Flashfire was release this week and with it was a stew of new cards to set the TCG metagame ablaze. Some really powerful Fire type Pokemon were release in this set along with other cards to light them up. This week we are going to look at a card that has gain a lot of hype. It is known as the king of the jungle that will certainly burn a lot of decks because of it’s interesting ability. Lets take a look at a new card that will shake things up, Pyroar!
Pyroar is a new Fire type Pokemon that was release in Flashfire. It is a Stage 1 Pokemon with 110 hit points. It can quickly attack with Scorching Fang for a Double Colorless Energy or two colorless energy and a Fire energy to do 60 damage. If a Fire energy is discarded then it can do an additional 30 damage for a total of 90 damage on the opponent’s Pokemon. It is Pyroar’s ability that sets it apart from other cards: Intimidating Mane. This ability prevents all damage from Basic Pokemon.
In a metagame that is dominated by Basic Pokemon attackers, Pyroar can become a dangerous foe with the Intimidating Mane ability. There are so many Basic Pokemon attackers and this ability even prevents a majority of Pokemon EX from knocking out Pyroar. This means popular attackers such as: Darkrai EX, Mewtwo EX, Genesect EX, Yveltal EX, Keldeo EX, and Black Kyurem EX. All of those Pokemon EX are Basic Pokemon who are unable to harm Pyroar thanks to Intimidating Mane.
What makes Pyroar even better is that it has an attack that can two hit KO any of the popular Basic Pokemon attackers mention earlier. It simply needs to discard a Fire Energy to do 90 damage. This isn’t so bad seeing that all you need to do in order to attack again is attach another Fire energy next turn. Scorching Fang is an amazingly simple attack to power up and can be done in two turns with the correct cards.
What could ruin Pyroar’s reign on the metagame jungle? Water deck variants that run Blastoise. While the main attackers such as Keldeo EX and Black Kyurem EX can’t hurt Pyroar, Blastoise has proven to be a decent attack. It doesn’t even need weakness to knock out Pyroar. Another Water base deck that has gain popularity is Empoleon. This is a Stage 2 attacker that can land hits on Pyroar. Genesect EX with G Booster can ignore Intimidating Mane and blast Pyroar to a KO. The Pyroar player can easily deal with this by having another Pyroar ready to retaliate. Any deck that runs Garbodor with Garbotoxin can shut down Pyroar’s ability and make it vulnerable to Basic Pokemon attacks. If a Colbalion EX can get three energy and a Muscle Band then it can cut right though Pyroar’s ability with Steel Bullet which ignore all effects including abilities to do a base 100 damage. A retaliating Pyroar ready to attack for weakness can prevent this from being a problem. Lastly, Mega Pokemon can hurt Pyroar due to the fact that they are considered evolved Pokemon. The only Mega that could threaten Pyroar would be M Charizard EX.
Flashfire has recently been release so Pyroar still needs to find it’s place in a deck. You can expect several people to try to find away to use Pyroar in a metagame that relies heavily on Basic and EX attackers. Some may try to run a quad Pyroar line if they feel confident about the Pokemon. Pyroar may find a friend in Druddigon as it can use Revenge for two Colorless energy to do 90 damage if it attacks after your Pyroar gets knocked out. This could scare off any Dragon types like Latias EX that could find a way around Pyroar’s ability. This Pokemon could also be sneak into decks using Emboar as an extra attack that could take advantage of Emboar’s ability.
The metagame will surely be sparked by Pyroar’s introduction to the game. It has an amazing ability and easy to use attack. People will need to properly counter it if they want to stand a chance against it in the future. If not then Pyroar will soon find itself the king of the metagame.
Good luck on your pulls for Flashfire!
