Pokemon Card of the Day - Pokemon Tips - Pojo.com

Back to Pojo's Pokemon Site

This is a cool Book!

Pojo's Pokemon Card of the Day

Horsea - Dragon EX

Date Reviewed: 03.03.04

Ratings & Reviews below

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale
1 being the worst. 3 ... average.
5 is the highest rating.

Hedge	Well, ummm, this card is obviously, made for a Kingdra deck :P That’s about all I can say lol… It is probably the slightly better Horsea, with 50HP and stronger attacks… Play it in your Kingdra deck ;/
Ralphy	For the next couple of days, we will be reviewing cards that we have never done before, in any set. Boy am I surprised that nobody has ever done a Horsea before. But why should we have? They all basically suck, is this one any different? Unlimited- You can't really give this a rating without looking at the Seadra, and for that you have wait until Friday... So I will treat Horsea as if it was a BBP. So Electabuzz ownZ with a capital Z and it only has 50 HP, 20 short of the so called "magic number." However, against big fire it has a little Wooper thing going on, and it can stall with it's first attack. I am going to give a 2/5, just because I feel bad for it. Modified- Basically the same thing, but there is no Electabuzz. Sort of a replay form yesterday. 2.25/5 here. Limited- The only place I could see playing this. 50 HP isn't bad and it has all splashable attacks. Lighting is usually pretty weak in drafts, unless someone gets lucky, and it has possible special condition which is always good in a draft. 3/5 here.
Bullados	Strategy for Horsea (Dragons) This is new for me. I’ve never done a Basic Pokemon that evolves into a S2 Pokemon before, so take it easy if I do this wrong… Attributes: Not bad for a Basic that evolves. 50 HP is respectable, weakness to Lightning is expected, as is no resistance, and the retreat cost is average for a Basic that evolves. Attack #1: “Paralyzing Gaze” Flip for paralysis, nothing complex here. This is your standard stalling attack, and, depending on what your opponent’s playing, it could be either one of the strongest, or one of the weakest one-turn stalls out there. However, you don’t want to use him to attack. Attack #2: “Wave Splash” Fair. That’s all I’ll say about this. There really is nothing else to say. Ratings: Unlimited: Not gonna cut it, even his evos aren’t good here. He’s just a target for any random GOW or DG that comes around. 1/5 Modified: Use the Aquapolis #85 Horsea over this one. It has a better stalling attack that does the same amount of damage as this guy’s damaging attack. 2/5 Limited: Colorless attacks, good. Stalling attacks, good. Fair attacks, meh. I say that he’s a good late pick in a Draft and a decent card to just throw into any Limited deck. 2.5/5
Patriarch	Now then, in the words of the Monty Python crew, "...And now for something completely different!" With all the talk of big archetypes and whatnot, we speak of the little guy...Horsea, that is! Hmmm...a basic that evolves twice? Not too bad (keep in mind that the Seadras are generally good to evolve into, and Kingdra ex is a BEAST!). 50 HP is standard for these little, evo-hungry critters, but the useful thing about Horsea is that it's splashable-great for draft, or constructed! Tails-fails paralysis can come in handy, and 20 for two generic energy is standard. -Unlimited (1.5/5): Hmmm...I know there's a better card to play. Less likely to be OHKO'ed than other Horseas, though! -Modified (3.5/5): Now, when rating tiny basics like these, you can't really focus as much on the format, as opposed to OTHER HORSEAS AVAILABLE! I suggest that you either go with this, or reverse thrust Horsea. Unfortunately, a pairing with amphy ex could mean the end if you don't get out fast! -Limited (3.5/5): Definitely a solid basic to use in a draft deck. Status effects are nice, too! Well, later y'all!
Gym Leader Phil	I love this card. No I really do love this card. Stop looking at me like that. Okay folks, EX: Dragon's Horsea (#58) is not exactly an exciting assignment for the Card of the Day. Otaku has the right idea with the card, man, I cannot counter his review. It's like three pages and dead on target for both Horseas (the plural use of Horsea is weird) in EX: Dragon. The hit points are decent enough for a Basic Pokemon. If the hit points were ten less, there would be some conflicts from Neo Genesis Elekid and other twenty damage attacking Lightning Pokemon. Horsea also has two splashable attacks... heh, I made a funny. Most Three Stage Evolution lines include Basic Pokemon with similar attacks from a neighboring evo line. This card is no difference and offers an attack with paralysis and twenty damage for the cost of two random energies. Nothing special, standard stuff. Unlimited - Seriously, are you kidding me? This card would be broiled in this format. 1/5 Modified - While comparing Horseas may not be one the most important decisions you will have to make playing Pokemon, there are better fish in the sea. Aquapolis Horseas (the one that features the attack that retreats Horsea/Kingdra) is a much better choice. Whenever Aquapolis is eventually rotated out of Modified, stick with paralysis instead of smokescreen. Not bad for a common basic, but not something that should become a staple addition to anything else but a Kingdra ex deck. 3/5 Draft - This would be a nice pull to compliment Seadra and Kingdra. Or you may just throw it in for some stalling purposes or color tech due to the colorless costs. Not bad to pull or draft from a pack. Just depends on the overall design of your deck. 4/5 Coaster - EX: Dragon's Horsea makes a perfect coaster for your drinks. When a ring appears on the front, you know it's time to stock up on some more single cards from one of our advertisers. Hurry, while their supplies last! 7/5
psychup 2034	Hey guys, after being away for a LONG time, I'm back at CoTD. I know you all missed me. =P Anyway, let's get down to business; but first, I'd like you to share with you what has been happening to me recently. So on the 15th this month (February), I went to the PCNY Colleseum party event and won my Game Boy tournament, and got a coffee mug and a master trainer certificate. Then the following weak was the City Championships (Feb 22nd) which was just this last Sunday, I went in with a Swampert deck, and went out undefeated with a shiny medal and a box of dragon, not to mention the bye in the State Champs (11-14). Then I found out that I was the only one that made it in the Top 4 (since prizes were only given to the Top 4) in any division with a water deck. Suprisingly little amounts of kingdra ex, maybe because Ampharos ex is WAY overated, along with BAR. But anyway, I'd also like to congratulate some of my friends who went to the tourney. Dan (winner of 15+) and Mike (perfect0ne), Jared, and Patrick who all placed in the Top 4 for their respective divisions. I also like to saw WOW to the guys who finished 2nd in the 11-14 division with an Ampharos ex/Raichu ex/Cacturne/Crawdaunt deck. Very rogue, very nice deck. He won all his matches except for his 3rd round match against me. Enough telling stories and now its time to get down to business. Today's CoTD is Horsea! insert great and wild expression of excitement and applause here It is card #58 from EX: Dragons. Let's take a look at what this card does, since it is a definite staple in any deck. Be sure to run 4 in every deck you play. =P </sarcasm> Horsea [W] 50 HP Basic Pokemon [C] Paralyzing Gaze Flip a coin. If heads, the Defending Pokemon is now Paralyzed. [C][C] Wave Splash 20 Weakness: [L] Resistance: --- Retreat Cost: [C] For the most part, this card is one of the only Horseas to use to evolve to Kingdra ex, once the new format kicks in. However, until then, the Aquapolis Horsea is still prefered among most players. I don't really have much to say about this card, there is just not much there is to this card. I'm not sure why. In the Unlimited environment, the most predominantely placed Kingdra is the Neo Revelations one, because it doesn't draw your opponent two prizes. However, the Kingdra ex is a better advantage because it can be comboed with Pokemon Center and/or Scoop Up, since its Genetic Memory costs only 1 energy. No matter which Kindgra is played, the Horsea choice will most likely not be this one. One bonus is that this card can use colorless energy, something not very bad, but not very outstanding in unlimited and modified. In modified, this card is not that great, besides a cruddy illustration, more and more players are turning to use this card as Kingdra ex can become a predominant force in the new metagame. This doesn't make the card better; it is just a step that Kingdra has to go through before it can hit play. With that in mind, the 50/50 chance of paralysis on the first turn is nice, though it does no damage. The 20 damage for [C][C] is only useful at certain times when you can get a Torchic knockout on turn 2. Overall, this is a card that players will be forced to play in Kingdra ex decks. Other than that, this card has no combinations or strategies with other cards whatsoever. In draft, this card can be of a bit better use. The colorless requirements help nicely in a grass deck (ninjask or grovyle) to counter the combusken problem. You don't need to have a specific type attached in order to attack. This reminds me a lot of Electrike from R/S. Super Thunder Wave is just Paralyzing Gaze, and the second attack does the same thing for the same cost. Horsea is definitely playable in draft because of its flexibility. This should be the only format that this card can be considered as t3ch in a deck. Time for the ratings. Unlimited: I'll pass on this one. If you're playing water, its either Blastoise or Kingdra, with all the Horseas to choose from, this card won't be seeing much action out of the binder. 0.5/5 Modified: Well, not any better here. Decks generally are slower because of the dependancy on evolutions, but this card can't be very fast, nor can it deal any heavy damage. Just a tool to get Kingdra ex and Aquapolis Kingdra out. 0.5/5 Draft: Not a bad card here. Very good in the early and middle game, and also can dish out some minor damage. Not to be overlooked, but not to be trusted on to win the match for you. 2.5/5 Thanks for reading my pointless review on Horsea. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! ._. sigh
Otaku	Name: Horsea Set/Card#: Dragon, #33/97 Type: Water Stage: Basic HP: 40 Weakness: Lightning Resistance: None Retreat: C Attack#1: (C) Retaliate [10x] Flip a coin. If head, this attack does 10 damage times the number of heads. Attack#2: (W) Smokescreen [10] If the Defending Pokémon tries to attack during your opponent’s next turn, your opponent flips a coin. If tails, that attack does nothing. Name: Horsea Set/Card#: Dragon, #/97 Type: Water Stage: Basic HP: Weakness: Lightning Resistance: None Retreat: C Attack#1: (C) Paralyzing Gaze Flip a coin. If heads, the Defending Pokémon is now Paralyzed. Attack#2: (CC) Wave Splash [20] Attributes: There are many different Horsea: the ones above are just from the EX Dragon set. Horsea’s value are determined mainly by their attacks. This is odd for an evolving Basic, as normally their use is determined by their HP/Retreat. I’ll explain why the abilities matter more later. The HP is 40 for #33/97, and is 50 for #58/97. 40 is pretty poor. 50 isn’t much better, but at least means you aren’t going to be OHKO’d by a Neo Genesis Elekid. Weakness is Electric, which is not really good for either format. In Unlimited, while Electric Pokémon aren’t in every deck, they are in enough of them, and most can OHKO #33/97 with a single energy. In Modified, there is less Electric in play, but just enough bigger decks have it (BAR, Ampharos ex) that it is still a concern. No Resistance is the worst Resistance. -_- Finally, a Retreat of one is easy to pay for, at least. Abilities: Retaliate on #33/97 wouldn’t be bad if it weren’t a flip or if the over-pricing was to balance out a killer second effect. Smokescreen, it’s second attack, is a decent stalling Tool, though if your opponent punches through it, it likely will be the end of that Horsea. Overall, sub-par. #58/97 is a fair Pokémon. Paralyzing Gaze is a touch over-priced in my opinion, but Wave Splash is fair and useful. Uses/Combinations: The obvious is in a Kingdra or Kingdra ex deck, and this is why their attacks matter: Genetic Memory is possessed by Neo Revelation Kingdra and Kingdra ex. Retaliate isn’t bad on those guys (they are beefier in HP than a Horsea), but it’s not great either. Smokescreen would only be used as a last resort. Paralyzing Gaze and Wave Splash are also less than stellar attacks for use via Genetic Memory. Ratings Unlimited: 1.5/5-And this is only because Kingdra decks are not unheard of here-the other versions have just as good or better attributes and most have better attacks. Modified2-on-2/TMP: 2.5/5-Less options means these are less crummy. Still would use a different Pokémon-combine the Aquapolis Horsea with Reverse Thrust with Expedition Magby, Kingdra ex, and High Pressure System and instant Baby Porter. Limited: 3/5-Decent Draft picks-Smokescreen is great for stalling in this format, and the all Colorless costs of the second one make it an easy way to add water to your deck. Summary Good for drafting and little else.

Pojo.com is here to provide guidance to all Pokemon trainers out there. Whether it's the Gameboy Game, N64 or the Trading Card Game, PoJo.com provides all the wisdom you desire.

If you have cool game tips, a killer deck, or breaking news ... send them to us. We'll post it on the site ... and give you all the credit.