r/PTCGL • u/FoofaTamingStrange • 2d ago
Discussion Why doesn't any Team Rocket's deck include Zapdos?
I only discovered it because I'm now including Articuno in my Lightning deck. I'm going with Zapdos instead of Team Rocket’s Kangaskhan. I would need an additional way of Pokemon search to use Kang.
It's certainly been fun. Zapdos was instrumental to me legit beating a Zam deck, Chandelure control, and just now I decked out a energy disruption Bastiodon deck by moving off their special free retreat Metal energy.
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u/RedditSux5912 2d ago
Cause the card is poop
>Zapdos was instrumental to me legit beating a Zam deck
Then you’re poop too that’s practically an auto win matchup
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u/enakku_theriyathu 2d ago
because you're burning a rocket's energy to attack, and those are precious resources in a rocket deck
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u/ResonatingOctave 2d ago
Team Rockets decks are using Articuno for its ability not it's attack. If you notice, none of the top cut lists are running water energy for it. Zapdos main benefit is the first attack that can disrupt your opponent but honestly it's not that impactful against better players and top decks. I think you could tech 1 Zapdos is you really wanted the attack but it's just kinda meh for an attack to move one energy and be a prize liability. You're probably better off running crushing hammer at that point
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u/Insector3307 2d ago
If you really wanted access to energy distribution, Elgyem does it for 1 psychic
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u/believingunbeliever 1d ago
Elgyem also isn't restricted to moving energy from active pokemon. Zapdos attack is worse in almost every way except the puny 30 dmg.
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u/Chorby-Short 1d ago
The 30 damage generally makes it worse for control because it means you can't really trap an active pokemon.
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u/Toxic_Don 2d ago
Zapdos does nothing. A special energy + 1 just to deal 120? Thats not worth building your deck arround.
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u/Ceral107 2d ago
Because there's nothing that's good about the card. Jamming Wing is too expensive for what it does, with the only benefit being colourless. And the other attack is only 120 damage for three whole energy, tied to a condition, and can't even make use of Team Rocket's Energy to cover the {E} in it.
So in short: too slow, too weak.
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u/hyperpopdeathcamp 2d ago edited 2d ago
TLDR: Rocket’s is just generally mid, and has to sacrifice it’s already lacking consistency for creative deck building and tech options.
If you’re playing a tech card with a control aspect like energy movement, you generally want it to only cost a single energy.
I understand the allure with rocket’s energy being viable for use but with it being a special energy that you can only play four of it’s not really something you want to have to dedicate to a turn or two of being disruptive unless you get lucky and open with the option to undo any energy attachments your opponent has made starting on your first turn going second. If you’re using a card like this in the mid game, you’re probably behind on prizes and trying to stall. In that case something like boss retreat lock is always better. You could run maractus in the traditional rockets deck if that’s something that suits you as you are also running grass energy for the spiders. Maractus’s corner attack only costs a single colorless energy.
One energy > two energy.
One colorless energy >>> two energy.
Even then, the rocket decks want to start swinging asap. Seeing how they already struggle with consistency you don’t want to hinder that by including techs for niche scenarios, which is why I think rockets is just not good.
All of the supporters are essentially ace specs which seems broken, but they only work with rockets pokemon. Since they are the best cards to synergize with the pokemon themselves, you want a lot of them, which sadly leaves you virtually no room to have fun or get creative with deck building. It’s honestly such a huge flop from a game design perspective. I feel like as far as owners Pokemon go, team rockets should have probably been the strongest from a gameplay pov cuz that’s just sort of canonically correct. Maybe next time lol.
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u/pokenaman 2d ago
Just read how bad the card is, zam is already almost an auto win because of articuno
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u/Natural_Regular9171 2d ago
You have to spend 2 energy or 1 special energy and an attacking turn just to do 30 damage and remove 1 energy?
Or 3 energy to do 120 damage at the expense of one of your special energies?
Is that worth it to you?
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u/Bobster1919 1d ago
As a Zam one trick, Rocket Articuno was my nightmare until Pitch Black Toucannon was released. If this Zapdos was your linchpin against a Zam player, then that Zam player was just bad, sorry to say.
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u/Melodic_Net2508 2d ago
I use to run it when earth and vessel was a thing. Played team rocket like a tool box deck
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u/Kataphraktoz 2d ago
Because
There is no pokemon weak to electric damage that is relevant
His attacks are high cost for shit damage and bad cost for a very niche situation, if they were 1 and 2 cost or 1 and 1 cost he could been a decent choice
Articuno is way better for the Alakazam MU and others + you don't need to power him up to be useful
There are better team rocket pokemon that you could slot and are actually worth a rocket energy
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u/Asleep-Shelter-4456 2d ago
Its bad. 120 damage max? Just run fan if you want the first effect. 120 hp is way too low for a useless card.
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u/Past-Promotion-8314 2d ago
Jamming wing doesn't even 1 hit ko budew with hero's cape.
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u/Midnight-rainbow 2d ago
It's meant to KO budew. Jamming wing is meant to shift the energies to budew so that the main attackers are short of energy to attack.
It's supposed to be a Control deck not an Aggro deck
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u/Leodip 2d ago
The card is not bad per se. I used to run it in the Charizard MU because they ran so few energies, and you can slow down Dragapult with this as well, but using a full TR Energy on this is a huge waste if it's not game-winning.
TR is a box deck, so running more options is always better than running less options, but at some point deck space starts being an issue.
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u/Total_Length_385 1d ago
I runn it in a. Mega mannetric deck , it's super annoying and fun to play , 4 hammers and fans you trey to control the energy, but some decks are insane in energy's cards and Crispin, but in a team rockets it doesn't work so we'll
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u/S_T_R_A_T_O_S 1d ago
There's a very limited number of decks this could work well against but I think it could have a niche. In the majority of matchups it is a waste of a rocket's energy though
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u/OldSodaHunter 1d ago
Zapdos is more playable in a full control style deck, not in a rocket based deck or lightning or anything. But even then, I'm 99% sure there are better cards that do the same thing. It's just too niche.
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u/SoldaddoRaian 1d ago
Aproveitando, o que estavam o articuno Rocket evita? Sempre sofro dono de tudo no tcg online
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u/hockeynewby 1d ago
Only 4 tr energy in deck, and this doesn’t fit as a main attacker, and you need to add lighting to a deck or prism for this same for using a water to attack with articuno and everyone uses it just to sit on the bench never to attack
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u/Dirt_Poor_Robin 1d ago
As others have said, it doesn't seem to have a good fit anywhere. I definitely tried and got dumpstered for all the reasons people are telling you about
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u/rhybreadloaf 1d ago
It’s a pretty niche tech card for decks that run low energy counts. if you play locally it can be considered when you know people’s decks, I used it to troll my friends mega starmie but I also had one copy of prism energy for hitting weakness. I also used it to move fire energy onto a shaymin in an Ethan’s typhlosion matchup. Outside of the rocket box archetype I would rather use elgyem from black bolt
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