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Now for the fourth pick of our Top 5 Reprints of BW:
Legendary Treasures:
Mewtwo EX!
Mewtwo EX
was originally released in BW: Next Destinies as
both 54/99 and 98/99 (the latter being the Full Art
version).
We then received a re-release in the form of BW Promo
BW45.
Interestingly, the BW: Legendary Treasures
numbers 54/113 and uses the near identical art… perhaps
identical as I am just referencing scans and some of the
“effects” look to have different shading.
Mewtwo EX
didn’t need the reprint to be legal – all previous
printings are within the cut off for the current
Modified Format.
This will likely keep the card legal through the
next set rotation unless it is a rather drastic and/or
delayed rotation, which I consider unlikely.
Mewtwo EX
was hands down the best Pokémon-EX out of the original
Pokémon-EX we received in BW: Next Destinies.
Each set since has added more Pokémon-EX,
including at least one that (on its own or in specific
decks) has rivaled
Mewtwo EX.
The format no longer revolves around it, but
lately it has seen resurgence in play.
At this point
we’ll be diving into the realm of speculation as I lack
sufficient data on the format after the changes in the
rules that went into effect November 8th.
Mewtwo EX
still enjoys phenomenal Stats, though the Psychic
Weakness is still an Achilles Heel that allows it to be
KOed as easily as it can KO other Pokémon.
As implied, there are also just several prominent
decks that can hit hard enough to OHKO it regardless
(the rivals mentioned above).
Mewtwo EX
can no longer be used for a quick FTKO because you no
longer can attack if you go first; a rule change I
grudgingly accept because the designers refuse to stop
designing cards that have overpowered attacks they can
access first turn.
It is a real shame because some of the formats I
enjoyed most didn’t have this problem and instead were
made enjoyable because the best thing to do first turn
was use your attack in setting up.
Mewtwo EX
can also no longer employ
Pokémon Catcher
to reliably
force up a Benched target for a strategic (or just easy)
OHKO. This
and the previously listed change may not help
Mewtwo EX as
much as they hurt it, but they do help it.
Mewtwo EX
was its own worst enemy, vulnerable to an opponent using
their own copy, a
Double Colorless
Energy, and a
Plus Power
(later
Hypnotoxic Laser) to secure a OHKO against a copy
sans Energy.
This meant opening with it risked a donk, and
building one on your Bench risked a OHKO (especially as
less of those cards were required).
Now
Mewtwo EX no longer fears these issues either and
its own supporting Pokémon are similarly secure… which
allows it to rely on brute force.
For Modified, expect a lot of “sort of” new or returning
decks that use
Mewtwo EX to obliterate the opposition.
With the new rules,
Mewtwo EX is
comfortable being backed with either Abilities or
Trainers, or even just a clutch
Double Colorless
Energy as only a few cards can take it out without
being loaded with Energy themselves (and thus vulnerable
to a retaliatory X-Ball).
In both cases
you’ll also need to be aware of other solid attackers as
well – not many that won’t need an Ability and/or
Trainers to act as back-up, but with one or the other
and especially both you should be ready for
something
else to pop up after you take down a
Mewtwo EX.
For Unlimited,
Mewtwo EX is in a similar position to how I
described Keldeo
EX yesterday.
Decks that win (or lock) you down on the first
turn take a hit with the new rules but the best remain
dangerously effective.
If you are playing for fun or just prefer using a
more “straightforward” strategy,
Mewtwo EX is
literally another great attacker for the Rain
Dance/Deluge set, plus more flexible in that any
Mewtwo EX
can use most Energy acceleration.
So flexible that it makes tricks like surviving
via a Focus Band,
healing completely via
Max Potion
or Scoop Up,
and getting ready to attack again quite plausible.
For Limited play,
Mewtwo EX is
a must play.
If you are going the +39 route and go first, your
opponent has to have a Pokémon that specifically
undercuts this strategy, such as using the reprint of
Safeguard
Sigilyph (BW: Legendary Treasures 66/113) or
have an amazing attacker that can outpace
Mewtwo EX…
which mostly requires sacrificing another attacker
because head to head, I don’t think anything outpaces
Mewtwo EX.
Just mind Weakness and Resistance in your
calculations.
If you go second, they have slightly better odds,
but in either case it takes some extreme exceptions to
take out a solo
Mewtwo EX.
If you really are worried about those exceptions,
Mewtwo EX
still fits into any deck, even running alongside another
“+39” worthy Pokémon in either set!
Ratings
Unlimited:
3.75/5
Modified:
4.35/5
Limited:
4.99/5
Summary
As it stands,
Mewtwo EX remains the best near-universal attacker.
Not every deck needs it, but any deck can make
good use of it unless it somehow clashes with something
unique to that deck.
This is a card that reminds us why I wanted us to
be allowed up to two places after the decimal point when
scoring – Mewtwo
EX is not the force it was when I scored it higher
than this in previous reviews, but it is mostly because
of other powerful cards that were introduced providing
alternatives.
Scoring isn’t a precise process, but varying
things so slightly seems adequate at communicating the
point.
Mewtwo EX
didn’t make my list, because I intentionally excluded
cards that were still Modified legal before this latest
printing; without such a provision this probably would
have been one of my top three picks.
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