pokebeach.comHello! It’s Celebi’ again with another Card of the Day. This time, Xatu from Unleashed takes center stage. This card was discussed near the beginning of the HS-on format as a counter to Machamp Prime – a card which has since then become rather obscure. But Xatu may be useful with the release of Emerging Powers and a card that could singlehandedly change the metagame.
(I’m sure you all know which card I’m talking about, but for those who don’t, I’ll have to leave you hanging for a while. ;)
Let’s get back to Xatu. Its basic form, Natu UL, is nothing special. It has 50 HP and a nasty Lightning weakness, making it susceptible to an Outrage donk from Zekrom BLW (with a PlusPower drop). Its attacks stink, and all it’s really good at is sitting on the bench for a turn, waiting to evolve.
Xatu itself has 90 HP, which is slightly lower than average for a Stage 1. One Retreat Cost is also average. Like Natu, is has a terrible Lightning weakness, but it also resists Fighting, which is nice.
Its first attack, Psywave, is the reason that I’m reviewing it. For one Psychic energy, its attack does 20 damage times the number of Energy attached to the Defending Pokémon. In this format, there won’t usually be more than three energy attached to a Pokémon, meaning that Xatu’s damage would cap at about 60 – which, while decent for the cost, just isn’t enough to be very effective since Xatu will likely be KO’d pretty quickly.
However, there’s a new Pokémon that needs at least three energy, if not more, to be effective. This Pokémon also has Psychic weakness. That’s right – I’m talking about Gothitelle. Her attack, for three C energy, does a base 30 damage plus 20 more for each Psychic energy attached to her.
That means that if Gothitelle has three energy, she’ll still only do 90 damage. Gothitelle players have to pile on the energies every turn in order to be able to attack for a significant amount of damage. But Xatu can swoop right in and 1HKO a Gothitelle with at least 4 energies on it (80 damage times two for weakness, for a total of 160).
Xatu’s pros include the ability to 1HKO one of the most popular cards in the format, as well as being able to attack for only one energy. However, it has several cons. The first is that it’s a Stage 1, meaning that you’ll have a Natu sitting for a turn, offering an easy Catcher Prize.
In addition, Gothitelle needs four energy to be 1HKO’d by Xatu; chances are, if your opponent has four energy attached, that Gothitelle has probably already taken a couple of prizes and given them the lead.
Unfortunately, if not for Gothitelle’s Ability Item-locking you, Xatu would be able to take down a 3-energy Gothitelle with a PlusPower…which brings me to the last con.
The fact is, it’s really hard to get out a 1-of tech (which is what Xatu, if ever played, should be) under Item lock. A Gothitelle player’s strategy is to limit your setup while slowly getting set up themselves. Most decks, when unable to use important cards like Pokémon Catcher and Pokémon Communication, just can’t function properly.
Now, according to the PokéGym thread on Battle Roads winners, Gothitelle hasn’t won as many events as top decks like ZPS(T) and ReshiPhlosion, but it’s still a popular play and, if Gothitelle is prevalent in your metagame, Xatu may have some use.
That’s all, folks! I hope you enjoyed my review. What do you guys think about Xatu?
First to comment! :D Anyways, good article and I agree that it’s very hard to use Xatu effectively. Until Gothitelle starts winning things, Xatu isn’t really that good unless your metagame is infested with Machamp (which I doubt it is :P).
Great article, very spot on analysis! I’m personally not too crazy about Xatu at this exact moment. Ideally, you’d run a 1-1 line to take out a fully loaded Gothitelle, which is often enough to win you the match as your opponent will have trouble recovering having invested so much into Gothitelle.
However, it’s gonna be tricky to get out Xatu if you have your trainers locked, especially in a deck that runs little Psychic/Rainbow Energies.
I think Xatu could have a place in some certain decks, but I don’t see it being the next Ambipom G. At least, not yet.
Great article, very spot on analysis! I’m personally not too crazy about Xatu at this exact moment. Ideally, you’d run a 1-1 line to take out a fully loaded Gothitelle, which is often enough to win you the match as your opponent will have trouble recovering having invested so much into Gothitelle.
However, it’s gonna be tricky to get out Xatu if you have your trainers locked, especially in a deck that runs little Psychic/Rainbow Energies.
I think Xatu could have a place in some certain decks, but I don’t see it being the next Ambipom G. At least, not yet.
After going 3-1 at Battle Roads with my Goth deck, losing only to Mew. I wonder if this might be worth it to tech into my Goth to defend against Mew. Has anyone tried that?
Well, the main attacks Mew uses are those of Muk UD and Jumpluff, both of which require just 1 energy. You would hit Mew for weakness if you used Xatu, but you’d still fall short of the KO.
Have you
thought to use: darkrai & cresselia legend ?
Because most
of the time is used to transfer reuniclus Gothitelle damage to
other Pokemon.