COTD – 2nd August 2011 – Dratini TM

My chosen card for today is an odd choice, but interesting to say the least, Dratini from the HS: Triumphant set.

This little blue dragon features an average 50HP for a Basic, two attacks and a single retreat cost. It also has a now uncommon weakness to Colourless, something that was without a doubt the worst thing to have last format!

Let’s talk (briefly) about its second attack ‘Ram’ first since it is the least interesting of the two. First off, the attack costs a Double Colourless and does 20 damage and well, that’s pretty much it. No catches or benefits, just 20 damage. Now, for a Double Colourless or two energy attachments, this is really bad so that’s enough about that and let’s move onto why this card is interesting.

‘Gentle Wrap’ is where Dratini can turn into a fun little card in competitive play. This attack costs just a single energy and does 10 damage with the added effect that the defending Pokemon can’t retreat next turn. This instantly reminds me of another card that has been used in competitive play, Spinarak HS, that has the same kind of attack, but it doesn’t inflict damage and needs Grass energy rather than Colourless. So how does Dratini compare?

Well, since it has a Colourless attack cost, it can pretty much be put into any deck that has a single energy to spare. But why, I hear you ask, would we even want Dratini in our decks? The answer to that is that it is a very effective form of stall against Baby Pokemon in the format, with Cleffa being the main target. With no damage output whatsoever, Cleffa can be stuck in the active position for multiple turns until it is KO’d by the little damage that Gentle Wrap does.

The only issue with Dratini when it comes to comparing to Spinarak is that it actually does damage whereas Spinarak doesn’t. This still means that you can stall for a maximum of 3 turns against a Cleffa, but Spinarak gives you that option of being very sneaky and locking it there for the rest of the game, until you can take a prize at the end to win. Along with the fact that you won’t see any more than a single Cleffa in decks now means that you are rarely going to get the lock with this guy and even if you do, it will only be for three turns where both players can get set-up behind.

Overall, Dratini is a fun, league-bound card that can put opponent’s in tricky situations, but Spinarak does this so much better with the ability to lock for an infinite duration, especially when paired with Vileplume. Taking all this into account, I’m going to give Dratini a below average 4/10. Try it out if you’re currently experiencing a lot of Cleffa use, but otherwise it’s going to have to be left in the binder.

Thanks for reading today’s card of the day and make sure you comment below what you think about the card!

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