We already have a Scizor-EX awks. Welp, I am doing Scizor anyways 
I am ever-so-slowly making myself a fake expansion based around Grass & Fairy cards, in a FoGP environment (i.e. current era). So the set will have to include a smattering of Steel types to keep all those Fairys in check. And what better way than a Stage 1 that can also take advantage of early evolution via a bug-type [G] Scyther?
Because you can get this card out on T1 I wanted to pitch the first attack as something with a gettable cost - for a single DCE you can start swinging immediately. It's a deliberate throwback to BCR Scizor, just with GX included now too. No power creep on the damage - 40 damage is a reasonable amount - and we have better boosts now with Tools and Supporters (plus FoGP ofc). The real reason to look to build a deck with this card in is the utility of this early attack. Steel has long been pitched as the type that is supposed to be able to withstand the most punishment, but as of late there's been a distinct lack of T1 walls in the vein of Aegislash-EX. We have big slow powerful Stage 2s like Solgaleo & Metagross but only STS Coballion to set up behind? That's potentially where Scizor comes in. Or maybe you like the same tactic but you want to build a Vespiquen variant and double-dip the FoGP and DCE. Stall with Scizor while you fill the discard. Or stall while you find your Vileplume pieces etc.
For the second attack it mostly stems from my want for an excuse Alolan Dugtrio to be relevant. Sure a sliding scale of 20<50<80<110 etc could be great versus some decks, but set up a few Dugtrio on the bench and maybe a Team Aqua Base in the Stadium slot and all of a sudden you have a powerful (yet not OP due to the difficulty in assembling all those pieces) deck skeleton. Highly doubtful this could be a stand-alone archetype, seeing as a single Float Stone or Fairy Garden foils all your plans.
What I was going for most here was a useful card, that *could* be great in a lot of situations. Yet as it is set to be part of a bigger set I didn't want it to be anything crazy-awesome - not every card can be star of the show. But who wants to design cards that are pure filler either? There should be potential here, but not too much. Hopefully the attacks cost & power, and all the HP, Retreat, weaknesses etc. reflect that and are pitched at a reasonable level.
Because you can get this card out on T1 I wanted to pitch the first attack as something with a gettable cost - for a single DCE you can start swinging immediately. It's a deliberate throwback to BCR Scizor, just with GX included now too. No power creep on the damage - 40 damage is a reasonable amount - and we have better boosts now with Tools and Supporters (plus FoGP ofc). The real reason to look to build a deck with this card in is the utility of this early attack. Steel has long been pitched as the type that is supposed to be able to withstand the most punishment, but as of late there's been a distinct lack of T1 walls in the vein of Aegislash-EX. We have big slow powerful Stage 2s like Solgaleo & Metagross but only STS Coballion to set up behind? That's potentially where Scizor comes in. Or maybe you like the same tactic but you want to build a Vespiquen variant and double-dip the FoGP and DCE. Stall with Scizor while you fill the discard. Or stall while you find your Vileplume pieces etc.
For the second attack it mostly stems from my want for an excuse Alolan Dugtrio to be relevant. Sure a sliding scale of 20<50<80<110 etc could be great versus some decks, but set up a few Dugtrio on the bench and maybe a Team Aqua Base in the Stadium slot and all of a sudden you have a powerful (yet not OP due to the difficulty in assembling all those pieces) deck skeleton. Highly doubtful this could be a stand-alone archetype, seeing as a single Float Stone or Fairy Garden foils all your plans.
What I was going for most here was a useful card, that *could* be great in a lot of situations. Yet as it is set to be part of a bigger set I didn't want it to be anything crazy-awesome - not every card can be star of the show. But who wants to design cards that are pure filler either? There should be potential here, but not too much. Hopefully the attacks cost & power, and all the HP, Retreat, weaknesses etc. reflect that and are pitched at a reasonable level.
The illustration is used with kind permission from Jarv69 on deviantArt. Looks like it's a redraw of this old Scizor card but it's sharper, neater, and the colours suit a Steel layout so much better than a Bug one.
The card itself is once again my own, hopefully with the bugs(!) of last month's Venipede ironed out. Pretty happy with how the foil effect turned out though it seems a big lacking compared to the pizazz of the [G] one. New bits added for the additional Stage 1 parts.
Once again, I've used @aschefield101 's symbols and eternal spring of knowledge of fonts to try get it all correct. Thanks as ever.
I went with this particular dex entry because I figured it worked well with the counterweight attack. And the name of Counterweight seemed to suit an attack based on retreat costs.
The card itself is once again my own, hopefully with the bugs(!) of last month's Venipede ironed out. Pretty happy with how the foil effect turned out though it seems a big lacking compared to the pizazz of the [G] one. New bits added for the additional Stage 1 parts.
Once again, I've used @aschefield101 's symbols and eternal spring of knowledge of fonts to try get it all correct. Thanks as ever.
I went with this particular dex entry because I figured it worked well with the counterweight attack. And the name of Counterweight seemed to suit an attack based on retreat costs.
