Hey guys, what are your favorite cards or the ones you think are best? You may post your opinion and facts, please explain why they are your best choices.
*** Most of my cards are from the view of a collector not a trainer ***
REVIEWS
Gyarados (STAR):
Gyarados Delta Species (STAR) [EX Holon Phantoms] << This is here because I really like this card.
Okay, so this card is pretty much useless. (Hear me out)
It has an attack that does 20 damage and allows you to flip a coin until you get tails, for each head you get, you may retrieve a basic energy from your discard pile. 1 fire energy and 1 undefined energy can get you this attack.
Sounds good, right?
Well that part of the card is, but here is the downside.
The card eats your energy with its All-out blast attack, which isn't bad because All-out blast is most effective when you only have 1 prize card left.
Why only for a last resort?
Well, All-out blast does 50+ damage for the cost of FOUR fire energy's. At first glance that seems pricy, then again, read the fine print and you will find out this card can win you the game.
How?
Well the attack makes you discard every card except for one out of your deck (Hence the last resort).
Out of those cards, any energy cards add 20 damage to this attack, brutally smashing the opponent to pieces and winning you that sweet, sweet prize card.
Overall, this is a good card for a last resort, otherwise it is just pretty. Nice from a collector's point of view, and if you can get the chance, pretty good from the view of a trainer.
Playability Rating: 6/10 This card only ranks that high because it can get you those last Prize cards.
EVERYTHING IN THIS SECTION HAS TO DO WITH THE BASE SET INCLUDING EXAMPLES
Okay, the set that I will start on is The Base Set. This set was released in the United States on January 9, 1999. As most of us know, this was the first set. A-Z shall be the order of said cards.
GUARANTEED MEWTWO: POKEMON ZAP (Theme Deck that sucks) GIVES YOU A BASE SET MEWTWO CARD %100 OF THE TIME
Abra:
First Card: Abra [Base Set]http://pokebeach.com/scans/base-set/43-abra.jpg
This card has 30 HP, pretty bad for a starting pokemon, but the best way to go for this card is to have it on your bench until it is evolved into AT LEAST a Kadabra
More information of why this card is bad:
Well. it has an attack named Psyshock which does 10 damage. The effect of this attack is that if you flip a coin, and it is heads, the defending pokemon is paralyzed. As most Psychic pokemon do, it is weak to itself.
Pros: No retreat cost, and good evolutions.
Cons: It is weak and almost has to be played off of your bench.
Strategy:
Since Abra is weak, you need another basic pokemon for the start of the battle. (Considering you probably have a psychic deck, possibly a Drowzee [Base Set] or any other basic pokemon, like Jynx [Base Set] ).
Let's say you have started the battle with a basic pokemon (Let's say Drowzee) fighting the opposing pokemon. You put abra on the bench.
Once you have enough energy on Drowzee, you can hold off for a bit against the defending pokemon.
While your drowzee fights, add psychic energy to Abra for later use (3 Psychic energy will give you maximum usage of Abra's evolutions.
Once you have Alakazam on your bench, send him out. With his amount of 80 HP, pokemon power (useful with your benched pokemon if you have retreated a good pokemon, put a not so good pokemon on the bench with it and move the damage from good pokemon to the bad one), and 30 damage plus chance of confusion, you have a good fighting chance, and this card could win you the game.
Those of you who are wondering why I left Mewtwo out of this Example: he is over-rated, and just because he is legendary doesnt mean he is good. I am sure there are uses for him, but not many. Other than the fact he can be a wimp and prevent damage to his 60 HP, he is useless.
Playability Rating: 3/10 It is a pain in the glutes that you must play it from the bench until it evolves. Would have a solid 0/10 but Alakazam is a good card to use for strategies out of base set.
Alakazam:
Arcanine:
Third Card: Arcanine [Base Set]
Arcanine could be considered good and bad.
Let us first consider its base pokemon, Growlithe. Growlithe has 60 HP, not bad considering he is a basic pokemon.
Strategy:
The strategy must start with Growlithe.
Growlithe has potential to be a good card, if you can get him evolved that is. Though unlike most basic pokemon from this set, Growlithe can fend for himself. He has 60 HP, this making him able to hold off for a few turns and possibly getting you a prize card.
If you read my Alakazam strategy, you will know what I am talking about when I say this: While Growlithe fights, make sure he doesn't go below 30HP, if he does, retreat him --- fast.
Try and keep Growlithe healthy with with the help of Alakazam and a gimmick card (Read Alakazam for a more in-depth explanation)
Once you have 3 energys' on Growlithe, I would evolve him into Arcanine, and keep Arcanine healthy with what we will call the Alakazam Treatment. The reason we want to keep Arcanine healty is obvious, he is a good card.
100HP.. outstanding compared to other cards in this set, only 4 energys? Wow, well this does come with a price. Though not too much of a price. Arcanine has two moves, Flamethrower and Take Down.
Let us use Flamethrower as our main attack. 50 Damage is amazing, though the price for this is you must discard a fire energy every time you do this. Make sure to keep these handy and have your deck loaded with them.
Now, Take Down, will be our secondary attack. With 80 damage and the cost of hurting yourself 30... this kind of sucks, which is why I recommend the Alakazam Treatment for this card.
Now that you know some basic strategy to this card, let's wrap it up:
Pros:
Strong attacks
Decent Base Pokemon
High HP
Cons:
Pricy attacks
Self damage
High retreat cost
Playability Rating: Amazing 7-9/10 For the fact that its bassic card is strong and it in itseld is strong.
Beedrill:
MORE CARDS TO BE ADDED LATER!!
*** Most of my cards are from the view of a collector not a trainer ***
REVIEWS
Gyarados (STAR):
Gyarados Delta Species (STAR) [EX Holon Phantoms] << This is here because I really like this card.
Okay, so this card is pretty much useless. (Hear me out)
It has an attack that does 20 damage and allows you to flip a coin until you get tails, for each head you get, you may retrieve a basic energy from your discard pile. 1 fire energy and 1 undefined energy can get you this attack.
Sounds good, right?
Well that part of the card is, but here is the downside.
The card eats your energy with its All-out blast attack, which isn't bad because All-out blast is most effective when you only have 1 prize card left.
Why only for a last resort?
Well, All-out blast does 50+ damage for the cost of FOUR fire energy's. At first glance that seems pricy, then again, read the fine print and you will find out this card can win you the game.
How?
Well the attack makes you discard every card except for one out of your deck (Hence the last resort).
Out of those cards, any energy cards add 20 damage to this attack, brutally smashing the opponent to pieces and winning you that sweet, sweet prize card.
Overall, this is a good card for a last resort, otherwise it is just pretty. Nice from a collector's point of view, and if you can get the chance, pretty good from the view of a trainer.
Playability Rating: 6/10 This card only ranks that high because it can get you those last Prize cards.
EVERYTHING IN THIS SECTION HAS TO DO WITH THE BASE SET INCLUDING EXAMPLES
Okay, the set that I will start on is The Base Set. This set was released in the United States on January 9, 1999. As most of us know, this was the first set. A-Z shall be the order of said cards.
GUARANTEED MEWTWO: POKEMON ZAP (Theme Deck that sucks) GIVES YOU A BASE SET MEWTWO CARD %100 OF THE TIME
Abra:
First Card: Abra [Base Set]http://pokebeach.com/scans/base-set/43-abra.jpg
This card has 30 HP, pretty bad for a starting pokemon, but the best way to go for this card is to have it on your bench until it is evolved into AT LEAST a Kadabra
More information of why this card is bad:
Well. it has an attack named Psyshock which does 10 damage. The effect of this attack is that if you flip a coin, and it is heads, the defending pokemon is paralyzed. As most Psychic pokemon do, it is weak to itself.
Pros: No retreat cost, and good evolutions.
Cons: It is weak and almost has to be played off of your bench.
Strategy:
Since Abra is weak, you need another basic pokemon for the start of the battle. (Considering you probably have a psychic deck, possibly a Drowzee [Base Set] or any other basic pokemon, like Jynx [Base Set] ).
Let's say you have started the battle with a basic pokemon (Let's say Drowzee) fighting the opposing pokemon. You put abra on the bench.
Once you have enough energy on Drowzee, you can hold off for a bit against the defending pokemon.
While your drowzee fights, add psychic energy to Abra for later use (3 Psychic energy will give you maximum usage of Abra's evolutions.
Once you have Alakazam on your bench, send him out. With his amount of 80 HP, pokemon power (useful with your benched pokemon if you have retreated a good pokemon, put a not so good pokemon on the bench with it and move the damage from good pokemon to the bad one), and 30 damage plus chance of confusion, you have a good fighting chance, and this card could win you the game.
Those of you who are wondering why I left Mewtwo out of this Example: he is over-rated, and just because he is legendary doesnt mean he is good. I am sure there are uses for him, but not many. Other than the fact he can be a wimp and prevent damage to his 60 HP, he is useless.
Playability Rating: 3/10 It is a pain in the glutes that you must play it from the bench until it evolves. Would have a solid 0/10 but Alakazam is a good card to use for strategies out of base set.
Alakazam:
Second Card: Alakazam [Base Set]
Alakazam can be a pretty useful card with its 80HP, Pokepower and its Confuse Ray.
Strategy:
Alakazam has the ability to heal allies, but must damage another. I recommend using Alakazam with a "gimmick" card on your bench (weak pokemon that you dont need to finish the game).
Once this gimmick card is on your bench you can use Alakazam's pokepower, Damage Swap, to transfer a useful pokemons' damage counters to your gimmick on the bench.
Now, Alakazam is limited to a single attack which happens to be Confuse Ray. This attack deals 30 damage and allows you to flip a coin, by flipping said coin, you have a chance to confuse the defending pokemon. Though to do this you must flip heads. Once the defending pokemon (Ivysaur for example) is confused and has less of a chance to attack you, you may knock it out pretty quickly. If it was Ivysaur, you would only need the initial hit with the confusion, then another hit to wipe him out.
Pros:
80HP, and a useful Poke Power
Cons:
Must evolve from one of the worst pokemon in the game.
Playability Rating: A solid 8/10 for its ability to heal, decent HP and one attack that isn't too terrible.
Collector's Rating: Not pretty, but the fact that it is an Alakazam should spark joy in your mind so I GUESS a 4/10
Alakazam can be a pretty useful card with its 80HP, Pokepower and its Confuse Ray.
Strategy:
Alakazam has the ability to heal allies, but must damage another. I recommend using Alakazam with a "gimmick" card on your bench (weak pokemon that you dont need to finish the game).
Once this gimmick card is on your bench you can use Alakazam's pokepower, Damage Swap, to transfer a useful pokemons' damage counters to your gimmick on the bench.
Now, Alakazam is limited to a single attack which happens to be Confuse Ray. This attack deals 30 damage and allows you to flip a coin, by flipping said coin, you have a chance to confuse the defending pokemon. Though to do this you must flip heads. Once the defending pokemon (Ivysaur for example) is confused and has less of a chance to attack you, you may knock it out pretty quickly. If it was Ivysaur, you would only need the initial hit with the confusion, then another hit to wipe him out.
Pros:
80HP, and a useful Poke Power
Cons:
Must evolve from one of the worst pokemon in the game.
Playability Rating: A solid 8/10 for its ability to heal, decent HP and one attack that isn't too terrible.
Collector's Rating: Not pretty, but the fact that it is an Alakazam should spark joy in your mind so I GUESS a 4/10
Arcanine:
Third Card: Arcanine [Base Set]
Arcanine could be considered good and bad.
Let us first consider its base pokemon, Growlithe. Growlithe has 60 HP, not bad considering he is a basic pokemon.
Strategy:
The strategy must start with Growlithe.
Growlithe has potential to be a good card, if you can get him evolved that is. Though unlike most basic pokemon from this set, Growlithe can fend for himself. He has 60 HP, this making him able to hold off for a few turns and possibly getting you a prize card.
If you read my Alakazam strategy, you will know what I am talking about when I say this: While Growlithe fights, make sure he doesn't go below 30HP, if he does, retreat him --- fast.
Try and keep Growlithe healthy with with the help of Alakazam and a gimmick card (Read Alakazam for a more in-depth explanation)
Once you have 3 energys' on Growlithe, I would evolve him into Arcanine, and keep Arcanine healthy with what we will call the Alakazam Treatment. The reason we want to keep Arcanine healty is obvious, he is a good card.
100HP.. outstanding compared to other cards in this set, only 4 energys? Wow, well this does come with a price. Though not too much of a price. Arcanine has two moves, Flamethrower and Take Down.
Let us use Flamethrower as our main attack. 50 Damage is amazing, though the price for this is you must discard a fire energy every time you do this. Make sure to keep these handy and have your deck loaded with them.
Now, Take Down, will be our secondary attack. With 80 damage and the cost of hurting yourself 30... this kind of sucks, which is why I recommend the Alakazam Treatment for this card.
Now that you know some basic strategy to this card, let's wrap it up:
Pros:
Strong attacks
Decent Base Pokemon
High HP
Cons:
Pricy attacks
Self damage
High retreat cost
Playability Rating: Amazing 7-9/10 For the fact that its bassic card is strong and it in itseld is strong.
Beedrill:
Fourth Card: Beedrill [Base Set]
Beedrill, as we all know is a stage two card which comes from Weedle and Kakuna.
Let's start with Weedle.
Weedle has 40 HP making it a weak card. He only has one attack which does 10 damage, Poison Sting, which may poison the opponent's defending pokemon. You know the drill (No pun intended), we will play Weedle from the bench. He will not be removed from the bench until he has 2 Grass Energy attached to him and is evolved into Kakuna. Once that happens, you may send Kakuna out with his 80 HP.
Kakuna can survive, if you want to hold off with stiffen until you get 3 grass energy on him then you may, or you can attack with poison powder, Whichever way you decide to do this doesn't matter. Once there are 3 grass energy on Kakuna you may evolve him into Beedrill.
Beedrill is no2w on the field, let's talk about attacks.
Twineedle:
Flipping two coins, multiplying thirty by the number of heads which means 30 or 60 damage... or 0.
Poison Sting on the other hand does 40 damage every time can poison the opponent.
There isn't much strategy to this card other than how to get the card into play.
Pros:
Decent attacks
80 HP
Poisonous
Cons:
Weedle... nuff' said
Playability Rating: 7/10 For the long evolving process and good attacks.
Beedrill, as we all know is a stage two card which comes from Weedle and Kakuna.
Let's start with Weedle.
Weedle has 40 HP making it a weak card. He only has one attack which does 10 damage, Poison Sting, which may poison the opponent's defending pokemon. You know the drill (No pun intended), we will play Weedle from the bench. He will not be removed from the bench until he has 2 Grass Energy attached to him and is evolved into Kakuna. Once that happens, you may send Kakuna out with his 80 HP.
Kakuna can survive, if you want to hold off with stiffen until you get 3 grass energy on him then you may, or you can attack with poison powder, Whichever way you decide to do this doesn't matter. Once there are 3 grass energy on Kakuna you may evolve him into Beedrill.
Beedrill is no2w on the field, let's talk about attacks.
Twineedle:
Flipping two coins, multiplying thirty by the number of heads which means 30 or 60 damage... or 0.
Poison Sting on the other hand does 40 damage every time can poison the opponent.
There isn't much strategy to this card other than how to get the card into play.
Pros:
Decent attacks
80 HP
Poisonous
Cons:
Weedle... nuff' said
Playability Rating: 7/10 For the long evolving process and good attacks.
MORE CARDS TO BE ADDED LATER!!
