Baby Mario
2010 UK
National
Seniors
Champion |
#4 Delphox
At #4 on our list is a card that brings something to the
game that has been missing for far too long: consistent,
practical, non-Supporter draw power. There may be better
cards in the set, but I don’t think any of them has made
me as happy as Delphox.
Just to explain, I
hate the
fact that we are completely dependent on Supporters for
draw. It makes too many matches dependant on who draws
what Supporter, especially in the early game. I really
miss the days when we had Holon’s Transceiver,
Pidgeot FRLG, or
Claydol GE to bring
consistency and stability to a deck. Now
Delphox is by no means the
universal solution to this problem. It’s a Stage 2, so
it’s not like it can be splashed into any deck, but for
those lists that can run it, it provides tremendous
support. It does this through Mystical Fire (basically
the same thing as Magnezone
Prime’s Magnetic Draw): once during your turn, you can
draw cards until you have six in your hand. The benefits
of Mystical Fire are huge: you will always have fuel for
discarding cards like Ultra Ball or Dowsing Machine; you
are no longer at the mercy of late-game N; and best of
all, you have the means for steady, consistent draw all
through the game, regardless of whether you can hit that
Juniper/Colress/whatever.
So what else is good? Well, Blaze Ball is a more than
decent attacking option. It’s a Fire version of
Keldeo EX’s Secret Sword,
doing 50 plus 20 more for each Fire Energy attached,
which gives it the ability to OHKO anything in the game.
Of course, you most likely won’t want to risk your draw
engine plus a ton of Energy very often, but it’s there
if you need it to deal with a pesky Safeguard Pokémon,
or it can be used for a relatively cheap OHKO on a
Fire-Weak Pokémon like Genesect
EX or Cobalion EX.
A must-play for Emboar
decks, and I would honestly consider at least
teching this into anything
that uses Rare Candy. It feels ungrateful to wish this
was a Stage 1 (which I kind of do), so for now I’ll,
just say ‘thank you Pokémon’. Thank you for a step in
the right direction.
Rating
Modified: 4.25 (we have gone far too long to go without
this kind of card)
Limited: 4 (if you can get it out, brilliant)
|
HEZ
Intro to
Unlimited 150 |
Delphox #26
Modified.
If you’d asked about this
card just a few days ago I would have said, “yeah it’s
good, draw power on a reliable Ability combined with a
powerful attack… but it’s a Stage 2”. Traditionally,
bench-sitting draw Pokémon have been Stage 1s and since
B&W, most main attackers have been Basics, backed up by
a Stage 2s Ability. You could play it alongside Emboar
and Rayquaza EX as a draw engine, but running two Stage
2 lines is risky in this format where aggression takes
precedence over setting up. No one wants to have a Tepig
on the bench, a Rare Candy in hand… then to topdeck a
Delphox.
But the future looks bright for Delphox! The previews
for the new Wildfire set seem to be offering Fire types
some much required support with Supporters like
Blacksmith giving Delphox energy acceleration without
having to play two Stage 2s in one deck. Such a
stand-alone attacker and draw engine reminds me of the
incredibly popular Magnezone Prime from just a few years
ago.
Regardless, whether Delphox takes the position of
draw-engine and backup attacker in another deck or it
can find enough support in Wildfire to fight alone any
Fire deck is going to continue to have an uphill
struggle if Blastoise-based decks continue to be so
popular but the balance could be tipped if Genesect
decks take the lead. Ultimately, it may not be new Fire
supporting cards that make Delphox playable but shifts
in the metagame between Water and Grass decks.
Unlimited 150.
Like any newly released
evolved Pokémon, Delphox is going to have a bit of
trouble fitting in in U150 until it gets some more good
versions. That said, a 1-1-1 line could be playable in a
Fire deck that already runs a solid Stage 2 line as
setting up two Stage 2s is a little easier in this
format. With something Typhlosion or Blaziken providing
acceleration it can take the lead as an attacker or it
can hang back on the bench and draw cards. This
flexibility is what will make Delphox worth playing.
Draw-engine Pokémon draw hate like no other type of
Pokémon and whether you’re playing the classic Claydol
engine or the more Fire-specific Ninetales you can
expect them to get KO’d at least once during a game, so
having a backup is always a good idea. Then, once it’s
drawn you a few cards it can suddenly jump into
offensive mode. Combined with Mewtwo delta (Delta
Species) you can shift huge amounts of energy onto
Delphox to nab a surprise KO on a threatening Pokémon,
five energy being enough to one hit KO almost anything
that gets played.
Definitely one to watch, with a little more support in
its evolution line it could join Typhlosion and Blaziken
as one of the truly playable Fire starter Pokémon.
Ratings.
Modified: 3.5
Unlimited 150: 3
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