Galarian Rapidash V – Promo
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2021
Ratings Summary:
Standard: 3.00
Expanded: 3.00
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Galarian Rapidash V (SW – Black Star Promos SWSH111). This is a Basic, [P] Type Pokémon V with 210 HP, [D] Weakness, -30 [F] Resistance, and a Retreat Cost of [C]. This is almost identical to yesterday’s card, and there I wasn’t too thrilled. Fortunately, the 20 extra HP (relative to Alakazam V’s 190 HP) is enough to clear the 200-point threshold; a decent amount of relevant attacks hit that hard. This also helps the Resistance matter a bit more as well. Galarian Rapidash V doesn’t stand out due to its stats, but at least it isn’t as likely to be held back by them, either.
Galarian Rapidash V knows two attacks. The first is “Libra Horn”, priced at [CC]. Libra Horn doesn’t do any damage, instead, its effect places damage counters one of your opponent’s Pokémon until it has 100 HP left. This means you’ll never get a KO out of Galarian Rapidash V; even a pseudo-KO would require placing 10 damage counters during the Pokémon Checkup. Libra Horn is pretty bad against smaller targets, but against the big ones, it sets up nicely for 2HKOs, or for advanced damage counter moving shenanigans. A 340 HP Pokémon VMAX will have 24 damage counters placed on it! What I almost missed reading the card is that you get to select which Pokémon Libra Horn targets. While it has to be an opposing Pokémon, it can be their Active or one of their Benched Pokémon!
Galarian Rapidash V’s “Psychic” attack is far less exciting. For [CC], it does 60 damage, plus another 30 per Energy attached to your opponent’s Active. With typical HP scores for fellow Pokémon V clocking in around 210 to 230 HP, that means your target has to have five or six Energy attached to be OHKO’d, barring Weakness, Resistance, or other effects. Smaller TAG TEAMs like Reshiram & Zekrom-GX also fall in one shot if they have six Energy attached, but the biggest TAG TEAM Pokémon need to have eight, while the chunkiest Pokémon VMAX aren’t OHKO’d unless they have 10 Energy attached! This attack’s main drawback isn’t the amount of damage it does, though, but that it requires two Psychic Energy. While specialized, it’d be a pretty good attack if it just cost [CC].
Galarian Rapidash V seems like a fun card, with some potential in competitive play. Fortunately, I noticed an article on it over at PokeBeach.com. Half of the article is behind a paywall, but apparently, Galarian Rapidash V works well with Victini VMAX. I’m still catching up from my time off, and it isn’t like I’m still struggling to make time to grind some in Standard or Expanded. I don’t know the tournaments it cites, but the Theorymon behind Galarian Rapidash V is… well, I’m not convinced it is the go-to partner for Victini VMAX, but Galarian Rapidash V does let the duo 2HKO just about anything. I’m not going to give it especially high marks, but it is enough to gladly give it a solid three-out-of-five.
Ratings
- Standard: 3/5
- Expanded: 3/5
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