Well, today's COTD is Rufflet. Now, most of you will think that this guy is a wimpy basic, but he is oh-so much more than that.
Now, lets go a little more in depth.
This dude's stats are
off the charts for just a basic Pokemon.
Rufflet sits at a massive 60 HP, and one retreat cost. With that combo of high HP and low Retreat, they'll hammer at your Rufflet for a bit, and you can just say, "ok bro, no problem, I'll just retreat into my other Rufflet." They'll sink in their chair as soon as they see that all those turns of swinging at your Rufflet have now gone to waste. Plus, that one retreat cost becomes
0 when paired with Sky Arrow Bridge from our next set. That makes an already broken card, that much more broken.
Being a basic, Rufflet can abuse Eviolite, making him even more of a pain to deal with. With an Eviolite, and 2 Defenders, this thing forces Magnezone to Lost Zone
2 whole energy. Who in their right mind would toss 2 energy to take a prize card?
His first attack, Peck, is ok for 1 Energy that can do 10 damage. But that's not his strong point. (It can be good if you can't hit the T1 DCE though.)
Now, his second attack, Slash, does 20 for 2 energy! That's like, his first attack, but,
double the damage. I know, I'm still scraping my brains off the wall too.
His resistance to fighting is an amazing one, witch makes him virtually untouchable vs any fighting decks. I mean come on, have
you ever been able to punch a bird?
The only down side to Rufflet is his weakness to Electric. But that's no big deal, nobody really runs Lightning decks anymore. Especially once people realize just how bad Magnezone is.
Guys, with just a DCE, Black Belt, and a Plus Power, this BASIC can one-shot a full RDL! Now how many basics do you know that can do that? (That's a rhetorical question)
If RDL decks are everywhere in your meta, I strongly suggest running Rufflet Swarm.
Plus, as an added bonus, this thing can donk like no-body's business! Just a DCE, a few Plus Powers and Seekers, and your opponent won't know what hit them. Look out ZPST, there's a new kid on the donking block.
Now, take a look at the art work on this Masterpiece! Rufflet is flying into the frame all like, "hey bro", and ready to roll! Kouki did an amazing job capturing Rufflet's awesomeness.
Just read this card's flavor text! This Pokemon challenges stronger opponents than him! (There aren't many that exist, although Zubat is a good contender.) And the more this Pokemon fights,
the stronger he gets. I've played so many games with this card, so my Rufflet is REALLY strong.
Here is a basic list I have been testing for a while. (As soon at this thing was revealed in Japan, I proxied this deck)
Pokemon:
4 Rufflet
1 Cleffa
1 Pichu
I/S/S
4 Juniper
3 Black Belt
4 Eviolite
4 Seeker
4 PokeGear
4 Plus Power
4 Defender
4 Junk Arm
4 Pokemon Catcher
4 Dual Ball
2 Revive
Energy:
4 DCE
4 Rescue
5 Dark Energy (You can choose what type you want, cause Rufflet is that versatile, but I chose dark because it scares my opponents.)
This list has practically no auto losses!
Here is a matchup list. (Don't worry, I tested these thoroughly)
ZPST- Even
If they start Shaymin, (which they pretty much always will) you practically win. Just sign the matchslip, and go talk to your friends, the game is over, cause they'll probably scoop. But if they start Zekrom or Tornadus, well... That's ok, though, because this deck sees no play anyway.
Magnezone Eels- Auto Win
They have to lost zone 1-2 Energy (depending on defenders) to even KO you. Magnzone just can't keep up with the knockouts, and they'll just run out of steam. Unless they run cards like Zekrom or Thundurus, (nobody does these days) you're good to go my friend.
My friend's Magikarp swarm - Favorable
Magikarp can't even touch you with Eviolite, and you one shot with a plus power. Unless they tech a Blitzel, you got the game.
Sawk/Timburr/Roggenrola/Sandile/Golett.dec - Favorable
You have resistance, plus you can stack defenders and Eviolites on your Rufflets. With all that, they can't touch you, and you just sit there, hammering away.
The Truth (or at least that's what he called it) - Even
To be Truthful (Get it,
Truthful?), I don't even know what this deck is. I mean, I only played the matchup once, (I lost to bad top decks), and my opponent's deck looked like just a bunch of random cards. I mean, the Sawk/Timburr/Roggenrola/Sandile/Golett deck at least had a strategy, but this thing was all over the place. It ran a couple of random stage 2s with absolutely no synergy, and a bunch of random high hp basics. The guy was running it wrong too; he should have teched a Rufflet. When I told him that, he just laughed like I was kidding! The dude already ran DCE, there's no reason
not to run a Rufflet. Anyway, I lost the only game I played against it, but if you ever face it, make sure you use Pichu to get your basics out. (Don't worry, this won't help them at all)
So that's it for the matchups, but you'll be seeing more in Articles to come once people discover the power of Rufflet.
I think Rufflet is actually better than Mewtwo EX. I mean, they are both basics, both can use Eviolite, and Rufflet (if they can ever manage to knock it out) doesn't give up 2 prize cards! Besides, Rufflet is a bird, and he can fly! You won't see any cats flying anytime soon. (Well, my cat can fly, but that's not the point)
Speaking of Mewtwo, if you play in Unlimited, with Rufflet you can attach 4 Plus Power, play a Black Belt, add DCE, attach 7 Dark Energy, bench Weavile from SW, and level up a Darkrai to Darkrai LvX to one shot a
Mewtwo EX.
That's right, I just said this thing can one shot Mewtwo. Where's your hype now Mewtwo?
In wrap up, I think think this guy is broken. I mean, so broken, he's almost bad for the game. Everyone will just run Rufflet Swarm, and the game will loose it's variety. In fact, I'm going to go ahead and come up with counters to this deck so I can run it and beat all of you! Hahaha!
So if I were to give this big guy a rating for modified, I'd give him a solid 9/10.
