COTD – 10th September 2011 – Thundurus EP

Hey everybody, this is Stormthrash here with a Card of the Day on Thundurus EP. Thundurus is one of two legendary genies found in the new Emerging Powers set, and he has a lot of potential to find his way into some decks in the upcoming Battle Road tournaments.

First, let’s go over the stats. Thundurus EP is a 110HP, Basic, Thunder-type Pokemon with x2 weakness to Fighting, no resistance, and a retreat cost of one. Thundurus has two attacks. The first, Charge, has a cost of 1 energy of any type in order to search your deck for a Lightning-type energy and attach it to Thundurus. Thundurus’ second attack, Disaster Volt, has a cost of two Lightning-type energy and 1 energy of any type in order to deal 80 damage to the defending Pokemon for a discard of one energy attached to Thundurus.

Why is it so interesting and possibly viable? Thundurus EP has high potential to score a few quick knockouts in any deck that he is in. With his first attack, Charge, he can be ready to attack on turn 2 with two energy drops; dealing 80 damage to the defending Pokemon with his second attack, Disaster Volt. Throw a Catcher into the mix and you can seriously disrupt your opponent’s set up by consistently knocking out their Basics before they can evolve them. This is particularly devastating for any of the Stage Two decks in the current format, and as such a Thundurus start can possibly sway a Stage Two matchup heavily in your favor.

I can see Thundurus grabbing a spot in any deck running that is either already running electric energy, or that can fit in a few Electric energy for Thundurus to attack. In particular, I can see Thundurus EP going alongside Zekrom and Tornadus EP in Zekrom Donk as a consistent source of turn 2 damage if Zekrom can’t be set up turn 1. 80 damage turn 2 is nothing to scoff at, and the quick prizes Thundurus can gather are very welcome in a speed deck like Zekrom Donk. However; outside of decks like Zekrom Donk, and possibly Megazone, I don’t see Thundurus getting too much play in the upcoming Battle Road tournaments due to its horrible weakness which allows it to be one-shotted by Donphan Prime.

How About the Artwork? Thundurus EP has two artworks. The first is the normal set version and the second is the Full Art (FA) version. Both artworks look quite fierce and very cool. The reverse foil of the regular version of Thundurus EP is very nice, and I actually sort of prefer it to the full art. However; the full art version of Thundurus is stunning as well. Thundurus maintains his fierce, legendary look, and the thunder shooting out of his body only make the full art look that much cooler.

So What Does This All Mean? In conclusion, Thundurus EP is a great fallback source of early prizes in decks like Zekrom Donk and Megazone, but its fighting weakness and slightly low 110HP leaves it vulnerable to being one-shotted by Donphan Prime.
Constructed Playability: 7/10, Nice, consistent tech.
Artwork: 8/10, Very cool art.

Thanks for reading my Thundurus EP Card of the Day. Please check out my youtube channel TheStormthrash for more Pokemon news, card reviews, and deck techs via the Pokemon Trading Card Game Online. http://www.youtube.com/user/TheStormthrash

Don’t forget to rate the card below on how you feel the card fits into the competitive world with the star rating system below