Glaceon V – Evolving Skies
Date Reviewed: September 15, 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
As you probably guessed, given yesterday’s review of Snow Leaf Badge, now we’re looking at one of the cards that can use it: Glaceon V (SW – Evolving Skies 040/203, 174/203, 175/203). This is a Rule Box Pokémon, but that isn’t likely to matter with the current effects that care about such a thing. Being a Pokémon V means the usual drawbacks: giving up an extra Prize when KO’d, being unable to use certain beneficial effects, and being vulnerable to certain detrimental ones. Also the usual drawbacks: Glaceon V has better HP than its baseline counterpart, and probably better effects (relative to other costs) than it would have been permitted if it had not been a Pokémon V.
Glaceon V a [W] Pokémon, which is… okay? They’ve got some support but I’m not sure how much of it will directly apply to Glaceon V (or even Glaceon VMAX). I’m also not sure if exploiting [W] Weakness will be all that good in the immediate future. What is nice and obvious is that being a Basic is still the best Stage: minimum effort to run. As Glaceon are normally Stage 1 cards, this is another benefit from being a Pokémon V. Glaceon V’s 210 HP is fairly typical for Basic Pokémon V, and just barely crossing the somewhat important 200 threshold. [M] Weakness is not a good thing in the present metagame: from what little I have seen, Zacian V decks are still a thing, maybe with Zamazenta V as well. No Resistance isn’t a problem, even if it is technically the worst. A Retreat Cost of [CC] is neither low nor high.
So what can Glaceon V actually do? It knows two attacks. For [W], it can use “Frozen Awakening” to search your deck for a card that evolves from Glaceon V, then immediately play that card onto itself. This can be a decent opening play, so long as what you’re evolving into can survive being immediately attacked and/or has an Ability you want into play ASAP. I won’t be getting into Glaceon VMAX much this review, as it is already on our schedule, but… yeah, this is a nice option to have. Still, if you really want to evolve, it might be better to keep Glaceon V (and your future Glaceon VMAX) on your Bench by just running Boost Shake. Yes, you’re giving up your attack but… you kind of already were by using Frozen Awakening.
Glaceon V’s other attack is “Heavy Snow”: [WCC] to do 120 damage while discarding any Stadium that is in play. Once again, I have to describe it as “decent”; the combination of damage and effect isn’t going to make me run Glaceon V just for Heavy Snow, but it is a nice option to have, provided you have sufficient Energy acceleration; Heavy Snow is not worth building manually for three turns. Also, be careful as discarding whatever Stadium is in play is not optional; if you want to keep the Stadium that is currently in play, don’t use this attack. Before we move on, I will mention that Glaceon V is a practical target for Melony; she can attach a [W] Energy from your discard pile to any Pokémon V, but you need at least one [W] anyway. Frosmoth is also an option, due to Glaceon’s typing… but there might be better partners for Frosmoth.
All in all, Glaceon V is a solid evolving Basic Pokémon V. Good enough I’d run it on its own? No. Better than what so many Pokémon V receive for their Basic Pokémon V? Yes. I won’t be detailing Glaceon VMAX today, but yes, it definitely helps justify running Glaceon V. Snow Leaf Badge also helps a bit; I don’t know if it is 100% necessary, but it does make for a nice option for this card. As for the Expanded Format… Glaceon V actually seems about as good there. I’m not sure if Glaceon VMAX will be as valuable here, but Glaceon V gains access to Double Colorless Energy. There are some very important Stadiums here, including Prism Star Stadium cards that Item and Supporter effects cannot touch, but which Heavy Snow can still discard. Oh, and Chaotic Swell, which other Stadiums cannot discard without themselves being discarded.
Ratings
- Standard: 3/5
- Expanded: 3/5
Vince
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