Electabuzz - 22/115 - Rare

Do yourself a favor and buy the reverse holo version of this card, it''s fantabulous! A mad scientist''s laboratory is the backdrop for this card, enhanced by a 2-tone holofoil that creates a trippy time-warp effect with phantom pokeballs flying around. There''s also that enraged lightning-bolt-shooting monster in the picture that looks like it''s about to electrocute the depraved scientist that''s been using him like a living slave-battery.Electabuzz is the number one reason why there aren''t that many Loggers in the Pokemon world. Can you imagine going to work to chop down some trees knowing that at any moment a big yellow zebra-striped saber-toothed Bigfoot could jump out and fry you crispy for destroying his beloved forest habitat? The hazard pay must be through the roof!Oh wait, Electabuzzes usually live near power plants, right? So that means even if you''re just minding your own business at your desk, writing Pokemon card reviews instead of checking the giant red flashing "DANGER! OVERLOAD!" sign like you''re supposed to, a gang of Electabuzzes could still wander inside the building and sizzle your brains. Great.On to the gameplay! Electabuzz is a 70HP basic Pokemon with a strong defense thanks to its "Stages of Evolution" Pokebody which (after Weakness & Resistance) reduces the damage it takes from your opponent by 40! Awesome! It only activates if you evolve it from Elekid though so you''re going to have stick a few of those angry little yellow M&M''s into your deck. Oh, and it also only works if the attacking pokemon has a Special Energy card attached to it. Okay, having two conditions for using the Pokebody sucks, but the good thing is that many players use Special Energy cards anyway so you won''t have to wait too long to crush them with Electabuzz''s first devastating attack----DOUBLE SHOCK!!!...wow, what a lame name for an attack coming from a monster that likes to get hit by lightning for fun. For two energy, flip 2 coins and do 10 damage times the number of heads...meh. BUT, if you get at least one head, the defending pokemon gets paralyzed! So with every flip you have a 50% chance to stop your opponent from attacking next turn, and you have two flips, so 50% plus 50% equals 100% CHANCE OF PARALYZATION! YOUR OPPONENT WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO ATTACK! (say it with enough confidence and your opponent might even believe it)Everyone at the table may be laughing at you right now, but wipe that smirk off their faces with a powerful LUSTER BLAST! FLASH! BOOM! For a whopping 4 energy, Electabuzz deals 70 dmg and gets to throw away 3 energies after!...wait, what? That''s the WORST EFFECT EVER. I guess it''s pretty good if you have cards to recycle that energy. You''re left with one energy afterwards, it''s enough to pay Electabuzz''s retreat cost next turn and replace it with something that won''t fizzle out after one attack.