COTD – 15th September 2011 – Tornadus EP

In the Video Game, Tornadus allegedly caused massive destruction across the land but the question is, will he cause as large a storm in the TCG?

First Impressions
At first glance, Tornadus has good basic statistics, a relatively high HP of 110 and a good Fighting resistance. Tornadus can utilise Double Colourless Energy, which makes his attack do 80 damage for effectively 2 Energy. Not only is this efficient, it means he can fit well into existing decks that already utilise Double Colourless.

Many reviewers also have touted the biggest feature of Torandus to be his Fighting resistance, which should allow him to fill the role of being a soft wall against a very popular competitive Pokémon, Donphan Prime. However any type of wall other than one put out under trainer-lock is unlikely to be effective for long, given that Pokémon Catcher will allow the Donphan player to knock out vulnerable benched Pokémon instead.

If Tornadus is unlikely to be an effective wall, what type of a role will he play in the competitive scene? My best guess, is that he should be seen as a welcome member of fast decks who need that extra consistency, as well as in decks that have issues with energy consumption.

Setting a Steady Pace for ZPS
Let’s look at arguably one of the fastest decks in the format — Zekrom-Pachirisu-Shaymin or ZPS. One common problem facing ZPS is managing their damage output. They typically either do 20 or 120 damage as their first attack. This means that they are at risk of over-extending Zekrom early on just because they need to take early prizes. Now, ZPS players could aim to take cheap prizes with Tornadus, whilst prepping Zekrom on the bench till Bolt Strike can be fully maximised. Tornadus’ attack, “Hurricane” even lets you shift a Basic Energy to Zekrom!

This brings me to another key strategic feature of Tornadus, and that is his attack’s effect of shifting one Basic Energy to a benched Pokémon. This may seem counter-intuitive at first — Why would you want to shift Energy away from your Active Pokémon to your bench? Wouldn’t that put you at risk of not being able to attack next turn? Well, not exactly.

Firstly, Tornadus only requires you to shift a Basic Energy so if all he has are Special Energies such as Double Colourless or Rescue, then nothing further happens. Secondly, Tornadus’ damage is hardcapped at 80, which means you really shouldn’t be relying on him to take out your opponent’s heavy hitters, that should be a job for say, a Donphan Prime with ‘Heavy Impact’, or a Magnezone with ‘Lost Burn’.

There’s No Kill Quite Like Overkill
Even decks like Reshiboar or Emboar Magnezone could find a place for Tornadus in their line-up. With Pokémon Catcher a mainstay in every deck, everyone can take cheap prizes. However, why waste a costly attack like Blue Flare or Lost Burn on an Opponent’s 60 HP basic when you can use Hurricane and then charge up your big guns to maximise their attack? Decks like these need to monitor their Energy consumption very carefully so saving that one or two Energy can make a huge difference in the bigger scheme of things.

Tornadus is an extremely interesting card. His usefulness to a deck may not be immediately obvious but I’m sure that if you keep the above points in mind, you may find a very strategic Pokémon lurking beneath deceptively simple statistics. As they say, a storm is coming.

Playability: 7 / 10

Artwork: Tornadus has a full art version, just like his ‘brother’ deity, Thundurus. Both are very similar and very well done. Just like the full-art for Reshiram and Zekrom, they are fine cards to look at in a collection or even when played at a table.

The Tornadus full art is, without a doubt, far more exciting than the normal one, even though both have Tornadus in the exact same pose. The swirl of clouds behind the full art Tornadus is faithful to his position as a Wind Deity as well as his attack.

To be honest, I’m not a big fan of their character design but objectively speaking, they are very well drawn and interesting to look at. When you take into account their backstory as part of a trio of deities based on Japanese folklore, their somewhat alien apperance may even be surprisingly attractive for some.

Artwork: 7/10 (normal version), 9/10 (full art version)

by Caderz

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