Single Strike Scroll of Scorn – Battle Styles
Date Reviewed: April 24, 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
Single Strike Scroll of Scorn (SW – Battle Styles 133/163), which I’ll usually just refer to as “Scroll of Scorn” from here on out, is another piece of Single Strike support. The Single Strike Pokémon with Scroll of Scorn attached can use the attack printed on the card, “Furious Anger”. For [F], Furious Anger lets that Pokémon do 10 damage plus another 10 per damage counter on itself. Attacks like this have a long, long history in the TCG. Modern versions usually have higher base damage and/or higher damage per counter, but may have higher Energy requirements as well. Scroll of Scorn can still be attached to non-Single Strike Pokémon, but they won’t gain access to Furious Anger.
Low HP Single Strike Pokémon aren’t likely to survive a hit, and even if they do or if you find a way to place damage counters on them, you’re not going to get a very strong attack. Even high HP Pokémon cannot always use these kinds of attacks well. The big concern is what happens after: Furious Anger doesn’t heal your attacker afterward, or place a protective effect on it. Your opponent can easily finish off whatever just used Furious Anger. There is a real chance the Pokémon in question has a worthwhile attack already available. One that, if not clearly better than Furious Anger, is “good enough” given it is built-in. There are reasons for something that is not a good attacker to be your Active, but… yeah, normally whatever you have upfront is there for a reason.
However, there are times when Furious Anger is brilliant. There are two broad categories where these kinds of attacks are brutally effective.
- High HP, hard-to-damage Pokémon that can afford to use it over and over as it builds.
- Anything that finds itself in a situation where it has a lot of damage counters on it but no or too low of Energy to attack with something better.
I do not have an example of that first one, but for the second, take a look at Single Strike Urshifu VMAX. Its “Beatdown” attack requires [CCC] to do 100. Its second attack, “G-Max One Blow”, requires [FFFC] so it can do 270 while ignoring effects on your opponent’s Active but also discards all Energy attached to itself. It also has 330 HP. While it has access to Energy acceleration, it doesn’t have a partner that can easily refuel it turn after turn. The thing is, if you can spare your Tool slot for Scroll of Scorn and your opponent neither hits Single Strike Urshifu VMAX too hard nor too soft, you can get a powerful follow-up attack through Scroll of Scorn. Up to 330 damage, or 350 if you have a Single Strike Energy attached.
Single Strike Urshifu VMAX decks do not require this combo, but it looks useful to me. Almost all Pokémon are restricted to one Tool at a time, so you might need something else more than Scroll of Scorn. Furious Anger becomes a solid game-winning blow under not uncommon circumstances. Even if your opponent still has a Prize left, as long as you’re taking enough Prizes to justify Single Strike Urshifu VMAX going down swinging, this can still be a worthwhile strategy. We have not seen Single Strike Urshifu VMAX decks doing well at major Standard tournaments. I’ve got no data on Expanded, but if the deck can hang (and I’m not sure it can), Focus Sash (which discards itself) makes it very difficult for your opponent to OHKO your Pokémon, and something with no Energy can flush away all damage with Max Potion.
Ratings
- Standard: 3/5
- Expanded: 3/5
Single Strike Scroll of Scorn isn’t something I’d max out in a Single Strike deck. It isn’t something you absolutely have to run, either… but if you have the space, a copy seems like a nice option to have. Your mileage will vary according to deck specifics, however; if your Single Strike Pokémon are getting OHKO’d, it is a worthless card.
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