Tied up. Been meaning to comment on this one though. One of my favorites from NV.
1. How does this card stand on its own (analyze the HP, attacks, Abilities, etc. of the card)?
This card can't do anything on its own save for a desperation prize. 90 HP is alright for a stage one in a stage two evolution line, and has enough HP to survive Sonic Boom, two Linear attacks, or a Genie attack without help, which is worth something. However, two retreat for a stage one leading to a stage two isn't good at all, and given that this pokemon is meant to stay on the bench, getting it dragged out can be very annoying if you don't have a switch handy. A fighting weakness is also terrible. The selling point is its ability, which mimic's Typhlosion Prime's, but moves lightning energy, doesn't do damage to the pokemon accelerated to, and can't attach to the active.
2. What role does/could this card have in the metagame?
Energy acceleration. First, and foremost. It's other uses are minimal, though it could be used as a desperation attacker in a pinch to take a quick prize, especially if a player runs a one of Eelektross tech. Doing so erases Dynamotor's ability though and makes the pokemon nearly useless afterward, so players should do this at the uttermost end of need.
3. What cards, if any, does this card combo with?
There's a good reason that almost every electric pokemon with attack power has gone up in price lately, and this card is it. Previously unplayable or borderline pokemon now have viability due to this card, and pokemon that were already viable have the potential to get even better. While many cards can benefit from the energy acceleration, the one that benefit most, or work best with Eelektrik, are as follows.
Thundurus is a pokemon that became very useful when Eelektrik hit the format, as Disaster Volt's discard is no longer a hindrance. Instead, this card is used to set up other attackers on the bench while simultaneously taking cheap prizes. This has a lot of value, and makes a once worthless pokemon a pretty good agro starter.
Magnezone Prime has one of the most obvious uses with this card. Eel takes energy out of the discard (this can be done with Thundurus, retreating, Junk Arm, or any supporter card that has discard properties. This accelerates energy for Lost Burn, and does so with more consistency than Pachirisu, but with much faster setup than Emboar. The same type also helps Magnezone, as there is no risk of whiffing the energy type you need to attack, unless of course you whiff an energy altogether. I think this card will be Magnezone's new BFF.
Raichu Prime was one of my original favorites with Eelektrik, and it's still an interesting play. Raichu's increased Voltage allows energy on benched pokemon to be moved. This helps erase Dynamotor's inability to attach to the active (at least where attackers are concerned). and allows a constant cycle of Mega Thunderbolts with enough Eelektrik in play.
Lanturn Prime, similiar to Magnezone, gets powered up by the energy put on the bench, making this card fairly useful. Pairing this with Lanturn's multiple type advantages gives Lanturn a wide variety of options and makes it splashable into any Eelektrik deck.
Zekrom gains something that it never had before, namely, a sense of legitimate recovery. Sages is more useful than ever in this deck, erasing many drawbacks, and, paired with Zekrom EX from next set, gives Zekrom a really good late game. My friend called this one before NV came out, and in some time, he may yet be right.
4. Give it a rating (out of 10), and explain why you have given it that rating.
I'm actually going to give this card a 9 out of 10. That might be really high, absurdly high even, to some. However, this card has certainly affected the metagame, it made formerly useless cards viable, and has even shaped a potential meta deck in Eelzone and may be big in ZET down the road. This card is also very flexible and works with just about every heavy hitting lightning pokemon, making many of them playable. I think that deserves credit.
