Card of the Week Review - Beartic (Emerging Powers 30)

Hey everyone! LuxrayMogul here for another Card of the Week Review! This week, I'll be reviewing another card from Emerging Powers: Beartic. No, not card #31 Beartic, but the one that everyone's been really excited about - Beartic, card #30.

Let's start with some stats. Beartic is a Stage-1 Water-type Pokémon that evolves from Cubchoo (the Pokémon with like the huge snot coming out of its nose...). It has 130 HP, which is incredibly high considering it's a Stage 1 Pokémon. This is also great for Beartic as big attacks like Reshiram's Blue Flare, Zekrom's Bolt Strike, and Typhlosion's Fire Spin will leave it with 10 HP, (as no attack does exactly 130 damage), which forces the opponent to use a Plus Power or two to finish Beartic off, if they wish, in one turn. (I think you would want to; refer to next section for reasons why). It has a x2 Metal weakness which is great; you don't see too many metal-type decks nowadays, and Beartic isn't weak to the usual Electric type for Water-types, so it's a great card to be played now. It has no resistance, which isn't too much of a surprise. However, a drawback would be its three colourless energy retreat cost. In J-Wittz' words, that's FAT! That's really fat! You have to watch out for Pokémon Catcher and other cards that can possibly endanger Beartic before it's set-up and ready to attack.

Now its attacks - it's first attack, Sheer Cold, needs WCC to use; so I think it's safe to say that Beartic is Double Colourless Energy compatible. ;D It does a measly 50 damage, but prevents the defending Pokémon from attacking the next turn. Personally, that's great! They will be forced to retreat, evolve, or devolve in order to even touch Beartic the next turn. Now; evolving and devolving are pretty rare, so that means retreat. If you can combine Beartic with Catcher, you can slaughter a "fat" Benched Pokémon (such as Beartic) before it's ready to attack itself, and it can't retreat. ('Fat' means large retreat cost, not trying to offend anyone with this term.) So, Sheer Cold is a great attack!

Its second attack, Icicle Crash, needs WWCC, so once again, DCE can be used. It does a measly 80 damage (well, measly considering how much energy is required for this attack). However, it isn't affected by Resistance, so no... grass..? Pokémon are safe from this attack either. It provides a OHKO to Donphan Prime which is weak to water-types, therefore, being a great counter to a very, very popular card in the format right now.

The artwork is OK. It pales compared to Beartic (Emerging Powers 31), but I guess it's OK since it's holo. It's a little over-simplistic though.

Overall, I give 4.5/5 to Beartic. I hate Donphan Prime so since it can kill it in one hit it's a great counter. (I know that is biased... but it's true.) It loses 0.5 point because of its "fat-ness" - carefully when Catcher pulls this out when it's not ready. Overall, I think it's a great card in this format and should be considered in many decks. (Its weakness is different, which helps it a lot as well!)

Card of the Week Review - Gothitelle (Emerging Powers 47)

Hey everyone! It is Volcachu back for a card review; but since school has started, we will be doing card reviews weekly instead of daily. For the time being, we will try to focus our reviews on Pokémon from the new set. This week's Pokémon will be Gothitelle and it has been getting a lot of hype since the release of the set.

This Pokémon is a Stage 2 Psychic-Type with 130 HP which is average. It has an ability called Magic Room which I will get more in depth later. Gothitelle has only one attack and it is called Madkinesis. This attack costs 3 energy of any type and it does 30 base damage. This attack does 20 extra damage on top of the 30 base damage for each Psychic Energy attached to Gothitelle. This means that the more Psychic Energies, the more powerful the attack is. Like most Psychic-Types, Gothitelle has a weakness to other Psychic-Types. It has a retreat cost of two which is not very good.

The reason why this Pokémon is liked is because of the ability, Magic Room. This ability is only activated when Gothitelle is the active Pokémon. The ability locks most of the important trainer cards of the opponent as they are not allowed to play any item cards. This will shut down key cards like Pokémon Catcher, Switch, Pokémon Communications and others. Gothitelle is usually teamed up with a Reuniclus to continually lock the opponent while keeping Gothitelle alive as long as possible. This may be a very combo soon as many people are starting to pick this up.

All these factors allow me to give Gothitelle a 4.5/5. Even with all the potential to lock your opponent, she is very slow to set up. This slowness calls for more Twins in your deck since you will probably fall behind early with this deck. Gothitelle will become an alternate Vileplume and it will be a hot card in the market. Grab them all before others do!

Emerging Powers Review

Hey guys! It's LuxrayMogul here to more or less rant about the new expansion that was released today - Black & White - Emerging Powers. Yes, the name sounds pretty cool, but I guess this expansion is more of a... collector's expansion than a competitive one. Most of the cards are not too appealing to competitive players. The full art Thundorus and Tornadus is great for collectors, but their attacks definitely aren't that good compared to cards from previous expansions.

The main hype? Well, I think there are mostly two cards from this expansion that is pretty much the only "hype" you would say; and probably one of the only reasons why someone would buy boosters from this expansion in the first place. The first one is Pokémon Catcher (Emerging Powers 95). This has the same effect as a pretty old card, Gust of Wind (Base Set 93), a similar effect to the more recent reprinted card, Pokémon Reversal (HGSS 99) [without the coin flip], and a similar effect to Pokémon Circulator (Unleashed 81) [opponent's choice, not yours]. This gives you the power to switch your opponent's Active Pokémon with a Benched, which can quickly give you a victory - perhaps this aspect adds to its popularity and demand. Definitely watch out for Catchers in the upcoming tournaments.

The second card hype, Beartic (Emerging Powers 30), is also a big hype, and also a nightmare to play against. I'm not going to do a review here, because that'll be saved for PikaCirculator's later reviews ;D But its staggering 130 HP for a Stage 1 and its deadly attack Sheer Cold builds to its popularity - although it only does a mere 50 damage, its additional effect prevents the defending Pokémon from attacking - which forces them to wait out a turn, or retreat to another Pokémon to do the attack. Definitely expect to see this Beartic in upcoming tournaments for sure.

Another new change in this expansion is the feature of energy symbols in the holographic design of the reverse holos - reverse holos in this set feature a holo design that includes a repeating pattern of that Pokémon's energy symbol on the card. If it's a Trainer, Supporter or (yet to be released) Stadium, the reverse holo features a background of Pokéballs instead. This is also great collector items and will definitely add to the popularity of this expansion.

But overall, the cards are not too great; the expansion only features a few good cards. The holographic treatment adds to its grading. I'll grade this expansion a probably-too-generous rating of 2.5/5.

Let's all look forward to Noble Victories coming out November! It will feature Japan's Red Collection cards, which should be more appealing in regards to competitiveness. So, this is LuxrayMogul signing off this first expansion review. Regular card reviews will be coming back this Sunday - however, because of the upcoming school workload, the Card of the Day Review will now, unfortunately be a Card of the Week Review. But nevertheless, stay tuned, and don't forget to check out our latest video on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9ONLR1zgdg

Card of the Day Review - Umbreon (Undaunted 10)

Hey everyone! LuxrayMogul here for another Card of the Day Review! Today I continue my Eeveelution reviews with the Moonlight Pokémon, Umbreon. Let's start with the basics. Umbreon is a Stage 1 Darkness-type Pokémon that evolves from the Evolution Pokémon, Eevee. (Eevee sure does have a lot of evolutions, haha!) It has 90 HP just like its 'opposite' Espeon. It has a double weakness to Fighting-types, which is actually not desirable at all, and a -20 resistance to Psychic-types, which is awesome. Finally, its retreat cost of one colourless is, of course, pretty average for a Stage 1 Pokémon. So, let's look at the attacks.

Umbreon's first attack, Moonlight Fang, needs one Darkness energy and does a decent damage of 30 (well, for one energy it's decent). Plus, any damage and effects done by your opponent's Pokémon that has Poké-Powers and Poké-Bodies are prevented during their next turn. Really? Cool! So... pretty much every single one of the Prime cards can't affect Umbreon, and neither can most regular Stage-2 Pokémon. It's pretty awesome, all for one energy. Unfortunately, this effect doesn't extend over to the new Black & White cards, which do not use Poké-Powers or Poké-Bodies any more, but use Abilities. Therefore, Moonlight Fang doesn't affect these Pokémon, like Ability Samurott, Serperior and Emboar. That sucks. You definitely should be watching when you play this card, especially later on when HGSS cards start to get rotated out - this card will become increasingly useless, unfortunately as the new cards don't get affected by it.

Its second attack, Quick Blow, needs a Darkness and a Colourless. It does 30 damage, but you get to add 30 more if you get heads on the coin flip. So a maximum of 60 damage... that's average for a Stage 1 I guess, but I generally don't like coin flip attacks (who does?! XD) because it's way too risky. If you're wanting to pack a punch, then I would use Quick Blow, but if you're facing a Prime that you obviously can't take out in one turn, I would stick with Moonlight Fang until things get easy, because honestly, Quick Blow is too risky of an attack, especially for a Pokémon that has a times to weakness to a very very very popular type right now.

The artwork is amazing. Of course. I love the Eeveelutions, haha!

Overall, I would give the card a 3/5 for its pretty powerful Moonlight Fang, and its pretty usefulness inside a deck that runs dark types or Eeveelutions. But it's attacks are only average, which makes it lose some ratings. But overall, it's a relatively good card.

Card of the Day Review - Xatu (Unleashed 11)

Hi everyone! It's GrassExplorer here again! This time we have Xatu! Like usually, we will begin with the artwork. I very much like the artwork of Xatu because it highlights Xatu's mysterious aspect.

To begin, we will look at its HP, Xatu has 90 HP, which I would say is a normal amount, nevertheless, nothing phenomenal. I am actually not too happy about its average HP and it would be difficult to employ in battle if you plan to use it to actually knock out stage 2 Pokémon.

Next, it's first attack is Psywave, which does 20 damage times the amount of energy cards attached to Xatu, I don't necessarily like this attack because the opponent can easily remove energy cards with the use of trainer cards and it uses up a lot of valuable energy cards.

However, I prefer its second attack, Confuse Ray, which does 50 damage and you flip a coin to see if the defending Pokémon is confused. But the part that I don't like about this attack is that it requires quite a large amount of energy cards and I would prefer a condition other than confused.

Xatu is weak to Electric-Type Pokémon, however also has resistance to Fighting-type Pokémon, so in some ways, it equals out.

Overall, I give Xatu a 3/5.

Although nothing fantastic, it is a good Pokémon to have in hand as a "buffer".

Card of the Day Review - Samurott (Black & White 32)

Hey ladies and gentlemen, this is Volcachu for another review on another fresh week. First of all, sorry for not posting on the weekend as our whole team was very busy. Today's card is the Ability Samurott from the Black & White set and my nickname for this big guy is "the tank."

Samurott is a Stage 2 Pokémon with 140 HP which is a lot for anyone. It is a Water-Type so it has the common double weakness to Electric-Types. The retreat cost is 2 energies which is not that bad for this big guy.

This Pokémon has only 1 attack. (Did you know that all three ability starters only have 1 attack?) Samurott's only attack is called Hydro Pump and we have heard this attack a lot in the video game. This attack costs 3 energy of any sort so attaching a Double Colourless Energy and a Water Energy is pretty effective. Hydro Pump does 70 damage and 10 more on top for every Water Energy attached to Samurott. This means, if you have 3 Water Energies on Samurott to use its attack, you would do 100 damage.

The reason I call Samurott "the tank" is because of its ability. Its ability is called Shell Armor and it reduces 20 damage done to Samurott from any attack. This ability is exactly the same as Donphan Prime's Exoskeleton. This allows Samurott to take a lot of hits and hard to knock out.

The rating that I would give this card is a 4/5. Samurott is almost like Donphan Prime but it takes a longer time to set up. I haven't really been seeing this in play often and lately. There may be better Stage 2 Water Pokémon out there like Blastoise. Samurott is a decent card with very few drawbacks, so you should try using this card in your deck today!

Card of the Day Review - Espeon (Undaunted 2)

Hey everyone! LuxrayMogul here for another Card of the Day Review! Today I will continue on my Eeveelution reviews and discuss the Sun Pokémon, Espeon. Espeon is a Stage 1 Psychic-type Pokémon that evolves from the Evolution Pokémon, Eevee. It has a decent 90 HP and a double weakness to Psychic-types. Its retreat cost of one is also average for a Stage-1 Pokémon. So, pretty average card so far. Let's look at the card text.

Solar Suggestion allows you to move (up to) 4 damage counters from any of your own Pokémon to any of your opponent's Pokémon and arrange it in any way you like - all for one Psychic energy. So essentially, you're doing a total of 40 damage. This attack can be quite useful in knocking out Pokémon that have retreated because of low HP left, and therefore this could allow you to knock out quite a few Pokémon in just one hit. As a bonus, your Pokémon get healed in the process. Here's the catch - if you don't have any damage counters on your Pokémon, then this attack does nothing. Just watch out for that.

Psybeam does a decent 30 damage for a Psychic and a Colourless energy. If the coin flip goes your way, the opponent is also confused, forcing it to flip a coin every time it tries to attack. (Doing 30 damage to itself if it's tails... but however the opponent can easily retreat, in which the confusion is healed). I much prefer paralysis in place of confusion, because it generally is more effective.

But other than that, Espeon's a decent card. I'll give Espeon a 4/5. It's only high because of its Solar Suggestion. Make good use of it! It is a great addition to any deck that runs Eevee.

Card of the Day Review - Musharna (Black and White 49)

Hi everyone! It's Grass Explorer here again! This time, we have one of my favourite Pokémon, Musharna! Now although it may look like a fetus, it can really pack a punch! It is a really useful Pokémon and is great for strategies.

First of all, it's weak to psychic, and most other psychic Pokémon are also weak to psychic, so there's no substantial disadvantage.

Looking at its first attack, Hypnotic Ray, which does 20 damage and makes the opponent fall asleep, this attack is great to stall and create a battle of attrition! I love this attack because it can really help you when you are in need of time; in helping you stall, it also slowly damages the opponent and gives you the opportunity to build up your bench. Best of all, it only requires one energy card!

Moreover, its second attack builds on Hypnotic Ray, Dream Eater, which does 90 damage if the defending Pokémon is asleep. 90 damage is an enormous amount of damage for a stage 1 Pokémon and can even knock out many basic or stage 1 Pokémon in one hit! Also, it only requires two energy cards! So if you finish stalling with Hypnotic Ray, you can just use this attack and finish off the defending Pokémon.

Overall, I give musharna a definite 5/5!

Card of the Day Review - Serperior (Black & White 6)

I am back. Volcachu here with another review and this time, it will be on another final evolution of one of the Black and White starter Pokémon. Today's card is Serperior, the evolved form of Servine and Snivy. I would nickname this Pokémon as the healer. I will explain more indepth about that later.

First of all, Serperior is a Stage 2 Pokémon with a total of 130 HP. The health is average among all Stage 2. It has a double weakness to Fire-Types so you should be careful against those decks that run Emboars. This Pokémon also has a resistance against Water-Types with 20 but not too many people are running Water decks these days except Blastoise decks. The retreat cost is very low at one, so this is an added bonus.

Serperior is getting a lot of hype because of its ability. The ability is called Royal Heal and it heals all of your Pokémon for 10 HP in between turns. That is 20 HP healed by the time it is your turn again. If you have more than 1 Serperiors on your bench, it will be hard for your opponent to kill your Active Pokémon. Especially if you have a Donphan Prime which already blocks 20 damage. Your opponent will most likely have to one hit your Pokémon to win. With this ability, Serperior is a healer and it keeps your side of the field very healthy.

Serperior has one single attack and it is called Leaf Tornado. This attack only needs a Grass Energy and any other Energy which is very little for an attack that does 60 damage. The added effect to this attack is that you can move the Grass Energies on your side of the field and rearrange them to other Pokémon however you like. The effect to the attack is not mandatory so it is really up to the user.

Serperior is a solid Pokémon with average health and a fairly good attack. It can heal you Pokémon for free and it is very effective. I give this card a solid 4.5 out of 5 and the reason for the missing .5 is because there is not a good variety in attacks. Serperior usually never seens combat and stays on the bench to heal. This is a very good tech card and it can be used in many decks. Try out this card and tell me how it goes. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Card of the Day Review - Flareon (Undaunted 26)

Hey everyone! LuxrayMogul here for another Card of the Day Review! Continuing on my Eeveelution Reviews, today we're going to discuss the Flame Pokémon, Flareon. Let's look at its stats. Flareon is a Fire-type Stage 1 Pokémon that evolves from the Evolution Pokémon, Eevee. It shares the same HP as its evolutionary relative, Vaporeon (Undaunted 41), which is decent for a Stage 1. It has a times two weakness to water, which is average for a Fire-Type, and a pretty average retreat cost of one Colourless energy; not as much as Vaporeon, and not as less as Jolteon (Undaunted 28) either. So, pretty decent so far.

Flareon's energy requirements parallel that of Jolteon and Vaporeon's (the ones from Undaunted). All three of them have two attacks; with the first one requiring one colourless and the second one requiring two of its type energy, and one colourless. I just had to point that out...

For one colourless energy, Flame Tail does 30 damage, which is decent. It isn't as hard-hitting as I'd like it to be, but for one colourless energy it's an average attack.

For FFC you can use Flamethrower, which does 90 damage. That's great, and discarding one energy is also not too bad of an attack, considering that most Fire-types these days require the discarding of energy. (I personally would discard the energy that's used to pay for the colourless, so you don't have to focus on getting fire energy next turn.) Just make sure you have some Energy Returner (Unleashed 74), Fisherman (HGSS 92), or Burned Tower (Undaunted 71) in your deck to make sure you can get those energy you discard back. Typhlosion Prime (HGSS 110) is also helpful in rescuing fire energy from your discard pile.

The artwork is amazing and Flareon is one of my favourite Eeveelutions which add to me liking this card even more, haha. As you can see, like all of the First-Generation Eeveelutions in Undaunted, a Fire Stone is seen in the artwork, which is the method used to evolve Eevee into Flareon. Many other evolutionary items can be seen on other artworks in the HGSS series. See if you can find them all!

I'm giving this card a 4/5 because of its consistent attacks and its easiness to get out into battle. The ratings drop because of the weakness, but ratings are still high because of its ability to work with many cards to get the energy it needs. I think it's a great addition to any fire deck that's needing an extra punch.

Card of the Day Review - Gengar Prime (Triumphant 94)

Hi everyone, it's Grass Explorer here again! Today, we are looking at Gengar, another psychic Pokémon. Once again, let's begin with the artwork, which is once again, incredibly stunning and beautiful! It really reveals Gengar's strength. The shine in its eye really accentuate its psychic "aura" and exhibits its cunning abilities to win battles!

We will start with its HP which is at 130. Gengar's 130HP is definitely a healthy amount and helps it carry on during battle! Looking at its weakness, Gengar is weak to dark type Pokémon, but this is somewhat compensated by its resistence to normal type Pokémon.

Furthermore, let's look at its Poké-Body, Catastrophe, which puts knocked out Pokémon in the Lost Zone and all cards attacked to that Pokémon are discarded. This is definitely useful since it doesn't allow the opponent to use any trainer cards to re-use that Pokémon; it also forces the opponent to discard all the cards attached to the Pokémon which prevents the opponent from using trainer cards to transfer energy cards.

Gengar's first attack allows it to put the opponent's Pokémon (ones that are in his/her hand) in the Lost Zone. This is a great attack because it completely eliminates the Pokémon with no chance of the opponent from "reviving" the Pokémon. And it only requires one energy card.

Next, Gengar's second attack is Cursed Drop which puts 4 damages counter on your opponent's Pokémon in any way you like. This attack speaks for itself and is incredibly useful! And again, it only requires two energy cards.

Most importantly, this card works in its optimal level with the "Lost World" stadium card from "Call of Legends" which allows once during your turn, if your opponent has 6 or more Pokémon in the Lost Zone, you may choose to win the game.

Overall, I give Gengar a 4/5!

Card of the Day Review - Muk (Undaunted 31)

Sup guys! Volcachu here and I will be featuring Muk from the Undaunted set as my Card of the Day. Muk is a sludge Pokémon who loves inflicting special conditions on others.

Muk is a Stage 1 Pokémon with 100 HP which is above average. It has a decent survivability so you can stall your opponent with this Pokémon. Muk Psychic-Type that has a double weakness to fellow Psychic-Types. You have to watch out for those Mew Primes and Gengar Primes. Muk has no resistance so that is kind of a bummer. It has a retreat cost of three so you shouldn't be expecting him in your bench anytime soon when he is your active.

Muk has two attacks where one gives a special condition and the other inflicts damage. Its first attack is called Sludge Drag which only costs one Psychic Energy. This attack allows you to switch your opponent's active Pokémon with a Benched Pokémon. The new Pokémon is then poisoned and confused. You can use this attack strategically by pulling out the weak Pokémon for an easy kill. The first attack can be used as part of a combo with the second attack which is called Pester. Pester hits for 50 damage and if the defending Pokémon has a special condition, it deals an extra 30 damage. This attack costs one Psychic Energy and two Colourless Energies. All you need is a Double Colourless Energy on top of the Psychic Energy you use for Sludge Drag to use Pester. Muk's attacks can be a deadly combo if used correctly. Your opponent will definitely regret setting up Benched Pokémon when Muk is out.

Muk has a huge potential in this game but I do not see him in a lot of gameplay. I give Muk a 3.5/5 for its great attacks but bad retreat cost. Muk may also take some time to set up so that my be bothersome if you don't draw the correct energies. I believe that Muk should be played more and it is a good card to have in Psychic and Grass decks.

Card of the Day Review - Jolteon (Undaunted 28)

Hey everyone! LuxrayMogul here again for another Card of the Day Review! Today I continue my Eeveelution review, this time with the Lightning Pokémon, Jolteon. (The 28th card from Undaunted). Let's have a look at its stats. Jolteon is a Stage 1 Lightning-Type Pokémon that evolves from the Evolution Pokémon, Eevee. It has a quite-the-normal-HP of 80 for a Stage 1, although obviously it isn't as high as I'd like. It has a times two weakness to Fighting-types (which is common to Lightning-Types), which means that a simple attack from a Donphan Prime or any Fighting-type that deals 40 damage makes Jolteon go bye-bye. It has a -20 resistance to Metal types, which is awesome, and a zero retreat cost, which, once again, is awesome.

Its first attack, Agility, requires a Colourless energy and does a decent 20. (For one energy... that's decent). As well, if you get heads on the coin flip, all effects of attacks including damage is prevented, which is also awesome - all for one energy. That's decent.

For LLC, you can use Mach Bolt which does a decent damage of 70. Now this is actually not bad; but compared to Raichu (HGSS 10) which does 100 damage for just LL. But the downside to that card is that you have to discard all the energy. Jolteon doesn't require you to do that which adds to its consistency.

The artwork is amazing. Like its evolutionary relatives Vaporeon and Flareon, (from Undaunted) you will also notice a Lightning Stone in Jolteon's picture; the method that is used to evolve Eevee into Jolteon. Like I said before, if you search through these cards you can find quite a few that have stones in the background of those who evolve by stones or items in general.

Overall I'd give this card a 4/5 for its consistency and free retreat cost. However, its times two weakness to Fightning makes it loose some marks as well as its HP. But overall, Jolteon is a great card.

Card of the Day Review - Crobat Prime (Unleashed 84)

Hello everyone! It's GrassExplorer here again with Crobat! We're doing another psychic Pokémon today. First of all, its artwork is fantastic! It really shows the darkness and strength that characterizes Crobat!

Looking at its HP, Crobat has a whopping 130 HP! This is a good amount of HP and can definitely be a crucial element in battle.

Next, it's first attack is severe poison, which does 4 damage per turn insead of 1! This attack is definitely deadly as it definitely does a large amount of damage in a short amount of time. The great thing about this attack is that it only requires one psychic energy card!

Its next attack is Skill Dive which does 30 damage to one of your opponent's Pokémon without applying weakness or resistence to Benched Pokémon. This attack only requires one energy card again which makes it fantastic!

Crobat is weak to electric, but it also has resistence to fighting type. And finally, its retreat cost is 0! This is definitely useful!

Overall, I give Crobat 3/5.

Card of the Day Review - Emboar (Black & White 20)

Hey guys, it is Volcachu for another card review. Today, I will be discussing about one of the hottest card out there and it is this Emboar card. It is from the latest set of Black and White and it has seen actions in many of the top decks.

Emboar is a Stage 2 Fire-Type Pokémon. It has 150 HP, which is a lot for any Pokémon. It has a double weakness to Water-Types and it has no resistance at all. It has a large retreat cost of 4 energies, so if he is your active Pokémon, don't bring him back unless you have the Trainer Card Switch.

Emboar has only 1 single attack and it is not the greatest. It is called Heat Crash and it deals out 80 damage. The bad thing of this attack is the amount of energies needed. You will need to attach 2 Fire Energies and 2 Colourless Energies. I would rather keep Emboar on the bench and use his ability.

Emboar is used a lot because of his Ability and not his attacks. Emboar's Ability is Inferno Fandango. This Ability is used to set up many combos. It allows the owner to attach as many Fire Energies as he/she wants. This can be used as a combo with cards like Reshiram's Blue Flare, Magnezone's Lost Burn, and Rayquaza and Deoxys Legend's Ozone Climax. This can be deadly and it will allow you to use hard hitting attacks that require lots and lots of energies.

This card may not be effective as your active Pokémon, but it is very good on your bench. I give Emboar a solid 4/5! Anyone would hate to see this card anytime soon on your opponent's bench.

Card of the Day Review - Vaporeon (Undaunted 41)

Hello everyone! LuxrayMogul here for your daily Card Review on PikaCirculator! Today we discuss Vaporeon, card number 41 from HS-Undaunted.

The basics - Vaporeon is a Stage 1 Water-Type Pokémon which evolves from the Evolution Pokémon, Eevee. It has 90 HP, which is average for Stage 1s (actually, Water-Types are known for their high HP). It has a double weakness to Lightning-types, which is average for most water Pokémon. It has no resistance and a double colourless retreat, which is more than I want to pay, but I guess it's considered average.

Vaporeon is a pretty simple card with simple attacks. Its first attack, Spiral Drain, needs one colourless energy and does 20 damage. As well, you get to remove two damage counters from Vaporeon. It's a great game starter because of the healing, but because most Pokémon nowadays do a lot of damage, this attack pretty much useless with the likes of Zekrom, Reshiram, and Blastoise. You should rely on the second attack.

Water-types are known for their damage dealing moves. But for WWC, Dual Splash is only average. It snipes pretty well, by doing 30 damage to any Pokémon on your opponent's side. (Instant kill for any Benched Baby Pokémon!) I guess this is an OK attack considering it's just a Stage 1 Pokémon. It would be great if it did more damage though.

The artwork is amazing. If you look closely, you can see a Water Stone in the picture, which is the method that evolves Eevee into Vaporeon. (Likewise, you can see a Fire Stone on Flareon's art and a Lightning Stone on Jolteon's art, as well as many other stones in other Pokémon cards that evolve with stones).

Overall, I rate this card 4/5 for its average HP and semi-useful sniping attack. It does require a lot more energy that I'd like to pay, and does too little damage (too slow). But overall, it's a useful addition to any water-type deck.

Card of the Day Review - Metagross (Unleashed 4)

Hi everyone! It's GrassExplorer here again with Metagross! We have a psychic Pokémon today, which is out of the usual for me since I focus on Grass Pokémon, but I also like to run psychic Pokémon. First of all, the artwork is fantastic on Metagross showing off its power and strength. Having a shiny Metagross card would definitely be fantastic!

First and foremost, it's Poké-Body, Psychic Float, which makes the active Pokémon's retreat cost 0, is incredibly useful not just for Metagross, but for other Pokemon. Considering that Metagross' retreat cost takes up 4 energy cards, this Poké-Body is definitely useful!

Looking at its first attack, Pulse Blast, which does 60 damage, this attack is great for the reason that although it requires 2 energy cards, they can be any energy cards and not necessarily psychic. Moreover, this is a great attack to use when you don't have enough energy cards since the two energy cards pack quite the punch in this attack.

Next, the second attack is Double Leg Hammer which does 40 damage to two of the opponent's benched Pokémon. The great thing about this attack is that you don't have to apply weakness or resistence to the opponent's Pokémon. In addition, it makes Metagross a perfect sniper and it can be used to kill off weak Pokémon in the opponent's bench.

Metagross' weakness is to psychic and I don't think that this poses too much of a problem considering that the other psychic Pokémon may also be weak to psychic.

Lastly, its retreat cost is very high, however, it most likely won't matter taking into account its Poké-Body.

Overall, I give Metagross a 3.5/5.

Card of the Day Review - Zoroark (Black & White 71)

Hey everyone! This is Volcachu with another card review. Today, I will be talking about a very versatile card names Zoroark. This card is from the latest expansion of Black and White and it is a great card.

Zoroark is a Dark-Type Pokémon with 100 HP which is average for a Stage 1 Pokémon. It has a double weakness to Fighting-Types so you have to be careful against DonChamp decks. One Earthquake from Donphan Prime will take Zoroark out instantly. This Pokémon also has a resistance to Psychic-Types, which is a big bonus.

Zoroark has two attacks, which is normal for most Pokémon. Its first attack is called Nasty Plot. This attack requires 1 Dark Energy and it allows you to search any card you want. This attack is good because it will give you anything you want, whether it is a bench Pokémon, energy, or trainer card. The bad thing about this attack is that it deals no damage at all. Zoroark's second attack is called Foul Play. This attack is nasty as you can use any attack of the defending Pokémon without having to play the cost for their move. All you need is a Double Colourless Energy as this attack only requires 2 colourless energy. Since you don't need a specific energy, it allows Zoroark to be used in any deck.

I give Zoroark a solid 4/5 because it can be used in any deck and it is very effective. Its attacks can be devastating and it may cause mayhem. The bad thing about this card is the survivability. Since a lot of people are using Donphan Prime these days, these Zoroarks are getting knocked out very easily. Nevertheless, Zoroark is a great card and it should find a place in you deck.

Card of the Day Review - Entei and Raikou LEGEND (Unleashed 90 & 91)

Hi everyone! It's LuxrayMogul here again for another card of the day review! This is PikaCirculator's first LEGEND review, and is one of the cards that I've been eyeing for a long time. It's Entei and Raikou LEGEND, card number 90 and 91 from HS-Unleashed.

Entei and Raikou LEGEND is a LEGEND card, which are two cards that can only be played when put together. It is not a Basic Pokémon; but rather, it is classified as its own type of card - LEGEND. In play, it counts as one card, but in the deck, discard pile, or any other places it is treated as two seperate cards. So unfortunately, cards like Poké Ball and Pokémon Communication can only find half of the card. This LEGEND card is also unique in that since it depicts two Legendary Pokémon, your opponent gets two prizes if this is knocked out, sort of similar to Pokémon-ex from the EX series.

Entei and Raikou LEGEND is a Fire and Lightning dual-type Pokémon and has 140 HP, which is lower than the other two LEGEND cards in this set - Raikou and Suicune LEGEND as well as Suicune and Entei LEGEND, which both have 160 HP. Its free retreat cost does help make this card better, compared to the other two LEGENDs which both have a one colourless energy retreat cost. It has a double weakness to Water-types as well as Fighting-types. That means, if there is a dual-type Fighting and Water type, its attacks would do four times the damage to E&R LEGEND (none so far, not that I believe.) E&R LEGEND also has no resistance, which is common for LEGEND cards.

E&R LEGEND has two attacks. The first one, Detonation Spin, does a powerhouse 90 damage for just a Fire and Colourless Energy. The downside is that you must discard one fire energy, which, if you have Typhlosion Prime (HGSS 110), can quickly be charged up again without much worry. Its second attack, called Thunder Fall, requires a Lightning and Colourless energy. You must discard all energy attached to E&R LEGEND for this attack though, so I wouldn't stack energies on it. It does 80 damage to all Pokémon in play that has Poké-Powers - including your own!!! So, that means it hits Kingdra Prime, Magnezone Prime, Typhlosion Prime, Meganium Prime, Celebi Prime (OHKO!) just to name a few. Poké-Bodies are safe though. If you are going to use this LEGEND card (it hasn't seen much play though) it'll be beneficial to use Detonation Spin instead of Thunder Fall, unless you don't have any Pokémon in play with Poké-Powers. Yes, it's quite a powerhouse!

The artwork is stunning, like all the LEGEND cards.

Overall, I'd rate this card 4.5/5 because of its OK HP, free retreat cost, and two powerhouse attacks. It only needs two energy to be active! The only drawback is that the attack hits all Pokémon with Poké-Powers, even your own (however, the new Pokémon from Black and White have Abilities, which are safe from this attack!!). Its weakness to two popular types right now is also a drawback. But overall, it's a great card and I'm surprised it hasn't seen too much play.

Card of the Day Review - Yanmega Prime (Triumphant 98)

Hello everyone! It's GrassExplorer here with another awesome Grass-Type Pokémon! This time we have Yanmega Prime, a sight to behold! To start off, it's artwork is fascinating, a testament to its sheer power and strength.

Looking at its HP, being 110 HP, I am quite amazed by its incredibly high HP, especially for a stage 1 Pokémon, but of course, it IS a Prime card. With that said, its high HP makes it a worthy opponent if you ever go against one!

Next, looking at its Poké-Body, Insight, is highly useful! So, if you have the same number of cards in your hand as your opponent, all of Yanmega Prime's attack costs are zero. This speaks for itself, the power of this Poké-Body allows for a quicker knocking out of your opponent. Moreover, in difficult situations when Yanmega has just been played and you don't have enough time to place energy cards, this can be a life-saver!

Now looking at Linear Attack, which does 40 damage to any one of your opponent's Pokémon, this attack is certainly better than average! The reason that it's better than many other average attacks is that it applies 40 damage regardless of weakness/resistance; this is what makes the attack quite deadly.

Moving onto its other attack, Sonic Boom, which inflicts 70 damage. This is another awesome attack because, once again, it inflicts a whopping 70 damage regardless of weakness or resistence! Although it requires three energy cards, I think it's a more than reasonable amount, especially since the attack is very powerful.

Unlike many other Grass-Type Pokémon, Yanmega Prime is not weak to Fire-Type Pokémon but rather to Electric-Type Pokémon, which would be good to use against Fire-Type decks which usually are most prone to over-power Grass decks. Moreover, it has resistance to Fighting Type Pokémon which is quite the advantage to have in a battle!

Overall, I give Yanmega Prime a 5/5!

Card of the Day Review - Zekrom (Black & White 114)

I'm back! Its Volcachu here once again and I will be talking about Reshiram's counterpart, Zekrom. It also has a normal art and a full art form. Full art looks great on Zekrom and it is cool to have.

Zekrom is an Electric-Type Pokémon which is Basic. It has 130 HP like Reshiram, which is a hefty amount for a Basic Pokémon. It is easy to get Zekrom out as all you need are cards like Dual Ball or Pokémon Collector. It has a double weakness to Fighting/Ground Types, so you should be cautious around Donphans and Machamps. It has no resistance and it has a retreat cost of two energies.

Zekrom's attacks are very similar to Reshiram. Like Reshiram, Zekrom has the attack called Outrage. It only requires a Double Colourless Energy so just slap them onto Zekrom. The move has 20 base damage and it gains 10 damage for each damage counter on Zekrom. The more they hurt you, the more you will hurt them back. Pretty simple and effective eh? Zekrom's second attack is Bolt Strike. This attack does 120 damage like Reshiram's Blue Flare, but it has a different effect. Bolt Strike damages Zekrom for 40 damage. This may sound terrible, but you can use this to your advantage. If you build up a lot of damage counters on Zekrom, you can unleash the all powerful outrage which can almost kill any Pokémon when Zekrom is almost dead.

The rating I give to Zekrom is a decent 3.5/5. I do not give Zekrom as high as Reshiram because of Zekrom's average survivability. Every Bolt Strike is a step closer for your opponent to take out your Zekrom which is bad.You can play save by only using Outrage if you want to. Zekrom is a great card and it will help you win matches against other people if you know how to manage your health right. It is deadly when used properly.

Card of the Day Review - Vespiquen (Undaunted 23)

Hi everyone! It's GrassExplorer bringing you today another Grass-Type Pokémon, Vespiquen, from HS-Undaunted. One of my favourite Pokémon, Vespiquen is truly stunning! To start off, its artwork is quite beautiful, seems as though it's flying above its opponents!

Looking at its Poké-Body, Defense Sign, which prevents all damage done to Grass-Type Benched Pokémon, this is an extremely useful advantage especially for Grass-Type decks. Clearly, this helps warding off those pesky damage counters that slowly but surely accumulate on your benched Pokémon, and sometimes, even knocking them out.

Next, looking at its attack, Mach Wind, this is a great attack! With 60 damage inflicted in the opponent, this surely makes Vespiquen a real contender! Now, looking at the effect of its attack, being that its retreat cost becomes 0, Vespiquen truly shows its value as a definite Pokemon to have in a deck, especially for Grass-Type decks. Although it requires 3 energy cards, it only needs one grass energy. 

Like many other Grass-Type Pokémon, Vespiquen is weak to Fire-Type Pokémon, but I think that being a stage 1 Pokémon, Vespiquen truly is above average in many regards. Lastly, looking at its retreat cost, now although it takes 3 energy cards to retreat, it doesn't really matter all that much taking into account the awesome Mach Wind!

Overall, I give Vespiquen 4.5/5!

Card of the Day Review - Typhlosion Prime (HeartGold & SoulSilver 110)

Hello everyone! LuxrayMogul here for another Card of the Day Review! Today we're going to discuss Typhlosion Prime, card number 110 from HGSS and one of my favourite cards. (Maybe it's because Cyndaquil is my favourite starter Pokémon ;D)

Typhlosion is a Stage 2 Fire-type Pokémon that evolves from Quilava. It has a very decent HP of 140 (especially if you keep using After-Burner, discussed later). It has a double weakness to water, which isn't pleasant, but should be expected of Fire-types. (Wouldn't worry about Kingdra Prime though; it has a disadvantage when faced against Fire-Types.) It has a retreat cost of two colourless energy, which is more than I'd like to pay, but it's at least better than some of the Stage 2s you see out there. But you're pretty much going to expect NOT to retreat Typhlosion; once it's out, I think you'll probably prefer attacking with it.

Its Poké-Power, After Burner, allows you to attach a fire energy from your discard pile to one of your Pokémon once a turn. (If you have more than one Typhlosion Prime in play, the power stacks, of course.) But, you must put one damage counter on that Pokémon if you do so. Now this is useful for using its attack, Flare Destroy, but overuse can cause Typhlosion to quickly become knocked-out by even the smallest attacks.

Its sole attack, Flare Destroy, can be used for two Fire and one Colourless. It does a pesky 70 damage which may knock out most basic Pokémon (watch out for Reshiram, B&W 113) but won't do very well against evolved Pokémon, especially other Primes. It also requires both Pokémon to discard one energy (NOTE: YOU get to choose the energy the opponent discards, not them!!) The idea is probably to wear down your opponent's energy stack and replenish your own with Afterburner so you don't waste your deck energy. (This seems like a battle of attrition... sorry. Too much World War I.) Like I said before, letting this damage build up on Typhlosion can be dangerous, so you have to "watch your spending".

A card that works really well with Typhlosion Prime is Ursaring Prime (Unleashed 89). By building energy on Ursaring, Ursaring can quickly charge up for its attacks while at the same time gaining damage, which activates its "Berserk" Poké-Body, allowing to do 60 more damage for each of its attack. That's good as well. Another card that may work well with Typhlosion (but not that useful if you want to be critical) is Ampharos Prime (HGSS 105). While causing your opponent to discard energy, you charge them 10 damage for each extra energy they attach once Ampharos comes into play! This power also stacks when you have more Ampharos in play.

Artwork? Oh, I love Typhlosion. The artwork, like most Prime cards, are amazing. Heck, pretty much all of the artwork for all the HGSS series are amazing, so must I say more? ;D

So - I rate Typhlosion 4/5, but it loses some marks for doing so less damage and having a significant weakness to a popular type. But other than that, it's a pretty cool card to have in your deck, and of course, duplicates should always be considered for powerful energy power-ups.

Card of the Day Review - Reshiram (Black & White 113)

Hey there! Its Volcachu once again and today I will be talking about a hot card in the market and it is Reshiram. This Pokémon card has two forms. It can be obtained as a regular holo or as a full art card. In my opinion, the full art looks amazing and I have it.

Reshiram is a Basic Fire-Type Pokémon with 130 HP which is a lot for a Basic Pokémon. I has a double weakness to Water-Types so be careful of those Blastoise I mentioned in my Donphan Prime review. It has no resistance which is saddening and it costs two energy to retreat. Two energy is normal for a Pokémon with a very high health, so it is fine.

Reshiram has 2 attacks and they are both great. The first one is Outrage and it only needs two energies of any kind. Just slap on a Double Colourless Energy and you can attack right away with Outrage. It does 20 damage and it adds 10 damage for every damage counter on Reshiram. So the more hits you take, the more damage you deal out making it a good tank. The second attack is Blue Flare which deals a mind crushing 120 damage. This is an attack which hits very hard but it comes at a price. You have to discard 2 Fire Energies attached to Reshiram. Make sure that you have an extra energy in your hand before you use this attack so you can attach it and use Outrage on your next turn.

I would give Reshiram a 4/5 for being a great tank Pokémon and being able to dish out great damage. The drawback to Reshiram is the discarding of the energies to use its second attack. This card can be used in any deck as you can just use Outrage. It is a very versatile card and it can be used to your advantage very easily. This card is a must have and you should at least add it to your collection.

Card of the Day Review - Jirachi (Unleashed 1)

Greetings everyone! LuxrayMogul here, today I'm going to talk about the first card from HS Unleashed, Jirachi. Now Jirachi has been getting a relative amount of hype lately from decks that featured it in Nationals and other related tournaments. Let's analyze this card and see what the hype's all about!

Jirachi is a Psychic Type Basic Pokémon with an average Basic Pokémon-HP of 60. It has a double weakness to Psychic Type (Psychic types aren't seeing too much play so it should be alright), no resistance, and a common one Colourless energy retreat cost. So, it seems like a normal card so far. Let's look at the card text.

Jirachi is one of those Pokémon whose Poké-Power sets up its attack. Its Poké-Power, Stardust Song, lets you flip 3 coins when you play Jirachi from your hand onto your bench. For every heads you get, you can search your discard pile for a Psychic energy and attach it to Jirachi. Not bad. But there are some problems - Jirachi might take some time to set up: and assuming you have to have discarded Psychic energy before in the game so you actually have something to get from the discard pile (or else this won't do anything).

What's the use of this power you might ask? Well, it all has to do with the attack. For one Psychic energy (see where the power comes in handy? If not, it gets better.) you can use Time Hollow. Now Time Hollow doesn't do any damage, but you can choose a number of your opponent's Stage 1 or 2 Pokémon up to the number of energy cards attached to Jirachi. You technically "devolve" all of the Pokémon you chose, but unlike Dialga (Diamond and Pearl 1, out of rotation), the highest stage evolution cards you remove only go back to your opponent's hand, not being shuffled into the deck like Dialga's Flash Cannon. (Darn!)

So, you might be asking. "What's the use of that?" Nothing. Absolutely nothing. On it's own. Your opponent can once again evolve all the Pokémon you devolved on their next turn. But when you combine Jirachi with a certain-card-that-everyone's-talking-about-that-did-really-well-at-Nationals, you can collect a bunch of prize cards at once. How?

In case you haven't figured it out, the certain-card-that-everyone's-talking-about-that-did-really-well-at-Nationals is Kingdra Prime (Unleashed 85). When used with Jirachi, Jirachi's seemingly harmless Time Hollow suddenly changes your game. Kingdra Prime's Poké-Body Spray Splash allows you to place one damage counter on one of your opponent's Pokémon before you attack. If you have four Kingdra Prime, that'll be doing 40 damage a turn! The strategies come here. If your opponent used Rare Candy to evolve their Basic straight to a Stage 2, even better. If not, it'll just take longer for your attack to work.

Using Kingdra Prime's Spray Splash (the more Kingdra Prime you have the better), you place damage counters on their Stage 2 Pokémon every turn until the damage counters of most of their benched Stage 1 or 2s can be knocked out if they get "devolved". All the while, you're attaching energy to Jirachi. Then in one sweep, you use Jirachi's Time Hollow and devolve all of your opponent's benched Pokémon (you'll need a lot of energy attached to Jirachi, maybe at least 3?). If you used Kingdra Prime's Poké-Body correctly, the damage will now equal or exceed the hit points, knocking out all of your opponent's benched (or even Active) Pokémon, allowing you to draw a ton of prize cards! Now this strategy has been used very effectively at Nationals and have been featured on a lot of sites, but I thought that it would be useful to have it on the PikaCirculator database as well.

The art is amazing, like most of the HeartGold SoulSilver era cards.

Overall, I'd give this card a 2.5/5 for having an effective strategy (it requires a lot of patience though!) of devolving and knocking out Pokémon. But however, my ratings significantly dropped for this card because it simply is useless when used alone. So please don't use four Jirachi (Unleashed 1) in your deck and expect to win, because it probably won't happen. But its potential when used with other cards like Kingdra Prime is simply deadly.

Card of the Day Review - Vileplume (Undaunted 24)

Hello everyone! My name is GrassExplorer and I will be focusing primarily on Grass-Type Pokémon, but I will also cover some Water Pokémon as well. I love Grass Pokémon for the main reason that they inflict many conditions, i.e. poison, burn, confused etc. Today we're going to look at my personal favourite Pokémon, Vileplume, which is card 24 from HS - Undaunted expansion.

Beginning with its HP, Vileplume has a healthy amount at 120 HP, making it difficult to knock out. Moreover, in terms of its weakness, it is unique among Grass-Type Pokémon being in that it is not weak to Fire, but to Psychic. This can be a definite advantage to a Grass-Type deck because Vileplume can withstand Fire-Type decks, which usually are what Grass-Type decks are weak to.

Moving onto its Poke-Body, Allergy Flower, it is an extremely useful Poke-Body. Although both players are barred from using trainer cards, this can definitely be used to the player's advantage in terms of strategy. This Poke-Body would be detrimental to opponents who rely heavily on trainer cards.

Next, looking at its attack, Dazzling Pollen, it is a great attack in that it is a win-win situation. It speaks for itself, whether heads or tails, more damage is inflicted either in the form of counters or condition. And with respect to the amount of energy cards needed, I would say that it is reasonable being that although three energy cards are needed, only two of them have to be Grass-Type.

Lastly, Vileplume's retreat cost is quite reasonable, again. It's not incredibly high and for a Pokémon of this caliber, I would say that it's pretty decent.

Overall, Vileplume is an awesome Pokémon, especially for running a Grass-Type deck. I hope you will, or do, enjoy Vileplume just as much as I do! Vileplume may look cute, but it's also deadly and can put up a fight!

In summary, I give Vileplume a definite 5/5!

Card of the Day Review - Pikachu (Black & White 115)

Hey guys, this is Volcachu and I am back again. Today I will be talking about a very rare Pikachu. This Pikachu is an Ultra Rare and it is very hard to find in the new set (Black & White).

Pikachu is a Basic Electric-Type Pokémon. It has 60 HP which is average for a Basic Pokémon. It has a double weakness to Fighting-Types which has been seeing a lot of play lately. Cards like Machamp Prime (Triumphant 95) and Donphan Prime (HG & SS 107) will make Pikachu useless. Pikachu has no resistance which is normal for most Pikachus.

Pikachu has two attacks which are not the greatest. The first attack is called Energize which needs 1 electric energy. This attack does no damage at all, but it allows the player to attach an Electric energy to this Pikachu. It will give the player the power to recycle the Electric energies which are used in the second attack. Pikachu's second attack is Thunderbolt which can only be used if it has 1 Electric energy and 2 Colourless energies. This attack does a whopping 80 damage, but it comes at a big cost. All energy cards must be discarded from Pikachu. It will take you a long time to recharge for another attack. This is where Energize kicks in and lets you recharge a bit more efficiently. Pikachu's low HP will make it hard to get off another Thunderbolt after the first one.

Overall, I believe that this Pikachu is not suitable for battle because of Pikachu's attacks and low HP. This card is more of a collector's card. If you have this card, you should hang on to it because it is hard to obtain. In conclusion, I give this card a 1.5/5 for the card's ineffectiveness on the battlefield. This card should be kept in the binder and not in the real game.