art by Ryo Ueda
Be prepare as we hit uncharted waters. Things may get dangerous as we feature this week’s card. It is quick and deadly. You may not even see it coming as it creeps towards you. Once this card attacks, then expect it to jump out and drag you deep into the water for your doom. It will take a bite out of your deck and won’t let go. Prepare the music because we are going to have a SHARK ATTACK! So join us this week as we set sail and feature Sharpedo EX.
Sharpedo EX is an EX Pokemon that was released in Primal Clash. It is a Darkness type Pokemon with 170 HP, a weakness to Lightning, one energy retreat cost and two attacks. The first attack that Sharpedo EX has is called Hunt which cost a Darkness and Colorless energy. You can switch one of your opponent’s active Pokemon with one of their benched Pokemon and do 30 damage to the new active. If you want to do even more damage then you can use Jagged Fang for two Darkness energy and a Colorless. This attack does 100 damage and if you decide to discard an energy attached to Sharpedo EX then you can discard an energy from your opponent’s active Pokemon.
The Pros
The best thing about Sharpedo EX is the Hunt attack. It costs two energy which means that you can attack after two energy attachments. It is a cheap attack and can be used on turn two if you were the one who went first. This is perfect as you want your opponent to attempt to set up their bench. That way you know who to attack.
Hunt won’t damage the Pokemon in the active when Sharpedo EX attacks. Instead Sharpedo EX will go on your opponent’s bench and drag a helpless Pokemon into the active and tear them up! It may not be for massive damage but but 30 HP can be quite painful when you are a Bronzor who doesn’t want to be in the active. This puts your opponent in an awkward situation where they now need to get their Pokemon out of the active while also continue to set up. That means either they need a Switch, Float Stone, Escape Rope or any other means of retreat. The nightmare doesn’t end there as they could look forward to another Sharpedo EX’s Hunt and possible knock out if they don’t evolve or heal their Pokemon that was force into the active.
To make matters worst, if you have a Muscle Band attached to Sharpedo EX then that is enough to knock out that helpless Bronzor who wasn’t expecting to get damaged. That will surely set back your opponent as they scramble to replace the lost Pokemon.
Sharpedo EX is a Dark type so it has access to all the great Darkness support such as Darkrai EX for free retreat, Yveltal for energy acceleration, and Yveltal EX as a big brother to come in and take care of any big bad Pokemon that may want to hurt Sharpedo EX.
The Cons
Sharpedo EX has a second attack that cost three energy and allows you to discard an energy from your opponent’s active Pokemon. That is if you want to discard an energy attached to Sharpedo EX. This attack is called Jagged Fang and does 100 damage. It isn’t that bad as it does two hit KO any EX Pokemon. The problem is that it involves attaching three energy on to Sharpedo EX and in order to set back your opponent, you need to set back Sharpedo EX. It is a bit risky to hope to have an energy in your hand next turn to reattach on to Sharpedo EX and there is no guarantee that Sharpedo EX will be able to pull off the attack again.
The second thing that Sharpedo EX has against it is a weakness to Lightning Pokemon. If you see a deck running Manetric EX then it may be a good idea to keep Sharpedo EX off the bench. You already have enough problems with Yveltal EX being weak to Lightning Pokemon.
How to Play It
There are a few ways to play Sharpedo. You can either play it either in the early game or late game.
If you play Sharpedo EX in the early game then you want to cause bench disruption. If you are able to get a turn one attachment and attach a second energy on your second turn then you can start using Hunt to get some damage on some low HP benched Pokemon. You would want to target Pokemon like Bronzor, Exeggcute, and other bench Pokemon that are used as support. That way your opponent will rush to get them out of the active. If you have a Muscle Band then you can knock out things like Bronzor to prevent them from evolving into Bronzong.
Even if these Pokemon escape back to the bench then you can use Hunt again and drag them back into the active for more damage. This will hurt their set up and make things quite nasty as you slowly set a Yveltal EX on your bench.
If you play your cards right, then you can maybe break Toad Lock and Exeggutor Lock. Is there a Seismeitoad EX that is preventing the use of items thanks to Quaking Punch? Maybe there is an Exeggutor who is using Blockade to prevent you from using your Supporters? Simply just use Hunt to push them out of the way and replace them with another Pokemon that doesn’t have any means of retreating. That one turn without them attacking could be the moment you need to play your Items or Supporters. It is a strategy to remember if you are in this situation.
Sharpedo EX in the late game could also be considered if you want to knock out anything that has a little bit of HP left. Didn’t get that knock out you wanted and your opponent had retreated that heavily damaged Pokemon for a fresh attacker? Need that last prize to win the game? Load up Sharpedo EX with two energy and get ready to Hunt! Maybe all you need is just 30 more HP to get that desired knockout. It is amazing and can be quite useful.
Sharpedo EX isn’t going to be the headliner for any decks but it’s build in Lysandre with damage can be quite handy. Nobody likes unexpected Lysandre and Sharpedo does just that. So make sure to give this card a try and give your opponent’s a reason to fear a shark attack!
