Rampardos (A2 089) – Space-Time Smackdown
Date Reviewed: February 19, 2025
Ratings Summary:
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is horrible. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Otaku
Today we’re looking at Rampardos (A2 089)! It’s a (F) Type, Stage 2 Pokémon with 150 HP, (G) Weakness, (C)(C) Retreat Cost, and the attack “Head Smash”. For (F), this attack 130 damage to your opponent’s Active, as well as 50 to Rampardos itself if the damage from Head Smash KO’d the opposing Active. Rampardos is available as a ♦♦♦ rare.
We’ll begin with Rampardos’ (F) Typing: exploiting Weakness brings Magnezone (A2 053) into OHKO range. It also means Lucario (A2 92, 170) is an option; this expands Rampardos’ OHKO range, but it also means making room for a Stage 1 Bench-sitter. Doesn’t look like it’s seeing play, but Snover (A2 044) can do 40 damage for (W) to (F) Pokémon. All in all, I’d say (F) Typing agrees with Rampardos.
Stage 2 Pokémon require two extra cards and turns to hit the field, versus a Basic. There’s also the risk you’ll get those cards in the wrong order. If Aerodatcyl ex (A1a 046, 078, 084) is in play, you won’t be able to evolve anything in the Active spot. I’ll address the specifics of Rampardos’ evolution line later in the article, but for now… just know anything good the card has going for it, it earned.
Right on cue, we have Rampardos’ 150 HP. Fellow single point Pokémon can have up to 10 more HP, while Pokémon ex can have up to 40 more… but most cards, even in competitive play, have less HP. Rampardos is not OHKO proof; see it’s attack for one thing. Even if it doesn’t damage itself, there are multiple competitive decks focused on hitting this hard, or close to hitting this hard with a decent chance of hitting harder.
Exeggutor ex (A1 023, 252) and Celebi ex (A1a 003, 075, 085) is doing great right now, and Yanmega ex (A2 007, 180, 196) decks doing well enough to worry about. Neither score clean OHKOs due to Weakness, but Yanmega ex just needs a Giovanni (A1 223, 270), while Exeggutor ex just needs a “heads” and for Rampardos to have hit itself for 50 damage with a Head Smash KO. Rampardos’ Retreat Cost of (C)(C) is decent. I’m normally happier to see it, but not only is it probably the worst stat printed on this particular Pokémon, its (C) more than Rampardos needs to attack…
…yeah, Head Smash is an amazingly affordable attack. Unless they introduce “no Energy” attacks1, the only thing better than a cost of (F) would be a cost of (C). If you’re only running one Energy Type, you can even use that turn’s Energy attachment to ready a Rampardos. 130 damage for one Energy is a fantastic return. It will OHKO most non-ex Basic and Stage 1 Pokémon, and even some Pokémon that are Stage 2’s or Pokémon ex. Lucario, Giovanni, and/or simple combos can increase this range to the point where almost nothing can survive.
Let’s talk recoil damage. Head Smash doing 50 damage to Rampardos itself hurts, but the rest of the card is worth it. If Head Smash doesn’t OHKO the target, it’ll be almost Knocked Out. Usually.2 When Head Smash does OHKO the target… you’ve already gotten a point from Rampardos. I’ll also remind you that, just like they don’t boost Bench damage, neither will Giovanni or Lucario increase self damage. So don’t be afraid to use said cards, deck space/strategy permitting. The only reason it isn’t an easy, obvious trade all the time is because Rampardos is a Stage 2.
Let’s talk evolution. Rampardos evolves from Cranidos. The only option right now is Cranidos (A2 088). It’s a (F) Type Stage 1 Pokémon with 90 HP, (G) Weakness, a Retreat Cost of (C)(C), and one attack. “Headbutt” costs (F) and does 50 damage. The HP and Retreat Cost are both poor, but the attack is decent. Cranidos must evolve from Skull Fossil (A2 144). It’s a Trainer-Item with an effect that let’s you put it into play as a 40 HP, Basic, (C) Type Pokémon without an Ability, an attack, or the capacity to retreat. Though it is handy that Skull Fossil says you can choose to discard it from being in play at any time during your turn.
Not only do you have all the usual Stage 2 baggage, your “Basic” Pokémon can’t be put into play during opening setup, can’t be snagged with Poké Ball (P-A 005) or Pokémon Communication (A2 146), etc. Skull Fossil only counts as a Basic Pokémon after you put into play. So, not only is it harder to get your Stage 2 into play, you haven’t even met the minimum deck requirement of having a Basic in your deck. So you’ll have even less space for Trainers as you try to have a reasonable number of Basic Pokémon, to reduce the risk of Bench Out.
Yet Rampardos is worth it. At least, based on the results. There are two Rampardos variants; those that run Lucario, and those that don’t. Both decks pull from the many useful (F) Type Basics with low Energy costs. With or without Lucario, you might see Hitmonchan (A1 155), Hitmonlee (A1 154), Marshadow (A1a 047, 074), and Stonjourner (A1a 048). The non-Lucario versions also had some Farfetch’d (A1 198) or Tauros (A1a 060) instead. You either have single Energy attackers, multi-Energy conditional attackers, or… I’m assuming Stonjourner is a meatshield you only rarely can power up.
Rating: 3.5/5
Yeah, Rampardos is good enough it could have made the countdown. I’m glad I was able to review it so soon after we’d finished. Evolving into it can be a challenge, as can fitting in the right mix of supporting Pokémon and Trainers… but 130 damage for one Energy, even with the recoil, is still amazing.
1Such things do not exist in Pocket, but do exist in the full Pokémon TCG.
2Be aware of damage reducing/preventing effects, as well as healing.
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