Rotom Dex Poke Finder Mode – Pokemon COTD

aroramage

…really? We’re reviewing another Dex card? I mean, not that I’m like, upset over that or anything, I’m just kinda surprised about it. They don’t usually make more than one Dex card every generation, but I guess that’s how special Rotom Dex is.

Rotom Dex Poke Finder Mode, or I guess you could call it “Dex Finder”, looks at the top 4 cards of your deck and lets you either put them back in any order you’d like or shuffle them off into the deck. This is pretty useful the way the old Pokedex card was useful – you got to see what was ahead and could even stack your deck to fit the situation accordingly. It just also gives you the option that, if you don’t want any of the cards that are coming up, you can just shuffle the whole deck to get something new.

The problem with this, though, is that you know what’s coming up, so if something happens Turn 2 or Turn 3 that you know your next draw isn’t going to help with, that’s no good. And even if you do shuffle your cards back, that just means you have a chance of drawing into them anyway – without the benefit of knowing when they’ll come up. On the other hand, if you wanted a specific card, why not just…you know…search for that card? 

At least it combines well with all of the various “draw 2” Supporters we’ve been getting.

Rating

Standard: 2/5 (decent foresight move, but not very practical for getting what you need without draw power)

Expanded: 1.5/5 (essentially it’s an Item slot for a slot that’s already taken up by something your deck probably needs)

Limited: 3.5/5 (on the other hand, in more Limited settings, this card can be very very useful!)

Arora Notealus: Dex Finder has its uses just like any other card, but it’s a matter of getting the right environment for it that makes it difficult to include in any deck. Even though it’s generic and supportive, it isn’t the best option we have out there.

Weekend Thought: What did you think of this week’s cards? Think there are some uses for them in different decks? Would you run any of these cards in your deck?Poke Breeder or Kukui? Lanakila or Skyarrow Bridge?

Otaku

We close out the week with Rotom Dex Poké Finder Mode (SM – Burning Shadows 122/147) and yet again, this is something I might have cheated and used as a Throwback Thursday pick, because it closely resembles a card that goes all the way back to the beginning of the game: Pokédex (Base Set 87/102; Base Set 2 115/130; Black & White 98/114; Evolutions 82/108).  In fact, this makes Rotom Dex Poké Finder Mode part of two different series of cards: the Rotom series (including the Rotom-as-Item subseries) and the Pokédex series.  Note: I am using “series” for an informally related group of cards, not as a mechanic recognized by the game itself.  I’d leave it out entirely, but the Rotom-as-Item series and Pokédex-series are going to give us a decent history of usage to reference.

Rotom Dex Poké Finder Mode  is a Trainer-Item that allows you to look at the top four cards of your deck; you may then choose between ordering those for as you wish or shuffling your deck.  This gives it a generic use improving your draws and a specific use setting up combos based on the top card(s) of your deck.  The former isn’t overly impressive, but the latter can be quite potent in the right deck.  Pokédex has almost the same effect except it lets you look at the top five cards of your deck (instead of four) and lacks the option of shuffling your deck instead of arranging the top five cards.  While I’m not going to detail them, the fact that there are many cards with similar effects and names but that only usually saw play in decks that could really capitalize upon the effect; as a generic pick-me-up, they just don’t do enough.

Good thing for both of the above that Zoroark-GX is such a big thing in both the Standard and Expanded Formats.  Professor Kukui appreciates it as well, and while it doesn’t have the range to ensure Max Elixir succeeds, it can at least let you know whether or not it will work ahead of time.  Today’s card also gives you the option of shuffling instead of arranging, so if those top cards aren’t worth it, you can try your  luck getting something better.  Does this make Rotom Dex Poké Finder Mode worth using in most Zoroark-GX (or similar) decks?  No, it just makes it a lot better than it would be otherwise.  Its true calling is the same as that the original Pokédex and a good deal of its offshoots; enhancing niche cards that operate based on cards revealed from the top of your deck.  I haven’t taken time to try this out, mostly because the decks that immediately spring to mind are those built around Typhlosion (XY – BREAKthrough 20/162) or Guzzlord-GX and I’ve had horrible luck with them.  Oh, and Pokémon have attacks that, like Max Elixir, dig further than Rotom Dex Poké Finder Mode or Pokédex can truly affect; you’d only use either Item so you know if you’re meeting your goals before actually committing to the attack.  Rotom Dex Poké Finder Mode won’t give you the full heads-up but it also gives you an out if you look and see you’re going to more or less whiff on what you need.

This gives us a good idea of what plagues these cards; range.  Large scale draw, or search, or miscellaneous other effects can’t benefit from peeking at just four cards, while small has to be so small that the space is not better spent adding in just a little more of said draw power.  This is not to say that that manipulating the top X cards can’t be a very good effect, but it seems like it needs to be a reusable effect a la Gallade (XY – BREAKthrough 84/162), or have the full deck range of Mallow.  Despite falling short, Rotom Dex Poké Finder Mode isn’t totally useless, just suboptimal the vast majority of the time.  I’m scoring it the same for both Standard and Expanded as another example of “more combos, more competition, and more counters”.  Just love it in the Limited Format, where you’re almost always going to lack the powerful cards that make it suboptimal.  You might have some of the weaker effects that combo with it, but even if you don’t, when all you have is your draw-for-the-turn then manipulating the top four (or just shuffling the whole thing) is a great deal.

Rating

Standard: 2/5

Expanded: 2/5

Limited: 4/5

Vince

Rotom Dex Poke Finder Mode may seem like a weaker version of Pokedex. Pokedex lets you see the top 5 cards of your deck and rearrange them as you see fit. Rotom Dex only lets you look at the top 4 cards of your deck and either rearrange those cards or shuffle those four into your deck. The second aspect of shuffling would be to not see those cards if you didn’t like what the top 4 cards offered.

I suppose that’s useful information for you and to keep yourself from getting dead draws. Somehow, this could act as a consistency search card as well, since if you use Empoleon Diving Draw or Zoroark-GX’s Trade ability, you would use the Rotom Dex, rearrange those four cards, and use the ability to get the exact two cards that you want.

In Limited, it can be useful to see what cards you’re about to top deck before you decide to use Sophocles, which is the only straight draw card of this set. Wicke doesn’t count due to being shuffle based draw.

Standard: 3/5     Expanded: 3/5     Limited: 4.5/5

Retro

Rotom Dex Poke Finder Mode? What kind of a gibberish name is that? Somehow it hooks you up to an Instagram-style app with built in Internet.. well hope I can get one for a bit of Insta-story up with Pokemon! But, back to the card. 

It lets you to look and rearrange the top 4 cards in your deck, or if you choose, shuffle them back. So it lets you see your top decks (though 4 is weaker than 5’s Pokedex or Premonition (Gallade, XY BKT)), but its an Item card which can just be played immediately. There are two advantages to Rotom Dex PF Mode: it gives you information – crucial to any game so you can plan your turn better, and it gives you the option of switching to a new top deck if you see that the top 4 cards are pure crap and its not worth your Sycamore to pull them out. Since its an item, theoretically you can play 2 or 3 and look at new 2 or 3 top decks, which is really nice. If you still don’t like it, you can shuffle them back or rearrange them to your fitting. Its great, and since Trashalance isn’t that big anymore, possibly putting extra consistency cards like this can be worth it again.

Overall, I love the Rotom Dex PF Mode as an extra consistency option to widen your game options, and if a deck ever need a combo chain to get going more than anything else and has the room, I would consider Rotom Dex PF Mode to help setup those decks. 

Rating:

Standard: 3.5/5     Expanded: 3.5/5     Limited: 5/5

21times
PokeDeck
Central

Rotom Dex Poké Finder Mode (Burning Shadows BUS 122) functionally downloaded itself into the meta from the Burning Shadows expansion set.  This Item card allows you to either:

• Rearrange the top four cards of your deck or
• Put them back and reshuffle your deck

This card works great with:

• Zoroark GX
• Octillery
• Professor “With abs like these I don’t have to wear a shirt” Kukui
• Oranguru

I remember completely glossing over this thing until MarquisEXB sent me a list with it at one point, and it really helped with the consistency of the deck.  I’ve kind of forgotten about it, but I might have to try it again at some point here in the very near future.  It’s one of those cards that might surprise you and actually give your deck that extra little edge over your opponent.  And since nobody’s playing Garbodor GRI anymore, eh, who cares if you’re adding four more Item cards to your deck?  You’re probably not going to see Trashalanche at Collinsville anyways right?  Right?

I think my biggest problem with this card was that it only looked four cards deep.  But it gives you options: if you absolutely need a certain card, this gives you a better chance at getting that card.  Certainly, it will help you win… but will it help you more than Super Scoop Up or Choice Band or another Guzma or another Brigette or an Acerola?

Rating

Standard: 2.5 out of 5

Conclusion

At the very least, Rotom Dex PFM makes my kids laugh.  I know nothing about the Pokemon story lines, but I know they like this character.  What I definitely don’t like about this card is how long the name is – and you have to write out all 22 characters on your decklist prior to submitting at a tournament.  Not as long as Aether Paradise Conservation Area (29 characters), but certainly a lot more time consuming than N or AZ.