Tangrowth (CL34) [3/6/2012]
- Thread starter Celebi23
- Start date
Tangrowth CoL
Tangrowth is an ''older'' card, in that it's release was before the BW block, meaning it was designed for a different format than that we have now. Can it still stand up to today's meta? Let's take a look!
Stats
First of all, Tangrowth comes with 11 HP, a x2 Fire weakness, -20 Water resistance, and a hefty 4 retreat. When we break this down, let's start with the HP. 110 on a stage one is mediocre at best these days, as we have Basics running around that have at least 20 more HP to start with, or even as much as 70 more. 110 HP is nothing spectaculair in this format, and don't expect your Tangrowth to live long. it's x2 Fire weakness is almost irrelevant, as most attacks will KO Tangrowth either way. I suppose a Typhlosion or the likes could abuse the weakness a little, but it would mean no more than turning a 2HKO into a OHKO. A -20 Water resistance is nice to have, but at the moment Water decks aren't that big, and you should only look for Kyurem, Kyurem EX, and/or Vanniluxe when factoring in the resistance. Tangrowth's hefty four retreat means you'd better pack some Switch, as paying the retreat will never be worth it.
Attacks
Tangrowth sports two attacks, one of which is actually a quite famillair attack for the more experienced players. The attack in question is Grind. Grind is a very simple attack, which has ''unlimited potentional'' when it comes to damage output. For every energy attached to Tangrowth, you hit for 20 damage. One energy means only 20 damage, while ten energy mean a smuch as 200! While this might sound really attractive, let's not forget our big hulking vine ogre won't survive more than 2 turns at best in this format with it's ''decent'' HP. Also factor in that we have Mewtwo EX running rampant everywhere, The more energy you stack on Tangrowth to hit for big damage, the easier it will be to take it down by the likes of Mewtwo EX. Indeed, Grind is an attack designed for a different format, and should never be used in today's format.
Plow Over is priced a little more costly at GCC, but at least it's Double Colourless compatible. However, is this worth it? 30 damage is far from impressive these days, and I doubt it ever was impressive to begin with? 3 energy for a 30 damage ratio is horrible, so Plow Over better had a good effect. It has a flippy effect, which is not the best thing to start with. This simply means you can't rely on it during a match, as you can never rely on flipping a crucial heads (or tails). Of course Victini (with Victory Star, aka Fliptini) can help out here, but is it really worth it? On a heads, you inflict arguably the best status condition in the game, Paralysis.That is quite good, as even with only 30 damage ouput, you at least render your opponent unable to do anything, unless they play a Switch, or simply evolve (if anyone still plays evolutions?). However, on a tails you get to choose 1 energy card (basic or special) attached to the defending pokémon, and put it into the Lost Zone. This can be just as crippling, but often the energy Lost Zoned in this matter will be replenished by a fresh new one from the attachment for the turn, or by the many other methods today's format has to accelerate energy. Therefore, I think flipping the heads is more favorable than flipping tails.
Overall Tangrowth is a card that falls short of being playable not because it's plain terrible, but because it's plain terrible in comparison to the better cards we have nowadays. If the Lv X was still legal, I think Tangrowth had a much better playabillity, but even then it would still not be playable enough.
I rate this card a 2.5 out of 10. This might look a tad harsh, but when looking at the stats, the attacks, and the energy costs, I can only give a few points for being a stage 1 (which is still reasonably ''fast''), and having niche effects.
~ James
Tangrowth is an ''older'' card, in that it's release was before the BW block, meaning it was designed for a different format than that we have now. Can it still stand up to today's meta? Let's take a look!
Stats
First of all, Tangrowth comes with 11 HP, a x2 Fire weakness, -20 Water resistance, and a hefty 4 retreat. When we break this down, let's start with the HP. 110 on a stage one is mediocre at best these days, as we have Basics running around that have at least 20 more HP to start with, or even as much as 70 more. 110 HP is nothing spectaculair in this format, and don't expect your Tangrowth to live long. it's x2 Fire weakness is almost irrelevant, as most attacks will KO Tangrowth either way. I suppose a Typhlosion or the likes could abuse the weakness a little, but it would mean no more than turning a 2HKO into a OHKO. A -20 Water resistance is nice to have, but at the moment Water decks aren't that big, and you should only look for Kyurem, Kyurem EX, and/or Vanniluxe when factoring in the resistance. Tangrowth's hefty four retreat means you'd better pack some Switch, as paying the retreat will never be worth it.
Attacks
Tangrowth sports two attacks, one of which is actually a quite famillair attack for the more experienced players. The attack in question is Grind. Grind is a very simple attack, which has ''unlimited potentional'' when it comes to damage output. For every energy attached to Tangrowth, you hit for 20 damage. One energy means only 20 damage, while ten energy mean a smuch as 200! While this might sound really attractive, let's not forget our big hulking vine ogre won't survive more than 2 turns at best in this format with it's ''decent'' HP. Also factor in that we have Mewtwo EX running rampant everywhere, The more energy you stack on Tangrowth to hit for big damage, the easier it will be to take it down by the likes of Mewtwo EX. Indeed, Grind is an attack designed for a different format, and should never be used in today's format.
Plow Over is priced a little more costly at GCC, but at least it's Double Colourless compatible. However, is this worth it? 30 damage is far from impressive these days, and I doubt it ever was impressive to begin with? 3 energy for a 30 damage ratio is horrible, so Plow Over better had a good effect. It has a flippy effect, which is not the best thing to start with. This simply means you can't rely on it during a match, as you can never rely on flipping a crucial heads (or tails). Of course Victini (with Victory Star, aka Fliptini) can help out here, but is it really worth it? On a heads, you inflict arguably the best status condition in the game, Paralysis.That is quite good, as even with only 30 damage ouput, you at least render your opponent unable to do anything, unless they play a Switch, or simply evolve (if anyone still plays evolutions?). However, on a tails you get to choose 1 energy card (basic or special) attached to the defending pokémon, and put it into the Lost Zone. This can be just as crippling, but often the energy Lost Zoned in this matter will be replenished by a fresh new one from the attachment for the turn, or by the many other methods today's format has to accelerate energy. Therefore, I think flipping the heads is more favorable than flipping tails.
Overall Tangrowth is a card that falls short of being playable not because it's plain terrible, but because it's plain terrible in comparison to the better cards we have nowadays. If the Lv X was still legal, I think Tangrowth had a much better playabillity, but even then it would still not be playable enough.
I rate this card a 2.5 out of 10. This might look a tad harsh, but when looking at the stats, the attacks, and the energy costs, I can only give a few points for being a stage 1 (which is still reasonably ''fast''), and having niche effects.
~ James