This is a terrific card.
Despite being a Stage 2, it can still abuse Rare Candy and it has 250 HP.
Still easily one-shot by Lycanroc-GX and Buzzwole, though. Fighting is still pretty overpowered because all Darkness cards are weak to is Fighting.
The Ability is all kinds of great. Yes that’s 30 less HP for you and makes Incinerorar easier to 2-shot, but it’s a fully charged Stage 2 Pokémon by Turn 2. It also helps with deck-thinning, removing 3 Energy from your deck using each Incineroar you put up prevents dead draws of nothing but Energy (you’ll need a lot of it). The Ability is honestly the best part of the card, 30 HP is nothing compared to all the positives it gives you.
Crush Punch is good enough. 130 is a 2HKO, and discarding Special Energy is great considering how many decks rely on DCE or Beast Energy. If were any higher in damage, the Enhanced Hammer effect would just be broken in conjunction with, say, 160 damage (which I’m sure everyone complaining is thinking). A OHKO on Basic GXs while discarding Specials from a Stage 1s and Stage 2s is just too much to ask for.
GX attack is good, works in conjunction with the Ability and has the same sort of threat that Mad Bull GX has (though on a much larger scale). Punishes an opponent that can’t finish off an Incineroar.
All this card needs is a Stage 1 GX or a Basic GX/non-GX that can deal 2HKO or even OHKO damage or at least provide set-up support. And, that card can’t be weak to Fighting.
Thanks to it’s own Energy-accelerating Ability, it doesn’t need DCE or Energy-seeking Items. In fact, it could probably run Max Potion and Energy Recycler very well, granting Incineroars additional immunity to 2HKOs.
I don’t think Incineroar is as good as Tyranitar-GX, but it’s pretty close.
