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Pojo's Pokemon Card of the Day

 

Hippowdon Lv. X

Rising Rivals

Date Reviewed: 07.14.09

Ratings & Reviews Summary

Modified: 3.00
Limited: 2.75

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

Back to the main COTD Page


Meganium45
OK, can you say a card that is CLOSE but just not good enough.

When this monster came out, everyone saw that power, and the fact that Hippo and Machamp and Gengar each had one energy attacks that could be abused and went…”There HAS to be a combo here, right?”

We tried. We tried. It failed.

The power, if sprayed or shut off, could not be retried for the REST of the game…bad.

Weakness to water, retreat cost of 4, both not real good against a kingdra who could one shot the beast with a pluspower.

Still, a card that you always have to watch out for. You do get to shuffle everything in your deck, so it is reusable, but still…

Attack, 4 for 40 to 2 pokemon is vastly overcosted. Maybe as a finishing move, but still…meh.

Ratings…

Modified 3.5/5 Not the WORST card, but certainly not the best. Has its “combo buddies” that it works well with. With so much Luxray around, could actually be playable.

Limited 2/5 OK, you will draft it because it is a level X, but much less playable here. People actually play water in Rising Rivals Limited (Vaporeon, Glaceon, Quagsire and others)

Vince
Baby Mario
Top 4 UK Nats

Hippowdon LV X

 

Now this is a LV X that DID get some hype before it was released.

 

Hippowdon LV X is a card that was never going to get attention for its attack (40 to 2 benched Pokémon for [F][F][C][C] is average at best, and the Stage 1 form does better). Its HP (130 for a Stage 1 LV X) certainly gives it some staying power, even with the X2 Water Weakness (just watch out for Kingdra and Palkia G). Its Retreat cost of four is horrible, but what did you expect? It’s a giant hippo.

 

The main focus of this card has always been its Sand Reset PokePower. This allows you ONCE PER GAME (remember that bit) to return all cards on the field (apart from Pokémon and Supporters) to their respective decks. That’s all Energy, Tools, Stadiums and TMs gone just like that! Obviously, this can be a great way of staging a come back if your opponent gets a brilliant set up (with all their Pokémon fully powered), while you struggle. It is also one of the very few ways that the game offers of getting rid of that pesky Unown G (KOing the Pokémon it is attached to, or using Dusknoir DP’s Dark Palm Power are the others). It may seem like a bit of a desperation move (you lose your Energy and Tools too), but if timed correctly, it could offer a way back into a game from a losing situation.

 

So why isn’t Hippowdon LV X seeing more play, either as a main attacker or as a tech? Well it all comes down to a ruling that was made on the use of the Sand Reset Power.  That ruling states that if the Sand Reset Power is stopped (for example by Power Spray or Alakazam MT’s Power Cancel), it’s Power is still counted as being used, even though its action was blocked. With all the SP decks running around, nearly all of them running Power Spray, it is a fair chance that you will not get to use Hippowdon’s Power at all, as most opponents will be saving up a Power Spray the moment they realise you are running it.

 

So,what you are left with is a very risky and difficult to play LV X. If SP is uncommon in your area (not likely), then give it a try. Otherwise you probably will find playing Hippowdon LV X a very frustrating experience.

 

Rating

 

Modified: 2.25 (like Ludicolo PT, its playability was severely cut by a ruling)

Limited: 3.5 (good attacks for Limited, and if you need it, the Power can’t be stopped here)

Steel
Winger
Welcome back to the Pokemon COTD!

Today we're going to look at Hippowdon LV. X. Let's look at the basics first: 130 HP is excellent for a Stage 1 LV. X, this guy will definately survive a hit or two... unless you run into some Water-type Pokemon; it'll have trouble with those guys due to it's x2 Weakness to them. Kingdra (LA) with a PlusPower can OHKO this guy. There's also a -20 Resistance to Lightning-types, so Luxray GL will have a bit of trouble damaging it. A Retreat Cost of 4 is, like Hippowdon itself, heavy. If you use this guy, make sure you have a way to switch it out of need be.

Now, Hippowdon LV. X has a Poke-Body that's very unique in more ways than one: Sand Reset. It forces both you and your opponent to shuffle everything in play except Pokemon and Supporters already played into the deck. Basically, all Stadiums, Energies, Pokemon Tools and other cards that attach to a Pokemon (like PlusPower) are shuffled back into the deck. Hippowdon LV. X doesn't even need to be active to do it. If your opponent is set up like an inpenetrable fortress, just Sand Reset and get rid of the energy and everything else. T-Tar and other Pokemon that rely on having a lot of Energy on the field (such as Leafeon LV. X [MD] and Gardevior [PT]) really do not like this card. It's also the only way to get rid of an opposing Unown [G]. Where Pachirisu (GE) fails, Hippowdon LV. X prevails. It is a great power that can turn a game around, especially combined with Upper Energy when your opponent is ahead, but there's a catch: Sand Reset can only be used once a game. Meaning you must be very careful when using this against SP Pokemon (because Power Spray will prevent the power from taking effect) and Alakazam (MT) (because its power does the exact same thing as Power Spray). Alakazam isn't that widespread, but SP decks are abundant. I suggest Looker's Investigation to view your opponent's hand before pulling the power off.

Hippowdon LV. X also has an extra attack in additon to whatever regular Hippowdon you place this on. Double Shoot requires 4 Energy, 2 of which must be Fighting. Discard 2 Fighting Energies attached to it for a 40 snipe to two Pokemon on the bench. This is a weaker version of Blastiose's (PT) Double Launcher attack, but unlike that attack, it's possible to use Double Shoot next turn. How? Stark Mountain. Provided you already have energy attached to another Pokemon, you can move it around with Stark Mountain in addition to your normal energy attachment. Claydol, and possibly something else, can be 2HKOed with this guy if you play your cards right.

So, how can you best use this card? Try to use Sand Reset before your energy attachment, that way you'll have a bit of a head start on your opponent afterwards. Hippowdon (RR) can attack for 1 energy, and that particular attack gives you energy acceleration from the discard pile. Trapinch (RR) does the same thing with its Power. Upper Energy is excellent with this if you're behind. People like to combine Hippowdon with Flygon (RR) to mitigate the high retreat cost. Togekiss (GE) lets you attach a lot of energy at once to Hippowdon, providing you with possibly another way to quickly build energy for Double Shoot.

Ratings:

Modified: 3.75/5 The Power is great, and I believe it merits a "once per game" stipulation. Great survivability, and a sniping attack to boot.
Limited: 3.75/5 Due to Sand Reset, games here could go on for quite a while. SP Pokemon have Flint's Willpower though. Combine this with low cost attacks and energy accelration, as always.

This is Steel_Winger, until next time!


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