Card of the Day – Grumpig (Triumphant TM 23)

pokegym.netWelcome to today’s Card of the Day. I’ll be taking a look at Grumpig from Triumphant. Grumpig is a Stage 1 Psychic Pokémon with the usual Psychic weakness, which really hurts because of Gengar SF. Sadly, it has no resistance and an expected, but still high Retreat Cost of two. Grumpig also has 90 HP, which isn’t terrible for a Stage 1, but is very weak compared to Pokémon like Scizor, Steelix, and Donphan.

The reason that Grumpig got a lot of attention is because of its first attack, “Psychic Lock”. If you played Pokémon in 2008, you’ll know that “Psychic Lock” was the cornerstone of the deck Plox. Plox was a deck composed of Gardevoir and Gallade from Secret Wonders.

pokemon-paradijs.comThe focus of the deck was using “Psychic Lock” to keep your opponent’s Poké-Powers locked throughout the entire game. This was an extremely effective tactic. So effective, in fact, that it dominated the format and took first place at Worlds that year, along with coming extremely close to reclaiming the title once again in 2010.

So, can Grumpig live up to the legacy that Gardevoir left behind? Well, I doubt it. Sure, it comes with “Psychic Lock” that prevents Poké-Powers during your opponent’s next turn. However, this version costs PC and only does a measly 20 damage. At that rate of damage output, your opponent won’t have trouble getting set up despite their Poké-Powers being locked.

Grumpig’s second attack isn’t any better, but is just as interesting. “Bench Manipulation”, for the pricey cost of PCC, states that your opponent flips a coin for each Pokémon on their bench. “Bench Manipulation” does 40 damage times the number of tails. While it is interesting and has the potential to do 200 damage, even if your opponent’s bench is full, the odds say you’re only doing 80 or 120 damage. It relies on your opponent’s actions and coin flips to be effective.

My Recommendation: While Grumpig is definitely a very interesting card, it’s hardly playable. However, I won’t count it out for certain (many people didn’t think Jirachi ex would become a key card in the Plox mirror).

My Rating 2.25/5

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