Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

2011-11-27 ☆ Blast from the Past ☆ Fossil Aerodactyl 001/016

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waynegg

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[gal= 45953]2011-11-27 ☆ Blast from the Past ☆ Fossil Aerodactyl 001/016[/gal]

[gal=52595]2011-11-27 NV Archeops 067[/gal]​
 
9/10

I think this card has a lot of potential amongst the many varieties of basic decks out there that use the three main dragon basics, Zekrom, Reshiram, and now Kyurem. This card will definatly be a stragically used tech in many decks, may the 'Evolution' decks come back for the first time since FOSSIL! :D

-DST
 
Intresting so you can evolve when Aerodactyl is burned. 10/10 lol

Failing at basic reading? You can't evolve when it's burned..
When it has to turn a certain way because of a condition (i.e. Sleep/Confusion/Paralysis) it doesn't work.

When they bring a card that makes fossil's easier to use, if they do, then it will see more play, maybe.
 
Failing at basic reading? You can't evolve when it's burned..
When it has to turn a certain way because of a condition (i.e. Sleep/Confusion/Paralysis) it doesn't work.
Incorrect. thepliskin5005 has it right. All Pokemon Powers are under errata that the phrase "This power stops working while... Asleep, Confused, or Paralyzed" is instead to be read as "This power stops working while... is affected by a Special Condition." This errata only applies to pokemon powers that say they would be turned off. Ones that specifically say they stay on when affected by the three now say they stay on when affected by any SC.

Archeops Ancient Power. It actually functions more like the Primal Aura and Primal Stare from Kabutops and Omastar in Skyridge than it does Aerodactyl from Fossil in that the mechanisms are different. Rare Candy gets around Prehistoric Power but it never got around the Primal Aura/Stare. So, the real similarities we are comparing here is a stage 1 evolving from a fossil that blocks evolution from the bench.

Both weak to grass, both have 2 retreat. Aerodactyl was never known for exceptional HP, it always lacked in that department even in its ex form years ago. The fossils from Fossil were really punished. Aerodactyl has -30 resistance to :fighting:, which is important because at the time this card was made, this means that it did not take any self-damage from Confusion. Kind of a mute point because if you were attacking with Aerodactyl you were missing the point of the card.

To bring Aerodactyl into play, at first there was Mysterious Fossil. Mysterious Fossil saw a lot of change in--and out of--its lifetime. Its 10HP was beefed up to 50HP in Sandstorm. In DP, fossils counted as KOed pokemon when they were KOed by an attack, but you could still discard them without the cost of a prize. During times when Mysterious Fossil wasn't around--it was out being all mysterious--Buried Fossil and stadium cards would help get it into play.

For Archeops, you have to use a Fossil trainer card to search for the stage 1. At the time I am writing this, trainer lock is huge. If you can get the Archen into play before T3, you have a chance to really mess up your opponent. If not, you may never get Archeops into play at all. Future fossil themes may make it more playable. It may be in vein though because, if the past is any indication, we should expect t/s/s that allow evolution from the deck at some point during Archeops lifetime in Modified.

Nowadays, anything that bench snipes will render an Aerodactyl a non-issue, so Archeops is the better play. Speed-wise, Aerodactly will come into play first, especially with cards like Fast Ball to look for it.

Which is better? Think about this: Aerodactyl is bigger and almost twice the weight of an Archeops. If the "First Bird Pokemon" doesn't want to fall to natural selection, it won't be picking on an Aerodactyl.
 
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while looking through my collection, i found two different PRERELEASE Stamped Aerodactyl: one with Gold and the other with Brown letters.

Is this an error?

which one is the harder to find?
 
The brown stamp is much harder to find. It's pretty lucky you got one of each. Hope you took great care of them!

As a collectible find, that's at least an 8.5/10!
 
Fossils didn't count for prizes at that time, Aerodactyl was a stage 1 coming directly from the fossil with a decent amount of HP for what it was at that point in time considering it wasn't going to be hurt by anything other than basics which weren't too much of a threat considering the attack cost within the start of Pokemon. Three colorless for 30 was great considering DCE was printed in that format and it was a stage 1. Retreat cost is fine since the Pokepower works on the bench and it's a nice card to be played without having to be active - I don't think it hurt it too much considering it's mostly a bench-warmer but otherwise, putting it to sleep, confusing, paralyzing it or poisoning it would have hurt it's playability otherwise since abilities weren't around at the time and only Pokepowers existed. Fossils giving up prizes now really hurts it in the unlimited gameplay.

Nowadays a 5-10
Then 9.3/10.
Unlimited 6/10

Archeops on the other hand is easily bypassed by rare candy I believe (isn't it?) It's a stage two within a format dominated by basic Pokemon. The only threat this actually shuts down is Gothitelle and Vileplume, but in a format like this rare candy is played along with both of those so it easily defeats the purpose. The ability is nice seeing as it stays in play despite it's status condition. Seeing as it has an "ability" and not a "Pokepower" it's more usable as just a benchwarmer unlike Aerodactyl. But it's not DCE-able like Aerodactyl with that 2 Fighting and 1 Colorless attack cost for 60 more than Aerodactyl. Over the course of time as HP and attack damage has risen, however the attack cost has also decreased as well. Plume fossil really hurts it though, being an item to access the pre-evolution. 130 HP for a stage 2 is fine as is the retreat cost of it.

Now 7.2/10
Future potential 8.3/10
Unlimited 7.5/10

Now
 
Missed this somehow...anyways yesterday's Blast from the Past is Fossil Aerodactyl, with its modern day equivalent, Archeops from NV (again, kinda lame how Archeops isn't as awesome as his in-game counterpart). So anyways, way way back in the past, we got Fossil Pokemon; the whole ideal of using a Trainer to turn it into a Pokemon was odd, and unfortunately is still a very flawed mechanic to this day, even more so with older ones costing you a prize and the newer ones relying on luck to score its next form in the top 7 cards. Not to mention the bulk of all Fossil Pokemon (at least 90%, if not more) weren't worth playing, as they didn't offer any advantages over regular Pokemon in most cases.

Aerodactyl, however, is one of the few exceptions. 60 HP was adequate to avoid a few hits, :grass: weakness was manageable to a degree if you didn't meet Scyther, -30 Resistance to :fighting: was great for laughing at Hitmonchan, and :colorless::colorless: to Retreat...well that was still a bit pricey if he got GoW'd up. Prehistoric Power was a very defining Pokemon Power back in the day, being able to lock down all evolution cards from being played was pretty devastating back in the days when Pokemon like Blastoise and Charizard were big dogs. Even Stage 1s like Wigglytuff didn't appreciate Aerodactyl at all. And combined with the fact that his Power was in play no matter where he was (unlike some previous attempts) made him a potent force driving Basic haymaker decks. In terms of attacking, you never wanted to attack with your precious Aerodactyl (as even back then getting one out was a bit troublesome), but Wing Attack was about average at 30 for :colorless::colorless::colorless:.

Nowdays, we have Archeops from NV; unlike Aerodactyl, he's a Stage 2 (making him even harder to get out), but still offering the same crippling Power in the form of his Ability. Along with being a Stage 2, he has 130 HP (average nowdays and making him harder to OHKO), the same :grass: Weakness (which is fine given how scarce :grass: decks are), no Resistance (unfortunately), and still costing :colorless::colorless: to Retreat. However, that's where any comparisons should stop; Archeops is infinitely harder to get into play, due to the very crappy new Fossil mechanics and then having to evolve that form to get to him. One of Aerodactyl's key strengths was the speed it could be gotten out, which Archeops severely lacks in. Rock Slide is nothing special either, :fighting::fighting::colorless: for 60 itself is overpriced, and the 10 damage to 2 of your opponent's Benched doesn't make it any better. Given many Pokemon decks use cards like Rare Candy to skip evolutions anyways, even his power isn't as scary since it's much easier to play around.

For Aerodactyl:
Unlimited - 5/10 (Still pops up, and can be crippling when played with something like Vileplume EX, but overall it's still easy to pick off with a GoW if your opponent doesn't have a way to block Trainers)

For Archeops:
Modified - 2/10 (Inevitably someone will build this deck and end up regretting it after losing, maybe it's ok for league play, but nothing else)
Limited - 1/10 (Good luck ever getting this out, even if you have all the right cards, not to mention his Ability is wasted in an environment where evolutions are pretty uncommon)
Unlimited - 1/10 (Outclassed by Aerodactyl obviously)
 
I'm going to focus on the unloved petrified birdy that is Archeops here. While it is a little difficult to get out and requires a lot of support to set-up it really isn't that hard to run, and can pair quite easily with the bulky basics in the format like Landorus and Thundurus that attach energy for their attack. I highly suggest attempting to make a deck before bashing it. You might be surprised.

Modified 8/10
Unlimited 3/10 (Aerodactyl is easier to get out, but there are cards that make it easier to find and play Archeops like Underground Expedition)
 
I feel like it could have some uses... I mean stopping evolutions would mean, no Ability Emboar, no Hydreigon or Ability Serperior. If it can come out fast enough before the basics reach stage 1, it would be easy pickings with Rock Slide but it only does a measly 10 damage, which isn't enough so if a strong basic such as Reshiram pops up, it just might be able to finish off Archeops without the aid of Inferno Fandango.

It needs backup for sure, however, I'm assuming only one Archeops could only be in play since it stops all evolutions so you kind of screw yourself over too and if you were to leave an Archen on the bench or even a fossil, Pokemon Catcher could be played and... your strategy can fall apart. I can't think of any abilities or trainers that can assist and utilizing its full potential.
 
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