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TCG Jump: Christmas Edition Featured Card- Delibird

DelibirdMerry Christmas! Have you been good? If you did then maybe you will received a gift from Jolly Saint Nick. I hope you left some cookies out because I heard those are his favorite. Though, if you are looking for somebody who is like Santa then we have the card for you. The Pokemon in today’s Featured Card is all about delivering presents, bills and whatever you can think of. It even has the ability to give presents though not all of them are good. It is Christmas this week which is why we are going to feature Delibird!

Delibird is a Basic Water type Pokemon with 80 HP. It was originally released in Boundaries Crossed but is sometimes awarded to those who place in League Challenge tournaments. Delibird has a weakness to the Metal type and has a single energy retreat cost. This little Santa bird Pokemon has two attacks. The first attack is Present that cost a single Colorless energy and allows you to flip a coin. If you get a heads then you are allow to search your deck for a card. The second attack Delibird has is called Icy Wind. You can use this attack for a Water and another energy to do 30 damage and put the opponent’s active Pokemon to sleep.

Pros
Delibird will not be winning tournaments for you any time soon and especially not this one. Either way, we are going to showcase the most Christmas-like Pokemon in existence and try to point out the good points of it. The first good point abut Delibird is his Icy Wind attack. This attack guarantees that you will put a Pokemon to sleep after using the attack. That can be pretty helpful if you are wanting to keep Delibrid around while making sure your opponent has limited options. Once their Pokemon is a sleep then all you have to do is hope your opponent doesn’t flip heads for the Sleep Check or doesn’t have a way to get around sleep like Switch of Keldeo EXFloat Stone. Icy Wind isn’t too expensive to use which makes it perfect to have ready to attack by turn two.

If you really need to attack first turn then Present is worth using. You can grab a card from your deck if you are lucky with the coin flip. This could be used to search out a much needed Supporter, item or Pokemon. Maybe you need an energy to get Icy Wind ready to go. That is an option you could do if you need a quick card search.

Cons
There are a few things that Delibird doesn’t have going for it. The first thing is low HP. It will not be staying long with only 80 HP which is why you need to pray that your opponent’s Pokemon will stay asleep and won’t be going anywhere in the near future. Most likely your Delbird will be facing a hulking EX Pokemon that can knock out Delibird with just their breath.

Delibird won’t be hitting hard as well. Icy Wind only does 30 damage and 50 damage if you attach a Muscle Band to it. There isn’t much power there and the cost to use the attack doesn’t help. Icy Wind requires a Water energy to use which is different compare to other attacks that simply requires a Double Colorless Energy. Either way, two energy isn’t too bad when it comes to attack cost. It just that it goes back to the low HP and the fact that Delibird may not get to see the next turn if he is facing a bulky EX Pokemon.

How to Use It
ninetalesDelibird won’t be knocking out big Basics anytime soon with it’s attacks but there is something that Delibird can do. It can put Pokemon to sleep with Icy Wind. That is where we will be focusing on when using Delibird. The main objective is to put Pokemon to sleep using Icy Wind and hope that they stay asleep. That way Delibird can live to fight another day. If the opponent’s active Pokemon stays asleep then that Pokemon can’t attack you.

Now that the opponent’s Pokemon is asleep, you can retreat Delibird back to the bench and let another Pokemon take hits and knock things out. The Pokemon I would recommend is Ninetales from Dragons Exalted which was later reprinted as a Black Star Promo. This Ninetales has the attack Hexed Flame which does a base damage of 20 and then does 50 more for wach status condition on the opponent’s Pokemon. If the Pokemon stays asleep due to Delibird’s Icy Wind attack then that is a 70 damage on the other Pokemon for one energy. Ninetales also has the ability Bright Look which allows you to pull one of your opponent’s Benched Pokemon into the active position. This will be perfect if you want to put to sleep a Pokemon that your opponent is setting up. Simply evolve Ninetales and use Bright Look to pull the Benched Pokemon your opponent is setting up into the active. Then have Delibird put it to sleep using Icy Wind. If the opponent’s active Pokemon is still asleep by your next turn then come in with Ninetales and deal 70 damage with Hexed Flame.

If you like a bit bulkier Pokemon to do damage with then Giratina from Plasma Storm is an option. It has 130 HP and can take advantage of status conditions on the opponent’s Pokemon with Hex. This attack cost more to use but can hit for a solid 50 and then do 100 damage if there is a status condition on the other Pokemon.

Lastly, you want to run HypnoToxic Laser. This card will help buy time and also put the opponent’s Pokemon to sleep in case it does wake up between turns after Delibird puts the Pokemon to sleep. It will also help deal more damage with the Poison condition and Virbank City Gym on the field. If you manage to land Sleep and Poison then Ninetales can hit for 120 damage. That is another pro for using Ninetales alongside Delibird.

Other options to consider when using Delibird is Suicune. This Pokemon has the Safeguard ability which means it won’t take damage from EX Pokemon. If you need time to set up then Suicune can wall a few EX Pokemon from hurting Delibird and your other Pokmeon.

And that is Delibird! Merry Chritmas and I hope you enjoy this little Christmas theme featuring Delibird. Hopefully it can bring you victory in his big bag of deliveries.


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