Scyther vs. Farfetch d

The reason why these two cards are so powerful, are because they both have
resistance to Fighting. Basically, both Scyther and Farfetch d s main use is to
hose down Hitmonchan, the most powerful card in the game. But, which card is
better? Has Scyther replaced Farfetch d as the number one Hitmonchan hoser?
This argument has plagued all pokemon players but the answer is very obvious.
Let s settle this once and for all. To decide this, we ll compare their
differences..

Scyther is a grass pokemon and Farfetch d is colorless. Scyther has the
advantage because there are pokemon that have a weakness to grass but no
pokemon has a weakness to colorless. Also, no pokemon are resistant to Grass or
Colorless.

Scyther has 70HP where Farfetch d has only 50HP. This means Scyther can survive
one more hit that Farfetch d. Obviously, this benefits Scyther and this is a
big advantage.

They both do 30 damage for 3 colorless energy, but Scyther has Swords Dance,
and Farfetch d has Leek Slap. Leek Slap is better because it uses colorless
energy as opposed to Scyther s Grass energy. If Scyther was to be used as a
colorless pokemon, Sword Dance would be useless. If you were playing a Grass
deck, Swords Dance is better than Leek Slap, but in most cases, Leek Slap is
better. Farfetch d has the advantage here, but it isn t a big one considering
that they both mainly use Slash and Pot Smash. Leek Slap isn t very great
either anyway.

Scyther has a free retreat cost, where Farfetch d costs one to retreat. Scyther
s advantage here might not seem big, but it is very important. If you bring out
Scyther at the beginning of the game, you can see what pokemon your opponent is
using and retreat Scyther for a pokemon that has an advantage over your
opponent s active pokemon. For instance, if your opponent starts off with a
Fire Pokemon, you can retreat Scyther to bring out a water pokemon. If Farfetch
d was matched up with a Lightning Pokemon, he would have to waste an energy
before he could retreat. If Scyther is poisoned, he can retreat to bring
himself out (yes, you can do that), and he will not be poisoned anymore. Sure,
Farfetch d can do this too, but it will cost him one energy card every time.
Scyther has a big advantage.

Scyther is weak against Fire Pokemon and Farfetch d is weak against Lightning
Pokemon. Both of these types are rarely played. However, remember, Scyther and
Farfetch d are mainly use to hose down Hitmonchan. In a lot of decks,
particularly the Haymaker, Hitmonchan is accompanied by Electabuzz, a Lightning
Pokemon, and is rarely accompanied by any Fire Pokemon. Farfetch d has no
advantage over Scyther when fighting Fire Pokemon anyway. If a Fire Pokemon
deals 30 damage, it would take two shots to kill either Scyther or Farfetch d.
If it did 50 or more damage, it would kill either Farfetch d or Scyther in one
hit. The only way Farfetch d would have an advantage over Scyther is if the
Fire pokemon did exactly 40 damage, and no Fire Pokemon does exactly 40 damage.
If Scyther or Farfetch d were to fight a Lightning Pokemon, it would take 2
hits of 20 damage each to kill the Farfetch d, where it would take 4 hits to
kill the Scyther. If it did 30 or more, it would kill the Farfetch d in one
hit, where you need 70 or more to kill the Scyther. Electabuzz, the most
commonly played Lightning pokemon kills Farfetch d in one Thunderpunch, which
would take 2 or 3 to kill Scyther. The opponent can easily start off with an
Electabuzz and Farfetch d is finished. Again, Scyther wins this battle.

In a one on one battle, even if Farfetch d goes first and wins all of his coin
tosses, Scyther will always be victorious in the end. Try it out.

Farfetch d gets one energy and does leek slap, heads, 30 damage.

Scyther gets one grass energy and does Swords Dance.

Farfetch d gets a double colorless energy and does Pot Smash, 30 more damage.

Scyther gets a double colorless energy and slashes for 60.

Farfetch d is no more. Winner: Scyther

This doesn t really prove anything. This isn t a good way to show which pokemon
is better. But, if they were to duel, Scyther would easily win.

So let s recap.

HP - Scyther has a big advantage.

Type - Scyther has a small advantage.

Attacks - Farfetch d barely has an advantage.

Retreat Cost - Scyther has a big advantage.

Weakness - Scyther has a big advantage.

One on One - Scyther has a small advantage.

Score:

Scyther - 3 big advantages, 2 small advantages

Farfetch d - 1 small advantage

So, overall, the mantis pokemon, has truly replaced the Wild Duck. Personally,
I like Farfetch d more, in fact he is my favorite pokemon and I hate to do this
to him, but Scyther is a much better card. Farfetch d is valued at around $2.00
and Scyther at $7.00 for non-foil and $15.00 for foil. If you already have
Scyther or are willing to spend a few extra bucks, use the Scyther. At least
Farfetch d still has his place in a cooking pot, and not even Scyther can
replace him there.

Agree? Disagree? Questions? Comments?

e-mail me at bokchoyboy@hotmail.com