aroramage |
WHOA HEY DID I MISS A COUPLE OF
CARDS-oh it's not that important. Just Karen the
game-changer and...Shaymin-EX? Eh, details, WELCOME TO
PROMO-EX WEEK!!
And the first promo is Ash-Greninja-EX,
the strange transformation introduced in the anime that
makes Ash's Greninja...look more like Ash. I wonder if
that makes him better? Let's find out! Dancing
Shuriken's an interesting start, as with 2 Energy and 3
coin flips, you get to deal 20 damage to any Pokemon for
each Heads. The fact that this attack can hit the Bench
spreads out the utility of it a bit, but the flippy
nature means you're averaging around the 20-40 damage
bits a lot (ultimately around 30 damage). Still, if you
need to just KO a small thing, Dancing Shuriken is good
enough for that, though there are some better attacks
out there to use.
Ninja Blade though is...okay. It's
a 3-for-130 smash, which is pretty good, but then you
can't use Ninja Blade on your next turn. Awww, but that
would've made it even better! Darn it, Ash-Greninja-EX,
you had one job - ONE JOB!! And I don't like the idea of
having to be reliant on Dancing Shuriken as a back-up
attack - that's just not right!
So Ash-Greninja-EX is ultimately
another "okay" promo, kinda like previous incarnations
of Greninja-EX, the only one of whom I can think of is
another promo that I'm pretty sure rotated out of
Standard recently. So..."meh".
Rating
Standard: 2/5 (Dancing Shuriken is
modestly appealing, but Ninja Blade just limits itself
too much for Standard play)
Expanded: 2/5 (and between the
two...well, Greninja-EX isn't too much better than Ash-Greninja-EX,
is he?)
Limited: N/A (DEM PROMOS!!)
Arora Notealus: I'm aware of the
transformation, but I'm probably as lost as everyone
else with the whole "how it's done" thing. But maybe
that's not so important as ASH IS GOING TO SCHOOL NEXT
REGION, WHAT WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Next Time: Chill out with a cool
EX!
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Otaku |
This week we’ll be covering some of the more recent
promos, as well as some of the older ones we missed at
the time. First up is Ash-Greninja-EX (XY:
Black Star Promos XY133). An odd thing we are
not used to; this isn’t “Ash’s Greninja-EX” but
“Ash hyphen Greninja hyphen EX”. This is
because in the animation, Ash has (had? I haven’t
watched in years) a Greninja that has some sort of
powered up form called “Ash-Greninja”, easily identified
as its head crest becomes red (like Ash’s hat), its
ears(?) become black (like Ash’s hair). The other
important thing to highlight right away is that Ash-Greninja-EX
is a totally different Pokémon than Greninja-EX,
as far as TCG mechanics go. You can have four
Ash-Greninja-EX, four Greninja-EX, and even
four regular Greninja (either all the same
version or mix and matching your different options).
As a Pokémon-EX, Ash-Greninja-EX is worth an
extra Prize when KO’d, has to deal with Pokémon-EX
specific counters, and cannot make use of the (very few)
beneficial effects which exclude Pokémon-EX. It
also means that regardless of what the Pokémon would
normally be, a Pokémon-EX is either a Basic or a Mega
Evolution. In this case, it means we get a Basic
Pokémon instead of what would most likely have been
either a Stage 2 or perhaps a specialized BREAK
Evolution. In fact, the Ash-Greninja phenomena
seems a bit like Mega Evolution, so really Ash-Greninja-EX
is even more fortunate as being a Basic is the best for
the usual reasons: speed, one card instead of many,
Basic Pokémon exclusive support, etc. which outweigh the
only real drawback of anti-Basic effects. As a
Water Type, it can exploit Weakness on nearly all Fire
Types and a chunk of the Fighting Type, and only has to
worry about Resistance on BW-era many (but not all)
Grass Types. You can access Water Type Pokémon
support like Dive Ball and Rough Seas
(shared with the Lightning Type), make better use of
Water Type Energy support than most non-Water Types
Pokémon, plus enjoy a probably synergy with most other
Water Type Pokémon in general. Blue Box (yeah,
still calling Water Toolbox that) decks were good before
rotation, and seem to have stuck around in some capacity
afterwards, perhaps aided by those trying to make
Volcanion-EX decks work in the PRC-On Standard
Format. So… being a Water Type is at least “good”
is not “very good”.
170 HP is good, though not great; it is the lowest of
the two common Basic Pokémon-EX scores, but it is still
large enough that much of the time, a OHKO is not rapid,
reliable, or easily repeated. Any one of those?
Probably, as that is what a competitive deck strives
for; with a good set up even two of those is more likely
than not, but all three is reserved for decks built
around being OHKO machines (which have other drawbacks)
or certain Grass Type decks because Grass is this card’s
Weakness. Grass Weakness is a bit hard to peg down
right now. Karen could mean the days of
Vespiquen (XY: Ancient Origins 10/98)
being a major force are over, but even if that is the
case there are other Grass Types that have made a decent
showing both before and after the September 1st
rotation. We’ll have a better idea after the first
major events, but unless the Fire Type chases all the
Water Types away, this weakness is probably helping
stuff like Yanmega BREAK and M Sceptile-EX
take OHKOs they would have otherwise missed. Lack
of Resistance is the worst possibility, but is also the
most common: taking 20 less damage against a single Type
is literally a marginal advantage so in the end it's
acceptable. A single Energy Retreat Cost is also
fairly common, but it is quite welcome as it is the
second best possibility and makes it easy to retreat
Ash-Greninja-EX. You should usually have a
single Energy already handy and be able to spare it in
the long run, at least if you aren’t having to retreat
frequently; if most other Pokémon in the deck have it
this easy, you won’t have to dedicate as much space to
retreat aids and alternatives.
Ash-Greninja-EX
has had a solid start so far, but what can it do?
It has two attacks, the first of which is “Dancing
Shuriken”; flip three coins, then do 20 damage times the
number of heads to one of your opponent’s Pokémon.
That means eight possible outcomes but only four
possible amounts of damage: one out of eight yield no
damage, three out of eight yield 20 damage, a different
three out of eight yield 40 damage, and a final one out
of eight yields 60 damage. Bench hits can often
afford to be a little underpowered because it allows you
to hit stuff that would normally be inaccessible, and
this attack can target Active or Bench (no Weakness or
Resistance for the latter). Not too thrilled about
that chance of whiffing, and you’ll notice I am only now
getting to the Energy cost: [WC]. A few Max
Elixir and a means of getting it up front and
Ash-Greninja-EX is a reasonable option for opening.
Still this is definitely a “supporting” attack, so the
big one needs to be really worthwhile; plus as far as
inexpensive openers, the combination of damage and
effect seem about average. While I normally value
Bench hits pretty high, that risk of failure means
waiting a turn or pulling off that combo can fail
horribly, and even the optimum damage yield isn’t enough
to fully compensate. So what’s the main attack?
For [WWC] we have “Ninja Blade”, keeping up the usual
Greninja theme, but in name only; the attack simply does
130 damage and stipulates it cannot be used again by
“this Pokémon” the next turn. The bad news is 130
for three isn’t something you’re likely boost into OHKO
range, and even when you can it will be a sizable
investment and effort. Plus, you’ll either need an
alternate attacker or have to fall back onto Dancing
Shuriken the next turn (assuming Ash-Greninja-EX
survives), or pack some tricks to deal with that
effect. The good news? While there isn’t an
easy remedy for pumping up the damage, ditching the
attack clause is as simple as having a Switch or
the like handy plus a pivot Pokémon on your Bench, or
you can use Pokémon Ranger if it’s handy.
So once again, seems like a decent attack; it is
plausible you can even skip Dancing Shuriken and go
straight to Ninja Blade with the go-to Basic Pokémon
Energy acceleration of Max Elixir. Toss on
a Fighting Fury Belt more for the HP boost than
the extra damage and… well you’re still a ways from a
OHKO against your typical Active attacker, but you’ll
score a 2HKO with room to spare unless you’re staring
down a Wailord-EX with its own Fighting Fury
Belt.
That should sound a little underwhelming. Remember
I was describing combos and relying on effects that can
whiff; Max Elixir, and Dancing Shuriken if you’re
using that attack. You’ll need something like a
Greninja BREAK you can get up front to use “Giant
Water Shuriken” to soften up whatever you’re attacking.
Then get it back out of the way to follow up with
Ash-Greninja-EX. That is basically what
Greninja BREAK decks already do while just using a
second copy of Greninja BREAK, and frankly does
it better as that card needs far less Energy attached
(though it likes some to discard or bounce). In
Expanded you could go the old-fashioned route by
slapping a Muscle Band onto Ash-Greninja-EX,
then using Hypnotoxic Laser and Virbank City
Gym; 150 damage (130 against Resistance, 300 against
Weakness) plus three damage counters placed between
turns if the Poison isn’t blocked. That’s going to
be a OHKO against most of the card pool, but among the
exceptions are some good or great cards important to the
metagame, plus the Hypnotoxic Laser/Muscle
Band/Virbank City Gym combo is almost
universal and a lot of decks can make use of it.
I’d wave that off since the combo is so low impact
but remember, we also already cashed in on
multiple Max Elixir and probably a Switch
or specific opener so that Ash-Greninja-EX could
power up in a single turn and get Active. With all
that, we get into competitive archetype territory, stuff
that is getting into that whole “rapid, reliable,
repeatable” OHKO thing, or else slaps down some nasty
effects on the field while still doing good damage.
Okay, but what if you just need a Basic Water Type
beatstick? In Expanded Keldeo-EX has almost
the same everything (one higher Retreat Cost) but
replaces an iffy two Energy attack with the proven “Rush
In” Ability, and a three-for-50 attack (Secret Sword)
that gains an additional 20 damage for each [W] Energy
attacked. This is why Keldeo-EX is a common
sight; that Ability is great in most decks and if you’ve
got a good Water deck behind is, Secret Sword hits OHKO
range. If you just have generic Energy
acceleration behind it, Secret Sword is still a solid
hit against Weakness. There is also Suicune
(BW: Plasma Blast 20/101), which is a lot smaller
but not worth two Prizes, can hide behind its Safeguard
Ability, and still deliver a decent whack. Seismitoad-EX
also can hit reasonably hard for that Energy, or just
lock down Items while chipping away at the opponent’s
Active’s HP instead. Greninja-EX could only do
30 to one of your opponent’s Pokémon, but for just [W]
with no flips required via its “Sharpshooting” attack.
For the same [WWC], its big attack (Aqua Blast) could do
120 but had to discard an Energy from itself… which
could be a little worse to a little better than the
drawback on Ninja Blade. Greninja-EX is not
a competitive card, though I remember using it in a
Greninja (XY 41/146) pre-Greninja BREAK.
There are two more but they are also Standard legal, so
I wished to separate them out. Articuno (XY:
Roaring Skies 17/108) has the Ancient Trait “Δ
Plus”, so while it’s [WWC] attack is flippy, it’s often
worth it because that Ancient Trait lets this blue bird
take an extra Prize when it scores a KO. Regice
is another Basic Pokémon with less HP and similarly
priced attack, but it’s okay because it is not worth two
Prizes plus has protective effects: first attack can
Paralyze, the second blocks all damage and effects from
attacks by your opponent’s Pokémon-EX. If this
sounds like slim pickings, I focused on proven, Water
Type Basic Pokémon; the more we open up the search (like
to other Types) the more options we’ll find. As
such, this card doesn’t have great prospects for
Standard or Expanded play, though Standard is better for
it due to less competition. In fact, it might
enjoy a niche in Blue Blox deck as hitting the Bench,
even being flippy and even needing two Energy. You
can’t use this in a Limited event, or at least not a
sanctioned one or unsanctioned one following the floor
rules, as this card is only available in the
ASH-GRENINJA-EX BOX. If it ever ends up in a set,
it would be a good pull (though not one to try and use
solo).
Ratings
Standard:
2.25/5
Expanded:
2/5
Limited:
N/A
Summary:
Ash-Greninja-EX is mostly a fun tie-in to the
animation, but for the competitive scene it isn’t
hopeless. It isn’t hopeful either as it’s
basically a decent card in a format where “good” cards
are left on the sidelines because “great” is so often
the norm. It can hit the Bench, but the attack in
question needs to be less expensive or lose the coin
flips, while the second would be fine on something with
a better first attack or Ability. What we got is
just too often outclassed.
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Today we are looking at Ash-Greninja-EX. Based on
its unique anime counterpart, this card was released in
a special box as a promo earlier in spring this year.
While it is certainly a favorite among fans of the
cartoon – there seems to be a precedent with releasing
popular Pokemon through special boxes and collections –
I don’t think the card will see competitive play,
whether it be in Standard or Expanded.
Ash-Greninja-EX
has two attacks: Dancing Shuriken and Ninja Blade. The
former makes you flip 3 coins, doing 20 damage times the
number of heads to 1 of your opponent’s Pokemon.
Potentially, this can hit 60 damage anywhere on your
opponent’s board, but relying on flips isn’t consistent
enough to warrant using it. The second attack is far
better, doing 130 damage for a mere 3 Energy at the cost
of not being able to use it next turn. It is reminiscent
of Seismitoad-EX’s Grenade Hammer attack, which
also does 130 damage for 3 Energy. For this reason,
perhaps it would make for a good addition in “Water Box”
decks that rely on quickly accelerating Water Energy on
the board and using a myriad of Water-type attackers.
None of the currently used Pokemon in the deck –
Regice and Glaceon-EX, for instance – are
quite as energy efficient as Ash-Greninja-EX, so
this could be feasible. After all, it is a Water-type
Pokemon as well, providing synergy with cards like Rough
Seas and Manaphy-EX. Not being able to attack the
following turn is a bit of a letdown, but you can always
free retreat out using Manaphy-EX’s “Aqua Tube”
Ability or use Pokemon Ranger to get around
this.
In
Expanded, I can’t really think of a way to use this
card. As I mentioned, Seismitoad-EX is a
fantastic main attacker in Water Box decks, and given
that it rotated this season, it remains the best choice
in Standard in using the deck. Because of this, Ash-Greninja-EX
isn’t necessary at all. Besides Water Box, there just
isn’t another deck to take advantage of it. Dancing
Shuriken sounds like a counter to Night Marchers like
Joltik and Pumpkaboo, but besides the
inconsistency of coin flips keep in mind the popularity
of Fighting Fury Belt in Night March, making the
math skewed. It’s a shame that Pokemon continues to make
a number of these box promos rather difficult to play
competitively, but hopefully this will change as the
season progresses.
Ratings
Standard: 1.5/5
Expanded: 1/5
Limited: N/A
Summary: Ash-Greninja-EX
is a lackluster card in competitive play but certainly
will be sought after by many Pokemon collectors. Its
second attack is energy efficient and might be viable in
Water Box decks in Standard, but its first attack makes
it a niche choice. There isn’t exactly a place for it in
Expanded either, as Seismitoad-EX is far superior
thanks to Item lock, 10 more HP, and a second attack
that doesn’t prevent itself from attacking the following
turn. I can see picking up the card if you are a fan of
the anime and enjoy filling your binder up, but
otherwise it isn’t a good choice if you wish to compete
and perform well in local tournaments.
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