 |
|
 |
| Back
to Card of the Day
|
Ness' Card of the Day Ditto
"The ultimate pain in the neck." - Scott "An ABC wad of gum gone mad." - Doll "It's all about the double colorless." - Rick Ross "Can create so many first turn knockouts... for both sides." - Colin Peterik "He's like a Clefable in so many ways. Mostly because he's.. pink." - Joe Brom "Gust, ouch. Goop, ouch. Energy Removal, ouch. Yet it's still good." 11.30.00 In the closest run we've ever had, Ditto ended up beating Victreebel by about 10 votes, I believe. Colin, one of IL's good players thought that it might be necessary to have a recount for Victreebel. :P Anyways, Ditto is really an amazing card. It's one of those cards in Pok�mon that is just so much different from other cards. Ditto's Transform ability makes it a really interesting card. Without transform, it has nothing! Let's look at Ditto, and don't forget to vote for the next Card of the Day at the bottom of the page. You just saw how every vote matters with our last poll!
Double Colorless Energy on a Ditto can be great to get an advantage on your opponent. With double colorless, Ditto has the ability to get energy on it faster than what it's copying, and take advantage of that. For example, against an Electabuzz, Ditto could get a first turn Thunderpunch off thanks to Transform's ability of allowing you to "treat energy to attached to Ditto as energy of any type." Ditto's double colorless seem to be an energy removal target, as there is a max of 4 in a deck, so they're easy to get rid of. The popular movie promo Mewtwo is threatened by a Ditto with one energy attached to it, as with a double colorless, Ditto can now Psyburn for the knockout! Ditto has an obvious speed advantage on the Mewtwo, thanks to Double Colorless. With Double Colorless, Ditto can also launch some nice surprise attacks on cards. It can get two energy without first being benched, which is something that people don't really expect. Remember though, Ditto cannot evolve.
So you're reading about Ditto, and it's transform just sounds too good. Now, you've seen the one great thing about Ditto, but you haven't seen the things that really hurt it. There's many. Here are some of the popular cards that can really shut Ditto down in tournament environments: Gust of Wind: Ditto's Transform does not work on the bench. Ditto always has 50HP on the bench. Once DItto has 50+ damage on it, a Gust of Wind is always threatening it's knockout. Not only that, your opponent can still attack. This means Ditto can give up a prize and let your benched Pok�mon take damage on the same turn. This is one of the most popular ways that Ditto is shut down. Low HP Basics: Ditto copies everything, including HP. So those Pok�mon with low HP and a nice one energy attack, like Lt. Surge's Spearow(30HP) and the promo Eevee really hurt Ditto. Once Ditto has even 30+ damage on it, a promo Eevee or Spearow sent active will KO the Ditto, and still give your opponent a chance to attack. Even if it doesn't have any damage, a PlusPower allows an easy one hit KO. But Ditto can do the same thing to the low HP basic, it's just a matter of who gets the first attack off. Goop Gas Attack: Ditto's Transform ability is it's only ability. Goop Gas makes Ditto a pretty much useless card, and your opponent can also get KOs on Ditto with this card, but they can also stop Ditto from harming them next turn, too. Mysterious Fossil / Clefairy Doll: Yes, you know it. Ditto copies the HP, so if it has any damage at all, these two cards can be sent active(although who would play Clefairy Doll over Mysterious Fossil?) and KO Ditto. Luckily for whoever is playing Ditto, Ditto is an exact copy of the Mysterious Fossil or Clefairy Doll, and as WotC now rules, it will not give your opponent a prize for being knocked out, just like Mysterious Fossil and Clefairy Doll don't. Forcing Ditto to Have Weak Attacks: Here's a good example. It's a good way to beat Clefable, too. A Jigglypuff comes out, and pounds for 20. Ditto is a Jigglypuff, it can't do more than the 20. Then next turn opponent gets a Wiggly out and Does the Wave for 60, KOing Ditto. Ditto couldn't evolve, only your opponent could. Poor Ditto never had a chance to attack the evolution. Other things like Muk do hurt Ditto, but these are the most seen problems for Ditto in tournament environments. Another Ditto can also stall against a Ditto, but that normally doesn't create any special advantage for either player.
All of the things mentioned above, other than forcing Ditto to be against a Pok�mon that isn't very offensive, then getting the evolution out for the KO, have the same solution: Scoop Up. If you ever feel that Ditto is being threatened for KO by a low basic, Mysterious Fossil, Goop Gas, or most common: Gust of Wind, Scoop Up saves the day. Scoop Up is a must if you play Ditto in your deck. It's the best way to get around the many things that hurt it.
Ditto is a very complicated card. It has so many weaknesses, yet it's Transform ability can cover them all up. Transform is just an amazing ability. It allows Ditto to be faster, take advantage of other cards it's copying, launch surprise attacks, and overall, just be better. I think Ditto is one of the best cards in Pok�mon today, even with all of it's weaknesses. Ditto deserves an 8.5. In 15/3, Ditto is still good. Ditto does fall though, in 15/3. I think it's a 7.0. Ditto can really be taken advantage of without Scoop Up, which is hard to make room for in 15 trainers. The Gust of Wind will still be around to KO it.
This site brought to you by Pojo.com c - 1999-2000 This site is not associated with
Nintendo, Wizards of the Coast, Creatures, or GAMEFREAK. Pokemon, Gameboy, and Gotta catch
'em all! are registered trademarks of Nintendo. |
