Types in Base-Fossil: Fire

Fire was an aggressive type from its conception, but they didn't quite have the balance down. In newer metagames you might see the Fire-types cycling through their energy rapidly, but they usually have some way to accelerate that energy before they discard it.

In the OG format they were very good at discarding their energy, but not very good at actually getting any value out of those discards, with a few notable exceptions.

Charmander is a solid Basic, but not meta-defining in any way. If I were to redesign all of the evolving Basics in the game, this is probably the card I would use as a baseline for a "balanced" card.

Scratch is Colorless, which makes up for the low damage output, and Ember can actually be useful if you really need to smash into a Scyther. But take note that Ember isn't very far above curve for an attack that requires a discard. That's unfortunately going to be a theme moving forward.

Grade: 6/10

Charmeleon is noticeably above average for a Stage 1 of the era, but this is really around the power level that a Stage 1 should be at in order to be playable.

The big gimmick of the Charmander line is that they can all attack for Colorless energy, allowing you to splash them into any deck comfortably. Flamethrower is just barely above curve, but I personally wouldn't use it unless it's going to result in a KO, due to the discard cost.

Grade: 8/10

Charizard sure does look imposing with all those big numbers, but in practice it's a bit clunky. There are some tricks to using it, though. The first is Double Colorless Energy. This can accelerate Charizard thanks to Energy Burn, but don't use DCE to pay the discard cost since it only counts as one card.

Think of it as a removal spell, not a team member. Only whip out Charizard when it's time to delete a problem. You can even use Devolution Spray to get back your Charmeleon, a trick the opponent rarely sees coming.

Grade: 6/10

Would it surprise you to hear that a good basic should be able to attack on the first turn? Vulpix fails at the most fundamental test and doesn't do much to redeem itself afterwards. Confuse Ray tends to be a severely over-costed attack, though that's probably for the best since the confusion status ailment is actually pretty powerful.

At least its HP is 50 instead of 40. The bar for evolving Basics is truly on the floor in this format, and they're still crawling under it.

Grade: 3/10

Ninetales shares the Lure attack with Victreebel. It sounds compelling, but the power of Gust of Wind comes from the surprise factor. When you're giving up your attack to get the effect, it completely loses its edge.

As for Fire Blast, it actually is a noticeably above-rate attack for the energy cost. Unfortunately, that energy cost is a complete non-starter because this format has Energy Removal and Super Energy Removal in it. Ninetales comes so close to being worth something, but ultimately falls short in every regard.

Grade: 4/10

Growlithe does have the same issue as Vulpix, being unable to attack right away, but at least it has 60 HP to sort of make up for it. Additionally, Growlithe has two options for its Evolution that are both playable.

That doesn't stop me from deducting points for Flare, though, which is an embarrassing attack for the cost. At least it doesn't discard Energy Cards, but they could have at least given this thing Tackle or Growl to round out the card a bit.

Grade: 4/10

Base Arcanine is the centerpiece of an entire deck based around it and Base Electrode. While this deck is fragile, it's also extremely aggressive.

The basic concept is to charge up Take Down as early as turn 2, then just start blasting. Keep in mind that your only counter-play to Energy Removal is Lass, which can't help you if they just draw into another Removal card. It's a powerful deck that will sometimes steal games off the top decks, but you're always one Removal away from losing.

Grade: 7/10

There are two ways to use Promo Arcanine. The first is to use it as a nasty surprise in a traditional Arcanine deck. Your opponent has to choose between leaving Growlithe alone, which lets Base Arcanine score more Take Downs, or doing damage to it and risking a meaty Flames of Rage attack.

The other way it can be used is as the headliner of a Rage deck, alongside partners like Dodrio and Tauros. The combo of Dodrio and Promo Arcanine is especially noteworthy, since that lets PromoNine retreat for free.

Grade: 6/10

By all accounts, Ponyta doesn't look like anything special. 40 HP, needs a Double Colorless Energy to attack, doesn't have free retreat.

Yet it sees play. To be fair, it only sees play in off-meta donk decks, but it can do 20 Fire-type damage on the first turn, and is actually the only card that can easily do so. A niche can be that small and still be worth something in the Base-Fossil metagame. Of course, it helps that Scyther has a sign on its back reading "Smash Kick Me."

Grade: 5/10

There's nothing wrong with Rapidash, but it's usually ignored in order to save deck space. While its pre-evolved form has much lower HP and a higher retreat cost, they do about the same damage, and the decks that run Ponyta really only care about that damage.

Still, if you can find space for it then it's a completely serviceable 'mon. Agility may look over-costed, but it can be a pretty obnoxious attack if you can flip a few heads in a row. Free retreat, as always, is great.

Grade: 5/10

Base Magmar is a strange card. It's the only basic 'mon with Flamethrower, and its attacks both hit extremely hard if you can charge them up.

But that "if" is where the problem lies. This guy is just begging to be hit with Energy Removal, and 50 HP isn't high enough to buy you any time for a recovery play. On top of all that, it's competing with a much better Magmar that helps to shape the whole metagame, so using this guy as a replacement for that card isn't exactly tempting.

Grade: 4/10

This is what a real Magmar looks like. It plays like a slightly less bulky Lickitung, but with a relevant attacking type, lower retreat cost, and better second attack.

Being a side-grade to the best Basic in the format is one hell of a niche to have. Fossil Magmar does limit you to decks that can afford to play Fire Energy, but that's the only thing keeping him out of my personal top five. He's also good into stall mirrors, thanks to Smog, so he really does do it all.

Grade: 10/10

Flareon's Flamethrower is way too slow for the format. If you're playing EeveeTron in a tournament that allows Promo Eevee, then Flareon is obligatory, but it doesn't slot well into any other deck.

Even in situations where you need a Fire-type that can attack with Colorless energy, you'll probably want to gravitate toward Ponyta and Charmeleon before touching this card. It's not that Flareon's terrible, exactly, but it's not the best at anything it does.

Grade: 4/10

Moltres has the only dedicated mill effect in the format, so it has a niche by default. Wildfire is a painfully slow version of mill, but you'll mostly be using it as a finishing move when your opponent has already been stalled for most of the game.

Even in dedicated Moltres builds, I tend to only run a maximum of 2 copies. It only really needs to do its job once, and you can just keep using Scoop Up to preserve it if necessary. Dive Bomb really, really sucks, but at least it works as a last resort if you desperately need to remove a Wigglytuff or a Big Basic.

Grade: 8/10

You can tell from the simplicity of the designs and the big numbers that Fire was supposed to be a type that's all about doing big damage quickly. Ironically, most of the best Fire-type cards are the ones that slot cleanly into stall decks.

Charmeleon and Base Arcanine come the closest to achieving what the type actually wants to do, but they're more like rogue options than staples. This type really needed some in-type acceleration, but at least the few cards that do stand out are fun to play with.