Eevee & Snorlax-GX – Pokemon Team Up Review

Otaku

We close out the week with Eevee & Snorlax-GX (SM – Team Up 120/181, 171/181, 191/181). Tag Team Pokémon are a subcategory of Pokémon-GX, so most of what applies to Pokémon-GX apply to Tag Team Pokémon

• Can’t access certain beneficial effects
• Targeted by certain detrimental effects
• Better stats than the baseline version (usually much higher HP)
• Better effects than the baseline version (at least a GX-attack)
• Exclusive access to Pokémon-GX support (there ain’t much)

Tag Team Pokémon give up two additional Prizes instead of one when KO’d, and they are always Basic Pokémon regardless of the usual Stage of either of the named “component” Pokémon. This is a [C] Type Pokémon, so no Weakness or Resistance because we aren’t bothering with Unlimited Format play. There are counters and supportive effects for the [C], only one of them exists in Standard and it’s a counter; Eevee & Snorlax-GX won’t be able to damage Necrozma-GX unless you can turn off its “Light’s End” Ability. Expanded gives us a handful of additional options, but nothing that has seen any recent competitive success. Being a Basic is a huge boon, even when the Pokémon represented by the card are already Basics; being a Basic makes this card one of the fastest, most reliable, and yet least demanding to field. It means Eevee & Snorlax-GX can be your opening Active (not always a good thing), can take better advantage of certain mechanics (like bounce), can access Basic Stage support, but also has to deal with Stage-specific counters.

Eevee & Snorlax-GX briefly had the highest printed HP score (270) when it was first revealed, but this was soon surpassed by Magikarp & Gyarados-GX and their 300 HP. 270 HP is still great, as it is very difficult to OHKO without exploiting Weakness, and even then a [F] Type must swing for 140. Lack of Resistance may actually be a good thing: not for the card, but for the sake of game balance as -20 damage on top of 270 HP can be surprisingly potent (at least against that one hypothetical Type). A Retreat Cost of [CCCC] is massive and you build your deck accordingly; besides cards that switch out your Active or zero out Retreat Costs, tanking may be appropriate as well. Such a high Retreat Cost does work with Buff Padding. This card has three attacks. For [C], Eevee & Snorlax-GX can use “Cheer Up” to attach an Energy card from your hand to one of your Pokémon; you have to use the attack at least once to break even with its Energy requirement, and you make Eevee & Snorlax-GX vulnerable to attackers that deal extra damage per Energy attached to your own Active, but it can help with these costs of the other two attacks or be used to prep something else on your Bench. “Dump Truck Press” is the second regular attack on this card, and it lets Eevee & Snorlax-GX do 120 damage for [CCCC] which… is actually underwhelming. Fortunately, there is additional effect text and it states this attack does another 120 (so 240) if used against an Evolution Pokémon. Only the protected, the HP buffed, or the largest Evolved Pokémon-GX can survive, and that last group only by 10 HP.

Megaton Friends-GX is the GX-attack found on Eevee & Snorlax-GX. It also requires [CCCC], and does 210 damage. Not bad, actually, as various forms of Energy acceleration keep the cost from being as severe as it sounds. Even as a one time trick, it’s decent. That isn’t all it can do, however; if you have at least one more Energy attached, you get to draw until you have 10 cards in hand. [CCCCC] is naturally more difficult to meet than the printed [CCCC] requirement but you really ought to be running Eevee & Snorlax-GX with some Energy acceleration (apart from its own first attack), so it’s only a little more difficult. The draw-power isn’t fantastic but for the price its a nice option. When you draw with an attack, your opponent can thwart it with something like Judge, but I’d say the real thing to remember is that this attack isn’t going to hit as hard as Dump Truck Press does against Evolutions, so while it can one-shot a Zoroark-GX you probably want to use it on a Basic Pokémon-EX/GX. Your fellow Tag Team Pokémon, as well as classics like Wailord-EX, are out of range without damage buffs, however. Putting it all together, we have a pretty solid meatshield that can be used to very mildly accelerate Energy while soaking an attack or two, then be bounced by something like Acerola or Benched and healed by a switching effect followed by a Max Potion. At the same time, so long as you can meet its own attack costs, you’ve got a good anti-Evolution attack on something that might even survive your opponent’s next attacker striking back, can handle the smaller half of non-Evolved Pokémon as well (120 still OHKO’s a decent amount of supporting Pokémon), and can take down one good-sized Basic Pokémon, possibly while drawing you some cards, if you can spare your GX-attack.

Honestly, I was worried this card wasn’t worth running when I first saw it. It hasn’t been tearing up the competitive scene, but it has put in an appearance in some well-performing decks. It showed up alongside Vileplume (SM – Burning Shadows 6/147) in Shintaro Ito’s deck as he took 3rd place at the Chiba Champions League about a month ago (Japanese Standard Format), and in Kendon Kula’s own Vileplume deck that managed a 75th place finish at the Collinsville, IL Regional Championship (our Standard Format). While none of them finished well enough, I have been bumping into the odd Eevee & Snorlax-GX in Malamar (SM – Forbidden Light 51/131; SM – Black Star Promos SM117); it is a powerful option for dealing with opposing Evolutions, and requires little to no other changes to the deck. It also provides an option for when Malamar isn’t available to accelerate Energy, though that seems like a desperation play. I don’t know if there are any Expanded Format decks which could really capitalize on it, or rather, on it and not another Tag Team attack. Blastoise (BW – Boundaries Crossed 31/149; BW – Plasma Storm 137/135; BW – Plasma Blast 16/101) already has Magikarp & Wailord-GX, though if someone can get an Emboar (Black & White 20/114; BW – Black Star Promos BW21; BW – Next Destinies 100/99; BW – Legendary Treasures 27/113), perhaps there (until we get a good [R] Tag Team Pokémon).  If you pull this in the Limited Format, I’d definitely run it; maybe completely solo but even if you’re backing up something else. Your 270 HP will be tested, especially if your opponent can set up a “real” attacker or just spam Basic [F] Types with this approach, but about six attacks and you should win. You can also run it with something else, where it is particularly obnoxious if you bring it out and your opponent is on their last Prize.

Ratings

• Standard: 3/5
• Expanded: 2/5
• Limited: 4/5

I’m happy that Eevee & Snorlax-GX has performed as well as it has, but I suspect it won’t last much longer barring something unusual like Energy acceleration geared for [C] Types. Enjoy it while you can.  I’ll be happy if I’m proven wrong, however; in case you’ve forgotten, Snorlax is my favorite Pokémon… and who doesn’t at least like Eevee.

Vince

Here’s a link of my preview. My stance remains unchanged.

• Standard: 3.5/5
• Expanded: 3.5/5
• Limited: 4.5/5