Skip straight to the scores and summary for a
concise overview.
Please note that while I denote δ Delta
Species Pokémon by adding a δ to the end of
their name, but that said symbol is not actually
part of their name for gaming purposes to my
understanding. For example, a “Pokémon δ” can
Evolve from or into a non-Pokémon δ, so long as
no other rules are being broken. That is, I can
Evolve Dratini δ into a Dark Dragonair,
plain Dragonair, of the “Dragonair δ”.
I cannot, however, Evolve a Dark
Dragonair into a Dragonite δ or a
Dragonair δ into a Dark Dragonite.
Also, two sets names that make things confusing:
I will write out EX Holon Phantoms since I want
to use HP for Hit Points, and remember, Pokémon
δ (Pokémon with δ Delta Species) in their card
come from more than just EX Delta Species.
Name:
Altaria ex δ
Set:
EX Dragon Frontiers
Card#:
90/101
Rarity:
Pokémon-ex
Pokémon-ex Rule:
When Pokémon-ex has been Knocked Out, your opponent
takes 2 Prize cards.
Type:
Water
Stage:
1 (Evolves from Swablu)
HP:
100
Weakness:
Colorless
Resistance:
Grass, Fighting
Retreat:
C
Poké-Power:
Extra Boost
Once during your turn (before your attack), you may
attach a basic Energy card from your hand to 1 of
your Stage 2 Pokémon-ex. This power can’t be used
if Altaria ex is affected by a Special Condition.
Attack:
(WCC) Healing Light [60]
Remove 1 damage counter from each of your
Pokémon.
Name:
Swablu δ
Set:
EX Dragon Frontiers
Card#:
65/101
Type:
Water
Stage:
Basic
HP:
40
Weakness:
Lightning
Resistance:
Fighting
Retreat:
C
Attack:
(W) Splash About [10+]
If Swablu has less Energy attached to it than
the Defending Pokémon, this attack doe s10
damage plus 10 more damage.
Attributes:
Altaria ex is a Pokémon δ, so it can be
helped or hurt by Holon Legacy, be discarded
for an extra card of draw with Holon’s Adventurer,
etc. Instead of being Colorless (its proper type),
it is Water. With the format still shaping up, it’s
hard to tell how beneficial this will be, but most
formats we get at least one prominent Fire-Type
deck, and those decks tend to be Water Weak, so for
now I’ll say that’s a good thing. It is also a
Pokémon-ex, meaning it is excluded from many cards,
for better or worse, leading to potential
compatibility issues in addition to the need for
superior Attributes and Abilities to compensate for
losing an extra Prize when it is KO’d.
Altaria ex
is a Stage 1 Pokémon. It Evolves from Swablu:
the Swablu δ is small but has a decent
attack. Aside from being Colorless, all the other
Swablu have the same Attributes as this one,
so the deciding factor is Abilities. The others all
have fair, roughly as useful attacks, but they also
have Poké-Bodies that protect them, and as such one
should go with either the EX Deoxys or EX Emerald
version of Swablu, maybe a mix of both. As a
Stage 1 Pokémon, we must also keep that in mind when
evaluating the rest of the card.
100 HP is low for a Stage 1 Pokémon-ex, though just
on the edge of being playable. It is Colorless
Weak, which is probably the worst: if the deck does
become strong then everyone can hit the Weakness by
using Crystal Shard. We do get two different
types of Resistance, though: Grass and Fighting.
Both tend to “pop up out of nowhere” in terms of
tournament winning decks, so while it might not seem
so great now, it could be a huge issue come late in
the tournament season when all the “secret decks”
finally hit. A Retreat of one is almost
disappointing given the Pokémon, but still quite
easy to pay and an obvious asset.
Abilities:
Extra Boost is one of those Poké-Powers that breaks
the Extra Energy attachment rule. It’s once per
turn, though multiples stack. It’s restricted to
Basic Energy and it’s from hand, which further
limits its use. Most importantly, it’s only useable
on Stage 2 Pokémon-ex! Still, even with that, we
all know extra Energy attachments are potent and
you’ll seem there are still some prime candidates in
the next section.
Healing Light is a solid attack: you pay for 35
points of damage, but do 60 and heal all of your
guys by one damage counter. Though Altaria ex
appears meant for a life of Bench sitting, this
isn’t a bad attack (just not good enough to get the
card played on its own).
Uses and
Combinations:
Pretty useless unless you combine it with a Stage 2
Pokémon-ex. At first this seems obscene, but then
you remember that, while we lack a “Quick Search”
Pokémon (thank goodness – that thing really skewed
things) we still have excellent Supporters and
Poké-Powers to fuel assorted decks, and so a
“reverse” LBS deck where the Stage 1 is the
energizing Bench Sitter and the Stage 2 is the big
attacker is perfectly feasible. A quick search on
www.pokepedia.net shows 23 potential
candidates. You’d think we’d eliminate any Pokémon
with Darkness or Metal Energy requirements, but
there’s the magical combo we abused last format:
Holon’s Castform/Electrode/Magneton
you can use Extra Boost to drop a Basic Energy card
and then your normal Energy attachment to drop a
Holon’s Pokémon as mentioned above: now you have
two of any Energy in play and one Energy back in
hand (that a second Extra Boost can drop again).
So instead, we’ll eliminate candidates by how
effective this trick is. Big attacks matter, but
more important are cards that not only have a hard
time setting up but staying set up with respect to
Energy needs. Pokémon that discard some or all of
their Energy when they attack are the best
candidates. So that leaves Meganium ex from
EX Unseen Force, Salamence ex from EX Deoxys,
and Typhlosion ex from EX Unseen Forces.
Meganium ex has a good Energy attaching Poké-Power
that works each turn, so let’s focus on Salamence
ex and Typhlosion ex. Bright Flame is
just a nice, viscous, hard hitting attack: 120 means
that only big Pokémon-ex are safe without
protection, and being Colorless means Resistance
will almost never be that Protection. It also has a
bench hitting attack to tide you over, and one of
the two Energy Types it uses is Water, matching
Altaria ex itself. There are also some nice,
solid Salamence available to run with it as a
back-up. Typhlosion ex can attach Energy to
itself, but only when it’s Evolved from hand and the
amount depends upon the opponent’s Bench size. So a
2-2 Altaria ex line might give it some much
needed back-up and make Kindle wonderfully
controlling: you attach an extra Energy and discard
it, and you force them to discard an Energy card as
well.
Ratings
Unlimited:
1/5 – There are better ways to attach extra Energy,
and they aren’t restricted to just Stage 2
Pokémon-ex.
Modified:
3.25/5 – Not a bad Bench Sitter for Stage 2
Pokémon-ex decks, but nothing jumps out at me even
after looking.
Limited:
4/5 – The Poké-Power might be a waste here, but the
Resistance is great and attack serviceable.
Additionally, most Pokémon in this set are on the
small side, lessening the disadvantage of its low
HP.
Summary
Altaria ex
is a promising Pokémon in that you know you should
be able to get a lot out of the Power… not just with
anything currently at your disposal. Something to
keep an eye on.
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