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Dugtrio
(Triumphant)
The format we have right now is so focused on speed and
cheap attacks that most Stage 1s, whether they evolve or
not, don’t really have much of a chance unless they have
the huge HP and cheap attacks of a
Donphan or Gyarados.
This is a very bad sign for a card like
Dugtrio then. Having an HP
of just 80 is sufficient to make it unplayable all by
itself. 80 is the number that most successful attackers
out there have no problem hitting (Gyarados,
Garchomp C,
Donphan w/ Expert Belt,
Gengar SF if the opponent is
holding three Trainers), so Dugtrio
basically becomes a OHKO
whenever it gets moved to the active slot. Oh well, at
least it’s a free Retreater with a nice Lighting
Resistance. Can it do anything good before it hits the
discard pile though? Let’s find out.
Dugtrio’s
first attack (the imaginatively named Dig), does
30 damage for a single
Fighting Energy. If you look at it in terms of value,
that’s pretty good. However, if you look at it in terms
of the likely impact it will have on the game, that’s
far less impressive. Dugtrio
will need a lot more firepower than that.
Sadly, it doesn’t really get it. Sand Impact costs
three Colourless Energy and
does a base damage of 50. You then get to flip a coin
for each Fighting Energy attached and do an extra 20 for
each heads. Now let’s be realistic . . . in modified
play you will not get a chance to attach
three Fighting Energy to
Dugtrio, so any thoughts of
getting a lucky 110 can be dismissed. I suppose
you could use Double Colourless Energy, but then you
would only have one flip and be looking at a potential
maximum damage of 70 . . . which is a very poor return
on the investment.
With its terrible HP and weak attacks,
Dugtrio doesn’t give a
player any reason to use it. The
fact that there is another Fighting type Stage 1 in the
format (Donphan Prime) which
is crushingly superior in every conceivable way (apart
from Retreat cost!), only puts the final nail in the
coffin of Dugtrio’s
playability.
Rating
Modified: 1.25 (nowhere near good enough)
Limited: 2.75 (cheap 30 is decent)
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