So, basically, you're saying that to easily counter Slowking, you have to sacrifice your own ability to use Pokemon Powers? NOT a good thing, my friend. There are plenty of Pokemon Power strategies and combos that need some Trainer support, but are very viable. Damage Swap Stall (more commonly known as Damage Swap), for example. It's been weakened by Cleffa, but that's handled easily enough. But the strategy does depend on Trainers like Scoop Up, Mr. Fuji, Pokemon Center, etc. Therefore, if the opponent gets his Slowkings going, what are you supposed to do? Any Slowking deck built by anyone who knows how Slowking works will never have Slowking active if it can be helped. And believe me, it usually can. I've played against enough Slowking decks to know that. Can Slowking be countered? Of course. But are these counters necessarily compatible with every otherwise good deck? NO! Dark Vileplume renders Slowking useless, but it's a Stage 2. That means a deck focus. Not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but it's only one deck option, and requires a skilled deckbuilder who's lucky enough to have that many (preferably Holo) Dark Vileplume. Pichu can kill Slowking in a matter of 4 turns, barring healing by the Slowking user. But it means minimizing, or preferably avoiding your own use of Pokemon Powers, which kills many strategies. (OT, but I might add, I'm not that fond of Pichu...) Muk shuts down Slowking's Power, but it again means using no Pokemon Powers yourself, AND Muk is a Stage 1 that is harder to keep alive than Slowking is. So, as you can see, building to counter Slowking limits deck options by quite a bit. There are plenty of deck strategies that I have long wanted to try. But since many of these strategies are only for Unlimited, guess what? I have to assume that my opponent will use Slowking, since that assumption is often (though not always) right. And if I build to beat Slowking, it usually ruins the deck idea.
It's not only that, though. It's the fact that Slowking makes the game boring. You heard me -- BORING! Putting down a card and watching my opponent flip 3 or 4 coins, knowing that unless, by some miracle of chance, they all land tails, that card not only does nothing, but I get it again next turn is the ultimate in boredom.
As it is, I haven't played in any tournaments lately, partly because in an Unlimited tournament, it's reasonable to assume that at least half of the decks will have Slowking. In casual play, I accept Unlimited matches only under the condition of no Slowking.
So, is this what I'm left with? Casual play and Modified? Letting hundreds upon hundreds of cards sit in my binders just because they would have been good if it weren't for this one card? Well, the whole point of this thread is to make sure that I, and other players like myself, are not forced into that ugly scenario. I've been with this game too long to quit. But I want to be able to enjoy all aspects of it, not all aspects but one large one.
I would also ask everyone who has posted against doing anything about Slowking these questions. Have you used a Slowking deck? If so, did most of your opponents have about as much chance of winning as you did, or is the match practically decided before it starts? Did most of your opponents have fun playing against your deck? I would wager that most or all of your answers are yes, no, no.
