Ratings are based
on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ... average.
5 is the highest rating.
Otaku
Name: Maintenance
Type: Trainer
Text: Shuffle 2 of the
other cards from your hand into your deck in order to draw
a card.
This is a very good card to look
at… it shows good mechanics used poorly. This card does two
things: it shuffles cards back into your deck
(counter-decking), and lets you draw a card (… draw power
-_-). Two good things… but they counteract each other. The
idea of drawing is to gain access to more cards. Since you
shuffle two cards into your deck from your hand, you not
only make it harder to draw what you need, but you are
throwing two cards that either a)you didn’t need (so you
won’t want to draw them), or b)cards you need (so why get
rid of them?). You also only draw one, and that means that
you might have gotten what you had wanted had you not had
this card in your deck. From the opposite direction, why
draw a card if you are trying to refill your deck? Lastly,
there is the fact that replenishing from your hand is
usually less effective than your discard: something you
haven’t used probably won’t do more than prevent you from
decking, where as something from the discard (which has been
used once already) does that and is likely to be used
again. So this card is bad at both things it does. So you
lose one card from your hand size to increase your deck size
by one.
Had this card had some other
function, the “draw one” might have been good: imagine cards
that are poor to “iffy” right now, like S/ER2… if they let
you draw another card, it’s almost like you just got
a free effect, since you get the next card. If here was a
flexible deck size for Pokémon, then it would
essentially be like getting a free effect.
Long story short, this card
might have been good if it had nabbed the cards fro the
discard, it would have let you add two cards to your deck
(that had proven useful at least once so far), and have a
chance at getting one, or maybe even if it was an and/or
effect. If you didn’t get it, then that’s okay: you’d get
another card. Sadly, that is not the case, so the only use
I can see is if you have some that is more or less perfect
but is a few cards short of 60-or that decks out too
fast-and you have already maxed out on similar but better
Trainers like Energy Search (shrink your deck by two ;) ),
or Mary.
Score (all formats):1/5-I think this is the lowest we can give, and it’s
earned it. =/
-Otaku
Ralphy
I don't know what WoTC was thinking
when they printed this card. Out of control.
Unlimited- No use. This card could
have had some use if it had been a common back in the day. But
even if you have very little cards and don't have much choice
for draw, use Bill. It's a common. No use now either. I guess it
could get you one card back in the deck to prevent decking, but
who is going to use this for that. 1/5 here.
Modified- As far as I know,
Maintenance is not legal. Unless it was reprinted as some
strange promo. But the only promos allowed are Nintendo Black
Stars. n/a
Limited- If for some reason you are
drafting with Base or Base 2, this isn't a bad choice. I would
take it unless there was a Buzz or Chan as the rare, Oak for one
of the uncommons, or good ol' Bill was in the pack as a common.
Helps prevent decking, which is good with a 40 card deck, and it
gets you a fresh card. 4/5 here.
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