articuno
Articuno ex

Articuno ex – Set

Date Reviewed:  January 16, 2025

Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.

Reviews Below:


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Otaku

The sixth best Pokémon of Genetic Apex is Articuno ex (Genetic Apex 084/226, 258/226, 275/226)! It’s a (W) Type Basic Pokémon ex with 140 HP, (L) Weakness, Retreat Cost (C)(C), no Ability, and two attacks. The first is “Ice Wing”, priced at (W)(C) and doing 40 damage. The second attack is “Blizzard”, which costs (W)(W)(W) and does 80 damage to your opponent’s Active and 10 to each of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon. So far, Articuno ex is only available at the ♦♦♦♦ and ★★ levels, with there actually being two distinct ★★ cards.

Being a (W) Type is a big part of what makes Articuno ex so good. Not because of exploiting Weakness, though it is useful that 93% of (R) Pokémon are (W) Weak. The big selling point is Misty. I don’t know why her effect wasn’t restricted to the two or three (W) Pokémon she’s most associated with, like they did with Blaine, Brock, Koga and Lt. Surge. I just know it gives Articuno ex the chance to attack Turn 1 and Turn 2 if the coin flips go your way.

Being a Basic Pokémon is the best: no additional cards or turns to get Articuno ex into play and Poké Ball gives you at least a chance of snagging Articuno ex from your deck. Being a Pokémon ex is all right. As I keep saying, it only guarantees that Articuno ex is worth two points when KO’d (instead of one), and that Tauros (Mythical Island 060/068) can hit Articuno ex substantially harder, but this is why Articuno ex has 140 HP instead of more like 100, and two attacks instead of one.

That 140 HP is good. It’s not safe from OHKOs, but it is still up there. Definitely have to worry about 2HKOs, but that’s normal. Factoring in that this a Basic Pokémon ex, the number is still good. The (L) Weakness enables all of one OHKO (that would have been a 2HKO). It involves flipping three “heads” out of the four coin flips required by the “Pin Missile” attack on Jolteon (Genetic Apex 102/226). It’ll make 2HKOs easier, though. Finishing out the bottom stats, a Retreat Cost of (C)(C) is decent. Paying full price hurts, but double X Speed or one Leaf can zero it out.

Ice Wing is a decent attack, but seems a bit wasteful. It absolutely is needed; even with Misty, there will be plenty of times when she’ll fail you and you have to manually attach two Energy to attack at all with Articuno ex. How is it wasteful, then? Blizzard, the card’s big attack, requires (W)(W)(W). If you use a non-Water Energy to pay for the (C) in Ice Wing, you’re still (W)(W) away from using Blizzard. Meaning, Articuno ex would be better served if Ice Wing was priced at (W)(W) and did even a little more damage.

Because you will want to use Blizzard. It isn’t the hardest-hitting attack you can use for (W)(W)(W), but its close. The Bench damage is a great. As it is only 10 to each opposing Benched Pokémon, it won’t add up fast. Your opponent will have to think about whether or not they want to Bench a card, or hold it in hand and risk a Red Card shuffling it away. It’ll be rare for the accumulated Bench damage to KO anything that was not already injured, but it does a nice job setting up for combos.

Articuno (Genetic Apex 083/226) completely separate entities, but it’s good for bench-marking. Articuno is a Basic (W) Pokémon with 100 HP, (L) Weakness, (C) Retreat Cost, and the attack “Ice Beam”. For (W)(W)(C), the attack does 60 damage and has you flip a coin. If “heads”, the opposing Active is Paralyzed. Not bad, but it suggests the ex treatment gave Articuno ex +40 HP and +(C) to Retreat Cost. Blizzard is slightly more expensive, but not enough to justify +20 damage. I also think 10 to each opposing Benched Pokémon is better than a 50/50 shot at Paralysis.

Ratings: 4/5

Wait, don’t I need to go into what decks are using Articuno ex? The short answer is “Water Decks”. Blastoise ex, Greninja, Gyarados ex, Starmie ex, and 18 Trainers all a variant that uses Articuno ex. This big bird is a nice body to have up front, and if you do power it up all the way to Blizzard, it can soften up some future threats so the deck’s other attackers can finish them off. Even if the next attacker is “just” your second Articuno ex! This is why Lapras ex is the “budget” option.


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