Abomasnow – Ultra Prism – Pokemon Review

Vince

Abomasnow (SM Ultra Prism) is a card which, after looking at the effect text, feels like being excessive. This ability is there for when a deck feels like four of these Aqua Patches isn’t enough to fuel up certain attacks. While this is nice to have the ability to do the same thing more than four times, other problems may exist such as ability denial, being prized, and Bench space. This card is alright; it just needs to do more than the ability.

Standard: 2/5
Expanded: 2/5
Limited: 2.5/5

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PokeDeck
Central

Abomasnow (UP 38) whips into the meta from the Ultra Prism expansion set.  This Pokemon has one attack that isn’t even worth talking about, but it has an ability that EVERY ONE OF US UNDERRATED.

Yeah you heard me right.  I poo pooed it too.  I had never teched Abomasnow into a decklist until last night… and I bet you didn’t either.  And guess what?  Like me, I’ll bet you’ll be pleasantly surprised with how valuable Blessings of the Frost is.  Don’t believe me?  Go try it yourself – here’s my list:

##Pokémon – 9

* 2 Tapu Lele-GX GRI 137
* 3 Lapras-GX SUM 139
* 2 Snover BKT 39
* 2 Abomasnow UPR 38

Trainer Cards – 39

* 4 Puzzle of Time BKP 109
* 4 Professor Sycamore STS 114
* 2 Fighting Fury Belt BKP 99
* 4 Aqua Patch GRI 119
* 3 Devolution Spray EVO 76
* 2 Switch SUM 132
* 3 Brigette BKT 134
* 3 Guzma BUS 115
* 4 Ultra Ball SUM 135
* 4 Cynthia UPR 119
* 4 Max Elixir BKP 102
* 2 Float Stone BKT 137

Energy – 12

* 12 Water Energy 3

I know I only went 3 W 0 L with it – I KNOW I didn’t have enough time to really play test it.  I know it’s not going to be Ultra Necrozma GX come Friday.  But it was a LOT better than I thought it would be.  It really surprised me.  I beat a Garchomp, a DM Necrozma, and then a crappy Colorless deck that was pretty bad.  At one point I think I was four or five turns into the game and had ten energy on three separate Pokemon.  The energy acceleration with Elixirs, Aqua Patches, and Abomasnow are pretty amazing.  It’s really easy to put three or even four energy on your board in a single turn.

Now, again, let me be clear that this deck is NOT the BDIF, but it was better than I thought it would be… and that’s why I do these reviews because every once in a while a card comes along that I think isn’t going to be good and it genuinely surprises me and forces me to rethink my schema, to open my mind where I had previously closed it.  And that’s maybe the most  important lesson to learn from this game.

Rating

Standard: 2.5 out of 5

Conclusion

Ok no we all know that the most important lesson to learn from this game is to NOT forget to put out your prize cards.  But seriously as we’re rapidly approaching a new expansion, it’s always so easy to be elitist and say, “Pshaw that would NEVER work.”  Maybe Abomasnow can serve as a reminder to not be so presumptious and keep our minds objective and open when considering new cards from Forbidden Light.