why not to add emolgla into a deck

S

superpokemon321

Aspiring Trainer
Member
A) IT COSTS AN ENERGY TO ATTACK

B)IT HAS TO ATTACK IN STEAD OF AND ABILITY

C) ITS AN OPEN TARGET AFTER IT ATTACKS

D)IT ONLY HAS 70 HP

YOU CAN SAY IT AWSOME BUT ITS NOT IS TORNADUS EXS WORST ENEMY

DCE STADIUM PP BAM KO

~Please don't type in all caps. -Glace
 
First of all, this really doesn't belong in the Deck Garage. Second, there is no reason to use caps lock. Finally, there are far worse cards than Emolga, and the situation you describe only applies to decks that use Tornadus EX.
 
heres more then thundurus darkrai tornadus zekrom reshiram could all be set up by t2 so its still bad

and i didn't know that caps was on and it does belong in deck garage because it how emolgla can really mess with your deck
 
Then there's the beauty of its free retreat. What's so horrible about a card that gets 2 basic pokemon from the deck for one energy onto the bench, which would be able to evolve the next turn? That's amazing for Garchomp/Altaria and, arguably, Eelz (For Eelz, its probably better to start of with Rayquaza for the 40 damage) So what if it relinquishes one Prize card? The advantage it gives you could be key to winning the game.
 
I agree with Koga. I'm not so much into the TCG, But 99% Of cards require energy, and 100% nowadays.
Super/ Scoop up for C.
70 hp problem- better than most basics that aren't legends or EXs

EDIT- And Also,
Emolga, not emolgla.
 
Why did you make two threads to say that you don't like Emolga?
And not every deck runs Emolga, just decks like Garchomp/Altaria that has a lot of basics and need to get them really fast.
It doesn't waste the energy since most of decks have some kind of acceleration or need few energies to attack like Garchomp.
 
Moved to Competitive Collective.

Also, Emolga is anything but horrible. Sure, in limited situations it can be donked, but it helps get out basics. You say it is a free prize, but I would rather have Emolga knocked out than a more important basic such as Deino, Gible, Piplup, etc.

Sure, it needs and attack and an energy to get basics out, but there isn't much you would be doing on your first turn anyways. I would rather get out extra basics than use either nothing at all, or doing 10-20 damage.
 
Actually, if you're using the Altaria/Garchomp deck, you are better suited using that Level Ball to get Gabite in order to start the Dragon Call chain. The reason people would use Emolga is primarily that reason. It's rare to be able to get that awesome of a starting hand. Plus, Level Ball doesn't get and basics with 100+ HP, Heavy Ball doesn't get basics with 2 retreat cost or lower, which is a large number of them. Ultra ball requires two extra cards to be discarded with it. All of these search cards have limitations, Emolga is far better at getting basics. These search cards are infinitely better at getting Stage 1 and Stage 2 cards but that's because Emolga is only a starting Pokemon designed to get basic Pokemon on the bench.

Let's say your opponent does get Tornadus EX on the first turn. If you only have Emolga, but you go first, and your hand is nothing but energies, then you can attach one to Emolga, and get two more basics. Emolga gets blasted by Tornadus, but you have more basics on the bench, so you don't lose. If this happened with any other starter, bar those with 70+ HP, 80+ if the opponent has a plus power like you said, that would be the end of the game. If your opponent gets the first turn, you are screwed regardless if it was Emolga, Deino, Sableye, Swablu, Tynamo, or what have you.
 
I really don't see a reason to complain about emolga and its "Horrid" performance.

Emolga isn't bad, but in my opinion, there are better things to use.
 
Emolga is a situational pokemon searcher, but so is every part of the Ball Engine. If one was "clearly" superior, then the others would be moot to ever run.

Let's take a look at each part of the Pokemon Search Engine and determine it's flaws and props:

Emolga:
Props:
-Searches for 2 pokemon with one energy...effectively 2 cards for 2 Pokemon
-Free Retreat - Having a free retreater to promote is nice when you're letting your next draw decide your plan, or vital if playing Eelektrik
-70HP - Is not donked by many deck's donking power (Only Tornadus can boast this, but as he's known for donking, and how he has to expend a Pluspower to do so shows Emolga's relative bulk)
-Is Searchable - This is big, you can turn your Level Ball and attack for the turn to instead search out 2 Basics...maybe even ones unsearchable by other means (Like Zekrom and co)
-The basics it pulls can be evolved next turn - This is why it's so popular in Stage 2 decks, and I predict will be popular in Eelektrik decks.
-Reusable w/o support - Trainer Cards can't be used again without the help of Junk Arm (Out of rotation) or Sableye (Also requires an attack), whereas Emolga can sing the second verse of the song without any further need (except to be alive), Making Emolga one of the more efficient searchers (except Level Ball for dragon decks (Read: Gabite)).
Slops:
-Takes your attack for the turn - At the beginning of the game, this isn't that bad (except against a donking pokemon), but if you're forced to use this mid-game or late-game, your opponent's taking a Prize.
-Takes an energy - He takes one of your deck's energies to actually search for the pokemon. With his free retreat, the energy is not leaving Emolga except by death, so expect to play with one less energy in your deck (something big for decks that run low energy like Empoleon).
-70HP - This is both a blessing and a curse. Blessing in the sense he's hard to donk, curse in the sense he's now catcher-bait. You either have to waste a SSU to prevent this, or accept after he does his job he's a sitting duck (Squirrel, whatever)
-Being a pokemon - This means he's taking up a bench space after he fulfills his job, and this can hinder decks that really need all the bench space they can get (Like Eelektrik). Again, SSU is an option, but I'd relegate its use to other pokemon.
-Searches only Basics - This means it can't shift roles as needed. Where as the trainer searches can search evolutions if needed, Emolga's limited to basic pokemon.

Level Ball:
Props:
-Trainer Card - This means it can be used without taking up room on the playmat except in the discard pile to search your deck. This is something it has over Emolga.
-No Side-effects - This is why Level and Heavy Ball are so popular for searching pokemon if applicable: except the card, you lose nothing. A true 1-1 trade.
Slops:
-Limited to <100HP - This means that decks that run higher HP pokemon than this (Read: Every Deck bar Ninetales/Amoonguss) will be forced to run other forms of Pokemon search.
-Trainer Card - Not as much of a problem as it was when Vileplume was in rotation, but against Zebstrika and Gothitelle, its usefulness just becomes junk.

Heavy Ball:
Props:
-Trainer Card - See Level Ball for this
-No Drawback - Just like Level Ball, there's no cost of using this card as with say Emolga (Energy) or Ultra Ball (2 Discard)
Slops:
-Searches for fewer pokemon - 3 Retreat is pretty high, something most decks are hesitant to run because of catcher. This means Heavy Ball is delegated to pull out certain pokemon otherwise not needed (Klink-line, Entei EX in Quads, Terrakion, Hydreigon, Registeel, etc). Retreat is a turn-off on pokemon, meaning the more heavy ball applicable you are, the more catcher-bait you are.
-Trainer Card - Again, see level ball for this

Ultra Ball:
Props:
-Searches ALL pokemon - This makes Ultra ball the most universal searching card in the game. at the cost of Ultra ball and 2 cards, you can pull that pokemon the moment you need them.
-Discard engine - This part of the card is beautiful in decks that play from the discard, like Dark variants and Eelektrik. Getting the cards in the discard earlier gives the deck a faster set-up...and still nabs a vital pokemon for the process!
-Trainer Card - See Level Ball for this one
Slops:
-Discards - I said this was a prop, right? Well, in decks that don't like having things in the discard (Read: Everything except Discard abusers), Ultra ball can force unnecessary discarding of potential important cards. Also in discard abusing decks, there's teh chance you might not have the cards you actually wish to discard in-hand, meaning you're discarding sub-optimal cards to get one pokemon.
-The Card Trade - Besides Pokemon Communication, Ultra Ball is the only card that doesn't get the same amount of cards it uses. At the cost of 3 cards, you're searching one card. Everything else is a 1-1 trade (Emolga 2-2), making Ultra Ball not the most efficient.
-Trainer Card - See Level Ball
-Inferiority - In some cases, Ultra ball's the only thing that can search it from the deck. In most cases, Ultra ball's a failsafe to search for what you need when you need it. However, as it actually has a drawback to its use, using Ultra ball to search out Eelektrik just makes it a worse Level Ball for that use (Unless discarding Lightning energy, but I digress)

Pokemon Communication:
Props:
-Versatility - It searches for any pokemon in your deck. This makes it powerful alone, but with Level Ball/Heavy Ball can be used as a psuedo-Ultra Ball, if need be.
-Trainer Card - See Level Ball
-Other Use - Yes, like Ultra Ball, PComm actually has another use, albeit usually useless...It lets you put a card back in your deck, but then you can fail the search. You've thinned out your hand, and potentially beefed up your deck against a milling deck.
Slops:
-Requires another card - Remember how I said it and Ultra Ball were the only ones not to give a 1-1 trade? Well, PComm requires another card to be used up (But not discarded) to actually search. I'd say it's like a 1.5-1 Trade, as the pokemon used up isn't actually discarded. Still a slop when compared to the other cards.

Please, if I missed anything about the cards, don't go on a rant. Just post and I'll edit it in so new readers can find all this in one post...

But I hope I made my stance on searching clear...(I know I left out Gabite, he's specific to one type).
 
Again about Emolga, it isn't really Catcher bait per se because they would always go for a different Pokemon with their now-limited-to-four Catcher count. It is like koing a Shaymin over an Eelektrik in this format.
 
1. IT COSTS A COLORLESS ENERGY to attack. This is a very versatile card in the format. It fits in with every deck unless you don't run energy.

2. This makes no sense.

3. If they attack Emolga, they are missing the real threats like Garchomp, Empoleon, Darkrai, Zekrom, Hydreigon, Klingklang, EXs, Ninetails, etc etc etc.

4. 70 hp is a lot for a basic. I think it SHOULD have 50 hp, but 70 is fine with me too.

5. You just said Emolga "donks" it right. That is a very dumb thing to say. If I go first, you cannot donk unless I somehow in some way do not have an energy. The chances of you getting all the cards to donk me are very slim, even if you run 4 of each.
 
Hope said:
Whoever is going to tech Emolga into every deck is a bad player. Whoever is going to waste their Catcher and take out an Emolga instead of the threat at hand is a bad player.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with both points. Saying any card can be run in EVERY deck is bad (Yes, I'm sure there's a few decks that can run w/o Catcher effectively), but understanding Emolga's utility in decks that need what he brings is where his power comes from.

As for the catcher statement...good point. I've been looking at catcher from a HGSS-on, I need to start looking at it from a BW-on statement. Emolga's just deadweight in that sense, not catcher-bait....I wonder which is worse...
 
Also, Tornadus donks are gonna be a lot less common in the coming format. That requires at least 4 cards, and without Junk Arm or Smeargle, it's a lot harder to get all of those cards, maybe even more if you don't start Tornadus EX or something with only 1 retreat cost.
 
I got about half way through this thread, and I keep seeing the word DONK show up against Emolga.
A: If you start first and you have Emolga, you won't get Donked, you'll have 2 Basics on bench.
B: Its easier to Donk Tynamo, Piplup, Deino, Gablie, Swablu, Klink, and any other basic with 60 HP or less. Now look at that list. Those are all Tier 1 or 1.5 Pokemon that have high chance of starting with, and those decks seem to do just fine with Tornadus EX, Celebi Varients, and Darkrai/Tornadus around, which are the main donking decks.

The second best starter after Emolga would probably be Sableye, and he gets trainers back for one energy, which is really good when you have important trainers with Ultra Ball in hand. Discard the good trainers, hand refresh, get them back, pretty simple. *says sarcasticly* But wait, he has 70 HP, oh I can't run him in my Dark-Region deck, I might get Donked by Tornadus EX. *end sarcasm* Oh wait, that's right, I beat a RaiEels that ran two Tornadus EX's three times in a row.:p
 
Emolga isn't a perfect card. But it's useful in some decks. I sure wouldn't run it in Eels or anything that doesn't require a complex setup, but it is good in some decks. It helps Empoleon do big damage in more ways than one, it searches Swablu (something Gabite can't do), etc. It all depends on the deck you're using. Emolga is a good card, but it's not good in every deck. It's not the terrible card you're claiming it to be.
 
Emolga is okay in some decks. If you are playing a deck like Garchomp Altaria, Emolga is the best Starter ever and allows you a huge setup on T2. Emolga isn't the best card in decks that don't need a lot of basics like MewtwoTerrakion, but it can be useful in some decks.
 
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