I took this card into consideration because many people see this as a horrible card.  Hello, peoples.  I am the Mercury Crusader, but you can call me the Merc, the Ayatollah of Food and Cola, ect.

What does this card do?


Misty's Wrath
Trainer
Look at the top seven cards of your deck.  Choose 2 of those cards and put them into your hand.  Discard the rest.


Now I have heard someone say it may be good if you want to "deck yourself."  I hear this all the time.  With multiple Professor Oaks and Bills.  Consider this.  I am a Magic player.  Have been three years running.  When you play Magic, you learn a few things.  If it nets you the cards you want for a small price, it is so worth it.  Magic's infamous Ancestral Recall taught us that.  But in Pokemon, Trainers require almost nothing to play them.  Take Professor Oak, for instance.  I discard my current hand to get a new hand.  In Magic, if we could do that anytime we wanted, it's called broken.  Same goes for Pokemon.  I don't care what's in my hand be it Blastoise or Pokemon Breeder.  If it can't help you now, don't wait 10 turns.  You don't have the time to dilly dally.  Drop what you have and try your luck at something new.  This was known for a while.

Now lets look at Misty's Wrath.  What discourages people is the discarding of 5 cards and taking only 2.  The way I see it, it's better than Bill.  And why?  Let's review:  I look at seven cards and choose only two.  In Magic, this would be broken.  I can choose what I NEED.  There is a difference between what you need and what you want.  If it helps you win, get it.  Who cares what else is there.

Example:  I need a Pokemon Breeder.  I have an active Misty's Poliwag with one water energy.  I also have a benched Squirtle with no energy and Misty's Horsea with two water energy.  My hand contains a Blastoise, Misty's Wrath, Water Energy, and Professor Oak.  My opponent has an Electabuzz active with one lightning energy, Hitmonchan with one fighting energy and Scyther with a double colorless energy, both benched.  I have two prizes left; opponent has 4.  What to do?  Most people would Oak, but I would like to have a Blastoise out to counteract his Energy Removals if he/she has any.  A big Pokemon would be nice, too.  Lets say I used Oak.  I draw Pokemon Breeder, but I discarded Blastoise in the process, and I don't have another in my hand.  Bad.  Lets say I use Misty's Wrath.  I take what I need; Pokemon Breeder and, lets say, Nightly Garbage Run.  That's good.  I get a Blastoise out, use NGR to get back some of the cards I discarded, and I can open up for an Oak.

It may help or hurt, but it was a better play than using the Oak first.  You may have stalled for time.  You may have beaten that Buzz.  The important thing is you got what you needed to survive and, possibly, win.  See, it doesn't matter how many cards are in your hand.  If none of the cards help you, then what good is the hand?  I see this card as a big Computer Search, but a little more efficient.  Filtering your deck for important cards is more important than getting more cards.

Then there is the fear of "decking" yourself.  Oh, how I have heard many a person say I was going to do that.  But, hey, that's the risk you have to take.  What's a game without a little risk, huh?  You have the choice to either fear running out of cards or get beaten by the opponent.  My suggestion would be to play NGR if you don't want to deck yourself.  And, maybe some Item Finders to get them back.

Lo and behold, the game of Pokemon has so many card advantage Trainers that few people use.  Add one or two Misty's Wraths to your deck and see how good it really is.  And don't tell me you don't want to deck yourself.  You all seem smart enough to find a way out of it.  Play smart and you won't.  Don't play it when you have 3 cards left in your deck.

That is all I have to say about that.  Style and profile.

Mercury Crusader  (aka. The Self-Proclaimed 'Greatest Water Trainer in the World' and Team Rocket supporter)

themerc@angelfire.com

"Styling and profiling only the way a Horseman could..."