Luxio #44/99 -- Next Destinies Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Luxio from the Next Destinies set. This is the first of two consecutive card reviews I'll be doing on Luxio. This is a stage 1, electric type Pokemon card with an hp of 80. It evolves from Shinx and into Luxray, I've already reviewed Luxray from this set in a blog post. Luxio has a x2 weakness to fighting type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost. Luxio doesn't have an Ability but it does have two moves, the first move is called Jump On which does 20 damage plus 30 more damage if you get a heads when you flip a coin for only one electric energy card. Luxio's second move is called Wild Charge and does 60 damage for three energy cards, two colorless and one electric, however when using this move Luxio does 10 damage to itself.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since this is a stage 1 card, you'll want to eventually evolve Luxio into Luxray which has quite a bit more hp and better moves, however for the time being, when you get Luxio into play you have the choice of either using Jump On or Wild Charge, I would recommend Wild Charge over Jump On unless Luxio isn't going to evolve into Luxray soon or if Luxio is about to feint and 10 damage would knock itself out. It will be interesting to see if this card is better than tomorrow's Luxio card I'll be reviewing. Since Luxio doesn't have any special abilities or moves that inflict special conditions or spread damage, you may as well keep this card on your bench until you evolve it into Luxray.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating. I am hoping tomorrow's Luxio card is better but this one is pretty poor. It has a low hp, and both of its moves don't do much, Jump On will only do good 50 % of the time and Wild Charge will end up knocking you out if you use it too much.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Luxio from the Next Destinies set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of the second Luxio card from the same set.

Raichu -- Next Destinies Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Raichu from the Next Destinies set. This is a stage 1, electric type Pokemon card with an hp of 90. Raichu has a x2 weakness to fighting type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost. Raichu doesn't have an Ability but it does have two moves, the first move is called Thundershock which takes one electric energy card and does 20 damage plus paralyzes the defending Pokemon if you get heads when you flip a coin. Raichu's second move is called Slam which takes three energy cards, two colorless and one electric, and does 80 damage times the number of heads you get when you flip two coins.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, if you want to use this card to do a lot of damage you'll need to load up three energy cards on this card and hope for some luck. If you use Slam every turn you may knock out a Pokemon every turn or you may never knock out a Pokemon, it really depends on the flip of a coin with this move. I would stay away from Thundershock unless you can knock out the defending Pokemon with 20 damage, in my opinion Thundershock isn't a great move because it doesn't do enough damage for a stage 1 Pokemon card. I would only use Pikachu and Raichu in an electric type deck if I was looking for 3 more cards to use because I wouldn't ever use more than a 2-1 line of Pikachu and Raichu in any deck.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating. This card is average overall, with an average hp and average retreat cost, however the reason I am downgrading this card to a 2 out of 5 is because of its moves, Thundershock should do at least 30 damage to be worthwhile and I just don't like the amount of luck you need with Slam to actually knock a Pokemon out.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Raichu from the Next Destinies set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of the first of two Luxio cards from the same set.

Frillish -- Next Destinies Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Frillish from the Next Destinies set. This is a basic, water type Pokemon card that evolves into Jellicent. I've already reviewed Jellicent from this set. Frillish has an hp of 80, a x2 weakness to electric type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a two colorless energy card retreat cost. Frillish doesn't have an Ability but it does have two moves, the first move is called Bubble and for one colorless energy card it allows you to Paralyze the defending Pokemon if you get a heads when you flip a coin. Frillish's other move is called Spit Poison which automatically poisons the defending Pokemon for two energy cards, one each of water and colorless.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since this is a basic Pokemon card that has an evolution you'll want to evolve Frillish into Jellicent as soon as possible since Jellicent has a much higher hp and much better moves, but if you're forced to play Frillish for a measurable amount of time you should try and poison the defending Pokemon first and then Paralyze it. I would include this card in a deck that also has other cards that inflict special conditions or spread damage around on the defending Pokemon. That way if you play Frillish you may be able to knock out the active Pokemon if it already has a lot of damage on it from earlier attacks. Frillish would be a good starter card since it has a high hp and doesn't require much energy to attack, however since this card actually doesn't do any damage you'll only be able to use this card as a staller until you evolve it or move a better Pokemon into the active Pokemon spot.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating. This is a pretty average basic Pokemon card. I would definitely evolve Frillish if I had the chance. If I were to use this card in my deck I would only use a 2-1 line of Frillish and Jellicent.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Jellicent from the Next Destinies set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Raichu from the same set.

Vanillish -- Next Destinies Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Vanillish from the Next Destinies set. This is a stage 1, water type Pokemon card with an hp of 80. It evolves from Vanillite and into Vanilluxe, I've already reviewed Vanilluxe from this set in a blog post. Vanillish has a x2 weakness to metal type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a two colorless energy card retreat cost. Vanillish doesn't have an Ability but it does have two moves, the first move is called Icy Snow which takes one water energy card and does 20 damage. Vanillish's second move is called Icy Wind and for three energy cards, two colorless and one water, it does 50 damage, plus puts the defending Pokemon to sleep if you get a heads when you flip a coin.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since this is a stage 1 card, you'll want to eventually evolve Vanillish into Vanilluxe which has quite a bit more hp and better moves, however for the time being, when you get Vanillish into play it really isn't that bad. I would definitely stick with Icy Wind if I had the necessary energy on Vanillish. I would include this card in a deck that has many cards that put Pokemon to sleep, that way my opponent wouldn't be able to switch Vanillish out for another Pokemon if most of my Pokemon put the defending Pokemon to sleep. However with only 80 hp I would only keep Vanillish out there a turn or two before evolving it into Vanilluxe.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating. This card is pretty average overall, I probably wouldn't use this line of Pokemon in my deck, but if I were to I would use a 4-3-2 or 3-3-2 line of Vanillite, Vanillish, and Vanilluxe. One thing I can say for sure about this card is that whenever I really look at it I could sure go for a vanilla ice cream cone.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Vanillish from the Next Destinies set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Frillish from the same set.