With the end of a week of vacation, we
resume looking at cards from BW:
Dragons Exalted /124: today’s
fragrant offering is
Roserade (BW: Dragons Exalted
14/124), which I have scarcely
discussed.
Will it be a pleasing aroma or a
foul stench?
Stats
Roserade
is a Stage 1 Grass-Type Pokémon.
Right now being a Stage 1 just
means
Roserade is slower than a Basic
Pokémon and lacks access to similar
support, but at least it doesn’t need
yet another card to get into play like a
Stage 2 would, even if said Stage 2
Pokémon used
Rare Candy.
Being a Grass-Type is not
especially beneficial right now; the
best that see play are run in other
decks, and they lack any useful, true
Type Support or even pseudo-Type Support
built around Grass Energy, unless you
include being a part of
Blend Energy GRPD as “support”.
90 HP is small, but also a legal target
for
Level Ball; it isn’t a guaranteed
OHKO for all decks, but most decks will
have a main attacker that can do the
deed and a few more can do it with a
small assist.
However it would really need to
be about 40 HP bigger for it to be
significantly resilient and that is
asking a lot.
Fire Weakness isn’t as bad as you would
expect right now; there are not that
many brilliant Fire-Type attackers,
though when you do encounter one don’t
expect to last long.
For now the Water Resistance is
about as useful as the Weakness is
dangerous; a select few Water decks are
seeing serious play.
Still it makes
Roserade more challenging to OHKO,
and by a good margin; 110 damage isn’t
impossible but it also isn’t easy.
Last for the stats is the single
Energy Retreat Cost; small and easy to
pay, but not perfect.
Effects
Roserade
has two attacks; the first is named
“Crosswise Whip” and for the small price
of (G) you get to flip four coins,
scoring 30 points of damage per result
of “heads”.
Probability is not my strong
suit, so to cover my bases I’ll just
state this in terms of possible outcomes
in terms of base damage.
The slightly odd formatting is to
keep it all nice and even:
000 damage = 1 of 16 possible results,
or 6.25%
030 damage = 4 of 16 possible results,
or 25.0%
060 damage = 6 of 16 possible results,
or 37.5%
090 damage = 4 of 16 possible results,
or 25.0%
120 damage = 1 of 16 possible results,
or 6.25%
For one Energy
that isn’t too bad a spread.
The average is a solid 60 points
of damage, and the threat of those
higher scores means that even though you
can’t count on a big hit, your opponent
can’t rely on a small one, either.
60 or more damage is good to
great, so that means only five of the 16
results, or 31.25%, are “bad”.
You won’t be taking a Pokémon EX
or most Evolutions down in one hit, but
smaller supporting Pokémon are
vulnerable and you can put a lot of
stuff into KO range for another shot.
Poison Point, the second attack,
requires (GCC), is much less
encouraging.
The good news is that it gives
reliable damage topped off with Poison,
and most Energy acceleration (including
Double Colorless Energy) can get it
ready quickly.
The bad news is that damage is
just 60 points, about 30 short of what
it needs to be a threat in this format.
Usage
There are two
Roselia to pick from this format:
BW: Dragons Exalted 12/124 and
BW: Dragons Exalted 13/124.
Both are Basic Grass-Type Pokémon
with Fire Weakness, Water Resistance,
and requiring a single Energy to
retreat; decent but not brilliant.
So it comes down to the attacks.
BW: Dragons Exalted
12/124 has two attacks; the first lets
you flip two coins for 10 damage per
“heads”, and requires (C).
For (G) it heals
30 damage and
removes all Special Conditions from
itself, which isn’t especially useful
since being attacked is how you’re most
likely to accumulate such things in the
first place, and the HP won’t survive an
attack past the first turn or two of the
game.
BW: Dragons Exalted 13/124
has one attack for (GC) that does 10
damage plus another 20 if you get
“heads” on a coin toss.
That… is terrible.
Go with the other version.
There is also another
Roserade (BW: Dragons Exalted
15/124), and we’ve reviewed it for you
before.
Its stats are identical to
today’s card, but with a
“coming-into-play” Ability that allows
you to search your deck for a card and
add it to your hand.
For (GC), it can hit for 30
points of damage, with a coin flip that
can add 20 more points of damage plus
inflict Paralysis.
This version does see play, but
I’ll be honest I question its usage;
this could be one of my infamous
oversights or players may just really
like
Roserade.
When it comes to Modified, I would skip
both.
When it comes to Unlimited, I
would skip both.
When it comes to Limited, the
fact that it is a “double” line, coupled
with the lower average HP scores and
damage outputs, and finally the fact
that all members of the line only need a
single
Grass Energy for specific Energy
requirements makes the line wonderful
here.
Unless you absolutely can’t make
room for a few
Grass Energy, go for it!
Ratings
Unlimited:
1/5
Modified:
1.5/5
Limited:
4.75/5
Combos with:
Victini (BW: Noble Victories
14/101, 98/101)
Summary
Roserade
has one good-but-flippy
attack, but not two or a relevant
Ability. That isn’t enough to justify
running a 90 HP Stage 1 Pokémon.
Use the other version as search
if you must, but definitely avoid this
one.
