Pokemon Card of the Day #1740: Thundurus EX (Plasma Freeze)
As mentioned previously, there were three Pokemon in the Plasma Freeze set that combined to make a powerful deck. Thundurus EX was the second of those three, providing Energy acceleration for the main attacker of the deck, Kyurem, as well as getting in some chip damage. As Kyurem did need a few Energy to get going, having some help there was rather nice. While the effect wasn’t the most overwhelming thing by any means, Thundurus EX arrived to find a role ready for it.
170 HP was one of the standard numbers on a Pokemon EX, and when you considered that Thundurus EX was basically a starter it was actually very bulky. The Fighting Weakness was a problem here since that type did not lack for early-game attacks, though it was less devastating due to the high HP. One very nice trait was the low Retreat Cost. It was quite nice to have a Pokemon that didn’t need help with retreating when taking an early-game role.
Raiden Knuckle was one of those attacks that was in the right place at the right time. 30 damage wasn’t a lot, though it was quite solid for a Lightning Energy, and the deck Thundurus EX starred in wanted to place multiple Deoxys EX in play. That could add up quickly. The big effect here was that you got to attach an Energy card from your discard pile to 1 of your Benched Team Plasma Pokemon, getting them ready to go. Raiden Knuckle wasn’t limited to Basic Energy, either, so it could fetch those Prism Energy, Plasma Energy, or whatever else you were using to fuel your attackers. It was a very nice way to start and got a bit of damage on the field at the same time.
Thunderous Noise wasn’t as notable. 90 damage, even with Deoxys EX support, wasn’t that great when requiring 4 Energy when you had other attackers that could do better. If Thundurus EX had any Plasma Energy attached to it, you could discard an Energy on the Defending Pokemon, which was nice. Still not worth the heavy price though.
Thundurus EX was a staple of those BLW-On and early NXD-On Plasma decks that were played so often. It was likely the most popular deck for a while, and while it did fall off some as time went on, it was always capable of an impressive showing at a tournament. The combination of early chip damage and an extra Energy attachment was a big deal.
