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So now we come to Lapras-GX, one of
the few GX we've not covered yet in this set. That's not
to say it's no use, as we're about to find out!
The great thing about Lapras-GX
you'll notice right away is the 190 HP - just barely out
of range of the Basic Pokemon-EX score we've come to
know. It ought to be interesting to see where this goes,
as this means other Basic-GX could have up to 190 HP, in
a similar way that Stage 2 GX have up to 250 HP. It's
gonna be interesting to see how this affects things
going forward.
So onto the attacks! First off is
Collect, a 1-Energy move that lets you draw 3 cards. Not
a bad start, but also not the most ideal first attack to
have. On the plus side, early game should be slow enough
that having Lapras-GX draw you 3 cards for a couple of
turns ought to give you an early advantage with setting
up your board, as it's not likely your opponent is going
to OHKO it on their turn. You've probably got around 2-3
turns to make use of Collect before the opponent's board
starts looking threatening, aside from a couple faster
decks.
Blizzard Burn is a harsh 3-for-160
strike that's all in Water Energy. Right now, there's
not a lot of Water acceleration outside of Palkia-EX
(BKT), but rumor has it there's a card on the way that's
the Water equivalent to Dark Patch. That said, the
drawback of being unable to attack next turn strongly
dissuades the usage of this attack, as it will keep
Lapras-GX from doing anything - even Collect. That leads
us into Ice Beam-GX, which costs 3 but only needs 2
Water Energy. It does 100 damage and completely
Paralyzes the opponent. It's a pretty good move, but
consider the low damage and the cost of your GX attack
for the game, it ought to be a winning move to use this
attack.
So overall, Lapras-GX's best usage
is as an early-game bulky Collect user to generate cards
to fuel the rest of your deck. That's at least all I see
out of it, which doesn't mean it won't see play. I've
seen a few lists suggesting running it in Water Toolbox
decks, which will probably be its best place - after
all, Manaphy-EX can give it free Retreat and get it out
of there so that Palkia-EX can start ramping up the
Energies. It's all a matter of how you use it in the
end, and Lapras-GX is a decent option to have.
Rating
Standard: 2.5/5 (a bulky option
with Collect that works best in one deck)
Expanded: 2/5 (unfortunately, that
means it probably has limited playelsewhere)
Limited: 3.5/5 (hopefully it can
make up for its weaknesses in other ways)
Arora Notealus: In my opinion,
Lapras-GX is on the lower end of GX at the moment. It's
not the absolute worst one in a similar manner that
Magnezone-EX is the worst EX in the game, but it's not
exactly Tauros-GX levels of good either. It has its
uses, and that's where you have to figure out the best
spot for it. Is it worth running Lapras-GX in a deck for
the Collect? Or does the space not account for that?
Weekend Thought: What're your
thoughts on this week's cards? Could Vikavolt-Dragonite
decks become a thing? Is Ilima better or worse than N,
or maybe about the same? Isn't Ultra Ball just dandy?
Can you think of another use for Lapras-GX? I figure I
might as well make my Weekend Thought questions more
specific and provocative in terms of thought, so have
fun with these ideas!
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