Archen -- Plasma Blast Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Archen from the Plasma Blast Pokemon Card Set.  Archen is a restored, fighting type Pokemon card with an hp of 70.  It has a x2 weakness to grass type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Archen's Ability is called Prehistoric Call which says that if you have an Archen card in your discard pile, you may move that card from your discard pile to the bottom of your deck.  Besides the Ability, Archen has just one move Wing Attack, this move requires two colorless energy cards and does 20 damage.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Archen is a restored Pokemon card with a stage 1 evolution in Archeops, which I'll be reviewing tomorrow, you'll more than likely want to use this card with that Pokemon.  However, since I haven't reviewed that card yet, I'll just act as though I plan on using this card without its evolution.  So on its own since this is a restored Pokemon, you'll have to make sure to have plenty of Plume Fossil trainer cards in your deck, since the only way you can Archen onto your bench is by playing that trainer card the same time you're moving Archen to the bench.  Once you get Archen onto your bench, if you're only using Archen not its evolution you'll want to move this card into the active Pokemon spot as soon as you have two energy cards on it.  That way you can use Wing Attack a couple of turns and then retreat Archen for only one colorless energy card.  I personally would not use this card in a deck because you have to add Plume Fossil trainer cards to your deck instead of having more valuable trainer cards or even Pokemon cards in the deck.  Plus, the Plume Fossil trainer's ability really doesn't do much other than lets you set up Archen for the next Plume Fossil card you get into your hand.  If you were to use this card in a deck I would use no more than 1 of these and pair it with up to 2 Plume Fossil cards.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 2 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion, this is a below average restored Pokemon card from the Plasma Blast set.  If this card were a regular basic Pokemon card I would give it an average rating but since it isn't it is getting a below average rating from me.  I like that this card has a low retreat cost and a move that requires only colorless energy cards, but this card is too big of a hassle to do with since it requires Plume Fossil cards to use, and the only move this card does is average at best.  I would definitely recommend other basic/starter type Pokemon over this card.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Archen from the Plasma Blast set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Archen's stage 1 evolution in Archeops, which is also 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 other "restored" Pokemon are there in the Plasma Blast set?
Please comment with your answer and a link to your YouTube channel.  Only one entry per person per day.  

Sawk -- Plasma Blast Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Sawk from the Plasma Blast Pokemon Card Set.  Sawk is a basic, fighting type Pokemon card with an hp of 90. It has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a one colorless energy card retreat cost.  Sawk does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Kick of Righteousness, this move requires one colorless energy card and does 10 damage plus 40 more damage if the defending Pokemon is a Team Plasma Pokemon.  Sawk's second move is called Low Sweep, this move requires three energy cards, two colorless and one fighting, and does 60 damage.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Sawk is a basic Pokemon with no evolutions, you only have to use this Pokemon in your deck if you want to use this card.  If you are building a fighting type deck, I would highly recommend including 4 of these in your deck as a starter type Pokemon.  I would try and get one of these into the active Pokemon spot early in the game, use Kick of Righteousness every turn until you can use Low Sweep.  The reason I would use so many Sawk in a deck is because it is equal to most basic, starter type Pokemon out there since it can do 10 damage for one energy card and has a one colorless energy card retreat cost, but this card is much better than a majority of those cards because it has 90 hp and can do 60 damage.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 5 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion, this is an above average and almost perfect basic Pokemon card from the Plasma Blast set.  I highly recommend using this card in a fighting type deck, not only can it be a great starter Pokemon for your deck, but this card can hold up well any time throughout the entire Pokemon battle since it can do 60 damage per turn and has 90 hp.  Another very nice thing about this card is that it is a common card, rarity wise, this means these cards will be easy to find to put in your deck.  So you really can't go wrong with using this card in your deck, there isn't anything to dislike about this card.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Sawk from the Plasma Blast set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Archen, 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 --
Which English set has the best Sawk card in it, at least the one I gave the highest rating?
Please respond by including the correct answer and a link to your YouTube channel.

Throh -- Plasma Blast Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:

Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Throh from the Plasma Blast Pokemon Card Set.  Throh is a basic, fighting type Pokemon card with an hp of 100. It has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a three colorless energy card retreat cost.  Throh does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Freestyle Strike, this move requires two energy cards, one each of fighting and colorless, and does 30 damage times the number of heads you get when you flip two coins.  Throh's second move is called Shoulder Throw, this move requires three energy cards, two colorless and one fighting, and does 80 damage minus 20 damage for each colorless energy card in the defending Pokemon's retreat cost.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Throh is a basic Pokemon with no evolutions, you only have to use this Pokemon in your deck if you want to use this card.  With that being said, this card is a little slower for a basic Pokemon card since it requires at least two energy cards to attack, but it does have the potential to do above average damage for the amount of energy cards it requires to attack.  I personally would not use this card in a deck because there isn't the greatest of chances that this card will actually do a very big amount of damage, but if you choose to use this card in your deck I would recommend using 1 or 2 maximum.  You could just include this card in your deck to counterbalance your opponent's strategy of using Pokemon with free or low retreat costs, by using Shoulder Throw it will prevent this.  If your opponent doesn't have Pokemon like that in their deck, this card is best used early in the game when for two energy cards it can potentially do 60 damage per turn.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion, this is an average basic Pokemon card from the Plasma Blast set.  This card is much more powerful than most starter type Pokemon out there, but because Throh has such a high retreat cost and both of its moves may end up doing nothing, this card definitely isn't more than average and it isn't a card I would use in any of my decks.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Throh from the Plasma Blast set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Sawk, 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 --
How many English Black and White series Pokemon card sets have had Throh in them?
Please respond by including the correct answer and a link to your YouTube channel.

Machamp #50/101 -- Plasma Blast Pokemon Card Review

Pokemon Card Overview:
Today's Pokemon Card Review is of Machamp from the Plasma Blast Pokemon Card Set.  This is the second of two Machamp cards I've reviewed from the Plasma Blast set.  Machamp is a stage 2, fighting type Pokemon card, with an hp of 140.  It has a x2 weakness to psychic type Pokemon, no resistance type, and a three colorless energy card retreat cost.  This Machamp card does not have an Ability but it does have two moves.  The first move that this card has is called Knock Off, for three energy cards, two colorless and one fighting, this move does 60 damage plus you get to randomly discard a card from your opponent's hand.  Machamp's second move is called Reinforced Lariat, this move requires four energy cards, two each of colorless and fighting, and does 80 damage, plus 40 more damage if you have a Tool card attached to Machamp.

Pokemon Card Strategy:
So as far as strategy goes, since Machamp is a stage 2 Pokemon card, you'll first have to get Machop into play and then evolve it into Machoke before you can evolve Machoke into Machamp, both of those Pokemon are from this set and I've reviewed both of them the last couple of days.  The previous two Pokemon in this family are average at best, both have high retreat costs so if you want to use Machamp in your deck, I would recommend setting this line up on your bench.  And remember, this is the second card of Machamp from this set, later in this blog post I'll be comparing the two.  If you want to use this Machamp card in your deck, like I mentioned set it up on your bench, this card is a bit quicker than yesterday's Machamp card and it doesn't have an Ability so there is no reason to keep it on your bench was you have enough energy cards on Machamp to attack.  Because this Machamp card requires so many energy cards to attack and has a high retreat cost, if you want to use this line in your deck, I wouldn't use more than a 2-1-1 line of Machop, Machoke, and Machamp.

Pokemon Card Rating:
I would give this card a 3 out of 5 rating.  In my opinion this is an average stage 2 Pokemon card from the Plasma Blast Pokemon card set.  I have given both Machamp cards from this set a 3 out of 5 rating, but I actually prefer yesterday's card more, it has a higher hp, can do more damage consistenty, and has a pretty good Ability.  So if you're looking to use the Machamp family in your deck, use the other card from this set.  I would give the entire line of Machop, Machoke, and this Machamp card a 2 out of 5 rating, overall it is just slightly worse than this line with the other Machamp card.

Tomorrow's Pokemon Card:
So thanks for reading today's Pokemon card review of Machamp from the Plasma Blast set, stay tuned for tomorrow's card review of Throh, 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 original (Kanto Region) Gym Leader in the Pokemon Anime owned a Machamp?
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.