Flygon-GX #9 – Top 11 Pokemon Cards in Cosmic Eclipse

aroramage

It’s definitely been interesting to see how things change. It used to be all about the Pokemon-GX and their various attributes that made them good, but nowadays it’s back to big Basics with Tag Team-GX. So it’s nice to see some good regular-GX hit the list, cause it showcases how good they are!

Flygon-GX is a Stage 2 Fighting Pokemon-GX, 240 HP, with a Grass Weakness, no Resistance, and a Retreat Cost of 2. Dusty Defense helps keep your opponent from doing a lot of damage, reducing any damage ALL of your Pokemon take by 30 as long as Flygon-GX is Active. To help out with keeping him in the Active slot, Desert Hurricane is a 3-for-120 move that’s pretty decent on its own with Fighting support, but if there’s a Stadium in play it does another 120 damage and discards that Stadium card. And finally, Sonic Edge-GX is there as a 3-for-220 that’s unaffected by any other effects on your opponent’s Active Pokemon, to get by in a time of need.

On its own, Flygon-GX is a pretty cool Pokemon, with a strong defensive Ability to keep things like sniping and spread damage from hurting your Benched Pokemon while also weakening a lot of attacks that come in against it. On top of that though, its pre-evolutions – Trapinch and Vibrava – provide some good support into the strategy, with Trapinch (107) helping to get you a Stadium card to combo with Desert Hurricane, and with Vibrava being unaffected by the effects of your opponent’s Supporters to make sure you get to the next stage up uninhibited. Needless to say, the supporting line-up is great!

But that’s about the last bit of good coming Flygon-GX’s way. Outside of Fighting support, Desert Hurricane only 2HKOs most anything that’s not a max-HP Stage 2 GX or a Tag Team-GX, most of which hang around the 270 HP marker. It would take at least a Stadium and a good boost to really nail that OHKO – or at least hitting for Weakness. In that regard, Flygon-GX can fill in as the rogue deck that beats out Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, in much the same way that Blastoise & Piplup-GX may contend with Reshiram & Charizard-GX. The problem though comes from a matter of set-up and timing: can Flygon-GX complete its set-up fast enough to beat out Pikachu & Zekrom-GX, as well as other decks that are hanging around? Remember that unlike those Basics, Flygon-GX has to evolve up from Trapinch, which requires at the very least Rare Candy or Vibrava.

These inherent weaknesses might be what holds Flygon-GX back ultimately. Even though Dusty Defense is really strong, and his attacks are definitely good for a regular Pokemon-GX, he has a lot of stiff competition. In particular, the Reshiram & Charizard-GX match-up doesn’t look too favorable, considering the amount of acceleration they have over Flygon-GX, although the prize trade-off is in Flygon-GX’s favor. Needless to say, we’ll have to wait and see to what heights this dragon soars to!

Rating

Standard: 4/5 (solid Pokemon-GX overall, even with its weaknesses)

Expanded: 4/5 (still hits fairly solidly in this arena, especially with Fighting support)

Limited: 4.5/5 (definitely recommend if you get the line-up)

Arora Notealus: I do have a high opinion of Flygon-GX, having put him so high up on my list at #4. But despite this, I do have to acknowledge that Flygon-GX has just as much potential to be a hit as he does to be a flop. He might turn out to be ineffectual by comparison to other decks out and about at this time, which may mean he’s not as strong as he seems on paper. Though I see the potential in this card, there’s a good chance he might falter on the way out, and that’s something I think people who want to play him will have to figure out in order to push forward.

Next Time: Speaking of Stadiums, here’s one you might want to get rid of with Flygon-GX!

Otaku

Note: Abridged review due to time constraints.

Flygon-GX is a Stage 2 Pokémon at a time when that is pretty painful.  If it wasn’t for Red & Blue, Flygon-GX probably wouldn’t stand a chance.  With it, you can try to open with multiple Trapinch, so that at least one can survive to manually Evolve into Vibrava before speeding into Flygon-GX with [FF] attached.  At that point, one more [F] Energy (or Karate Belt if you’re behind on Prizes) and Flygon-GX is ready to go.

Which gives you a 240 HP Pokémon with an Ability that reduces the damage it (and all your other Pokémon) take by 30.  That can do 120 damage, jumping up to 240 if there is a Stadium in play, and for better and worse, then discarding that Stadium.  Diancie {*} plus Martial Arts Dojo can contribute another 20 damage and 10 or 40 damage (depending on Prizes), with the ideal combo falling just 10 shy of OHKOing 300 HP targets.

The GX-attack gives you a one-time super-reliable 220 damage.  Super-reliable?  Its effect states its damage ignores the effects on your opponent’s Active, so it will punch through most protection, while also hitting hard enough to OHKO most protected Pokémon.  Keldeo-GX is one of a few competitive Pokémon that reminds us how that is a good deal.

When it comes to Type-matching, before Cosmic Eclipse becomes legal, [F] Weakness is valuable to exploit; Pikachu & Zekrom-GX is not going to like being on the receiving end of Flygon-GX.  [G] Weakness isn’t a concern in Standard right now, though it is in Expanded.  The new Vibrava should actually matter in Expanded, as its Ability protects against Lysandre and Guzma; it still protects against Supporters in Standard, but there isn’t a critical Supporter to defend against there.

Flygon-GX has good prospects for Standard, though I’m still worried about it being a Stage 2… plus, even if Red & Blue prove to be a great solution to that problem, that Supporter works for all Stage 1 and Stage 2 Pokémon-GX as well.  Its Weakness and the raw competition it faces in Expanded offset access to additional [F] support, while the Limited Format sees Flygon-GX being awesome, even if you lack a steady stream of Stadiums for it to discard, though Flygon-GX still has to hit the field and get powered up.

Ratings

Standard: 3.5/5

Expanded: 2.5/5

Limited: 3.5/5

Flygon-GX definitely caught my eye, but it wasn’t even close to making my own Top 11.  Maybe I missed something, or maybe someone else did.