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Well now here's an interesting
twist - a Fighting Type that centers itself around
Poison of all things! Truly Toxicroak is unique among
Pokemon for being one of the few that can do this sort
of thing.
So what all does Toxicroak do? Well
for starters, he's got a nifty hit in Poison Jab at
2-for-50. That's a pretty good start, especially
considering he's a Fighting-type, but then it gets a
little stronger with the coin flip for Poison. Sure it's
not much and isn't terribly reliable, but it can get the
job done and put in some good work other attacks might
fall short on, especially when combined with Strong
Energy and Fighting Fury Belt.
Then there's his Ability, Poison
Enzyme. As long as the opponent's Active Pokemon is
Poisoned, it can't do any damage to Toxicroak - that is
to say, any damage done to Toxicroak from Poisoned
Pokemon is negated. So you can see what they were going
for - Poison Jab for good damage, and if you Poison they
can't do anything to Toxicroak in terms of damage.
Course, that's about the most that can be done.
Toxicroak's Poison Enzyme, while
effective against damage, won't stop too much else.
Effects that switch him out, discard his Energy or
Tools, do damage to other Pokemon, prevent the player
from playing different cards on their next turn, prevent
Toxicroak from attacking next turn - there's a lot of
effects out there, and Toxicroak can't stop any of them
from getting through. At least not any better than he
can keep the opponent's Active Pokemon Poisoned. All it
takes is a Switch or some form of healing like Pokemon
Center Lady, and Toxicroak won't be able to do much.
Still, his lock is a small and
unique one, so he'll probably end up seeing a little
play at least. Who knows, maybe there'll be a deck that
focuses around his strengths and eventually locks
everyone out.
Rating
Standard: 2.5/5 (really not that
bad of a card, all things considered, just needs that
extra strength)
Expanded: 3/5 (one such strength
being HTL, with its instant Poisoning)
Limited: 3.5/5 (really takes out
the need for relying on the coin flip when you can just
instantly guarantee it)
Arora Notealus: Definitely someone
to be aware of. Wouldn't want to lose it all to a
Toxicroak deck, would we now?
Next Time: WHIRLWIND CHAOS!!...sorta
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