dancingaway
New Member
Every time a new set gets released I really want to see a comprehensive review, on a card by card basis, done by someone in the know. I would also love to go back and see this for every past set. I’m not saying I’m an authority but I know my way around the Pokémon TCG and I haven’t seen a full set review for Call of Legends so I give you my take here.
These are my opinions, feel free to disagree, just tell me why! I am rating all cards based on what they are. For example, Garchomp C Level X would get 5/5 for an awesome main attacker to base a deck around, while Gastly SF would also get 5/5 for being an excellent starter and the best basic form of Gengar (to use in a very successful deck). Garchomp C gets rated as an attacker, Gastly on his ability to help us set up. I will be marking each card on their use at the pre-release (PR) (don’t forget how fun these can be!), their use in our current meta-game (MG) and their art. I will not go into hideous depth for each card (we all want to go home tonight) but rather consider the standout features. I know the pre-releases have mostly been and gone but this being a reprint set it wasn’t possible to predict the set til this past weekend. Anyway, there’s launch parties next weekend in Derby and Nottingham in the UK, so there may be some where you’re from.
I should also add that this has become kinda epic so it’s being split into parts. I will post links to all the parts at the bottom of this as it gets posted. Also, if you want images of all the cards, they can be found in the Pokegym picture library (follow the link at the top of the page).
Part 1 (Rares 1-20): http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141321
Part 2 (Rares 21-39): http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141322
Part 3 (Uncommons 40-52): http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141469
Part 5 (Trainers, Supporters and Lost world 76-87): http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141533
Part 6 (Conclusion, Overview and Awards): http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141844
053 – Chikorita (Grass)
- Basic Pokémon from stage 2 lines are a bit hard to review. Generally they’re only good for getting your big hitter out. As mentioned before, Meganium from this set is pretty good for the Prerelease and Meganium Prime could make a very nice deck so there’s definitely a good call for needing Chikorita. Unfortunately, I don’t rate this one as highly as the HGSS one (this is not an exact reprint) as it has 10 less HP and although it can do 30 damage, it needs to take 10 damage to do. If you’re running a stage 2 deck you should very rarely be attacking with the basic Pokémon so it all comes down to the HP and 50 is not enough (especially with Sableye still running rampant).
- PR: 3/5 (If you pull Meganium, you need this)
- MG: 1/5 (If you use Meganium, use the HGSS Chikorita)
- Art: 3/5 (Awesome picture but doesn’t fit the background)
054 – Clefairy (Colourless)
- I feel sorry for Clefairy. 50HP, only doing 10 damage and alas Clefable isn’t all that playable. Even in the Prerelease there’s so many better Pokémon. This is the only legal Clefairy right now (although the same card was in HGSS) so if you want one, he’s your man.
- PR: 2/5 (Not good and Clefable isn’t great)
- MG: 1/5 (Neither he nor Clefable have any place here)
- Art: 4/5 (He clearly wants a dance with you)
055 – Cyndaquil (Fire)
- I have made no secret of my admiration for Typhlosion; the basic one can be awesome in the Prerelease and could even make a cheap alternative to Charizard while the Prime is almost essential for fire decks like Charizard. This Cyndaquil however should not be used. As I mentioned with Chikorita, basic Pokémon from stage 2 lines are basically only good for getting out the stage 2 and will rarely attack. This Cyndaquil had 40HP. This is pathetic and 20HP less than the HGSS one and is far, far too donkable. Not gonna happen I’m afraid.
- PR: 2/5 (Use only if you have Typhlosion)
- MG: 1/5 (Please, please use the HGSS one)
- Art: 3/5 (Again, lovely character picture but background doesn’t fit)
056 – Eevee (Colourless)
- I have mentioned many eeveelutions that are playable, mostly from Undaunted, but the Glaceon and Leafeon Lv.Xs are very good as well. If you want to run eeveelutions (and I have seen some very nice eeveelution decks) then you need Eevee. I’m going to make it very simple: There are 2 very good Eevees. This is not one of them. One of the Majestic Dawn ones allows you to fill your bench with as many Eevees as you like, this is awesome. One of the Rising Rivals ones allows you to search for two eeveelutions, guaranteeing a turn 2 Umbreon, Espeon etc. Compared to both of them, this one of rubbish. Sorry, I love Eevee but this one is not good.
- PR: 4/5 (Chances are you’ll be using eeveelutions)
- MG: 1/5 (No excuse as there are 2 superb Eevees in the current format)
- Art: 3/5 (Lovely background but Eevee is the wrong colour!)
057 – Hitmonchan (Fighting)
- This is a very nice basic who is especially good for Prereleases; 70HP, 30 damage for FC and a 50/50 chance of invulnerability for 1 energy (again, this is not the defending Pokémon but any damage from any Pokémon that gets stopped). Nothing special and it doesn’t get any better which unfortunately means it will never see play in the metagame. Still a good starter though and a nice basic for a cheap deck.
- PR: 3.5/5 (Nice basic with decent HP and pretty good, cheap attacks)
- MG: 2/5 (Nice for a cheap, starter league deck but nothing more)
- Art: 4/5 (He looks pretty darn cool)
058 – Hitmonlee (Fighting)
- What we have here is basically Hitmonchan, but better. He has more HP, a very nice attack doing 20 for a single energy and a nice 60 damage for FFC. Again, he doesn’t evolve and won’t cut it in the Metagame at large but this is still a nice Pokémon for a cheap league deck or for a Prerelease.
- PR: 4/5 (Get him out early and hopefully get some quick KOs)
- MG: 2/5 (Nice for a cheap, starter league deck but nothing more)
- Art: 4/5 (Really looks the part)
059 – Houndour (Dark)
- Well here we have an incredibly run of the mill basic. 50HP is ok for a Prerelease but in the metagame as a whole he is asking to be donked by Sableye, or many other things for that matter, 10 for D is very meh but hit a heads and it becomes 20, which is ok for a turn 1 attack. There really is nothing exciting about this card, except for the fact that it evolves into Houndoom and I have already seen some very good decks involving Houndoom (both the one from this set / Undaunted and the Prime). There are now 3 different, legal, Houndours and to be honest, there’s not much between them but I’d got for the LA one just because it can switch the active, getting rid of annoyances like Spiritomb and occasionally forcing them to bring in a high retreat Pokémon (if that’s all they have on the bench).
- PR: 2/5 (Not good, but worth it to get Houndoom going)
- MG: 2.5/5 (Houndoom is good, you need Houndour, the LA is better. Just)
- Art: 4/5 (He’s definitely seen something....)
060 – Koffing (Psychic)
- At first glance this guy looks ok. Smokescreen is ok doing 10 for a single energy as it also (if you hit heads) protects you from the defending Pokémon for the next. Unfortunately it is only the defending Pokémon if they switch Pokémon or evolve then you’re done for. This, combined with a flip, is not great. 20 for CC is ok but there’s a lot better in this set. It may make a splashable psychic tech in any deck as it does not need psychic energy but if you go to my review of the Weezing from this set you’ll see that I don’t think he’s very good at all. There IS a good Weezing however. The Rising Rivals Weezing does not give away a prize card when he’s knocked out while confused AND he is easily confused and I would love to see a rogue deck made around him. This Koffing could also be substituted for the RR one, which has 10 more HP but, in my opinion, slightly worse attacks, so there’s your choice. I prefer the HP because you shouldn’t be attacking with Koffing.
- PR: 2/5 (Works as a splashable psychic tech but not great by any stretch)
- MG: 3/5 (No better or worse than the RR one and Weezing could make a nice rogue deck)
- Art: 3/5 (Looks suitably sinister)
061 – Magikarp (Water)
- Magikarps always have been and always will be rubbish; this was the joke in the original Pokémon games: Everyone mocked them and then they evolved into Gyarados. Gyarados is currently one of the top 3 decks in the format (for good reason) and that deck cannot be run without Magikarp. It can, however, be run without this Magikarp. Magikarps always have 30HP which is depressingly donkable and they never have good attacks so usually it’s just pick the one with the nice art and hope, however, we have the SF Magikarp in the format at the moment which can draw cards (assuming you get lucky with coin flips). Really this should be a moot point as you should NEVER have a Magikarp active but there’s always a chance you’ll start with one and need to attack for a turn. If this happens, use the SF one, there’s a reason this is the one that ever Gyarados player uses.
- PR: 2/5 (Gyarados is good and you need Magikarp for him)
- MG: 1/5 (Use the SF one. This will work as a substitute but the SF ones are in a theme deck)
- Art: 4/5 (I really like this. Go Magikarp, GO!)
062 – Magmar (Fire)
- This is a very vanilla Pokémon. By that I mean he does 10 damage for 1 energy and 20 damage for 2. He does however have pretty good HP and can take a hit or 2 in a Prerelease. Really though, 20 damage is not enough to make him viable so I would only run him if you get a Magmortar to back him up. In a pretty rare occurrence for this set, this is actually the best Magmar to use. But it’s a reprint form UL so it doesn’t count.
- PR: 2/5 (Can take a hit but not really an attacker. Use only for Magmortar)
- MG: 2/5 (Weak and Magmortar is not played. Ever)
- Art: 3/5 (He wants to be careful with that thing)
063 – Mareep (Electric)
- Not only does Mareep have only 40HP but it’s weak to fighting. In this set alone, say hello to Tyrogue and Hitmonlee, both of which can donk with ease. Oh, and Hitmonlee is a common that will see a LOT of play. You don’t see many donks in Prereleases but you could if you use this guy. Oh, and his only attack does 10 damage. Ampharos is ok (though not the best rare by a long shot) but other than that please do not use this card. As for other legal Mareeps, the PL one has 60HP and can fetch an energy from your deck (for free) while the HGSS one can attack up to 4 energy to Mareep if you have 3 Mareeps on the bench (though it only has 40HP again). So, as it turns out, it’s the worst Mareep available.
- PR: 1/5 (Only run him for Ampharos but please run lots of basics too as he’s terrible)
- MG: 0.5 (Not as bad as Kyogre. That is the nicest thing I can say about it)
- Art: 5/5 (Show me something cuter, I dare ya!)
064 – Mawile (Steel)
- Mawile is an excellent starter in the Prerelease. She was in Undaunted and she is again here. “Selfish Draw” can give you an invaluable head start and, if you can get 3 energy on her and hit a heads then “Destructive Jaw” is a beast. The problem is, there’s almost always going to be somewhere better to put your 3 energy (at least I found in the Undaunted Prerelease) and if you hit tails then 30 for MCC is bad. Good for splashing in as a starter but in the Metagame as a whole it’s too rubbish, especially as it doesn’t evolve.
- PR: 3.5/5 (Excellent starter or if you get 3 energy and a heads)
- MG: 1/5 (Too fragile and better starters: Smeargle, Sableye, Spiritomb etc etc)
- ART: 2/5 (Meh)
065 – Misdreavous (Psychic)
- I really like this Misdreavous. For one league meeting I tried a Vilegar deck with a Mismagius in to see how well it worked. I won one game by decking them out with “Dual Draw”. Now Dual Draw is a good attack as it gets you 3 cards for 1 energy (and a colourless so it’s splashable) but it also helps your opponent draw 3 cards so you better make sure that when you set up you can beat their deck or else it’s worthless. “Mumble” for 10 is very meh, the 60HP is ok and the colourless resistance is a nice touch. For the metagame though, if you want to use Mismagius, I would use the LA Misdreavous as it can get a basic energy from your deck for no cost.
- PR: 4/5 (Mismagius is a good play but this is good even on its own for draw power)
- MG: 2/5 (If you want Mismagius, go for the LA one)
- Art: 2/5 (Not as good as we’ve seen for Misdreavous)
066 – Phanpy (Fighting)
- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Donphan Prime is awesome. Of course, if you want Donphan, you’re going to need a Phanpy. Don’t let it be this one. Ok, so damage is reduced by 10 if you have energy on him but he has 10HP less than the HGSS Phanpy (the only other legal one). Also, his attack takes two energy. Now in a format with Rare Candy and BTS, bearing in mind that Donphan is only a Stage 1 anyway, there is no excuse for ever having 2 energy on a Phanpy. If that does happen, use it to retreat the poor boy because he’s not gonna live very long!
- PR: 1/5 (No real use)
- MG: 1/5 (Use the HGSS one)
- Art: 4/5 (Look how adorable he is!!)
067 – Pidgey (Colourless)
- YES! Now here is a Pokémon that everyone should be using if they pull it in a Prerelease. You see, for one energy (of any kind) you get to search for any Pokémon. Oh yes, not a basic, not an evolution, but any! So start with him, search out your main attacker and you’re off and rolling. He’s even nice enough to make way for him. How nice is that? As for the metagame as a whole, he is the Pidgey to go for if you want to run Pidgeot as “Messenger” really is a good card; it can turn a bad start into a good one.
- PR: 5/5 (Search for any Pokémon? YES!)
- MG: 3/5 (Usefulness depends on whether someone can make Pidgeot work)
- Art: 4/5 (Again, I love the Pidgey line of art)
068 – Pineco (Grass)
- NO! Here we have a Pokémon almost as monumentally useless as Kyogre. 60HP is a nice start but you take two turns to do an attack with fails on a coin flip. No. Just no! (And I know I raved about Seviper hitting for 80 on turn 2, but this doesn’t count because a tails means two wasted turns of attacking. TWO!)
- PR: 2/5 (Only if you hit a heads. It’s not worth it)
- MG: 0/5 (NO!)
- Art: 1/5 (Nothing special. Not even deserving of a silly comment)
069 – Relicanth (Water)
- Did you pull Relicanth at a Prerelease? Did you run him? If you didn’t run him did you then feel silly when you saw everyone else running him and realised how good he is? Seriously, this is, for my money, the best card at the Prerelease. Bar none. 80 is very nice and for one colourless energy he can draw 3 cards. Ok so you have to lost zone something but it’s a Prerelease so you run too much energy and Pokémon lines you don’t need for every game. Just make sure you don’t deck out. So you do this for 2 turns and then on turn 3 you get to hit for 30 damage, which isn’t great. Oh, but all damage next turn is reduced by 30 (from anyone, not just the defending Pokémon). I had many games at the Prerelease where 1 Relicanth was all it took. If you start with him you’ll probably win.
As for the metagame as a whole, let me say something controversial: For any Mew-based deck (using Mew as the main attacker), Relicanth is a better starter than Mew. He has more HP, isn’t weak to Psychic (and hence the most popular Pokémon in the format that is in EVERY good deck) and when you lost zone your Pokémon he also gives you 3 cards. Yeah you need the Pokémon in your hand but with cards like Bebes, Pokémon Communication and Luxury Ball you should be able to search for any Pokémon you need turn 1. If not, you’re either very unlucky or your deck lacks consistency. I kid you not, a better starter than Mew. This is getting kinda long so I won’t go into much detail but I said earlier about a possible Lucario / Relicanth deck and I’m sure there are other combos as well.
- PR: 5/5 (Best card at the Prerelease. Whoever gets him out first usually wins)
- MG: 4/5 (Someone will make him a beast, wait and see)(Oh, up it to 5 if they don’t play Lost World)
- Art: 5/5 (Best looking card since Scizor UD)
070 – Slowpoke (Water)
- Poor Slowpoke. He’s a bit dipsy in the anime, he’s not great in the game and alas, he’s not great in the card game. 60HP is ok for an evolving basic but lots of basics are now starting to go above this (E.g. HGSS Phanpy and CL Tangela) still, it keeps him out of Sableye range (without a Crobat drop). His one attack is very meh: 20 for a single energy is ok but having a 50/50 chance of it failing means you’d be better off just doing 10 for 1 energy. Slowking can be very good in the Prerelease though and I can see Slowking Prime getting some use next format, especially in rogue decks where the opponent may be less able to predict what cards you need (making “Opponent’s Choice” less of a gamble). As for which Slowpoke to use: Do you remember the one from UD which can grab basics for your bench and hit for 20 without having to flip a coin? Yeah, me too.
- PR: 2/5 (Ok for Slowking but really bad on his own)
- MG: 1/5 (Rubbish compared to the UD one)
- Art: 3/5 (He looks stupid but then, he’s supposed to)
071 – Snubbull (Colourless)
- I said before that Granbull is not great. Snubbull then has a harder time than most basics because he doesn’t even have the luxury of evolving into a decent Pokémon (Like the rubbish Cyndaquil and Eevee from this set do). So, 50HP is in the bad range where he can be gotten by Sableye and, especially bad in this set, he’s weak to fighting. “Sharp Fang” is not really good enough at 20 for CC and “Roar” may have some situational uses but is only really good if you can make sure they have to switch to a Pokémon who can’t be easily retreated (or else it’s a wasted attack). Just not good unfortunately. It turns out it’s the only choice if you want to run Snubbull but nobody wants to run Snubbull.
- PR: 1.5/5 (I suppose Granbull isn’t that bad and you need Snubbull for that)
- MG: 1/5 (No use here at all, especially with Granbull being rubbish)
- Art: 3/5 (I’m forever blowing bubbles)
072 – Tangela (Grass)
- I said before that Tangrowth could be a force next season and I believe that Tangrowth could surprise a few people in the future. If he does then this is a very nice Tangela. 70HP is pretty handy, “Poisonpowder” is a tad overpriced at CCG but 30 plus automatic poison is fantastic. Hit a high-retreat Pokémon with this and you have a KO my friend. “Nutritional Support” is also good, allowing you to search and attach a grass energy, provided you have a grass energy on Tangela. A nice addition to this is being able to attach it to any Pokémon, not just Tangela. Usually you’ll want more on Tangela to charge up Tangrowth’s “Grind” but if Tangela is going to die next turn he can leave a nice present before he goes. I intend to make a Tangrowth deck in the near future. This is, without any doubt, the Tangela I will use.
- PR: 4/5 (Actually viable by itself, can hit Poisonpowder turn 2 and of course you have Tangrowth)
- MG: 3.5/5 (I think Tangrowth could be going places, and this is the Tangela to use)
- Art: 5/5 (Stunning. Wish I’d bought some Japanese Lost Link boosters now!)
073 – Teddiursa (Colourless)
- So, Ursaring Prime is viable and the Ursaring in this set is ok. So, we’re going to need a Teddiursa to evolve him from. This one could genuinely be good as for one colourless energy he can stop trainers for a turn and reduce any damage by 30 (any damage, not just from the defending Pokémon). Ok, this sounds awesome, but it relies on a coin flip. Heads is awesome, tails is a waste of an attack. The main problem with this card however is the UL Teddiursa. It has 10 more HP (crucially taking it out of Sableye range) and it can do 20 for a single energy (which is ok). The “downside” of this attack is that it does 10 to Teddiursa but this then activates Ursaring’s pokebody for the following turn. So actually, this really isn’t worth running.
- PR: 1/5 (Rubbish unless you run Ursaring. It can’t do any damage!)
- MG: 1/5 (Just use the UL one instead)
- Art: 3/5 (Another good picture ruined as it doesn’t fir the background. At all)
074 – Totodile (Water)
- Now this, this is an odd card. A very odd card. 60HP is ok and the ability to do 90 damage for 3 energy is awesome. Theoretically, assuming you can pile energy on him, you can do a lot of damage (maxing out at 1,210 – making him one of the hardest hitters ever). The problem is, when are you ever going to have 3 energy on a basic? He’s there for evolving into Feraligatr, maybe attacking for a turn but not putting 3 energy on him. Ok, so pile energy onto him and he can be a big hitter without evolving but then he still only has 60HP so when he goes down (and it won’t take long) you’ve wasted a lot of energy attachment. Sorry, it’s a novel idea but it’s not working. P.s. use the HGSS one; he can’t hit as hard but he can attack for 1 energy which, on a basic used only for evolving, is far more useful.
- PR: 2/5 (If you start with him you’d better hope you evolve quickly)
- MG: 1/5 (Use the HGSS one)
- Art: 3/5 (Great character, doesn’t fit the background)
075 – Vulpix (Fire)
- Ok, so Ninetails is already essential in Charizard and other (rogue) fire decks and next format, without Uxie, he’s about to get a lot more essential. Unfortunately, for the time being, we have the shiny Vulpix from Platinum. He allows you to get 2 fire energy cards from your deck and put them in your hand. For no energy. Which is awesome. To be fair to him, burning for F is good (though flip tails and you’ve wasted an attack) and 30 for FC is excellent (even though if you flip tails you lose an energy). Personally, after rotation I will be using the UL one as he can do 20 for F, which I prefer as it’s a turn 1 attack and you really shouldn’t be putting 2 energies on a Vulpix to attack. At the most, he should be attacking T1 and evolving T2 and that’s only if you can’t get a BTS or Rare Candy out.
- PR: 3/5 (Decent attacker and Ninetails is good)
- MG: 1/5 (Is a better one after rotation and a MUCH better one right one)
- Art: 2/5 (It looks like, when he lands, he is going to die)
These are my opinions, feel free to disagree, just tell me why! I am rating all cards based on what they are. For example, Garchomp C Level X would get 5/5 for an awesome main attacker to base a deck around, while Gastly SF would also get 5/5 for being an excellent starter and the best basic form of Gengar (to use in a very successful deck). Garchomp C gets rated as an attacker, Gastly on his ability to help us set up. I will be marking each card on their use at the pre-release (PR) (don’t forget how fun these can be!), their use in our current meta-game (MG) and their art. I will not go into hideous depth for each card (we all want to go home tonight) but rather consider the standout features. I know the pre-releases have mostly been and gone but this being a reprint set it wasn’t possible to predict the set til this past weekend. Anyway, there’s launch parties next weekend in Derby and Nottingham in the UK, so there may be some where you’re from.
I should also add that this has become kinda epic so it’s being split into parts. I will post links to all the parts at the bottom of this as it gets posted. Also, if you want images of all the cards, they can be found in the Pokegym picture library (follow the link at the top of the page).
Part 1 (Rares 1-20): http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141321
Part 2 (Rares 21-39): http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141322
Part 3 (Uncommons 40-52): http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141469
Part 5 (Trainers, Supporters and Lost world 76-87): http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141533
Part 6 (Conclusion, Overview and Awards): http://pokegym.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141844
053 – Chikorita (Grass)
- Basic Pokémon from stage 2 lines are a bit hard to review. Generally they’re only good for getting your big hitter out. As mentioned before, Meganium from this set is pretty good for the Prerelease and Meganium Prime could make a very nice deck so there’s definitely a good call for needing Chikorita. Unfortunately, I don’t rate this one as highly as the HGSS one (this is not an exact reprint) as it has 10 less HP and although it can do 30 damage, it needs to take 10 damage to do. If you’re running a stage 2 deck you should very rarely be attacking with the basic Pokémon so it all comes down to the HP and 50 is not enough (especially with Sableye still running rampant).
- PR: 3/5 (If you pull Meganium, you need this)
- MG: 1/5 (If you use Meganium, use the HGSS Chikorita)
- Art: 3/5 (Awesome picture but doesn’t fit the background)
054 – Clefairy (Colourless)
- I feel sorry for Clefairy. 50HP, only doing 10 damage and alas Clefable isn’t all that playable. Even in the Prerelease there’s so many better Pokémon. This is the only legal Clefairy right now (although the same card was in HGSS) so if you want one, he’s your man.
- PR: 2/5 (Not good and Clefable isn’t great)
- MG: 1/5 (Neither he nor Clefable have any place here)
- Art: 4/5 (He clearly wants a dance with you)
055 – Cyndaquil (Fire)
- I have made no secret of my admiration for Typhlosion; the basic one can be awesome in the Prerelease and could even make a cheap alternative to Charizard while the Prime is almost essential for fire decks like Charizard. This Cyndaquil however should not be used. As I mentioned with Chikorita, basic Pokémon from stage 2 lines are basically only good for getting out the stage 2 and will rarely attack. This Cyndaquil had 40HP. This is pathetic and 20HP less than the HGSS one and is far, far too donkable. Not gonna happen I’m afraid.
- PR: 2/5 (Use only if you have Typhlosion)
- MG: 1/5 (Please, please use the HGSS one)
- Art: 3/5 (Again, lovely character picture but background doesn’t fit)
056 – Eevee (Colourless)
- I have mentioned many eeveelutions that are playable, mostly from Undaunted, but the Glaceon and Leafeon Lv.Xs are very good as well. If you want to run eeveelutions (and I have seen some very nice eeveelution decks) then you need Eevee. I’m going to make it very simple: There are 2 very good Eevees. This is not one of them. One of the Majestic Dawn ones allows you to fill your bench with as many Eevees as you like, this is awesome. One of the Rising Rivals ones allows you to search for two eeveelutions, guaranteeing a turn 2 Umbreon, Espeon etc. Compared to both of them, this one of rubbish. Sorry, I love Eevee but this one is not good.
- PR: 4/5 (Chances are you’ll be using eeveelutions)
- MG: 1/5 (No excuse as there are 2 superb Eevees in the current format)
- Art: 3/5 (Lovely background but Eevee is the wrong colour!)
057 – Hitmonchan (Fighting)
- This is a very nice basic who is especially good for Prereleases; 70HP, 30 damage for FC and a 50/50 chance of invulnerability for 1 energy (again, this is not the defending Pokémon but any damage from any Pokémon that gets stopped). Nothing special and it doesn’t get any better which unfortunately means it will never see play in the metagame. Still a good starter though and a nice basic for a cheap deck.
- PR: 3.5/5 (Nice basic with decent HP and pretty good, cheap attacks)
- MG: 2/5 (Nice for a cheap, starter league deck but nothing more)
- Art: 4/5 (He looks pretty darn cool)
058 – Hitmonlee (Fighting)
- What we have here is basically Hitmonchan, but better. He has more HP, a very nice attack doing 20 for a single energy and a nice 60 damage for FFC. Again, he doesn’t evolve and won’t cut it in the Metagame at large but this is still a nice Pokémon for a cheap league deck or for a Prerelease.
- PR: 4/5 (Get him out early and hopefully get some quick KOs)
- MG: 2/5 (Nice for a cheap, starter league deck but nothing more)
- Art: 4/5 (Really looks the part)
059 – Houndour (Dark)
- Well here we have an incredibly run of the mill basic. 50HP is ok for a Prerelease but in the metagame as a whole he is asking to be donked by Sableye, or many other things for that matter, 10 for D is very meh but hit a heads and it becomes 20, which is ok for a turn 1 attack. There really is nothing exciting about this card, except for the fact that it evolves into Houndoom and I have already seen some very good decks involving Houndoom (both the one from this set / Undaunted and the Prime). There are now 3 different, legal, Houndours and to be honest, there’s not much between them but I’d got for the LA one just because it can switch the active, getting rid of annoyances like Spiritomb and occasionally forcing them to bring in a high retreat Pokémon (if that’s all they have on the bench).
- PR: 2/5 (Not good, but worth it to get Houndoom going)
- MG: 2.5/5 (Houndoom is good, you need Houndour, the LA is better. Just)
- Art: 4/5 (He’s definitely seen something....)
060 – Koffing (Psychic)
- At first glance this guy looks ok. Smokescreen is ok doing 10 for a single energy as it also (if you hit heads) protects you from the defending Pokémon for the next. Unfortunately it is only the defending Pokémon if they switch Pokémon or evolve then you’re done for. This, combined with a flip, is not great. 20 for CC is ok but there’s a lot better in this set. It may make a splashable psychic tech in any deck as it does not need psychic energy but if you go to my review of the Weezing from this set you’ll see that I don’t think he’s very good at all. There IS a good Weezing however. The Rising Rivals Weezing does not give away a prize card when he’s knocked out while confused AND he is easily confused and I would love to see a rogue deck made around him. This Koffing could also be substituted for the RR one, which has 10 more HP but, in my opinion, slightly worse attacks, so there’s your choice. I prefer the HP because you shouldn’t be attacking with Koffing.
- PR: 2/5 (Works as a splashable psychic tech but not great by any stretch)
- MG: 3/5 (No better or worse than the RR one and Weezing could make a nice rogue deck)
- Art: 3/5 (Looks suitably sinister)
061 – Magikarp (Water)
- Magikarps always have been and always will be rubbish; this was the joke in the original Pokémon games: Everyone mocked them and then they evolved into Gyarados. Gyarados is currently one of the top 3 decks in the format (for good reason) and that deck cannot be run without Magikarp. It can, however, be run without this Magikarp. Magikarps always have 30HP which is depressingly donkable and they never have good attacks so usually it’s just pick the one with the nice art and hope, however, we have the SF Magikarp in the format at the moment which can draw cards (assuming you get lucky with coin flips). Really this should be a moot point as you should NEVER have a Magikarp active but there’s always a chance you’ll start with one and need to attack for a turn. If this happens, use the SF one, there’s a reason this is the one that ever Gyarados player uses.
- PR: 2/5 (Gyarados is good and you need Magikarp for him)
- MG: 1/5 (Use the SF one. This will work as a substitute but the SF ones are in a theme deck)
- Art: 4/5 (I really like this. Go Magikarp, GO!)
062 – Magmar (Fire)
- This is a very vanilla Pokémon. By that I mean he does 10 damage for 1 energy and 20 damage for 2. He does however have pretty good HP and can take a hit or 2 in a Prerelease. Really though, 20 damage is not enough to make him viable so I would only run him if you get a Magmortar to back him up. In a pretty rare occurrence for this set, this is actually the best Magmar to use. But it’s a reprint form UL so it doesn’t count.
- PR: 2/5 (Can take a hit but not really an attacker. Use only for Magmortar)
- MG: 2/5 (Weak and Magmortar is not played. Ever)
- Art: 3/5 (He wants to be careful with that thing)
063 – Mareep (Electric)
- Not only does Mareep have only 40HP but it’s weak to fighting. In this set alone, say hello to Tyrogue and Hitmonlee, both of which can donk with ease. Oh, and Hitmonlee is a common that will see a LOT of play. You don’t see many donks in Prereleases but you could if you use this guy. Oh, and his only attack does 10 damage. Ampharos is ok (though not the best rare by a long shot) but other than that please do not use this card. As for other legal Mareeps, the PL one has 60HP and can fetch an energy from your deck (for free) while the HGSS one can attack up to 4 energy to Mareep if you have 3 Mareeps on the bench (though it only has 40HP again). So, as it turns out, it’s the worst Mareep available.
- PR: 1/5 (Only run him for Ampharos but please run lots of basics too as he’s terrible)
- MG: 0.5 (Not as bad as Kyogre. That is the nicest thing I can say about it)
- Art: 5/5 (Show me something cuter, I dare ya!)
064 – Mawile (Steel)
- Mawile is an excellent starter in the Prerelease. She was in Undaunted and she is again here. “Selfish Draw” can give you an invaluable head start and, if you can get 3 energy on her and hit a heads then “Destructive Jaw” is a beast. The problem is, there’s almost always going to be somewhere better to put your 3 energy (at least I found in the Undaunted Prerelease) and if you hit tails then 30 for MCC is bad. Good for splashing in as a starter but in the Metagame as a whole it’s too rubbish, especially as it doesn’t evolve.
- PR: 3.5/5 (Excellent starter or if you get 3 energy and a heads)
- MG: 1/5 (Too fragile and better starters: Smeargle, Sableye, Spiritomb etc etc)
- ART: 2/5 (Meh)
065 – Misdreavous (Psychic)
- I really like this Misdreavous. For one league meeting I tried a Vilegar deck with a Mismagius in to see how well it worked. I won one game by decking them out with “Dual Draw”. Now Dual Draw is a good attack as it gets you 3 cards for 1 energy (and a colourless so it’s splashable) but it also helps your opponent draw 3 cards so you better make sure that when you set up you can beat their deck or else it’s worthless. “Mumble” for 10 is very meh, the 60HP is ok and the colourless resistance is a nice touch. For the metagame though, if you want to use Mismagius, I would use the LA Misdreavous as it can get a basic energy from your deck for no cost.
- PR: 4/5 (Mismagius is a good play but this is good even on its own for draw power)
- MG: 2/5 (If you want Mismagius, go for the LA one)
- Art: 2/5 (Not as good as we’ve seen for Misdreavous)
066 – Phanpy (Fighting)
- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Donphan Prime is awesome. Of course, if you want Donphan, you’re going to need a Phanpy. Don’t let it be this one. Ok, so damage is reduced by 10 if you have energy on him but he has 10HP less than the HGSS Phanpy (the only other legal one). Also, his attack takes two energy. Now in a format with Rare Candy and BTS, bearing in mind that Donphan is only a Stage 1 anyway, there is no excuse for ever having 2 energy on a Phanpy. If that does happen, use it to retreat the poor boy because he’s not gonna live very long!
- PR: 1/5 (No real use)
- MG: 1/5 (Use the HGSS one)
- Art: 4/5 (Look how adorable he is!!)
067 – Pidgey (Colourless)
- YES! Now here is a Pokémon that everyone should be using if they pull it in a Prerelease. You see, for one energy (of any kind) you get to search for any Pokémon. Oh yes, not a basic, not an evolution, but any! So start with him, search out your main attacker and you’re off and rolling. He’s even nice enough to make way for him. How nice is that? As for the metagame as a whole, he is the Pidgey to go for if you want to run Pidgeot as “Messenger” really is a good card; it can turn a bad start into a good one.
- PR: 5/5 (Search for any Pokémon? YES!)
- MG: 3/5 (Usefulness depends on whether someone can make Pidgeot work)
- Art: 4/5 (Again, I love the Pidgey line of art)
068 – Pineco (Grass)
- NO! Here we have a Pokémon almost as monumentally useless as Kyogre. 60HP is a nice start but you take two turns to do an attack with fails on a coin flip. No. Just no! (And I know I raved about Seviper hitting for 80 on turn 2, but this doesn’t count because a tails means two wasted turns of attacking. TWO!)
- PR: 2/5 (Only if you hit a heads. It’s not worth it)
- MG: 0/5 (NO!)
- Art: 1/5 (Nothing special. Not even deserving of a silly comment)
069 – Relicanth (Water)
- Did you pull Relicanth at a Prerelease? Did you run him? If you didn’t run him did you then feel silly when you saw everyone else running him and realised how good he is? Seriously, this is, for my money, the best card at the Prerelease. Bar none. 80 is very nice and for one colourless energy he can draw 3 cards. Ok so you have to lost zone something but it’s a Prerelease so you run too much energy and Pokémon lines you don’t need for every game. Just make sure you don’t deck out. So you do this for 2 turns and then on turn 3 you get to hit for 30 damage, which isn’t great. Oh, but all damage next turn is reduced by 30 (from anyone, not just the defending Pokémon). I had many games at the Prerelease where 1 Relicanth was all it took. If you start with him you’ll probably win.
As for the metagame as a whole, let me say something controversial: For any Mew-based deck (using Mew as the main attacker), Relicanth is a better starter than Mew. He has more HP, isn’t weak to Psychic (and hence the most popular Pokémon in the format that is in EVERY good deck) and when you lost zone your Pokémon he also gives you 3 cards. Yeah you need the Pokémon in your hand but with cards like Bebes, Pokémon Communication and Luxury Ball you should be able to search for any Pokémon you need turn 1. If not, you’re either very unlucky or your deck lacks consistency. I kid you not, a better starter than Mew. This is getting kinda long so I won’t go into much detail but I said earlier about a possible Lucario / Relicanth deck and I’m sure there are other combos as well.
- PR: 5/5 (Best card at the Prerelease. Whoever gets him out first usually wins)
- MG: 4/5 (Someone will make him a beast, wait and see)(Oh, up it to 5 if they don’t play Lost World)
- Art: 5/5 (Best looking card since Scizor UD)
070 – Slowpoke (Water)
- Poor Slowpoke. He’s a bit dipsy in the anime, he’s not great in the game and alas, he’s not great in the card game. 60HP is ok for an evolving basic but lots of basics are now starting to go above this (E.g. HGSS Phanpy and CL Tangela) still, it keeps him out of Sableye range (without a Crobat drop). His one attack is very meh: 20 for a single energy is ok but having a 50/50 chance of it failing means you’d be better off just doing 10 for 1 energy. Slowking can be very good in the Prerelease though and I can see Slowking Prime getting some use next format, especially in rogue decks where the opponent may be less able to predict what cards you need (making “Opponent’s Choice” less of a gamble). As for which Slowpoke to use: Do you remember the one from UD which can grab basics for your bench and hit for 20 without having to flip a coin? Yeah, me too.
- PR: 2/5 (Ok for Slowking but really bad on his own)
- MG: 1/5 (Rubbish compared to the UD one)
- Art: 3/5 (He looks stupid but then, he’s supposed to)
071 – Snubbull (Colourless)
- I said before that Granbull is not great. Snubbull then has a harder time than most basics because he doesn’t even have the luxury of evolving into a decent Pokémon (Like the rubbish Cyndaquil and Eevee from this set do). So, 50HP is in the bad range where he can be gotten by Sableye and, especially bad in this set, he’s weak to fighting. “Sharp Fang” is not really good enough at 20 for CC and “Roar” may have some situational uses but is only really good if you can make sure they have to switch to a Pokémon who can’t be easily retreated (or else it’s a wasted attack). Just not good unfortunately. It turns out it’s the only choice if you want to run Snubbull but nobody wants to run Snubbull.
- PR: 1.5/5 (I suppose Granbull isn’t that bad and you need Snubbull for that)
- MG: 1/5 (No use here at all, especially with Granbull being rubbish)
- Art: 3/5 (I’m forever blowing bubbles)
072 – Tangela (Grass)
- I said before that Tangrowth could be a force next season and I believe that Tangrowth could surprise a few people in the future. If he does then this is a very nice Tangela. 70HP is pretty handy, “Poisonpowder” is a tad overpriced at CCG but 30 plus automatic poison is fantastic. Hit a high-retreat Pokémon with this and you have a KO my friend. “Nutritional Support” is also good, allowing you to search and attach a grass energy, provided you have a grass energy on Tangela. A nice addition to this is being able to attach it to any Pokémon, not just Tangela. Usually you’ll want more on Tangela to charge up Tangrowth’s “Grind” but if Tangela is going to die next turn he can leave a nice present before he goes. I intend to make a Tangrowth deck in the near future. This is, without any doubt, the Tangela I will use.
- PR: 4/5 (Actually viable by itself, can hit Poisonpowder turn 2 and of course you have Tangrowth)
- MG: 3.5/5 (I think Tangrowth could be going places, and this is the Tangela to use)
- Art: 5/5 (Stunning. Wish I’d bought some Japanese Lost Link boosters now!)
073 – Teddiursa (Colourless)
- So, Ursaring Prime is viable and the Ursaring in this set is ok. So, we’re going to need a Teddiursa to evolve him from. This one could genuinely be good as for one colourless energy he can stop trainers for a turn and reduce any damage by 30 (any damage, not just from the defending Pokémon). Ok, this sounds awesome, but it relies on a coin flip. Heads is awesome, tails is a waste of an attack. The main problem with this card however is the UL Teddiursa. It has 10 more HP (crucially taking it out of Sableye range) and it can do 20 for a single energy (which is ok). The “downside” of this attack is that it does 10 to Teddiursa but this then activates Ursaring’s pokebody for the following turn. So actually, this really isn’t worth running.
- PR: 1/5 (Rubbish unless you run Ursaring. It can’t do any damage!)
- MG: 1/5 (Just use the UL one instead)
- Art: 3/5 (Another good picture ruined as it doesn’t fir the background. At all)
074 – Totodile (Water)
- Now this, this is an odd card. A very odd card. 60HP is ok and the ability to do 90 damage for 3 energy is awesome. Theoretically, assuming you can pile energy on him, you can do a lot of damage (maxing out at 1,210 – making him one of the hardest hitters ever). The problem is, when are you ever going to have 3 energy on a basic? He’s there for evolving into Feraligatr, maybe attacking for a turn but not putting 3 energy on him. Ok, so pile energy onto him and he can be a big hitter without evolving but then he still only has 60HP so when he goes down (and it won’t take long) you’ve wasted a lot of energy attachment. Sorry, it’s a novel idea but it’s not working. P.s. use the HGSS one; he can’t hit as hard but he can attack for 1 energy which, on a basic used only for evolving, is far more useful.
- PR: 2/5 (If you start with him you’d better hope you evolve quickly)
- MG: 1/5 (Use the HGSS one)
- Art: 3/5 (Great character, doesn’t fit the background)
075 – Vulpix (Fire)
- Ok, so Ninetails is already essential in Charizard and other (rogue) fire decks and next format, without Uxie, he’s about to get a lot more essential. Unfortunately, for the time being, we have the shiny Vulpix from Platinum. He allows you to get 2 fire energy cards from your deck and put them in your hand. For no energy. Which is awesome. To be fair to him, burning for F is good (though flip tails and you’ve wasted an attack) and 30 for FC is excellent (even though if you flip tails you lose an energy). Personally, after rotation I will be using the UL one as he can do 20 for F, which I prefer as it’s a turn 1 attack and you really shouldn’t be putting 2 energies on a Vulpix to attack. At the most, he should be attacking T1 and evolving T2 and that’s only if you can’t get a BTS or Rare Candy out.
- PR: 3/5 (Decent attacker and Ninetails is good)
- MG: 1/5 (Is a better one after rotation and a MUCH better one right one)
- Art: 2/5 (It looks like, when he lands, he is going to die)
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