2011-05-29 BW Zebstrika 043

[waynegg]

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[gal=51837]2011-05-29 BW Zebstrika 043[/gal]​

 

[pokematt999]

First!!!!!

Decent HP for a Stage 1, a decent first attack, the second attack is pretty good, and a good retreat cost. Could go in Zekrom decks. Overall, 6/10

 

[Jellyberry]

Low hp and weakness against Donphan is bad. The energy cost for its attack isn't to bad because of Shaymin/Pachiritsu combo. I do prefer the other Zebrastrike though, and i do not think this will be used at all. 2/10

 

[Sceptile King]

I like how it can spread onto the bench.
6/10

 

[boneclub24]

7/10. He is a decent beater with good attacks. The only problem is his slow 2nd attack (which is easily fixed) and the low HP. Now, imagine if we had Double Rainbow Energy back...

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot DRE lowers damage by 10 as well...

 

[pokematt999]

Now, imagine if we had Double Rainbow Energy back...

How about Scramble Energy???

 

[PMysterious]

This card is decent but not going to be great next format due to Donphan Prime aka the second best quick hitter next format. 6/10

 

[Regis_Neo]

Today's CotD is Zebstrika from BW, an ok Stage 1. Statwise 90 HP is average for its Stage, x2 Weakness to :fighting: is bleh, no Resistance is common, and :colorless: to Retreat is cheap. Rear Kick deals a basic 30 for :colorless:, nothing special here. Electrispark has a semi-icky cost of :lightning::lightning::lightning:, but you get 70 direct and a nice spread of 10 to each of your opponent's Benched.

Modified - 4/10 (The :fighting: Weakness and oddball cost for Electrispark does an otherwise solid Stage 1 no favors...maybe if Electrispark had some :colorless: in its attack cost it would be better, but as is most people aren't gonna waste time powering it up over a big hitter like Zekrom)
Limited - 7.5/10 (Solid for :lightning: decks, avoid otherwise)
Unlimited - 1/10 (No use here, just bad)

 

[adamisclassy]

70 for 3 even with 10 to the bench is pretty weak. For LLC you could be swing for 120 with zekrom who is a basic. Also donphan says hello

3/10 in HGSS on

 

[Otaku]

Adapted from my Pojo.com CotD.

We the begin week, we look at a Zebstrika, specifically Black & White 43/114. It is a Stage 1 Lightning-Type Pokémon, allowing it to slip into some already successful decks. 90 HP became too small for a non-Evolving Stage 1 Pokémon at least during the last format and probably a little earlier than even that. HP scores for the msot part are on the rise in the Black & White set, so this score is pretty poor and several serious decks will be able to OHKO it without any extra aid. Most Fighting-Type decks, strong or not, will also OHKO Zebstrika thanks to its Fighting Weakness. This isn't too bad when you're facing a main attacker using its signature move, but this saves Donphan Prime using PlusPower and makes you vulnerable to KO by supporting attacks, attackers and transitory Stages. Sawk just needs fighting::fighting and a PlusPower for the OHKO, for example, when normally it can only harass something beyond a Basic. The lack of Resistance is disappointing but as so many other Pokémon also fail to possess any, it isn’t especially detrimental. We finish off the stats by noting Zebstrika has a good, single Energy Retreat Cost, easy to pay (or eliminate with an Unown Q). This is becoming a common refrain, but with such low HP, a free Retreat Cost probably wouldn't have unbalanced the card.

Zebstrika has two attacks: Rear Kick and Electrispark. Rear Kick does a vanilla (but solid) 30 points of damage for one of any Energy. Electrispark needs three Lightning Energy for its cost and can’t make use of any off-type Energy, so this makes that Colorless requirement on Rear Kick only matter if you are desperate and running a multi-Type deck. For the significant investment, you get 70 points of damage to the Defending Pokémon and 10 points to each of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon. Not bad, but neither is it good, either for this format or for the next.

I would be remiss if I didn’t at least touch upon the related cards. It Evolves from Blitzle and neither version is good enough to be played as anything but a stepping stone to Zebstrika. There is a clearly better version since Black & White 41/114 can attack for a single Energy and gets more damage for the Energy invested. Sadly the other Zebstrika is on par with what we are looking at today. It has the same stats, and the big attack is actually a little worse, hitting for 70 points of damage but requiring (LLC) to use and doing 10 points of damage to Zebstrika itself. The first attack actually is solid: Stomp for (CC) and doing 20 points of damage plus another 20 if you get “heads” on a coin toss. If the second attack could make use of Double Colorless Energy, it’d be an okay Stage 1 filler line… but it isn’t, and even if it were that really isn’t enough to justify running the Zebstrika being reviewed today, except perhaps in a Limited Format setting.

The card definitely has a place in Limited. If you are running mostly or all Lightning Energy, the lower-than-in-Constructed average HP and damage will make the stats and effects of the card function as if they were better, at least relative to running this in a different format. Bench damage is fairly important and you do get a good spread from the second attack. If you are desperate to run a :lightning: Type in your deck that runs little to no Lightning Energy, then this would just barely work due to the first attack. Given the high amount of :lightning: Weakness this might actually make sense. Having two versions of the Basic available and another Zebstrika also make it easier to pull a stable line.

In Unlimited play, this card is all but useless. Like most cards, you can back it up with the rather broken Slowking from Neo Genesis, using its Mind Games Pokémon Power to both protect your own set-up and disrupt your opponent's. You would enjoy the fact that Slowking is most effective if run with Broken Time Space, and thus being a Stage 1 is if not preferential, at least not detrimental. Electrispark is nice in that it should hit a lot of common beatsticks hard enough to trigger their Focus Band, and the Bench damage should set-up for widespread Baby and "post-Focus Band" KOs. Regrettably it is just too slow to power up without assistance. Using Double Rainbow Energy is very counterproductive, as it eliminates all your Bench damage (the "opponent's Pokémon" in the damage reduction clause is plural) besides shaving 10 damage off of what you'll do to the Defending Pokémon. At this point, you'd have to run some form of Energy acceleration, and that means you're just better off looking for a different "spread" Pokémon. The final nail in the coffin is that Neo Discovery Tyrogue is a common opener/cleaner and the Fighting Weakness on Zebstrika will result in Smash Punch doing 60 it it works!

Ratings

Unlimited: 2/10 - It would function with Neo Genesis Slowking, but is vastly inferior to most other options.

Modified (MD-On): 3/10 - Functional but inferior.

Modified (HGSS-On): 4/10 - Functional but inferior.

Limited: 7/10 - Decent candidate if you're desperate for a :lightning: Type or already have a deck using that Energy.

Summary

Zebstrika feels like filler, but at least it can be worth it in Limited play. Now does it remind anyone else of Voltic Bicorn from Yu-Gi-Oh?