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Pojo's Pokémon Card of the Day

 

Top 13 Pokemon Cards of Dragon Exalted:

#2 - Hydreigon #97

Date Reviewed: August 23, 2012

Ratings & Reviews Summary

Modified: 4.10
Limited: 3.33

Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale.
1 being the worst. 
3 ... average.  
5 is the highest rating.

Back to the main COTD Page

Combos With: See Below

Baby Mario
2010 UK National
Seniors
Champion

Hydreigon (Dragons Exalted)

Ok, so I admit I’m a little surprised that this card made the runner up spot. Yes it’s very good. Yes it is a key component of what will almost certainly be a top tier deck for Battle Roads. But at the end of the day it’s a support Pokémon rather than a main attacker and its use is really limited to one specific deck. I suspect that it is the success of that particular deck in Japan that has caused Hydreigon to be so highly rated.

Hydreigon is a Stage 2 Dragon Type with a more than decent 150 HP, and a horrid Retreat cost. Being a Dragon Type is something of a mixed blessing: it avoids being hit for Weakness by all of the old school Pokémon Types but is extremely vulnerable to the hard-hitting and inevitably popular Dragon attackers like Garchomp and Rayquaza (both the EX and Little Quaza versions).

The main attraction here is undoubtedly Hydreigon’s Ability. Dark Trance enables you to move your Dark Energy around the Field as often as you like during your turn. This is obviously very useful: you can conserve Energy in play by moving it from a vulnerable Pokémon; you can combo it with Max Potion to heal off all damage without having to discard; and you can switch Energy to an alternative attacker if the situation demands it. We have seen this kind of Type-specific Energy Trans function many times in the history of the TCG: it was there way back at the start on Base Set Venusaur and has appeared more recently on Sceptile GE and Meganium Prime. Klinklang BLW’s Shift Gear does the same job for Metal Energy and was the centrepiece of John Robert II’s US Nationals winning deck.

But none of the other Energy Trans Pokémon has ever rated as highly or been as hyped as Hydreigon. The reason why this Dragon is especially favoured is simple: Dark Trance moves Dark Energy, and we all know what that means . . . yep, Darkrai-EX. Yes, this uber-powerful attacker gets yet more support - this time aimed at keeping its Energy in play and helping it heal off damage with Max Potion. It seems that the only thing more scary than a Darkrai is an invincible Darkrai and, unless your opponent’s deck has some way of OHKOing it, that’s pretty much what Hydreigon can create. Not only that, but the fact that Dark Trance will also work with Prism and Blend Energy means that Darkrai-EX can call upon some useful back up when needed. Shaymin-EX, Mewtwo-EX, and Registeel-EX all being popular choices.

I suppose I should also mention Hydreigon’s attack, Dragonblast. For the slightly ridiculous cost of [P][D][D][C] (and you even have to discard the two Dark Energy to use it), it will do a 140 damage. The massive cost means that this is not really an attack you would want to use often, but there are certain situations where it can be worthwhile: for example it is a guaranteed OHKO on any Dragon Pokémon, and can also deal with those pesky Sigilyph DRX which can wall Darkrai and any other EX Pokémon for that matter.

What Hydreigon does is basically enable an enhanced version of the Klinklang-EX deck. There’s no denying it’s very good – quite possibly the best deck in format at the moment – I’m just unsure of Hydreigon’s long term future once that deck drifts out of favour.

Rating

Modified: 3.75 (A great support Pokémon for Dark decks)

Limited: 2 (the attacking cost is utterly impractical and Stage 2s are hard enough to use here)

virusyosh

Hello once again, Pojo! Today we're reviewing another of the new Dragon-types, and this one is perhaps the most hyped in the current tournament scene. Today's Card of the Day (and #2 on our countdown!) is Hydreigon from Dragons Exalted.
 
Hydreigon is a Stage 2 Dragon Pokemon. As a Dragon, Hydreigon sees a lot of play along with other dragons Garchomp and shiny Rayquaza, and provides itself to be an excellent partner with Darkrai-EX. 150 HP is excellent in that nearly all unboosted hits will take down the dark hydra, with only Zekrom-EX's Strong Volt the only unboosted attack to drop Hydreigon. Unfortunately, Dragon Weakness means that Garchomp and opposing Hydreigon keep the Brutal Pokemon in check, but also serves as an excellent counter to the aforementioned threats. Sadly, Hydreigon has no Resistance and a hefty Retreat Cost of 3, meaning that you'll want to use something like Switch to move Hydreigon from the Active spot.
 
Hydreigon has an Ability and a single attack. Dark Trance allows one to move around Darkness Energy from one of your Pokemon to another as many times as you'd like during your turn. Dark Trance's synergy with Darkrai-EX's Dark Cloak cannot be overstated, as giving each of your Pokemon free retreat at will is incredibly powerful. In addition to quickly powering up new attackers and retreating old ones, Dark Trance can also be used as a pseudo-healing mechanism with Max Potion, as one can simply move all of the Energy from a damaged attacker, use Max Potion, then move them all back. When combined with Sableye DEX and Dark Patch, this archetype is easily one of the most powerful in Modified right now.
 
Dragonblast, Hydreigon's attack, does 140 damage for a Psychic, two Darkness, and a Colorless, with the side effect or requiring the discard of two Darkness Energy from Hydreigon. 140 damage for four Energy plus a discard is great for the cost, and should easily dent anything it doesn't take down outright, including most Pokemon-EX. The Psychic and Darkness requirements are also not a burden due to the new Blend Energy GRPD, which will easily fulfill both Energy requirements easily.
 
Modified: 4/5 Hydreigon is an absolute monster in Modified, teaming up with Darkrai-EX and Sableye to tear through decks without an answer for it. Dark Trance makes Dark Cloak absolutely ridiculous, and Dragonblast is a high-powered attack great for putting massive dents into enemies, if not knocking them out outright. Absolutely make sure that your deck can deal with this three-headed behemoth, or chances are you'll find yourself at the loser's tables.
 
Limited: 3.75/5 Hydreigon is still a force here, but the Energy requirements and lack of Dark Trance abuse make the hydra somewhat less useful in Limited. Dark Trance can still do most of the Energy-moving tricks described above, but is also more reliant on a deck running both Psychic and Darkness Energy than above, even though Blend GRPD is still in this set. Overall, Hydreigon is still a beast here as well and will probably win you games if it hits the table, but it pretty much forces you to play Darkness and Psychic Energy due to its restrictive Energy requirements.
 
Combos With: Darkrai-EX, Sableye DEX

Jebulous Maryland Player

Hydreigon 97
 
Hydreigon is a Stage 2 Dragon Pokemon with 150 HP.  It has a weakness to Dragon and a retreat cost of 3.  It is searchable by Heavy Ball.
 
'Dark Trance' is an ability that allows you to move around your Darkness energy as much as you want before your attack.  This is like the Klinklang that became popular recently.
 
'Dragonblast' costs 1 Psychic, 2 Dark, and 1 Colorless energy.  It does 140 and you discard 2 Dark energy.  The damage allows you to OHKO any Dragon.  The energy discard is not too relevant since Dark Patch exists.
 
So this is the backbone of the Hydreigon deck that is going to start popping up here.  The deck uses this guy and Darkrai EX to go crazy.
Darkrai EX allows anything with a Darkness to retreat for free and Hydreigon allows you to move those Dark energies to whoever you want.
Dark Patch helps get more energy to the field (so you have energy manipulation and acceleration).  Sableye helps you get the Dark Patchs back.  Max Potion can be used to turn the high HP Pokemon into tanks.
You also have the blend energy that counts as Dark and Psychic... this deck should be a powerhouse.
 
I want to see/make a good Garbador deck because if done right, that deck would theoretically cripple this deck (since it does rely on 2 Pokemon with abilities).  But that depends on whether or not a good Garbador deck can be made.  The format will be interesting to watch, or play in.
 
 
Modified: 4.5/5
Limited: 4.5/5
Combo's With: Darkrai EX
 
Questions, comments, concerns: jebulousthemighty@yahoo.com


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