heads, the Defending Pokemon is
now Confused.
10 Damage
Weakness: Electric Resistance: None Retreat Cost Two
Another shocker, Why is this lowlife basic in a Rain Dance? I mean the entire
point of Rain Dance is to get powerful Pokemon out quickly and pummel your
opponent. Well first it's the only Pokemon other than Squirtle in a Fossil Rain
Dance that can attack with 1 energy. And if you don't have your Articuno out to
destroy Aerodactyl. You can use confuse ray to stop your opponents Aerodactyl
from using it's Pokemon Power! Also it stops the old threat of Mr. Mime in a
rain dance. By either doing 20 damage to it or confusing it! And since it takes
4 turns for Mr. Mime to knock this sucker out with, it shouldn't matter. Also is
one of the best Energy Efficient Attacks/ Good Retreat/ Good HP Basics out
there!
So my point is, can this deck be stopped? Of course any Pokemon that plays its
weakness can beat it. But the Articuno/Blastoise/Lapras could be just to
powerful. Oh and finally I want to show you the kind of Rain Dance that could be
prototype for the new rain dance. Oh and the 3 Blastoise and 3 Breeders can be
turned into 4 Blastoise and 4 Breeders. I just prefer 3.
Basics-
Squirtle x4
Lapras x3
Articuno x3
Scyther x2
Stage 2-
Blastoise x3
Trainers-
Pokemon Breeder x3
Computer Search x4
Pokemon Trader x3
Bill x4
Professor Oak x4
Plus Power x3
Gust of Wind x3
Dark Starman
EBstarman@aol.com