This will be in the form of a conspiracy theory topic and is meant for discussion only. Tell me what you think.
The first thing noticeable about AA is that it has a lot more Evolution lines than RR and PT did. And SV, too, I think. The second thing, and the one this topic will be about, is the quality of these Evolutions.
Seriously, what is up with Nintendo these days? While rating someone's deck, I had to pull up the AA scans page. My eyes fell onto the following:
Seriously, what is this thing? The first attack, it's a weaker copy of Staraptor X's attack (not nearly the best SP Poke out there), but he needs 1 more Energy (Gain) so I can imagine.
But the 2nd attack...it reminds me of Palkia G. Minus all the awesomeness. Sure, he's not the most energy-efficient SP Poke, but seriously, why is his attack BETTER than that of a stage 2, while he still gains all the SP benefits and his X has synergy with the attacks? While Glalie is so much harder to get out and needs 3 solid Energy, no cheap Energy Gaining or Flint that can help him.
Continuing to browse AA now...
I have a hard time finding just ONE that does NOT have an SP Poke that does it better.
Bronzong? Honchkrow G can do the exact same thing and has easier Crobat G support. Has a better other attack too.
Probopass? Both Absol X and Luxray X can do 60 for 1, and do not rely on holding back on supporters (though they have a less good side effect, I admit.) Still, Dialga G (that's right, not even an X) can do 50-70 for 2, has more HP, can abuse Metal, etc etc.
Raticate? Again, most SP Pokes have more HP and while they mostly need an Energy Gain to do 60 for 1, Raticate basically needs the same; a Tool.
So not much difference here.
Other than SP Pokes having Cyrus to look for everything they'll ever need and more, most have more HP than Stage 1s (and some Xes more than stage 2s), they got HQ, Skuntank G, their own far superior trainer list, versatility, you name it, they have it.
To end my little post: The new Salamence. It's considered one of the best cards in AA, and for good reason. Because the entire rest of the set sucks harder than a vacuum cleaner. And even then, all of its attacks suck. The thing that makes it good are his 2 Powers. And guess what SP Pokes like to do? POWER LOCK. There has never been a Pokepower more lock-worthy than Salamence's, and it will be abused as such. Also it's a stage 2 X that needs a lot of energies to do anything, even with that Power of his. So SPs won't have a problem with stopping this dead in its tracks, either.
And that's about it. Nintendo is ruining the game for Evolutions by introducing many new and very poor ones. Some older Evolutions are still superior, of course, but considering the next format will be PT-on probably, there's going to be hard times for them. Beedrill won't have Beedrill anymore, Gengar and Machamp and Kingdra will all cease to exist. Also Salamence, which has a good X now, will lose the only 2 good attacking Mences. Evolutions are dead, order your SP deck now. [insert ebay link]
The first thing noticeable about AA is that it has a lot more Evolution lines than RR and PT did. And SV, too, I think. The second thing, and the one this topic will be about, is the quality of these Evolutions.
Seriously, what is up with Nintendo these days? While rating someone's deck, I had to pull up the AA scans page. My eyes fell onto the following:
Seriously, what is this thing? The first attack, it's a weaker copy of Staraptor X's attack (not nearly the best SP Poke out there), but he needs 1 more Energy (Gain) so I can imagine.
But the 2nd attack...it reminds me of Palkia G. Minus all the awesomeness. Sure, he's not the most energy-efficient SP Poke, but seriously, why is his attack BETTER than that of a stage 2, while he still gains all the SP benefits and his X has synergy with the attacks? While Glalie is so much harder to get out and needs 3 solid Energy, no cheap Energy Gaining or Flint that can help him.
Continuing to browse AA now...
I have a hard time finding just ONE that does NOT have an SP Poke that does it better.
Bronzong? Honchkrow G can do the exact same thing and has easier Crobat G support. Has a better other attack too.
Probopass? Both Absol X and Luxray X can do 60 for 1, and do not rely on holding back on supporters (though they have a less good side effect, I admit.) Still, Dialga G (that's right, not even an X) can do 50-70 for 2, has more HP, can abuse Metal, etc etc.
Raticate? Again, most SP Pokes have more HP and while they mostly need an Energy Gain to do 60 for 1, Raticate basically needs the same; a Tool.
So not much difference here.
Other than SP Pokes having Cyrus to look for everything they'll ever need and more, most have more HP than Stage 1s (and some Xes more than stage 2s), they got HQ, Skuntank G, their own far superior trainer list, versatility, you name it, they have it.
To end my little post: The new Salamence. It's considered one of the best cards in AA, and for good reason. Because the entire rest of the set sucks harder than a vacuum cleaner. And even then, all of its attacks suck. The thing that makes it good are his 2 Powers. And guess what SP Pokes like to do? POWER LOCK. There has never been a Pokepower more lock-worthy than Salamence's, and it will be abused as such. Also it's a stage 2 X that needs a lot of energies to do anything, even with that Power of his. So SPs won't have a problem with stopping this dead in its tracks, either.
And that's about it. Nintendo is ruining the game for Evolutions by introducing many new and very poor ones. Some older Evolutions are still superior, of course, but considering the next format will be PT-on probably, there's going to be hard times for them. Beedrill won't have Beedrill anymore, Gengar and Machamp and Kingdra will all cease to exist. Also Salamence, which has a good X now, will lose the only 2 good attacking Mences. Evolutions are dead, order your SP deck now. [insert ebay link]
