Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
Durant #92 (Plasma Storm)
Remember the time when Noble Victories was released, but
before we started getting the EX
Pokemon? It was actually one of the better
formats in recent history, with a variety of competitive
decks that took a certain amount of skill to use
properly like Six Corners and
Chandelure. Except there was one deck that
everyone hated. Durant NVI was cheap (in the financial
sense) and cheap (in the strategy sense) – it was an
incredibly annoying mill deck that made the words
‘Devour for four’ hated and feared everywhere. It was
also highly successful and evolved over time into a very
refined and well constructed deck. Of course, Durant NVI
is still legal, it’s just
that you don’t see it played competitively any more.
Ants are just too easy to OHKO turn after turn these
days, and they lost some key cards (Twins, Special Metal
Energy) in the rotation. That hasn’t stopped people
trying to revive the deck though. You sometimes see
lists including Plasma Klinklang
popping up here and there with the idea being that it
can protect the Durants from
being KO’d. So, does this Durant have anything to offer
the deck besides counting towards Devour? Well, yes, it
does.
This is thanks to two attacks that can work very nicely
in the deck. The first, Call for Backup, costs
just one Energy and enables
you to search your deck for any Pokémon.
In a deck which
relies on flooding the Field with Durant (and setting up
Klinklang), this has obvious
benefits. It’s not as effective as
Emolga DRX’s Call for Family, but hey, it’s a
Durant so it’s already doing the work in the deck that
Emolga can’t. The other
attack, Metal Jail costs one Metal and one Energy of any
Colour. The damage output is just 30, but it does have a
nice bonus effect of retreat-locking the Defending
Pokémon. Yes, a lot of decks play multiple Switch or
Keldeo-EX these days, but it
can still buy you a vital turn to set up or recover if
your opponent isn’t holding those options. I don’t
anticipate it being used much, if at all, but there may
be situations where you are glad to have it.
The TCG has moved on an awful lot since Durant was a top
tier deck, and however you build it now, I don’t think
it can be any more than semi-competitive and an
excellent way to troll anyone who still has nightmares
about the BLW-NVI format. If you do want to give it a
try, then including a single copy of this card would be
a pretty good play. Oh and it’s a must-run in limited
too: you probably only have one or two really good
Pokémon and it doesn’t get much better than being able
to search them from your deck at will.
Rating
Modified: 2.25 (the Durant revival starts here!
. . . maybe
not)
Limited: 4.5 (slugs it out with
Rotom for the title of ‘best opening Pokémon in
the set’)
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virusyosh |
Greetings once again, Pojo viewers! Today we're
reviewing a new Team Plasma variant of a once-popular
Basic Metal Pokemon. Today's Card of the Day is Durant.
Durant is a Basic Metal Team Plasma Pokemon. Metal-types
are seeing play right now in Klinklang/Cobalion
variants, so Durant may be able to fit in there if it
fills a niche. As a Team Plasma Pokemon, Durant gets
support from the likes of Colress Machine and Plasma
Frigate, with more to come later on. 70 HP is abysmal
for a non-evolving Basic Pokemon, as Durant will be
lucky to last a single hit in today's high-powered
Modified metagame. Fire Weakness isn't such a problem in
Modified (though it is in Limited); Psychic Resistance
is great against Mewtwo (though it still easily KOs);
and a Retreat Cost of one is cheap enough that it won't
set you back too much if you have to pay it.
This Iron Ant has two attacks. Call For Backup is a nice
twist on a standard Call attack, grabbing a Pokemon (not
just Basic!) from your deck and putting it into your
hand for a single Colorless Energy. This is a pretty
decent opening move in both Modified and Limited,
although in Modified you're still probably better off
using the likes of Level Ball, Heavy Ball, or Ultra
Ball. Metal Jail is the metal ant's form of offense,
dealing 30 damage and preventing retreat during your
opponent's next turn for a Metal and a Colorless.
Nothing too spectacular, but this attack is definitely
usable in Limited.
Modified: 2/5 Durant isn't a terrible setup Pokemon, but
its low stats and lack of offense make it a rather
unattractive option. You'd be better off setting up with
Trainers and Supporters here.
Limited: 3.5/5 Durant is a great setup Pokemon in the
slower Limited format. Call for Backup will drag your
important Stage 2s out of the deck for you, and while
Metal Jail isn't all that powerful, it can still be a
nice stalling effect until you get your heavier hitters
out. If you're playing Metal or just need a good support
Pokemon, Durant is a good choice for Plasma Storm
Limited.
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