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Issue #47-Lass. It kicks serious...Yeah...
Since I spent the past three days' worth of Analysts writing about Basic and Baby Pokemon, I figured today I'd switch gears a bit. Instead of reviewing another Basic I decided to just toss the whole "Analyze a Pokemon" idea out the window for a day, and instead focus on one of my favorite things in the world: Trainers! Specifically, Lass. Easily one of the most under-used cards in Standard as compared to how much this card SHOULD be played, Lass has the potential to be game-breaking in a lot of different situations.
Lass : Trainer
You and your opponent show each other your hands, then shuffle all the Trainer cards from your hands into your decks.
Now Lass is one of those wonderful multi-purpose trainers that can be useful in very different situations if played in different ways. Lass serves a few basic purposes:
1: Hand Destruction: Say "Bye Bye" to your lil' paw full of Computer Searches, Pluspowers, Gold Berries, and Removals, and you can ESPECIALLY say goodbye to your carefully laid plans.
2: Protection: Afraid of Energy Removal, or the possibility that your much-needed Rocket's Hideout will be replaced by another Stadium? Lass BELONGS in a deck that requires more than two energies to get off its big attacks, and it also belongs in a deck that relies on Stadium cards to add more oomph.
3: Hand Recursion: Yup, Lass is late-game anti-decking, big time.
Lass mainly functions in the above three ways. Lemme break these down and give some pointers:
Hand Destruction:
Lass is ridiculously powerful as hand-destruction. Get your Pokes benched, load your hand up with several turns' worth of energy, and whammo!, drop the Lass. You won't be able to recover until you get some drawing, but neither will your opponent, and if you use Lass at the right time you'll be better prepared to deal with the trainer-denial than the owner of the dumbstruck face sitting across the table from you. :D
Cleffa: Yup, that's right, I love the old Lass/Eeeeeeek combo. On your first turn dropping a Cleffa as your active, attaching an energy, Lassing away your opponent's hand (and your own), and then replacing your own hand with an Eeeeeeek is simply a wonderful sight to behold. As long as you've got enough card drawing in your deck to guarantee that you get some in the Eeeeeeeked-for hand, your opponent is in trouble. Barring a top-decked Oak or Computer Search, this combo is game-winning and can often lock a match between two experienced players on the first turn. That said, it's also great mid-game when you and your opponent are still jockeying for dominance.
Protection:
There's one thing that bites more than having one of your energies removed. And that's having MORE than one of your energies removed by a flurry of Energy Removals and Super Energy Removals. If you've worked to build up that metal-metal-metal-metal Steelix, or even better, a dark-dark-dark-dark-psychic-psychic Dark Golduck, you want to protect that energy. Every time you lose an energy to a Removal, you're being set back a turn, and if you lose several energies at once it's usually quite crippling. However, multiple Removals require multiple copies of the card to be in your opponent's hand so that he or she can use them. The solution? Lass. But what if you don't necessarily know if such drastic measures are warranted?
Rocket's Sneak Attack: I use both of these cards together in my Steel Chansey deck, and although I wouldn't call it a combo, the two cards have a nice synergy when used together. If you think you might be in trouble from an energy threat or a threat to a much-needed Stadium you have in play, scout the opponent's hand with Rocket's Sneak Attack. If you find just a single Oak, or a single Energy Removal, then Sneak Attack that back to their deck and leave them be. If however, you are so unlucky as to find an Oak, a Gold Berry, a couple of Energy Removals, or a couple Computer Searches, then drop the Lass. You'll notice that as you lower the card to the table, your opponent's smug grin will follow your hand in a downwards direction, quickly forming a frown. Or possibly forming the shape that your mouth takes when you're about to say something that starts with an 'F'. Depends on how many Energy Removals you just got rid of. ;D
Hand Recursion:
We've all been in a position where despite our best efforts we've been thoroughly energy-hosed, completely obliterated by ER, SER, and (God forbid) Blaine's Charmander. In these rare (yeah right…I wish…) instances, sometimes the only strategy left is to try and wait out the storm and let your opponent deck them self. In these cases, you have a few options:
Nightly Garbage Run: Gets back three cards, can be Item Finded easily at the last minute to really surprise an opponent who thought they had you decked.
Time Capsule: Not nearly so viable in Standard as it is in Modified, it could still make a showing in decks that slow down trainer action in late game.
Elm: Let your hand build up to about fifteen cards, than Elm. Always a life-saver.
Lass: Let your hand build up with trainers, then Lass. If it works right, your opponent will only put back a few cards, while you stuff back a dozen or so. Always good to wipe the grin off the face of someone who already used all their Oaks, Energy Removals, Super Energy Removals, and Computer Searches to get you into a submissive state.
Now clearly, out of the above four possibilities, one is much more effective in making your opponent feel like a moron. They're all great at getting cards back into your deck, but Lass has that extra little something that allows you to tacitly laugh in your opponent's face and silently scream "HAHAHA! FOOOOOL, USING YOUR ACCURSED ENERGY REMOVALS! DECK YOURSELF! DRAW, DRAW NOW!" And really, isn't subtle mental degradation the reason that we play this game anyway?
Alright, probably not. But it IS fun sometimes. :D
There are a few things you have to watch out for when you're playing Lass. Namely, you don't want your opponent to recover from the effects before you do. There are a few things you can do to assure that you get the upper hand.
Cleffa: This was mentioned before. Lass away your hand and then Eeeeeeek up a new one. Works like a charm. Unless your opponent has an active….
…Baby Pokemon: If you simply must Lass at a time when your opponent has a Cleffa out and you do not, set a Baby as your active. This way, at least they have to flip to make their Eeeeeeek go through.
Mathematical Calculation: Estimate how many pieces of drawing your opponent has in their deck, or, if they're someone you frequently play, familiarize yourself with their drawing base. Then if you're contemplating a Lass, check their discard pile and see what they've already used. From this, derive what they have in their deck and prizes. Then do the same for yourself. If you seem to have a lot more drawing left in your deck than they do, then Lass them and pray that the Law of Averages works out like it should.
Trainer Denial: Make it so that even if your opponent DOES draw a much-needed Oak or Computer Search, they can't use it. This is best done with Chaos Gym or Slowking, but a Dark Vileplume can add a happy new dynamic as well.
I highly encourage that you try Lass in your deck(s) if you haven't already. If you're running three Cleffa (and you probably should be), Lass becomes even more invaluable as a game-breaking first turn play. If you're using Pokemon that consume high amounts of energy and No Removal/Ecogym just don't seem to be doing the job, Lass can probably help. And of course, if you're just freakin' sick and tired of playing decks that have trainer counts in the low forties, Lass is always a fun little bit of revenge.
So, that's all for today. Tomorrow I'll be back with another Analyst, maybe Team Rocket's Meowth, or maybe just something that I discover at my League tomorrow.
Standard Format Needs Your Love!
-Gloom
Note to Modified Players: Lass isn't allowed in Modified. Probably a good thing, since with Cleffa being even more prevalent in Modified than it is in Standard, Lass-Eeeeeeek would be the deciding factor in about a third of every game played.
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