Xatu from Unleashed (#11) [6/21]

[dmaster]

Guiding questions:
1. Analyze the stats of the card (HP, Weakness, Resistance, Retreat cost).
2. Analyze the attacks (and/or Poke-Powers, Poke-Bodies, Abilities) of the card.
3. What combos can you use it with? How so?
4. What techs can you use to combat the weak points?
5. How's the artwork?
6. Give it a rating, and explain why you have given it that rating. You can also rate the card by rating the thread itself (out of 5 stars).

Posts MUST be more than one sentence long with proper grammar and spelling or they will be deleted.

 

[Spoink!]

1. Analyze the stats of the card (HP, Weakness, Resistance, Retreat cost).
HP is okay, but OHKO'd by a lot of metagame stuff. Weakness isn't so great with all of the Zekrom donks running around, but Zekrom will OHKO this anyway. Resistance is good, but again, not really enough HP to back it up against many decks. Retreat cost is fine for a card like this. Zero would have been nice, but that's what everyone says...

2. Analyze the attacks (and/or Poke-Powers, Poke-Bodies, Abilities) of the card.
The first attack could be useful if you're up against someone with three or four energy, but 60 or 80 damage at best still won't be amazing unless you're up against someone with Psychic weakness. Second attack is for when you're up against anyone with 2 energy or less, but 50 damage isn't that much and even with DCE, it's two energy cards for fifty damage, which is easily bested by other Pokemon. I consider the flip for confusion just an extra... but that might be a personal thing because I don't like flippy attacks.

3. What combos can you use it with? How so?
Pretty much just DCE to get the second attack out faster. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any way to get the opposing Pokemon to attach more energy. If there was a card or combo to do that, it would clearly benefit Xatu.

4. What techs can you use to combat the weak points?
Again, DCE. Defender and Pluspower are nice too, if you're 10 hp away from a knockout (or 10 hp away from avoiding being knocked out.)

5. How's the artwork?
I actually like it a lot, 8.5/10

6. Give it a rating, and explain why you have given it that rating. You can also rate the card by rating the thread itself (out of 5 stars).
3/10... It's just not good enough. :-/ It's usage is too specific and requires too many things to go perfectly.

Wow, that was kind of long. Oh well, it's my first time reviewing a card.

 

[juunkmilk]

1. Analyze the stats of the card (HP, Weakness, Resistance, Retreat cost).
The HP is too low to really do anything. The weakness could be worse, but it hardly matters what you're weak to when you only have 90 HP. The resistance is kinda cool just cuz a Donphan can't one-shot you. The retreat cost could be worse. It's a stage one, which makes it not as good as it would be were a basic.

2. Analyze the attacks (and/or Poke-Powers, Poke-Bodies, Abilities) of the card.
Psywave could maybe do something, but it's really not that great, especially if you keep Xatu in the active the whole game, in other words, it would be better as something to bring out of nowhere on a Donphan or Machamp when they have a bunch of energy. Psywave isn't that good, 50 isn't so awesome for two energy, especially when one has to be a DCE.

3. What combos can you use it with? How so?
I guess as a weird Donchamp counter in something?

4. What techs can you use to combat the weak points?
None. If it's gonna be a quick backup attacker you don't really need to help it.

5. How's the artwork?
I really, really like it. And the holo compliments it very well.

6. Give it a rating, and explain why you have given it that rating. You can also rate the card by rating the thread itself (out of 5 stars).
★★★✩✩
3/5. Could be worse, could be better. If you want an explanation as to why I gave it that, read all the text above this.

 

[adamisclassy]

1 ok hp, bad weakness, good resistance, and a decent retreat
2 first attack is decent, second is flippy and special conditions are a joke
3 DCE combos for second attack emboar and jirachi/shaymin engine combo for first attack
4 8/10 makes xatu, a pokemon who I normally am not too fond of look pretty cool
5 4/10 its like a less bulky version of tangrowth first attack wise and doesn't really have a place in the format. Only plus is this card does well against donphan/donchamp

 

[One Approved]

1. It's HP is decent for a stage 2, it's got a good resistance, good retreat, but a really bad weakness to Zekrom and Magnezone Prime.

2. The 1st attack is decent against high energy decks. Only takes 1 psychic to set off. The second attack is rather bad. 50 damage for 3 energies, with only possible confusion isn't good at all.

3. DCE helps with the second attack. If there's something in that puts energies on the defending Pokémon, that would help with the 1st attack, but the only one I knew of was Lanturn LA, and that's getting rotated.

4. Play it with Donphan to take out Electrics? Or Maybe Machamp Prime?

5. The artwork is decent. The swirly stuff in the background is kind of cool. 7/10.

6. 3/10. The first attack might find some use, maybe as a tech against Machamp Prime, but Mew Prime outclasses it for that. Otherwise the card is just junk.