Rapid Strike Urshifu – Chilling Reign
Date Reviewed: July 26, 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
Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX (SW – Chilling Reign 044/198) is not a Rule Box Pokémon, but it is a single-Prize Pokémon with the Rapid Strike Battle Style. Which is important, because its claim to fame is its “Rapid-Fisted Rush” attack. For [WC], something that Rapid Strike Energy can cover, this attack lets Rapid Strike Urshifu do 30 damage for each of your Rapid Strike Pokémon in play, to your opponent’s Active. Fill the standard five ‘mon Bench with nothing but Rapid Strike Pokémon, and you’re doing 180 damage for just one Rapid Strike Energy and this may not even be your main attacker! To be fair, if you do use this as your main attacker, remember you’re aiming for reliable 2HKOs. Though, especially if it is for your last two Prizes of the game, Boss’s Orders to force Active an opponent’s Dedenne-GX, Crobat V, etc. is more than welcome.
That is where the rest of the card comes in: Rapid Strike Urshifu is a Stage 1 Pokémon. Currently, our only Kubfu is SW – Chilling Reign 093/198. It is pretty much filler, but at least it has 70 HP. Whether you do build a deck around Rapid Strike Urshifu, going for a 3-3 or 4-4 line, or use it to back up another attacker, settling for a 2-2 or maybe even a 1-1 line, it isn’t too demanding. Its [W] typing probably won’t do a lot for it, but at least you’re hitting the reasonably well-represented [R] type for double damage. Its HP falls somewhere between “decent” and “good”; 140 is far from massive, but it is enough to require a medium-sized attack to one-shot Rapid Strike Urshifu. Excluding Weakness; Lightning types can OHKO Rapid Strike Urshifu with just 70 damage.
As usual, lack of Resistance is a missed opportunity for a small bonus and not a defect. The Retreat Cost of [CC] is neither low enough to be a benefit nor high enough to be a real problem, and is quite common. Rapid Strike Urshifu does have one more attack, “Slashing Claw”, which costs [C] and lets it do 40 damage. Not worth running an entire Stage 1 line for, but better than nothing if just can’t get the Energy for the second attack. It is also worth noting that Single Strike Urshifu (SW – Chilling Reign 108/198) also evolves from Kubfu, but given how Rapid-Fisted Strike works, mixing them seems like a bad idea.
What strikes me as a good-ish idea is Rapid Strike Rushifu backed up by Octillery (SW – Battle Styles 037/163, 178/163; SW – Black Star Promos SWSH089) and whatever alternate Rapid Strike attacker(s) seem worthwhile. In the Expanded Format, Rapid Strike Urshifu faces a lot more competition, but if you can make it work, you can run it alongside Sky Field. Which means Rapid-Fisted Rush can max out at 270 damage! I don’t know if we’ll see Rapid Strike Urshifu decks in either Format, but on paper, they seem plausible.
Ratings
- Standard: 3/5
- Expanded: 3/5
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