[FONT="]Behold the BaconatorTM ![/FONT]
[FONT="]Yup, I still find that joke funny! We are looking at the “Secret Rare” version of Emboar. The main difference between it and previous releases would be timing and art. Honestly, the art isn’t really any better or worse than the others, and if I had to pick a favorite it wouldn’t be this one. So what about the timing?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Stats[/FONT]
[FONT="]Emboar[/FONT][FONT="] is a Stage 2 Fire Pokémon. Unlike the first time I reviewed this card, we now know this is a brutal format for Evolutions in general, and really the Type support for Fire-Types doesn’t exist; it is actually support for Fire Energy and yes there is a difference. 150 HP is still great but is just the “high end” of the effective range for modern Stage 2 Pokémon (130 to 150), with a few still bigger. It doesn’t look that big compared to Pokémon EX, though, does it? With the challenges that face Stage 2 Pokémon, it isn’t uncommon for you to lose at least one of its lower Stage counterparts before Evolving and that makes the comparison to a Basic Pokémon worth two Prizes a mild stretch at most.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Water Weakness so far hasn’t really mattered, since Water decks never have successfully stepped up, unless I missed a somewhat recent or regional development. That is entirely possible so consider this a disclaimer: you know what you saw at your last tournament better than I do. No Resistance is depressing as always, but at least it isn't especially problematic or as glaring an oversight as it is for some cards. We finish the bottom stats by looking at the massive four Energy Retreat Cost; retreating isn't much of an option as the set back in Energy is huge, even with energy acceleration available. Build your deck so you have another option, maybe even just supporting Emboar as your Active Pokémon by making sure you can build a replacement while the stranded one goes down swinging.
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[FONT="]Effects[/FONT][FONT="]
Emboar possesses the potent (and wonderfully named) Inferno Fandango. The Ability is fantastic: drop as much Fire Energy as you like onto any one of your Pokémon. This means you can not only use this as the backbone of a Fire deck, but with any Pokémon so long as it just needs a lot of any Energy type (and thus basic Fire Energy will more than do). The attack, Heat Crash, really only matters when you’re a bit desperate, as we know the decks that use this Emboar have some seriously strong attackers. For (RRCC) you score 80 points of damage. This isn’t too thrilling: an Evolving Basic would deserve at least 50 points of damage from that. Between being on a Stage 2 Pokémon, being the Pokémon’s only attack, and the generally “boost” attacks that need three or four Energy require to remain competitive by current standards, the 30 points of damage left to account for is stretched mighty thin.[/FONT]
[FONT="]You’re running the card for the Ability, though I do wish the attack made better use of what it is attached to: in a deck that should be running heavy on basic Fire Energy cards, you can get away with a normally massive ([/FONT][FONT="]RRRR[/FONT][FONT="]) or (RRRC) Energy cost, or even the almost standard “discard X Energy” clause. As such, I almost, almost would prefer something really crazy since this attack really adds nothing so little to the cards playability anyway. If you are going to have a single massive attack on a Pokémon with built in Energy acceleration, something crazy like “discard all Energy attached” fits a lot better here than on a second Stage 2 Pokémon. Oh well, better balanced than broken.
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[FONT="]Usage[/FONT][FONT="]
Always important is where a Pokémon comes from, so let us see what we have for lower Stages. Including promos, I know of four English versions of Tepig and two Pignite. I like both Pignite though odds are none of these Pokémon will do much other than Evolving unless something is wrong. One Pignite is better at setting itself up, the other is better at attacking, and I'd run both since if everything was going right Emboar you’d technically need neither; this is all about having options when Emboar isn’t showing up or if something gets released that can shut down Abilities. Since I originally did this review, the “bad” three Energy Retreat Cost on the cards now makes them (alongside Emboar itself) an easy search for Heavy Ball. The version of Tepig you choose also just needs to hold out long enough to Evolve, and as such I'd go with one of the 70 HP versions. Even if you take the attacks into consideration, those two have decent attacks even with the draw backs, while the 60 HP versions are sub par at best.
In the interest of time, I am not going to elaborate on the decks Emboar anchors and the tricks they use. I’ll mention the big two: “Reshiboar”, which uses Reshiram and Reshiram EX, and “Magneboar”, which pairs this pig with Magnezone Prime. If you truly don’t know about these, you’d better just do a quick site search for a relevant article. The only real change since I first discussed this would be the inclusion of Pokémon EX (and exclusion of some pieces of support I erroneously thought were worth it), and you need to know that Mewtwo EX and Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND (the former a staple, the latter a surprise) are amazing when backed by Emboar. X-Ball is not especially Energy efficient, but as long as you also pack something to recycle the needed Energy, Mewtwo EX can go toe-to-toe with the other Pokémon EX we have. That being said, translations of cards already revealed in [/FONT][FONT="]Japan[/FONT][FONT="] show that a successor may dethrone it, at least in Emboar decks that can handle recycling Energy.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND[/FONT][FONT="] was originally played before Pokémon EX to push for a surprise win by dropping it, powering it in one shot, and snagging two Prizes via Ozone Buster and Space Virus. Pokémon EX being so popular (and Mewtwo EX being a one-shot KO for it) keep it still tempting, despite the difficulties from running it. A Pokémon EX yields three Prizes, and Emboar is one of the handful of cards that can get Rayquaza & Deoxys LEGEND out in one turn without requiring massive luck. You will need to manually attach one source of (L) Energy and assemble the two halves, but for three Prizes I think that’s worth it, at least for now.
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[FONT="]In Unlimited, nothing stops you from running this as a better version of the classic Rain Dance deck… well save that I am drawing a blank on how to use this to win first turn, save a fortunate donk that, for the cards needed (Emboar, Evolution acceleration, and a good beatstick) you could do easier with other decks. Still, once you get past the ultra competitive decks that basically have to win first turn, Emboar sets the standards for what comes next. Since it uses an Ability but so many older cards still use Pokémon Powers, Poké-Powers, or Poké-Bodies, you can back it up with a clutch Fossil Muk and stop most of those other decks. Or you can play it safe by backing it with Neo Genesis Slowking and just using the kind of attackers you already would in Modified. You can even get really creative by making a non-Durant depletion deck, using the old Fossil Moltres or HS: Triumphant Magmortar to do massive deck discards.[/FONT]
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For Limited, there are two reasons not to run this: failing to pull the full line, or failing to have enough Pokémon that can use Fire Energy at least half your Energy will need to be that Type. Both are going to be frustratingly common, but also tend to be true of most Stage 2 Pokémon. Otherwise, Both Pignite are solid enough that in similar circumstances you'd run them even without Emboar, further making this a great pick.
Ratings
Unlimited: 7.75/10
Modified (HGSS-On): 8/10
Limited: 8/10[/FONT]
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Summary
Emboar seems almost guaranteed to have success because it “breaks” the single-Energy-attachment-per-turn rule utterly, and unlike similar cards in the past, the only Type Restriction is on the Energy-Type, not the Pokémon-Type. As the format has developed, other forms of Energy acceleration have shown up or experienced resurgences, I would not forget about Emboar. It has lost some potency from earlier this format, but it may regain it soon.[/FONT]
