Today on Featured Card we will spotlight a Pokemon that was worshiped as the sun. The skies were once darken with ash in the ancient origins of man but there was one ray of light. It came from this Pokemon who helped keep humanity going until the skies were clear. Some would say that life had a new beginning thanks to this Pokemon. Now it is ready to give birth and help bring new origins for many more. This week we are going to feature Volcarona from Ancient Origins.
Volcarona is a Fire type Pokemon that evolves from Larvesta. It was recently released in Ancient Origins. This Pokemon has 100 HP with a weakness to Water and one energy retreat cost. Volcarona has two attacks. The first one is an attack that cost a single energy called Solar Birth. When you use this attack, it allows you to search your deck for a Basic Pokemon and two energy which you can attach to the Pokemon that you searched out. Volcarona’s second attack is Flamethrower which does 60 damage and you must discard an energy attached to Volcarona.
The Pros
Ancient Origins brought us two Volcarona cards. One of them has an Ancient Trait while the other didn’t. Though we are not going to talk about the better looking Volcarona with the Ancient Trait. Instead we are going to be looking at the at-first unimpressive Volcarona.
Volcarona may have an attack that is cheap but you won’t be using it anytime soon. Instead you will want to use Volcarona’s Solar Birth attack. This attack is perfect to quickly set up a Pokemon and get it ready to wreak your opponent. All you need is to go second, an energy and have a Wally in your hand. Once you do that then you are free to search your deck for any Basic Pokemon and energy in your deck. Please note that this also includes EX Pokemon.
You could give your opponent a surprise as you set up Volcarona and decide to go second. Most players love to go first to get an early leg up on their opponent. Imagine the look on your opponent’s face as you set up a Rayquaza EX on your first turn which you pulled from your deck with two energy attached to it.
Volcarona can also be fitted into any deck thanks to Solar Birth costing a single colorless energy. This ability to be placed into any deck raises the chances of it being used in almost any kind of deck that wants a quick setup and energy attachment.
The Cons
Everything isn’t all sunshine for Volcarona. You still need to get Wally in your opening hand or at least be able to get one in your hand during your first turn. If your opponent is aware of what Volcarona can do then they could try to prevent you from setting it up by using Red Card or Lysandre a benched Pokemon so you can’t attack using Volcarona.
Either way, the fact that Volcarona is a Stage One and getting it on the field during your first attacking turn can be a struggle. If you do not pull it off in your first turn then you are already more behind then you put yourself in by deciding to go second.
How to Play It
The first thing you want to do when building a deck with Volcarona is have a heavy Volcarona line. Perhaps play a 4-4 line similar to the Trevenant-Gengar deck that made it into Top 8 at Worlds 2015. That means four Larvesta and four Volcarona. You will also want to invest in having three Wally, four Ultra Ball and four VS Seeker. You may want to run a Battle Compressor to discard a Wally into the Discard and retrieve it using VS Seeker in the same turn. Though, running Battle Compressor may not be required. If you put all these cards into your deck then you will raise the chances of starting off with a Volcarona ready to use Solar Birth in your first attack.
Now which cards do you want to play alongside with Volcarona? That is a good question. Volcarona could be played with both Dragon and Colorless Rayquaza EX. Dragon Rayquaza needs plenty of energy to eventually use Dragon Ascent as M Rayquaza EX. If you do bring it out using Volcarona’s Solar Birth then you can save yourself the work of searching for it and evolve into Dragon M Rayquaza. It will already have two energy attached to it which means you can give your opponent a coming to the light moment.
Colorless Rayquaza EX moves pretty quickly thanks to it’s cheaper attack cost and the Delta Evolution Ancient Trait. Though you could always use Volcarona in the deck to set up another Rayquaza EX and prep it for Mega Evolution. It helps make the bench bigger and makes it easier to power up another Rayquaza EX after the first big mighty dragon has fallen.
If you want to play this deck in Expanded then Mewtwo EX may want to be brought onto the field via Solar Birth. Simply use Volcarona to call upon Mewtwo EX once and it is ready to use X Ball in your upcoming turn. Even better, you can start setting up another Pokemon while you attack with Mewtwo EX.
This idea can also be used with several other Pokemon such as Yveltal EX, Sceptile EX and Manectric EX. All of the mentioned Pokemon required two energy to attack. In the case of Sceptile EX and Manectric EX, they can Mega Evolve in your upcoming turn thanks to be put on the bench during your previous turn.
Lastly, if you want to be overeager then consider using Volcarona with Giratina EX from Ancient Origins. Giratina EX needs four energy. If you bring it out by using Volcarona’s Solar Birth then Giratina EX could be on the field with two energy attached already. All you will have to do at this point is have a Double Dragon Energy to attach onto Giratina EX during your next turn and set up your no Stadium-Special Energy-Tool Lock.
Prepare to feel the heat as Volcarona summons a variety of Pokemon under the sun. If you see this card hit the active position then make sure to expect Volcarona to bring the sun.
