Volcarona -- Steam Siege Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Volcarona from the Steam Siege Pokemon Card Set.  Volcarona is a stage 1, grass and fire type Pokemon card, with an hp of 110. It has a x2 weakness to fire type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Volcarona does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Shimmering Scales and for one grass energy card does 20 damage and either confuses the defending Pokemon or paralyzes it depending on what result you get when flipping a coin.  Volcarona's second move is called Power Hurricane and for three colorless energy cards this move does 120 damage, however after using this move you must discard all energy attached to this Pokemon.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Volcarona is a stage 1 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Larvesta into play (I reviewed Larvesta from this set yesterday) and then evolve Larvesta into Volcarona.  If you read yesterday's review of Larvesta, you'll know that I thought it was a below average Basic Pokemon card, mainly because it was slow on the attack and had a higher retreat cost, other than that, it had a decent move and an above average HP, but because it was slower, I didn't recommend using it on its own.  So knowing this about Larvesta and looking at this Volcarona card, I do like that this card is quicker on the attack, although it does less damage, and if you have a quick way of retrieving energy cards from your discard pile, it may be worth using Power Hurricane once, retreating Volcarona the next turn, and then powering up Volcarona again.  If you can't quickly get energy cards from your discard pile, this card is definitely one to avoid, you don't want to do only 20 damage a turn with a Stage 1 card.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion, this is a below average Stage 1 Pokemon card from the Steam Siege set.  Just like Larvesta from yesterday, this card is solid overall, but it just lacks somethings preventing it from being an average card overall.  I like the fact that this card has a low retreat cost, high HP, and two moves, but neither move that this card has is that great and that to me is the main reason I am giving this card a 2 rating.  Together with Larvesta from this set, I would give the two cards a 2 out of 5 rating.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Volcarona from the Steam Siege set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Ponyta, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

Free Pokemon TCG Online Code Cards:
Today's Quiz for a Pokemon TCG Online Code Card --
What type has Volcarona been in a majority of English sets?
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Volcarona -- 18/98 Ancient Origins Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Volcarona from the Ancient Origins Pokemon Card Set.  This is the second of two Volcarona cards I've reviewed from this set.  Volcarona is a stage 1, fire type Pokemon card, with an hp of 110.  It has a x2 weakness to water type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a two colorless energy card retreat cost.  This Volcarona card has an Ancient Trait called Stop that says it prevents all effects of your opponent's Abilities used against it.  Besides the Ancient Trait, Volcarona has two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Burning Scales, for one fire energy card this move does 20 damage plus 20 more damage for each heads you get when you flip two coins.  Volcarona's second move is called Wind Wheel and for three energy cards, two colorless and one fire, this move does 80 damage, plus your opponent must switch their active Pokemon with one of their benched Pokemon.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Volcarona is a stage 1 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Larvesta into play (I reviewed Larvesta from this set two days ago) and then evolve Larvesta into Volcarona, there are actually two Volcarona cards from this set, and I'll be comparing both Volcarona cards later in this post..  If you read my review of Larvesta, I thought it was a slightly below average Basic Pokemon card, mainly because it only had one move and that move required two energy cards to use instead of one.  However, Larvesta did have an above average HP, and a good move, so it wasn't all bad, and would be a perfect starter in the Larvesta - Volcarona line.  So knowing this about Larvesta and looking at this Volcarona, whereas yesterday's card could be really used in any type deck since it required one colorless energy card to set up your bench, this card would work better in a spread damage type deck.  I would set this line up on the bench, again using a 1-1 line, then get Volcarona into the active Pokemon spot and use Wind Wheel every turn, depending on when you get it into the active Pokemon spot will determine what happens, you'll either be able to knock out Pokemon each turn that already have damage on them, or after a few turns with Volcarona in the active Pokemon spot you move a Pokemon that can do 10 or 20 damage to each of your opponent's benched Pokemon and knock out multiple Pokemon at once.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 4 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion this is an above average Stage 1 Pokemon card from the Ancient Origins set.  There really isn't anything that I greatly dislike about this card, it has a higher HP than yesterday's Volcarona card, an Ancient Trait, and two very good moves, both having the potential to do above average damage.  So you really can't go wrong with either Volcarona card from this set, it all depends on the strategy you want to go with in your deck, yesterday's card being more a set up card and today's card being more of an attacker.  Together with Larvesta from this set I would give the two cards a 4 out of 5 rating.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Volcarona from the Ancient Origins set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Magikarp, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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Besides Volcarona, what was the most recent Pokemon I reviewed on my blog that was a Stage 1 Pokemon and had two cards, one a regular Stage 1, the other with an Ancient Trait?
Please respond by including your YouTube username and link to your YouTube channel.  If the question is quite tough, the first correct comment will win, otherwise I'll use a random number generator to choose a winner.

Volcarona 17/98 -- Ancient Origins Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Volcarona from the Ancient Origins Pokemon Card Set.  This is the first of two Volcarona  cards I'll be reviewing consecutively.  Volcarona is a stage 1, fire type Pokemon card, with an hp of 100.  It has a x2 weakness to water type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Volcarona does not have an Ability or Ancient Trait but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Solar Birth, for one colorless energy card this move allows you to search your deck for a Basic Pokemon card, put it onto your bench, and then attach two energy cards from your deck to that Pokemon.  Volcarona's second move is called Flamethrower, for two energy cards, one each of fire and colorless, this move does 60 damage, however you must discard an energy attached to Volcarona after using Flamethrower.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Volcarona is a stage 1 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Larvesta into play (I reviewed Larvesta from this set yesterday) and then evolve Larvesta into Volcarona, there are actually two Volcarona cards from this set, and I'll be reviewing the second one tomorrow and then comparing the two.  If you read yesterday's review of Larvesta, I thought it was a slightly below average Basic Pokemon card, mainly because it only had one move and that move required two energy cards to use instead of one.  However, Larvesta did have an above average HP, and a good move, so it wasn't all bad, and would be a perfect starter in the Larvesta - Volcarona line.  So knowing this about Larvesta and looking at this Volcarona, this line is definitely in play when building a fire type deck.  What I really like about this Volcarona card is its Solar Birth move, as long as you get Volcarona into the active Pokemon spot very early in the game, you can quickly get your Basic Pokemon set up on the bench very quickly.  Plus, if you get Volcarona into the active Pokemon spot early in the game and don't want to use Solar Birth, Flamethrower does above average damage each and every turn.  Because the main reason to use this card is for Solar Birth and not an attacking move, I would only recommend using a 1-1 line of these two Pokemon in a deck.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 4 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion this is an above average Stage 1 Pokemon card from the Ancient Origins set.  There really isn't anything that I greatly dislike about this card, it has a high HP, low retreat cost, and two very good moves, one for attacking, the other for setting up your bench.  So combined with Larvesta from this set, I can give these two cards a 4 out of 5 rating, definitely consider them when building a deck.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Volcarona from the Ancient Origins set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of the second Volcarona card, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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Today's Quiz for a Pokemon TCG Online Code Card --
True or False?  Volcarona is the only fire type Pokemon in Ancient Origins to have two cards.
Please respond by including your YouTube username and link to your YouTube channel.  If the question is quite tough, the first correct comment will win, otherwise I'll use a random number generator to choose a winner.

Volcarona -- Plasma Blast Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Volcarona from the Plasma Blast Pokemon Card Set.  Volcarona is a stage 1, fire type Pokemon card, with an hp of 100.  It has a x2 weakness to water type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Volcarona does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Solar Transporter, this move requires one colorless energy card and lets you reveal the top 5 cards of your deck and put all Team Plasma cards you have there into your hand, however you have to discard the rest of those cards.  Volcarona's second move is called Leech Life, this move requires three energy cards, two fire and one colorless, and does 50 damage, plus however much damage Volcarona does to the defending Pokemon, you can heal that amount of damage from Volcarona.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Volcarona is a stage 1 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Larvesta into play (I reviewed Larvesta from this set yesterday) and then evolve Larvesta into Volcarona.  If you read yesterday's review, you'll know that I thought Larvesta was an average basic Pokemon card that could be used on its own but I would not do so personally.  The card had decent moves but its retreat cost was a ridiculous three colorless energy cards.  Because the retreat cost was so hard on that card, I didn't recommend using it, but I would recommend using one of those cards with this Volcarona card.  The strategy I would have with this line is to have one of each Pokemon and include these two cards in a Team Plasma heavy deck.  I would then try and get Volcarona into the active Pokemon spot as soon as possible and use Solar Transporter a few turns to get the cards you need into your hand quickly.  After using that move a few turns, I would then use Leech Life as many turns as I could while setting up my benched Pokemon, then when Volcarona is close to feinting I would retreat it for only one energy card.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 4 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion this is an above average stage 1 Pokemon card.  I think this card is above average because it has a low retreat cost, high hp and two good moves, especially if you're using this card in a Team Plasma type deck.  The downfall of this card in my opinion is that Leech Life doesn't do the standard 60 damage per turn for three energy cards and that you have to discard the cards that aren't Team Plasma cards when you use Solar Transporter.  But the positives outweigh the negatives on this card so I would definitely recommend using this card in a deck.  Overall I would give the line of Larvesta and Volcarona from this set a 3 out of 5 rating, Larvesta was a 3 and Volcarona a 4.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Volcarona from the Plasma Blast set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Squirtle, which is from this same set.  Make sure to check below for the Free Pokemon TCG Online Codes!

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Today's Quiz for a Pokemon TCG Online Code Card --
What was the last English set that Volcarona was in, and what rating did I give this card?
Please respond by including your YouTube username and link to your YouTube channel.  If the question is quite tough, the first correct comment will win, otherwise I'll use a random number generator to choose a winner.

Volcarona -- Dark Explorers Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Volcarona from the Dark Explorers Pokemon Card Set.  This is a stage 1, fire type Pokemon card, with an hp of 110.  It has a x2 weakness to water type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a three colorless energy card retreat cost.  Volcarona's Ability is called Scorching Scales and says to put 4 damage counters on your opponent's burned Pokemon between turns instead of 2.  Besides the Ability, Volcarona has one move called Burning Wind which takes three energy cards, two colorless and one fire, and does 70 damage, if you choose to remove an energy card from Volcarona when you use this move the defending Pokemon is now burned.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since this Pokemon's Ability can only take affect if the defending Pokemon is burned you'll definitely want to have Pokemon in your deck that can easily burn the defending Pokemon, that way you can keep Volcarona on your bench, burn the defending Pokemon with another one of your Pokemon and then use Volcarona's Ability to do double damage.  If you have to put Volcarona into the active Pokemon spot, I would recommend using Burning Wind and discarding an energy card if the defending Pokemon has between 80 and 110 hp, otherwise if it has less than 80 hp you won't need to discard an energy card or if the Pokemon has between 120 and 140 hp you can use Burning Wind two turns in a row and knock out those Pokemon.  I would probably have a 2-2 line of Volcarona and Larvesta in a fire type deck.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 4 out of 5 rating.  I think this card is very good, especially since it can do so much damage without setting foot in the active Pokemon spot if you have another Pokemon in your deck that can burn Pokemon.  Even when the Volcarona is in the active Pokemon spot it is quite powerful and as long as you have plenty of energy cards in your hand this card is great.  The only bad thing about this card is that it has a high retreat cost.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Volcarona from the Dark Explorers set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Empoleon from the same set.