Froslass – Chilling Reigns
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2021
Ratings Summary:
Standard: 2.00
Expanded: 2.00
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Froslass (SW – Chilling Reign 036/198) may be a victim of bad timing. She does not have a Battle Style. She is not a Pokémon V, nor any other kind of Rule Box Pokémon. She’s a 90 HP, [W] Type Stage 1 Pokémon, with [M] Weakness, no Resistance, and Retreat Cost [C]. She also has a coming-into-play Ability, “Frost Over”. During your turn, when you evolve from of your Pokémon by playing Froslass onto it from your hand, you have the option of attaching a [W] Energy from your discard pile to one of your Pokémon. The Pokémon can be your Active or on your Bench, it can be any Type or Stage, it can be a Rule Box Pokémon or not, and it can be Froslass herself or something else. The [W] Energy has to be a basic Water Energy card, however, as that is the only one which counts as [W] in your discard pile.
Froslass also knows the attack “Crystal Breath”, which she can use for [WC] to do 90 damage, but it also places a condition on herself so that she can’t attack the next turn. This effect isn’t too hard to shake, but this is only affordable if you use her Ability on herself, and even then, it feels like you’re overpaying. 90 just isn’t enough to keep pace in the modern metagame. Frost Over is a good Ability though. So why did I say Froslass has bad timing? Because we have Frosmoth and Melony. Other than name and a Retreat Cost of [CC] (instead of [C]), Frosmoth has the same stats as Froslass. Its attack also worse, but you shouldn’t be attacking with either. Yes, I’m getting to the obvious point of comparison: the Abilities.
Frosmoth’s “Ice Dance” Ability lets you attach a Water Energy from your hand to one of your Benched [W] Pokémon, as often as you like during your turn. It cannot attach to non-Water Pokémon, or anything in the Active position, but [W] Pokémon are the most likely to use Water Energy, and we have a solid amount of Switching effects. Unless you need to attach to something off type, or specifically need to attach from the discard pile, Frosmoth is clearly the one to pick. As for Melony, she also attaches a Water Energy from your discard pile, but only to your Pokémon V. However, she draws three cards and – for better and worse – is your Supporter for the turn. Not eating up a Bench-space is quite valuable right now…
…so Froslass may be left to help non-Water, non-Pokémon V that just need a small bit of Water Energy acceleration. If you need a lot of Water Energy acceleration, you’re probably better off just using Frosmoth. If you only need a tiny amount and it is for a Pokémon V, then go with Melony. Oh, and if you’re a Rapid Strike Pokémon, there’s Rapid Strike Energy! The good news is that Froslass may be able to compliment Melony and/or Rapid Strike Energy. Plus, Scoop Up Net makes reusing her a little easier. So Froslass isn’t bad, but she’s pretty niche.
Ratings
- Standard: 2/5
- Expanded: 2/5
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