Pokemon Card of the Day: Blaziken (Great Encounters)

Today's Pokemon Card of the Day is Blaziken from the Great Encounters set. This is a stage 2, fire type Pokemon card with an hp of 130. Blaziken has a +30 weakness to water type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a low retreat cost of one colorless energy card. Unfortunately Blaziken doesn't have a Poke-Power or Poke-Body but it does have two moves, the first move is called Fire Dance and for one colorless energy card this move does 30 damage it also lets you search your discard pile for a fire energy card and lets you attach it to one of your Pokemon. This move goes extremely well with Blaziken's other move called Flame Kick which requires 3 energy cards, two fire and one colorless, this move does 80 damage to one of your opponent's Pokemon but you have to discard 2 fire energy cards in order to use this move. So as far as strategy goes I wouldn't keep this card on the bench long, I would get at least two energy cards on it then put it as my active Pokemon, if I had only two energy cards on it I would use Fire Dance and attach the fire energy card you get from that move to Blaziken so the next turn I could use Flame Kick, I would always make sure to have at least one energy card in my hand to attach to Blaziken so I could use Flame Kick every other turn. When I would use Flame Kick I would probably try and one hit knock out my opponent's weak benched Pokemon so I could win the game faster. I would give this card a 4 out of 5 rating because it has a good hp, low retreat cost, and two moves that work very well together, plus I like how you can do 80 damage to any of your opponent's Pokemon not just the active one. So thanks for reading today's review of Blaziken from Great Encounters stay tuned for tomorrow's review of another Great Encounters card.

Pokemon Card of the Day: Swampert (Great Encounters)

Today's Pokemon Card of the Day is Swampert from the Great Encounters set, this card is a stage 2, water type Pokemon card with an hp of 130. It has a +30 weakness to grass type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a 2 colorless energy card retreat cost. Swampert's Poke-Power is called Wash Out and this power lets you as often as you like during your turn move any water or fighting energy from your benched Pokemon to your active Pokemon. Swampert's only move is entitled Hammer Arm and this move requires four energy cards, two each of water and colorless and does 80 damage, besides doing the damage you also get to discard the top card of your opponent's deck. So as far as strategy goes I would definitely try and get Swampert onto your bench as soon as possible so you can utilize Wash Out, that way if you get a powerful Pokemon on your bench later and already have energy cards attached to other Pokemon you can move that powerful Pokemon into your active Pokemon spot right away without having to wait let's say four turns to get enough energy on it to attack you can just take four energy cards from your benched Pokemon and start attacking right away. I would actually hope that when using this card in my deck that it would come up a little bit later in play so I could use the strategy I just talked about above with this Swampert card, that way I could use Hammer Arm right away which if I do it two turns in a row to the same Pokemon it should knock it out, plus discarding my opponent's cards towards the end of the game could make them run out of cards and I can win the game that way. I would give this card a 5 out of 5 rating because it has a solid hp with 130, a reasonable retreat cost, a very powerful move that does not only damage but affects my opponent's deck, and a Poke-Power that can affect my whole team. So thanks for reading today's review of Swampert from Great Encounters stay tuned for tomorrow's review of another Great Encounters card.

Pokemon Card of the Day: Ampharos (Secret Wonders)

Today's Pokemon Card of the Day is Ampharos from the Secret Wonders set, this is a stage 2, electric type Pokemon card with an hp of 130. Ampharos has a +30 weakness to fighting type Pokemon, a -20 resistance to metal type Pokemon and a retreat cost of three colorless energy cards. Ampharos's Poke-Body is called Jamming and this power says that whenever your opponent plays a supporter card you may put one damage counter on each of their Pokemon. Ampharos's only move is called Cluster Bolt which takes 3 energy cards, 2 colorless and 1 electric, and this move does 70 hp damage plus you can discard all electric type energy cards and do an additional 20 damage to each of your opponent's benched Pokemon that has any energy cards attached to it. So as far as strategy goes I would suggest using Ampharos right away, that way you can start spreading damage by using Jamming and then when you use Cluster Bolt you can discard 1 electric type energy card each turn as long as you have some in your hand and then you can do 20 more damage to some of their benched Pokemon and knock them out in 2 or 3 turns if they are basic Pokemon. I would give this card a 4 out of 5 because it has a high hp, a good Poke-Body and good powerful move and you can do spread damage with this card. So thanks for reading today's review of Ampharos from Secret Wonders stay tuned for tomorrow's review of a card from Great Encounters.

Pokemon Card of the Day: Alakazam (Mysterious Treasures)

Today's Pokemon Card of the Day is Alakazam from the Mysterious Treasures set. This is a stage 2, psychic type Pokemon card, with an hp of 100. Alakazam has a +30 weakness to Psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a retreat cost of one colorless energy card. Alakazam's Poke-Power is called Power Cancel and this power says that whenever your opponent uses a Poke-Power you can discard 2 cards from your hand and prevent that Poke-Power completely. Alakazam's only move is called Psychic Guard and this move does 50 hp damage for 3 energy cards, 2 psychic, and one colorless. Besides doing the damage any damage done to Alakazam during your opponent's next turn from their stage 2 Pokemon is reduced by 30. So as far as strategy is considered I would keep Alakazam on the bench at all times so that if your opponent ever uses a Poke-Power you don't want them to use you can just discard two cards from your hand. Other than that this card is straightforward strategy-wise since it only has one move, but I would probably keep this card on my bench until my opponent has a stage 2 card as their active Pokemon. I would rate this card a 4 out of 5 because it has a very good Poke-Power and can reduce the damage done by powerful stage 2 Pokemon. So thanks for reading today's review of Alakazam from Mysterious Treasures stay tuned for tomorrow's review of a card from Secret Wonders.

Pokemon Card of the Day: Staraptor (Diamond and Pearl)

Today's Pokemon Card of the Day is Staraptor from the Diamond and Pearl set, this card is a stage 1, normal type card with an hp of 100. Staraptor has a +30 weakness to electric type Pokemon, a -20 resistance to fighting type Pokemon and a free retreat cost. Staraptor has no Poke-Power or Poke-Body but it does have two moves, the first move is called Accelerative Dive which does 30 hp damage for 1 colorless energy card, when doing this move you have to flip a coin, if the coin is tails this move does nothing, if the coin is heads it prevents all effects of an attack including done to Staraptor during your opponent's next turn. Staraptor's second move is called Brave Heart and this move does 100 damage for 4 colorless energy cards but you also have to flip a coin with this card and if the coin is tails Staraptor does 100 damage to itself, so it basically is a self-destructive move. As far as strategy goes I would really only use this card to to brave Heart I would just put Staraptor on my bench and put 4 energy cards on it and if I need to do 100 damage to win the game, I'll move Staraptor into my active Pokemon spot and win the game, otherwise this card isn't worth it to use at all, because either move is 100 percent accurate since the first move might not even do damage and the second move will knock out Staraptor right away. I would rate this card a 2 out of 5, the only reason I didn't rate this card a 1 out of 5 is because this card has free retreat cost, but I would advise to stay away from this card. So thanks for reading today's review of Staraptor from Diamond and Pearl stay tuned for tomorrow's review of a card from Mysterious Treasures.

Pokemon Card of the Day: Gengar (Stormfront)

Today's Pokemon Card of the Day is Gengar from the Stormfront set. This is a stage 2, psychic type Pokemon card with an hp of 110. Gengar has a +30 weakness to dark type Pokemon, a -20 resistance to normal Pokemon and a free retreat cost. Gengar's Poke-Power is called Fainting Spell which says that during your opponent's turn if they knock out Gengar you may flip a coin and if it is heads the defending Pokemon is knocked out. Gengar also has two moves to go with its Poke-Power, Gengar's first move is called Shadow Room which takes 1 Psychic energy card and allows you to put 3 damage counters on any of your opponent's Pokemon that you like and if that Pokemon you choose has a Poke-Power you can put 6 damage counters on it instead of 3. Gengar's second move is called Poltergeist and this move requires 2 energy cards, one each of Psychic and colorless, this move does 30 damage times the number of trainer, supporter, and stadium cards in your opponent's hand. So even if you do use this move and your opponent doesn't have any of these cards you can at least see their hand. As far as strategy goes I would recommend doing Shadow Room to any Pokemon that has a Poke-Power on it and using Poltergeist only when you know your opponent has at least 1 trainer card in their hand. I would rate this card a 5 out of 5 because it has no retreat cost, has an excellent Poke-Power which gives you a 50/50 chance of knocking out the defending Pokemon if it knocks out you and Gengar also lets you look at your opponent's hand, and do 60 damage for only 1 energy card. So thanks for reading today's review of Gengar from Stormfront stay tuned for tomorrow's review of another Diamond and Pearl series card.

Pokemon Card of the Day: Arcanine (Rising Rivals)

Today's Pokemon Card of the Day is Arcanine from the Rising Rivals set. This is a stage 1, fire type Pokemon card with an hp of 100. Arcanine has a +20 weakness to water type Pokemon, no resistance type and a retreat cost of two colorless energy cards. Arcanine's Poke-Body called Flare Condition which says that as long as Arcanine has any fire energy attached to it Arcanine has no weakness, so you can basically use this Poke-Body when you are battling water type Pokemon. Arcanine has two moves the first move is called Burn Out and this move takes two energy cards, one each of fire and colorless and this move does 30 damage unless you want to burn Arcanine then this move can do 60 damage. Arcanine's other move is called Flames of Rage and this move does the standard 60 damage for 3 energy cards, 2 colorless and 1 fire. Besides doing 60 damage for each fire energy card you want to discard when you use this move it adds 10 more hp damage to the move. So as far as strategy goes I would recommend keeping Arcanine on your bench until you get one energy card on it at least, especially if you're battling water Pokemon, then I would use Burn Out first but I wouldn't burn myself since burning Arcanine isn't worth it unless that 60 damage will really change the outlook of the game. I would mainly use Flames of Rage and only discard energy cards once again if 10 more damage would either knock out that Pokemon in one turn instead of two or you have more than 3 energy cards attached to Arcanine so you would be able to use Flames of Rage next turn too. I would give this card a 3 out of 5 because it is very average for a stage 1 Pokemon card, there is nothing too special about this card, I do like how both moves can do at least 60 damage. So thanks for reading today's review of Arcanine from Rising Rivals stay tuned for tomorrow's review of another Diamond and Pearl card.