Welcome to the final
week of our Top 12 list!
This should be
posted Monday August 26th,
2013 which means we are
still technically under
the BW-On format, but as
I sincerely doubt any
tournaments are
happening today or
tomorrow, I’ll finally
review strictly for the
new format that features
BW: Next Destinies
and later sets, Black
Star Promo cards
numbered BW33 and
higher, and the
McDonald’s Collection.
With that out of the
way, let us get to our
fifth most Promising
Pick of Plasma Blast:
Caitlin (BW:
Plasma Blast
78/101)!
Stats
Caitlin
is a Trainer-Supporter,
affected by Trainer
targeting cards (like
Skyla) in addition
to Supporter specific
cards (like
Jirachi EX).
Nothing has
changed with the newest
set or the rotation:
Supporters will be the
driving force for
getting resources out of
your deck, and thus
Caitlin will be
forced to compete for
deck space against many
staples and near staples
of competitive play.
Effects
Caitlin
is draw supporter; you
are allowed to place as
many cards as you wish
from your hand onto the
bottom of your deck and
then draw an equal
amount.
The nature of
this makes
Caitlin the weakest
“draw Supporter” in
terms of card advantage;
no matter how much you
draw it will always be a
“-1” because you are
losing as many cards
from your hand as you
draw in addition to
“spending”
Caitlin herself.
I am aware of no
combo that would allow
you to change this fact.
The draw power of
Caitlin in actual
terms is variable; if I
understand the rules
correctly you can get a
maximum draw of 57 cards
with
Caitlin from an
unlikely and almost
certainly pointless play
of returning a 57 card
hand.
We arrive at that
number through an
opponent using cards
that KO themselves so
that you can take five
of your six Prizes, and
of course you also need
to us a copy of
Caitlin and have a
Pokémon in play the
whole time, so 60-3=57.
Yes, I not only
wasted time on figuring
that out, but I even did
it wrong multiple times;
go ahead and enjoy a
chuckle at my expense so
that it was worth it.
You also can draw as few
as zero cards with
Caitlin, though as I
don’t have a ruling I am
uncertain if that is
because you just can’t
play her if she is the
only card in hand or if
you are allowed to
bottom deck zero cards
and “draw” zero cards.
I would ere on
the side of caution and
assume you can’t
actually play her unless
you bottom deck one
card, so the technical
minimum is then one.
Unlike a “shuffle and
draw” card, there is no
risk of getting the
exact same card you put
on the bottom of the
deck back, unless you
put more back into your
deck than your deck
originally had left.
As for quantity
you can expect to draw
using
Caitlin, consider
the average hand size of
your deck after playing
everything you want to
play that turn and less
any cards you would want
to sit in your hand.
As such,
Caitlin usage favors
combos and large hands
from before it is
played, either because
you are trying to get
the remaining card(s)
for one into hand or
because you have
something that directly
combos with bottom
decking.
There is of course more
to winning the game than
having the most cards in
hand.
Caitlin is about
control of your own hand
and deck while drawing.
Cards you don’t
need can be placed on
the bottom of your deck,
meaning if you don’t
shuffle they won’t show
up until the last
possible moment.
For better or
worse you are not losing
them completely (as if
you had discarded) but
just delaying them for
later (and again,
shuffling can change
that).
This level of
self-control can set up
for a few different
combos, described later.
In general,
Caitlin would seem
useful for decks that
need to remove “clutter”
from hand but don’t wish
to discard it, that need
to save useful cards in
hand while still drawing
more cards, and for
decks that need to draw
without shuffling the
deck.
Personally I
suspect raw draw power
is more useful, but this
presents enough options
to still seem useful.
Usage
The card can always be
used to aid in set-up
(barring no other cards
in hand), but whether or
not it is the best
choice for a given slot
is the point of the
entire review, so let us
get a little more
specific.
I’ve already
covered the general,
abstract usage that
would apply to most if
not all decks.
There are some
cards still in the
format that target the
bottom of your deck;
this allows you to
utilize such cards (like
Cover Fossil)
without relying on blind
luck or having triggered
Prehistoric Call (an
Ability seen on recent
Restored Pokémon from
this set).
There is synergy between
Caitlin and
Professor Juniper;
you cannot use them on
the same turn unless you
are running
Magnezone (BW:
Plasma Storm
46/135), but
Caitlin can be
played to improve hand
“quality”,
bottom-decking cards
from hand that you just
couldn’t use right away.
If your designed
your deck well and it
cooperates, then you’ll
find yourself discarding
much less for
Professor Juniper as
you’ll have less hand
“clutter”.
Related to that
is the synergy between
Caitlin and
Bianca,
Caitlin and
Bicycle, as well as
Caitlin and
Tropical
Beach:
less clutter in hand
should increase the
yields from those three.
In the end, I don’t
believe the above is
enough to justify
running
Caitlin as anything
more than the third best
choice for big draw
power; despite their
draw backs
Professor Juniper
and
N will remain
superior for all but a
few possible decks even
in decks that don’t
rapidly play down a
player’s hand and/or are
trying to set-up
multi-card combos where
the component’s can’t be
played down separately
over the course of one
(or more) turns.
Even being the
third choice should not
be assumed; I just know
that
Professor Juniper
and
N are clearly better
except under extenuating
circumstances.
Ratings
Unlimited:
This is a format where
you have non-Supporter
draw power that I
recommend you stick to;
if you need a Supporter,
save it for something
“special” like
Seeker.
It isn’t totally
worthless, as it does
function better with a
large hand and trying to
piece together combos,
it is just what already
exists is so effective
already.
2/5
Modified:
Not for every deck, but
there are a few where
Caitlin will likely
see play.
Some players
still haven’t warmed to
Colress and/or never
liked
N (which is potent
but can be a tricky
play), so there may be
more room than I realize
for it.
3/5
Limited:
This is a draw card in a
Limited format that will
almost always function.
If you pull it,
you run it.
5/5
Summary
Caitlin
is a solid addition to
the Supporter line-up
but I don’t expect it to
become even a loose
staple anytime soon.
On my own list, I
surprisingly her in the
number five slot… and I
am pretty sure I placed
her too high.
She’s on the
happy side of “average”
for the Pokémon TCG, and
for better or worse
right now the game
belongs to card pool of
mostly “great” cards.
