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Pojo's Pokemon Card of the Day

Baby Mario Top 4 UK Nats	Raichu LV 46 Raichu is another one of those cards that the card designers seem to love. We have currently NINE legal Raichu in Modified, including an SP Basic and a LV X! Apart from a few decks which tried to use the LV X when it was released, Raichu has not seen the same love from players. This has a lot to do with the fact that Raichu almost always appears in the form of a low HP Stage 1 with very Energy-intensive attacks. Not good in a fast OHKO format like the one we have now. The lastest version of this Pokémon comes with the kind of stats you would expect: 90 HP, Fighting Weakness (bleh), Metal Resistance (decent) and a Retreat cost of one (acceptable). While 90 HP seems reasonable for a Stage 1, it puts it at a disadvantage in a metagame filled with faster SP Basics boasting equal or higher HP, and more powerful Stage 2 monsters with 130+ HP. As for Raichu’s attacks, well, the first one isn’t bad: for a single Lightning Energy you do a mere 20 damage, but attach a Tool to Raichu and the attack will also spread 20 damage to each of your opponent’s unevolved Pokémon. That spread can be very nice early game, when your opponent hasn’t had the opportunity to evolve, and is obviously effective against all-Basic decks. There are a few decent tools to use as well: Expert Belt will increase Raichu’s attack and HP (though it also carries considerable risk) or you could always use an Unown like G (protection from Effects) or Q (to give Raichu free Retreat). Raichu’s second attack is much less interesting, being a vanilla 70 for three Energy and a discard. That’s an underwhelming return for the Energy investment and not something to build a deck around. So, is the first attack good enough to earn Raichu some play? Well, I can see it being useful in a Raichu LV X deck: that early 20 spread could give the LV X more options when it comes to using Link Lightning and Voltage Shoot in an attempt to take two Prizes in one turn. Whether this makes it a better choice than Raichu MT, with its Energy acceleration attack, or Raichu SF, with a wider range of better-costed and more effective attacks is questionable. One certain thing is that it doesn’t do anything like enough to make the relatively slow and fragile Raichu LV X deck worth reviving any time soon. If you really want to play Raichu (and I’m still not recommending it), I suggest holding off until the next set is released . . . (yes, that is a hint!) Rating Modified: 2 (interesting first attack, but ultimately a mediocre card for an uncompetitive deck) Limited: 3.75 (great one energy attack and plenty of Tools in the set)
virusyosh	Good day, Pojo readers! The middle of our COTD week continues with a card that won me a few matches at a Prerelease tournament, Raichu from Arceus. Raichu is a 90 HP Electric-type Stage 1. Electric is a decent type to be right now: Electric weakness is common in Kingdra and Gyarados, and Electric counters aren't very common. Weakness to Fighting is decent, as there aren't too many Fighting-types played nowadays except Machamp SF. Resistance to Metal helps with Dialga G, and a Retreat Cost of 1 is decent. This particular Raichu has two attacks. Boosted Voltage deals 20 damage for [L], and if Raichu has a Pokemon Tool, the attack also does 20 damage to each of your opponent's non-evolved Pokemon. While there are a few commonly used Pokemon Tools such as Expert Belt and Unown G, this could be a lot better in the current environment: Nidoqueen RR prevents spread damage from being really useful. Raichu's other attack, Thunder Blast, deals a solid 70 damage for [LCC] if you discard a Lightning Energy from Raichu. In the current format, 70 for 3 is fairly expensive, and the discard requirement isn't very helpful either. Modified: 1.25/5 It's a bit too slow to do much of anything in this format. Spread damage isn't very good against Garchomp C Lv. X and Nidoqueen RR, and 70 damage for 3 energy isn't quite enough to cut it in an environment filled with SPs and decks that can attack for very few energy. Being a Stage 1 isn't too great right now, either. Limited: 3/5 There will probably be a significant amount of non-evolved Pokemon on your opponent's Bench here, and there are a few worthy Pokemon Tools in the set (Expert Belt, Bench Shield). Additionally, Thunder Blast's energy requirements aren't so outrageous here, and a 70 damage attack will two-hit KO nearly everything in the set, excluding Pokemon Lv. X.
BoDragon	Raichu LV.46 Platinum--Arceus, #27   Raichu appears in Arceus at LV.46 with two attacks, Boosted Voltage and Thunder Blast.   Boosted Voltage, its first attack, deals 20 damage for {L}{C}.  If Raichu has a Pokémon Tool card attached to it, this attack does 20 damage to each of your opponent's Benched Pokémon that is not an Evolved Pokémon, Weakness and Resistance not applied for Benched Pokémon.  Using Expert Belt on Raichu increases the damage output by 20 damage to the Defending Pokémon.   Thunder Blast, its second attack, deals 70 damage for {L}{C}{C}, and a Lightning Energy card is discarded from Raichu.  If you have Expert Belt attached to Raichu already for its Boosted Voltage attack, 20 more damage is applied to Thunder Blast's attack damage.  Discarding Lightning Energy cards should be no problem if you are using Conductive Quarry.   Raichu's 90 HP, +20 weakness against {F}, and -20 resistance against {M} are typical.  The one Energy retreat cost is good.   Ratings: Modified:  5/5 Limited:  3/5 BoDragon