Celebi V – Chilling Reign
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2021
Ratings Summary:
Standard: 2.0
Expanded: 2.0
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Today we’re looking at Celebi V (SW – Chilling Reign 007/198, 160/198) and yes, this is our lead-in to reviewing Celebi VMAX another day. Being a Pokémon V means it counts as a Rule Box Pokémon, gives up an extra Prize when KO’d, is excluded from certain helpful effects, and subject to some deleterious ones. It isn’t all bad, though, as it comes with a significant HP boost over its baseline counterparts, and may have improved effects. Celebi V is a Grass type, and… I’m not all that impressed by the available [G] support. Given what is currently available, it would have been nice if this card was a Psychic type instead, as Celebi are Grass/Psychic in the video game.
Celebi V is a Basic, and that’s still great. It’s 190 HP varies from more than double to nearly triple what regular Celebi have, but it is still significantly low for a Basic Pokémon V. They usually clock in from 210 to 230; Celebi V isn’t as fragile as stuff like Crobat V or Dedenne-GX, but it is definitely closer to them than most other Basic Pokémon V. Fire Weakness is dangerous. I don’t recall any Fire decks making the Top Cut for the Players Cup IV Global Championships, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. A total lack of Resistance is typical, but at least the Retreat Cost of [C] is good.
Celebi V knows two attacks. For [G] it can use “Leaflet Dance” to attach any number of [G] Energy from your hand to your Pokémon. You can dump a massive amount on a single target, spread the wealth evenly, or however you wish to do it. There are no attachment restrictions for the Pokémon, either. That doesn’t make this a great attack, though; you still may only attach basic Grass Energy (the only thing that counts as [G] in hand) and you’re attacking with a 190 HP, two-Prize Pokémon to do it. Still, it is a nice option when you can afford to risk falling two Prizes behind to prep your field. Just make sure you have enough Grass Energy in hand for it to be worthwhile.
Celebi V’s second attack is “Slashback” for [GC]. This let’s Celebi V do 60 damage to your opponent’s Active, then switch places with one of your Benched Pokémon. Hit and run tactics like this are nothing new, and while they have been metagame defining at times, we’ve got Boss’s Orders and plenty of Bench-attacks in the metagame to keep that from being a factor here. The damage isn’t worth the Energy, but it is nice that something as small as Celebi V can attempt to hide itself.
When you put it all together, today’s Celebi V isn’t an impressive package. There is another Celebi V, however: Celebi V (Sword & Shield 001/202). We even reviewed it already! It has 10 fewer HP than today’s Celebi V, and also has two attacks. For [G], its “Find a Friend” attack lets you search your deck for two Pokémon and add them to your hand. Yes, you have to show your opponent what you picked. The good news is that this attack can grab any Pokémon. The bad news is you’re using an attack to do this, and on a relatively easy to OHKO Pokémon. The second attack is “Line Force”, which costs [GC]. The attack does 50 damage, plus another 20 per Benched Pokémon. Not enough to be your main attacker, but not a bad back up.
Simply put, I wouldn’t run either of these unless I wanted to run Celebi VMAX. If I’m running the Energy to go with it, then I’d mix the versions of Celebi V. May as well get a so-so Energy accelerator and a so-so back-up attacker. The same holds true for Expanded… I’m not sure if there are any decks that call for it, but this Format has better Energy-grabbing options, and it also has Sky Field to expand your Bench-size. This doesn’t make either card great, but at least it is plausible. Maybe I’m just feeling generous, but I think that each Celebi V has an attack that just barely saves it from being a one-out-of-five.
Ratings
- Standard: 2/5
- Expanded: 2/5
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