Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

EX Discussion # 2: Raichu

L

League Leader Terry

New Member
Raichu is my favorite Pokemon and has been my trademark since I got into Pokemon way back in the beginning. But does Raichu Ex measure up? Let's look at the stats:

100HP
L Dazzle Blast 20: Flip a coin. If heads, the defending Pokemon is Confused
LLC Mega Thunderbolt 120: Discard all energy attached to Raichu Ex

F Weakness, no Resistance, C Retreat

20 damage for 1 energy is nice, though I would like it if Dazzle Blast Paralyzed instead of Confused. Mega Thunderbolt is HUGE for its cost (IIRC, the only attack in EON that can take out Wailord Ex in one hit), but you lose all of your energy to use it.

What do you guys think? Is Raichu Ex worth using, or does the Ex trait and ditching all of its energy make him not worth using?
 
Captain Obviousx1 said:
Play this guy with SS Pichu...there's 120 every 2 turns, which is insane speed. Throw in some small healing and you have a monster...
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But you need to discard all energy cards to use the attack. it needs 3 turns to attached the energy for the next attack if there is no Poke-power or effects. It is still an insane card.
 
Do you even know what the SS Pichu does? You get to put 2 Basic Energies from your discard onto a Poke of your choice, then put 2 damage counters on them(when using the full effect of the attack). With enough Switch and/or Warp Energy, you can just keep bringing Pichu out and using the Energy Retrevial, then hitting with a 'Bolt. It's a sweet combo, but it could face a few problems...not too many though. If I had a grasp of the E-On Trainer engine, I could easily make a Raichu EX deck...
 
Like LLTerry I've always had at least one deck built around a Raichu in my arsenal. I find the Raichu Ex very tempting, but instead of basing a deck completely around this Raichu, I'm conbining it with the Skyridge Raichu -- Raichu Ex for those times when you just NEED to wipe out one of those big Stage 2 Pokemon people love to play with, and Skyridge Raichu to whack all those Pokemon Power endowed Pokemon. Skyridge Raichu has the added advantage of a solid 50 per turn WITHOUT the energy discard.

I have looked at Captain O's suggestion about SS Pichu. I'm thinking that there is too much dependance on the right cards showing up at the right time -- if the deck didn't "fire" in a timely fashion -- ie supply what you need immediately, you could quickly find yourself in a world of hurt -- there is not much room to recover from a bad draw. I think the combination of the two Raichu gives a little more resiliancy.
 
yup, Switches and Warp energies could make a Raichu EX deck "fly" for at least 4-5 turns, maybe enough to win. Plus, a couple strategically played Nurses might keep it alive for a while.

Too bad it can't KO Gardevoir EX in one hit. But, it could give Gardevoir decks a rough time due to its speed/damage.
 
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Rabid Raichu said:
Like LLTerry I've always had at least one deck built around a Raichu in my arsenal. I find the Raichu Ex very tempting, but instead of basing a deck completely around this Raichu, I'm conbining it with the Skyridge Raichu --
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Hold up, there's a Raichu in Skyridge?! *Checks Pokeschool's spoilers* My god, there is. In my current Blazing Thunder deck, I've been using 2 Expedition Raichu and 1 Raichu Ex. I didn't even know this one existed. (Curses stupid store that refused to break their box of Skyridge into individual packs instead of selling the box as a whole.) Hmm, reliable 50 dmg every turn instead of 60 every other turn plus a widespread attack that would only hurt my 1 Firestarter Blaziken. AND it's less Electric Energy dependant. Hmm, must edit Wants list....
 
Raichu EX is a very powerful card on its own, but i believe it is lacking that Broken Combo Card and therefore, cannot work consistently in Modified. I've been trying to break the card for some time and i can tell you it cannot be done consistantly in this format......
 
I"ve been trying raichu ex with the ss raichu in a 3/1 and 2/2 ratio with
the skyridge raichu.
Both work well. There isn't an awesome combo card out there right
now but there are several supporter pokies that work well.
With the current cards available I feel that it is
important to put immediate pressure on your opponent
while raichu ex sits on the bench waiting to take out
the big hitters. Maybe two are sitting there at times.
The most successful supporters i've found are volbeat/illumise
and marill. The volbeat/illumise immediately start putting
status effects on your opponent forcing them to react.
Volbeat can have free retreat and the combo also protects
against many of the fighting pokies. Also use little energy.

Marill has free retreat and 75 % chance of paralysis which can
buy time to reload the rodents.

I also use 5-6 fossils as stall fodder. Your opponent won't
be able to build monsters as fast as you can knock them
off.
Fun to play and frustrating to your opponent. The deck
must be fast.
 
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Raichu ex is worth used for, but please watch out for the ex drawback.

Raichu ex is best used when you're facing Wailord/high HP Pokemon.

The first attack is decent- you does 20 damage, and your get to flip(confused if your foe is unlucky) and your opponent get to flip- he'll be hit 50 damage (20 is what you does) if he's really unlucky. The Special Condition Confuse is quite ok, though.
 
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League Leader Terry said:
SS Raichu? I thought Raichu Ex WAS the SS Raichu. :)
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sorry...didn't make that clear enough
3 raichu ex and 1 skyridge rodent or
2 ex and 2 skyridge hairballs
 
Here's what I said in my Pojo CotD review on it:

Name: Raichu ex

Type: Electric

Stage: 1 ex (evolves from Pikachu)

HP: 100

Weakness: Fighting

Resistance:None

Retreat: C

Attack#1: (L) Dazzle Blast [20]

Flip a coin. If heads, the Defending Pokémon is now confused.

Attack#2: (LLC) Mega Thunderbolt [120]

Discard Energy Cards attached to Raichu ex.



Name: Only one Raichu ex, so it has no direct competition.



Type: Few Pokémon are Resistant to Electrics, and a good deal are weak.



Stage: Well, it’s a Stage 1, and that is of course better than being a Stage 2 but worse than a basic. You will need a Pikachu to get this into play, and there are ridiculous amounts of them. Most are mediocre, but a few stand out: Blackstar Promo #1 (Lv16), with a nice 60 HP, Blackstar Promo #5 (Lv13) since it could search your deck and attach energy to itself with is first attack, Jungle Pikachu since it could hit the bench, Neo Genesis Pikachu since it had a 50% chance of doing 30 for (C), and Sandstorm Pikachu, which can do 40 for LCC. There are many Stage 1 Electric Pokémon to compete with. Lastly, we should address that this is indeed a Pokémon ex. As such, should it be KO’d, your opponent receives two prizes. =/



Hit Points (HP): 100 is a record for a Raichu… but this is a Raichu ex, so it should have more than you’d see on a plain Raichu. That’s not really the case: Raichu tend to have 80 HP, and some are even at 90! Only Dark and Shining Raichus had less, and then they were still 70! So, while its HP is good, it not what you expect from a Pokémon ex (the only other evo this low is Aerodactyl ex.



Weakness: This, on the other hand, is exactly what we’d expect. Every Raichu (and Pikachu) has it, and so do most other Electric types. It can be pretty bad: this is the only Evolved Pokémon ex that the Holo-Rare Hariyama can OHKO! It doesn’t even OHKO most of the basic Pokémon ex. Fighting types have also been notoriously easy to “splash” (added to off color decks) with little difficulty. Tyrouge is practically a staple! At least it only has one Weakness.



Resistance: Grrr… Nothing. They gave Electabuzz ex one, why not Raichu ex?



Retreat: Now this is more like it. A retreat of one is the second best in the game. It is rarer on Stage 1 Pokémon than on basics, and is even rarer on Pokémon ex. You should be able to pay this relatively easy, in spite of the second attack.



Attack#1: A nice, inexpensive, reliable attack and it needs to be (see the second attack). 20 for (L) is already ever so slightly discounted, but you also get a 50% chance of Confusion. Confusion is often under-estimated now, but with the one-retreat-per-turn rule and placement of damage counters (instead of doing damage), the flip less retreat was necessary to keep it balanced. At the same time, remember that this is a Pokémon ex, and is supposed to be more powerful than normal. A pretty good attack, but perhaps an energy attaching attack like Plasma would have been better.



Attack#2: This is so over-priced. It looks good at first: (LCC) should only do 40 damage, but then you remember you will be discarding that as a minimum. So that should account for another 50 damage, minimum. We do get 30 more than that, but still, this leaves you fairly vulnerable. Add into the fact that this is a Pokémon ex, and this is the last spot for it to prove it’s worth risking an extra prize for.



Uses/Combinations: Might not be bad Teched into a Raichu deck for extra power. Could also be better if it either a) had access to its prevo’s attacks and/or b) had something else to help it recharge. As such, it might be nice with the Holo-rare Manectric or Neo Revelation Aerodactyl (imagine it having Zapp! and Recharge). Definitely want some sort of healing given its status as a Pokémon ex. Pokémon Nurse would be nice, especially if you had already dumped your energy.



Miscellaneous: This card just doesn’t seem worth it. If it were a plain Raichu, it would be the best. If it had the normal 80 HP it would still be good. It just doesn’t seem to do enough for the risks you take.



Ratings



Unlimited: 2/5-Maybe with Areodactyl (or Memory Berry/Recall) it would be nice. Otherwise, it is asking o be KO’d, and KO’d quick by Tyrogues and Sneasels.



Modified (Neon): 2.5/5-It has some nice combos here, but it faces Tyrogues and two good Hitmonchan, plus has to out-speed Encargo and ‘Gatr. It does get some nice support though.



Modified (LC/Eon): 3.5/5-It actually does enough damage to handle the big boys of this format. Still ahs decent support.



Nintendo Only: 3/5-Due to the large number of Fighting Weak Pokémon, everyone should be running Mahukitas, and many can squeeze in an entire Fighting line!



TMP: 3/5-A teammate can play the support you need o keep it alive and powered up-just watch those twin Tyrogues!



2-on-2: The Holo-Hariyama get’s better here, and I noticed that some other fighters also do more in this format, and that’s bad for ‘chu (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun).



Draft: 3/5-Only because its first attack is good enough to justify using it until you can re-power, and the Pikachu in Sandstorm is okay too.



Overall, I guess it is better than I thought, but still not up to the hype.



-Otaku
 
For E-On Deck, might I suggest Expedition Venusaur which has a Poke Power that allows you to play 2 basic energy cards on one guy per turn. That way it will be able to power him up in only about 2 turns.

And I'm not sure and correct me if I'm worng but if you somehow got out 2 Venusaurs then you can power him up every turn. Combo this with Pokemon Nurse for in between healings and I think you got yourself a deck.
 
Kyogre said:
For E-On Deck, might I suggest Expedition Venusaur which has a Poke Power that allows you to play 2 basic energy cards on one guy per turn. That way it will be able to power him up in only about 2 turns.

And I'm not sure and correct me if I'm worng but if you somehow got out 2 Venusaurs then you can power him up every turn. Combo this with Pokemon Nurse for in between healings and I think you got yourself a deck.
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Harvest Bounty replaces your "normal" energy attachment for the turn. So multiple copies do not stack.
 
Nonetheless, there's enough going for this little blighter to add 2 or so to your Manectric/Blaziken or combo it with Exp. Venusaur, anything that gives it that extra energy per turn makes it worth it as two-type decks can power it up that much faster. Hitting for 120 every other turn isn't that shabby, especially when you can Nurse him after each attack.
He can't kill Gardy-EX that easily, but he can sure chomp his way through, making him less vulnerable for a retaliation Energy Burst (it's just like having resistance, but they can't go search for two extra energies)
Fighting shouldn't be such a problem, as most good Fighting fears the Lady in Purple, but be sure to watch out for those splashable Solrocks.
 
Tahna said:
Fighting shouldn't be such a problem, as most good Fighting fears the Lady in Purple, but be sure to watch out for those splashable Solrocks.
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Actually, that isn't really true. The best fighting I see is only about 1/3 Psychic Weak.

-Armaldo (Sandstorm): Grass
-Donphan (Ruby/Saphirre): Grass
-Golem (Expedition): Water
-Machamp (Skyridge: Psychic
-Nidoking (Aquapolis): Grass
-Poliwrath (Skyridge): Psychic
-Sandslash (Sandstorm): Grass

I have decks for two of them: Nidoking and Sandslash (Nidoking with Xatu for mass healing, Slash with Jumpluff).
 
I love the big hitter! but any water decks with fighting tech slaughter it, Hariyama's salp down is a one hit killer 75% of the time, dunno why it couldn't have 20 more HP. Best combo'd 50/50 with the zzzap critter.
I've been trying, 2pichu exp, 2pichu SS, 4pikachu (varying types), 2raichu zzzap and 2 raichu ex. with a 3-3-3 charizard (exp) line nergy patch helps in a tight spot and the flippy baby is self explanatory. But 100 still......
 
Otaku said:
Actually, that isn't really true. The best fighting I see is only about 1/3 Psychic Weak.

-Armaldo (Sandstorm): Grass
-Donphan (Ruby/Saphirre): Grass
-Golem (Expedition): Water
-Machamp (Skyridge: Psychic
-Nidoking (Aquapolis): Grass
-Poliwrath (Skyridge): Psychic
-Sandslash (Sandstorm): Grass

I have decks for two of them: Nidoking and Sandslash (Nidoking with Xatu for mass healing, Slash with Jumpluff).
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Breloom works pretty good in a AQ Nidoking deck too
 
Dont forget, the Pichu from SS has the ability to "evolve" (sorta) into a Richu EX. Pichu's Power to place Pika on top, then evolve normally.... so wouldnt you be able to recall Pichu's attack using a Memory Berry?

If so, Mem Berry, + Retreat aids (switch, warp point/energy ect.) can keep Riachu EX going a ways, often long enough to take 6 prizes. I think running 2/2 SS/SK Riachu is a good idea as well. I would try some Grass tech for Fighting, or go with Flyers for their fighting resistance.
 
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