Card of the Day – Yanmega Prime (Triumphant TM 98)

Written by | December 20, 2010 | 47 comments | 2,285 views | Rating: -3

I opened up the COTD Request Thread, scrolled down a bit and found the card I would be reviewing today, Yanmega Prime. Let’s kick it off with the basics. Yanmega is a Stage 1 Pokemon with its 110 HP easily overshadowed by the likes of Scizor and Steelix. The x2 Lightning Weakness is terrible, the -20 Fighting Resistance is very nice and the free Retreat Cost is something we’re very thankful for. In addition, Yanmega is grass type, which is excellent as it has access to both Shaymin LV.X and Sunflora.

Yanmega’s first attack, “Linear Attack,” for GC gives you a 40 damage snipe. I’ll be honest, the snipe part is nice, but that’s about it. These type of low damage attacks won’t get you very far in the game considering this format is based on OHKOs and the only thing “Linear Attack” can OHKO is Hoppip, Unown Q and not much else. Hopefully its second attack provides some redemption for this shaky start.

Nope, it doesn’t. “Sonicboom,” for the massive cost of GGC, does a terrible 70 damage and ignores Weakness and Resistance. Like I said earlier, in such a speedy format where getting a KO a turn is expected, these types of attacks won’t even get you close. However, its Poke-Body does make this card interesting if nothing else.

“Insight” states that, if you and your opponent’s hand sizes are the same, all of its attacks are free. The most disappointing part about this is the fact that none of its attacks are actually good. So, I guess the next step would be designing a deck that can ensure each player’s hand sizes are the same so you can consistently attack with it each turn for free.

The best ways to do this would be Copycat and/or Judge. However, there is a downfall: they’re both Supporter cards, which means you only get one per turn. In order to attack for free, you’ll have to use these type of cards quite frequently.

Not only are you forced to use Supporters that you don’t want to use just to attack, but you are also restricted from using any of the cards you get because if you use even one of those cards, you can no longer attack for free that turn.

My Recommendation: Don’t use it. Yanmega is a card that seems like it could work, but you quickly realize it takes way to much work and inconvenience for such a small reward.

My Rating: 2/5

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  • http://www.facebook.com/jordandbaker Jordan Baker

    The more of these that you write, the more I begin to question if you know what you are talking about at all. This card has shown potential recently, making appearances in cities top cuts. It even won a cities paired with Scizor Prime. There is a lot of potential for this card once the right combos are found. It’s definitely not a 2/5.

    • Anonymous

      I TOTALLY AGREE. When you rate Yanmega 2/5 your giving it 40%. I don’t know about you, but if I got 40% on a test I would consider it a fail. YANMEGA IS NOT A FAIL!!! It’s at least Tier 2 and is very powerful when played right. 2/5 Should be reserved for cards that will never leave your binder and you have considered feeding to your pet Iguana. Even if you take a card out of your binder and look at it, tell yourself it could be interesting and plop it into a deck which you use to go 0-4 at league, that card deserves to be at least 2.7.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001734489773 Dakota Streck

        Not really… If I make a deck around a card and go 0-4 at league, I can determine one of two things:

        My list/build was terrible
        The card is terrible

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

        Well, I think it would have to depend lol XD Yanmega Prime is definitely not a terrible card. It’s a good card that just came out in the wrong format. So you could say if you went 0-4 at league, there are 3 things you should consider

        List/Build being horrific
        Card is absolute Crap (like Mom’s Kindness <.<)
        You just built a horrible deck for the format. (E.G, Donphan Prime is definitely a great card, but right now in this format? No one would bother making it because of Gyarados' Rampage)

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001734489773 Dakota Streck

        I won’t argue with you on that point, the format that a card is released does make a difference. Perhaps I should have stated that Yanmega isn’t a terrible card, just not the best for the current format?

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

        ya I think taht would have made more people happy xD You could have said that in the current format, it is unusable, or can’t play to it’s potential xD

      • http://twitter.com/sghirst Sophie Grace Hirst

        Another dull, unenjoyable dreg from Dakota.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001734489773 Dakota Streck

        Harsh much…

        Some cards are boring, lol.

      • Anonymous

        If you think a card is good enough to have a chance at league and the you go 0-4 with it the card is still good.

        Who picks up an Electrode prime deck and goes to league? Now If I picked up that and wen’t 0-4 at league I know it is because of the card.

        If I pick up a Luxchomp and go 0-4 at league I know it is because of my list and my luck.

        What makes you think you should pick up that electrode prime deck? You think that it is interesting and being an interesting card deserves at least a 2.7/5.

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

        ….. I like electrode Prime… cuz of it’s worthlessness and like 10% chance of you actually gaining a profit off it <. use the power and hit like 4 SP Metal <.<

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001734489773 Dakota Streck

      Jordan, I can assure you that I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been playing Pokemon for over 9 years and have top cut every tournament I have been to despite being on an extremely tight budget. When I had wrote this, it was before I had heard of its pairing with scizor Prime for a Cities win, but it still doesn’t really change the way I feel about this card. Just because it won a lower level tourny, doesn’t mean its good. I’m not going to insult the player using it, but isn’t it possible that there was a different card that would have allowed the deck to be even better?

      However, before I make any further judgements on the cities win, I’d have to know how many other good players are there. a Scizor/Cherrim deck could win nationals because of luck, good starts and match ups, but it doesn’t mean that Scizor Cherrim is Tier 1.

      Also, I do hear know what you mean, but before writing this review, I had tested out Yanmega for almost two days along with three friends of mine (both had been to Worlds last year) and we found that, while it does have some potential, most of its power is theoretical.

      I won’t say that my word is law, each is entitled to their own opinion and mine on this card is that it isn’t very good.

      • http://www.facebook.com/jordandbaker Jordan Baker

        “I’ve been playing Pokemon for over 9 years and have top cut every tournament I have been to”

        Sweet brag, guy!

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001734489773 Dakota Streck

        I was only partly bragging, I just wanted people to know that I’m not some crazy dude that has no idea what I’m saying (I’m just crazy :P)

      • http://www.facebook.com/jordandbaker Jordan Baker

        “I’ve been playing Pokemon for over 9 years and have top cut every tournament I have been to”

        Sweet brag, guy!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

    No offense to you Dakota, but I think this card has a lot of Potential. I’ve played a senior kid who played MagnezonePrime/Yanmega Prime and he made it work. He burns through his hands first with trainers than uses Judge to refresh to 4 to attack for free with Yanmega Prime. All the while setting up Magnezone PRime on the bench for big massive amount of damages and draw power. With cards like Pokemon Communication, Bebe’s Search, Looker’s Investigation, Uxie, getting your hand down to the same size isn’t as hard as you think it is. You can judge to get to 4 cards, draw 2 more with Magnezone Prime, than just use Pokemon Communication to drop back down to 4. I Personally think the card should be at least a 3

  • Anonymous

    People shouldn’t get so hung up on the actual score.

    People should judge the review based on how accurate the actual comments about the card are. I think they are maybe slightly harsh, but only slightly.

  • Anonymous

    Boooooooooo!!!! Yanmega is actually a great deck. Offense Cherrims, Expert Belt, and a Judge every turn? Not many decks can withstand that. Plus Junk Arm for VS Seeker for Judge is amazing. Who needs another Supporter in a turn when you max Warp Energy and use Smeargle to gank ‘em? In fact, the only bad matchups for this deck are Vilegar. Heck, Dialga isn’t even an auto loss due to the judge Shenanigans and ability to snipe it.

    • Anonymous

      you can’t really snipe DGX, IT stop’s your body.

      • Anonymous

        You snipe Dialga before it levels up..
        Or you can run tech grass energy to try to snipe it after the fact, but…

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Garcia/676689170 Martin Garcia

        So you can hit for 100 on T1/2? because thats what the dialgachomp player will take to get his dialga X online, shutting down your body, and making your main (and only) attacker completely useless.
        No, yanmega is NOT a good card, by any means.
        It takes a lot of effort to have the same number of cards that your opponent has, and judging every turn will hurt you as much as your opponent. Also, as chrataxe said, there is no point in a judge, when you cant play any of the cards you got, cause that will make you unable to attack that turn.
        Yangmega competes with electrode for the prize of worst prime ever printed.
        Not to mention, sonic boom ignores resistance, and there is no pokemon with a grass resistance in the format.
        That in my book is LAME.

      • Anonymous

        The idea ia that once the DG hits the field, you keep them away from the Level X through means of disruption. The deck is extremely trainer based, making it awful vs Trainer Lock. At the same time, it is not difficult to get a whole bunch of stuff done, and then Judge immediately preceding your attack. Even if you can keep them away from DGX twice, you can snipe it for the KO the good ol’ fashioned way. It’s a deck that has a load of potential. It auto wins Machamp, and its favorable against LuxChomp. Maybe playtest the deck before making such harsh judgement?

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Garcia/676689170 Martin Garcia

        hay can it have a favoribale match up agaisnt a deck that has a weakness to?
        Its certainly not faster than luxchomp, and his main attacker has a x2 weakness to luxray, so care to elaborate a bit more?

      • Anonymous

        Sure. Let’s say the LC player can set up an LGX with Lightning and Gain throughout relentless Judging. They Flash Impact for OHKO on Yanmega. Well that is great, but guess what? I have 2 more Yanmega on my bench because the resources in my deck allow me to set up Yanmegas very fast (4 Poke Communication, 4 BTS) so I get a OHKO back on LGX via an Expert Belt and 2 Cherrims on the bench. Of course, I Judge right before this. Now what? I judged you into Aarons, Gain, turn, lightning? And you already had another luxray on the bench ready to be leveled up? I don’t think so. With Rescue Energy, LC isn’t going to be able to keep up with the Prize Exchange. It is my no means an easy match, but it is favorable.

      • Anonymous

        Oh theory-mon. How I love you.

      • Anonymous

        haha..

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Garcia/676689170 Martin Garcia

        well, if you can get the expert belt, 2 cherryms/communications,a nother yanmega, and the judge, and i cant get a single cyrus/bebe/collector/aaron/communication/sp radar/ etc from my deck, then yes, the LC player would be in a bit of a problem.

        So, what are the chances if this happening in real life? Because, the LC player doesnt even need to lv up to kill yanmega, a simple trash bolt can deal with him, taking 2 prizes, and putting you in a really bad position.

        The lv x isnt even neccesary in this match up, not to mention garchomp can snipe the cherrims, and then you cant get the revenge KO on him, giving the LC player a free turn to recover luxray, and get another KO on yanmega.
        Im sorry, this theory doesnt seem to hold its own.

  • Anonymous

    Yeah, if played right seems like this could be like Gyarados with free retreat and a snipe. Hand size isn’t really that hard to keep up with, especially with things like Judge and Copycat. Trust me, I played Shiftry HL at Worlds 2004 and all I used were Copycat and Desert Shaman (basically identical to Judge). Play tons of Junk Arm/VS Seeker which will let you reuse the supporters or just change your hand size a little, swarm tons of Yanmegas. Maybe combine it with something that hits harder for the late game.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Curtis-McMillan-Hill/1257416755 Curtis McMillan Hill

    The best list I’ve seen with Yanmega is pairing it with jumpluff, it still isn’t that great I mean dialgachomp shuts off your body and Luxchomp one shots you. Definitely could be a fun deck but I don’t see it winning much.

  • Anonymous

    Wow, I’m really amazed by the comments on this. So, everyone here thinks its a good card…but none of you are willing to run it? Dakota tried, did bad with it, and gave his opinion. The rest of you all told why you theoretically think it is good and why he is wrong….but haven’t/won’t actually run it yourself. So, let me get this correct….:

    Its a Stage 1 with low HP and crappy attacks in a format that has high HP Stage 1′s with good attacks (that aren’t situational). Its body also have one draw back no one has talked about yet: in order for you to use them for no energy (which, is the ONLY reason this card is good), you must judge then hold your cards. There is no way a deck that requires me to NOT use my hand is actually GOOD. Dropping a judge usually hurts both players. The objective of Judge is that YOU control WHEN it gets played and you force your opponent to have a worse hand than you. Your hand can’t get any worse than drawing 4 cards you CAN’T play because it means your attacks won’t work. I think his 2/5 is justified.

    Now, I’m not going to knock its winning performances, but I don’t think many of you read Taylor’s report. Game 1, she rolled with Scizor, got KO’ed, gave up 4 prizes with Yanmega before sweeping with Scizor. Game 2, it took 6 turns for either player to get a Supporter and 6 turns for her to even get set up….I’m just sayin…Game 3, was against her dad, who says he didn’t just LET her win….I’m not saying he did, but I am saying that Ttar Prime’s Power Clay attack ISN’T affected by Special Metals and she said he was at a huge disadvantage since 2/3 of his energy was special…I’m not seeing the problem. Her last 3 matches were against Gechamp. She wins via late game Seeker Donk with Scizor. He scoops game 1 after falling behind 2 prizes in T2 and She rolls him with Scizor game 2 when he can’t get any energy all game.

    Now, I’m not knocking her, she honestly seems like a great player by all accounts, but it sounds like every one of her games where won against non-top tier decks with inconsistent list AND with Scizor. Now, the other side to that coin is that Yanmega did allow for judging and set up, but there are STILL better cards for that. Being as that is the case, I think his 2/5 is fair…that is higher than I would have given it.

    For so many people not liking Dakota’s review, I find it odd no one is rushing out to play it.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Peter-Bae/583235222 Peter Bae

      After reading this, I do believe that I did rush in to my comment to talk about how much better Yanmega is than a 2/5. I’m still not going to back down on my reasonings as to why 3/5. I personally would run Yanmega Prime if I could just find that right partner <.< Yes I mentioned I saw a kid run it with Magnezone Prime, but than this will require me to get 2 PRimes that I do not require, and enough to make a whole deck with xD. Yes I did rush in to my comment, and I am apologizing for my comments, but I still think it's a 3/5 in a wrong format <.< xD

    • the sidewalk

      Shut up.

      I ran this card, and while I wouldn’t do so in a tournament, I had a lot of fun with it and think that it deserves at least a 3/5. I think 3.5 would be fair. The fact is: this card is really quick. What makes it viable aside from speed is the fact that you’re disrupting with Judge and Let Loose every other turn (ruining Cyrus chains and preventing stage-two’s from setting up to their full potential). Get a copy of Dakota’s list and I’ll tell you exactly why he’s underrating Yanmega and why the majority readers are in disagreement with this review.

      • Anonymous

        i think 2.5/5 he is a interesting card and can be good. but the problem is the format. if the format becomes hgss-on or maybe rr-on this deck could win. the problem is how sps can be faster and are more versitile. also g-dos has higher hp, faste recovery and better damage output and doesnt need a constant condition. but it can be very efective in next years format or or the year after.

      • the sidewalk

        I agree that the card is far from top-tier, and I said that I wouldn’t run it in a tournament. However, even with Luxray and Gyarados running rampant, this guy deserves at least a 3. You’re supposed to have it belted and hitting for 90 without energy. Crobat and Plus Power are also good friends of this guy. It’s also difficult to get bad starts with this deck. Just think about all the options it has in this format. 2/5 is below average, this card is average at the very least.

      • Anonymous

        What are you, 12? Really? You told me to shut up because I gave my opinion? You are the biggest kind of idiot on the internet.

        The card MAY BE a 3/5 overall, but when you consider every reason you claim it is good, there are BETTER cards. It has low HP and HORRIBLE matchups to many of the top tier decks, to include Dialga and Luxray and is easily sniped by any SP running Garchomp. It doesn’t fair well against SP, it doesn’t fair well against trainer lock, it doesn’t fair well against and it can’t out last tanks.

        Get a life seriously. My opinion in the card sucks, I don’t care if it has won a few Cities.

      • the sidewalk

        LOL @ the simplicity of two syllables getting under your skin enough to compel you to accuse me of being “the biggest kind of idiot on the internet”. I’m getting the feeling that your anger has little to do with me if saying “Shut up” can get you to react in such a way and ultimately overlook how well I was able to articulate my points.

        But enough about unhappy your life is, if this card has won a few Cities, then how the hell is it below average? I’m being totally sincere when I ask that question. I really hope you’re taking note of how poorly this review has been rated, too. I agree that it has some really bad match ups in this format, but not all of its match ups are bad. Plus, anyone with the audacity to run this guy is most likely going to include a counter to Dialga or Luxray… I’m not sure why it seems like the thought of such a simple solution has yet to cross your mind. In addition, I don’t understand why you’re accusing this card of being “easily sniped by any SP running Garchomp” when doing so is going to require three Crobat drops or one Crobat drop and half of that game’s Poke’turns to be burnt.

        To reiterate, this card is really quick and this deck is really difficult to deal with unless you have a clear advantage over it. The people have spoken and so have the tournament reports. No 2/5 card is going to win Cities more than once. Period. You can be aggro all you want, but you can’t debate that.

      • Anonymous

        I find it funny that you thought I ACCUSED you of being an idiot more than you PROVED your are an idiot. I honestly believe you have the right to your own opinion about everything, as stupid as I may or may not think it is. I DO NOT think that you (or me) has the right to even THINK that someone else isn’t entitled to their own opinion. You are the kind of person that goes to Walmart with your girlfriend, walking as slow as you can, shoulder to shoulder so that everyone behind you is stuck walking at your ridiculously slow pace and no one in front of you can pass because you are taking up 4/5 of the aisle. The world does not revolve around you. If you want to argue about how crappy Yanmega is, I will gladly do it. If you want to argue about how big of an idiot you are, while I have the time, I don’t have the patients. But, I will say this: you need not worry about how content I am with my life. My life is quite good at the moment: I have a decent paying job that I love and a wonderful family. I called you an idiot because you seem to think it is OK for you to voice your opinion but if anyone else does, then they should just shut up. Does that annoy me? Yes. I’m told that was a popular practice of Hitler, ya know? And, for what its worth, I spent 4 lines rebutting your Yanmega arguement and 1.5 responding to you telling me to shut up…not sure how you thought I “overlooked” you points when the overwhelming majority of my last post actually addressed your points.

        You didn’t actually articulate your points very well, like you seem to think you did. You see, much like peoples reaction to Dakota’s statements of this card, people that hear (or read, as it were) your statements are actually the judges of how well you articulated your points, not you. And, while some MAY think you articulated them well (that is an opinion which I sincerely doubt you would tell to shut up), I do not (which is an opinion I’m sure you would love to tell to shut up). So, YOU think it is an above average card (to which I allow you to say without telling you to shut up), yet you wouldn’t run it at a tournament? Wow, I think that is telling about your real opinion of the card. If a card isn’t worth running, then why give it a better than 50%? You also mentioned that it will have techs against bad matchups….yes, it will. If techs fixed every bad matchup, then there would be no bad deck. So, let me just sum up why I think it is a 2/5 card (and, you can even say 2/5 in this format as I make my opinion based on its usability, which is based on our format).

        There ARE faster cards in the format.
        There ARE higher HP Stage 1′s in the format.
        There ARE harder hitting Pokemon Cards in the format.
        There ARE cards that have great weaknesses (rarely played types)
        There ARE cards that don’t have situational attacks.
        There ARE (is) cards that have better energy-less attacks.
        There ARE cards that actually hit something for weakness (what deck is weak to grass?)
        It DOES have horrible weakness.
        Dialga DOES shut off its body.

        For the record, claiming to Judge every turn AND have the belt and the Plus Powers every time is pretty ridiculous, especially since you can’t play a card after you Judge.

        So, lets break down a 5/5 card. It would look something like this:
        350 HP
        -100 Resistance to all types
        No Weakness
        Attacks that do 80 for zero, 120 for [C], 180 for [CC], and 250 for [LL]

        ^That card is perfect but is stupid, thus it doesn’t exist. Since it doesn’t exist, every POKEMON should be less than 5/5. If we assume that ANY POKEMON card is only usable in that particular deck (Gengar in Gdos would suck), we then subtract more. When we factor in what it IS good for and then factor in that there are cards that do that BETTER, I don’t really think a 2/5 is that bad of a rating.

        I AM entitled to my opinion and you are entitled to think it is stupid. But, I HAVE given good reason why I think the card sucks and I even analyzed the first person that won with the deck in my OP, so to come in here and act like my opinion is completely baseless continues to show your ignorance. I’m glad you think its winning Worlds, I don’t, thus, I don’t play it since I have a habit of not putting crappy cards in my deck. If you reply, coming back to tell me about how fast and disruptive it is won’t change my opinion since I’ve already stated why I think it sucks DESPITE the reasons you give.

      • the sidewalk

        Whoa. Calm down. You seem a little obsessive. I never felt like anyone wasn’t entitled to having an opinion, but I did tell you to shut up because it seemed like you were ranting. I guess I should never provoke a ranter. Lesson learned. I think after a couple nights pass by, you’ll be able to look back at your posts and get a sense of how overboard you went with your hypothetical analogies.

        As for what sparked this quarrel, since your definition of a 5/5 card is one with 350 HP, that does 80 for free, our judging scales are far too different for us to even debate opinions. I tend to compare cards to ones that exist, as opposed to abstract concepts. But heck, what do I know, I’m the biggest kind of idiot on the internet, right?

        By the way, if you’re going to type a several-paragraph rant in an attempt to convey that you feel as though someone’s an idiot, you might want to make sure said rant doesn’t have any typos… Otherwise you’re making the painfully ironic mistake of contradicting yourself. (patients < patience)

      • Anonymous

        Oh, I’m sorry JRR Trollkien, I didn’t realize that was you under the bridge.

      • the sidewalk

        Just because you feel as though you were provoked into wasting your time doesn’t mean my intent was to troll.

      • the sidewalk

        How ya’ likin’ ol’ Yanmega now that it was in practically every top 16 Nats deck?

      • Eduardo Hernández

        Yanmega is great you always were right

  • Anonymous

    You’re forgetting about Giratina’s Let Loose poke-power, an easy way to get past the supporter-problem you have with judge/ copycat. 4x Giratina, some SSUs and Seekers combined with nice disruption-cards like Chatot G/Slowking HGSS, really let wreak havoc over your opponent without using a single energy.

    But the awful catch of having a x2 weakness to Luxray, sets this card back a couple of notches in my opinion.
    Therefore: 3/5

  • Anonymous

    You’re forgetting about Giratina’s Let Loose poke-power, an easy way to get past the supporter-problem you have with judge/ copycat. 4x Giratina, some SSUs and Seekers combined with nice disruption-cards like Chatot G/Slowking HGSS, really let wreak havoc over your opponent without using a single energy.

    But the awful catch of having a x2 weakness to Luxray, sets this card back a couple of notches in my opinion.
    Therefore: 3/5

  • Anonymous

    I came in second in cities with yanmega prime + blissey deck. Its really not that hard to get the same amount of cards, people usually float around 5 and you just need to put energy on one yanmega so you don’t have to have the same # of cards each turn. Its a really good deck Mr. Card of the day!

  • Anonymous

    I think this might make a good opening attacker before hard hitters come in. It has it’s downs, but it has it’s ups too. at least a 2.5 might have been better. I’m trying a Yanmega deck anyway (see here http://www.sixprizes.com/forums/deck-discussion/2849-my-mega-mighty-deck-yanmega-prime-tr98-mightyena-pl54.html).

  • Anonymous

    I love this card. I call my deck a Yanbee deck, focusing on Yanmega, and Combee. The way it’s built I can consistantly get Yanmega out second turn and kill anything that’s in front of him, while in the process setting up for my Combees’ Enraged Assualt attacks. My deck is solid, and has beat some of the upper meta decks.

  • Anonymous

    Bahahahah this cracks me up looking back on it!