Dark Sandslash
Rotated OutA tricky Stage 1 Pokemon that punishes attackers and ignores most defensive buffs.
What this card does
It evolves from Sandshrew and has 70 hit points.
It uses the Poison Payback ability to poison any opponent who damages it.
It attacks with Swift for 50 damage, ignoring weakness and resistance effects.
Poison Payback
If Dark Sandslash is your Active Pokémon and is damaged by an opponent's attack (even if Dark Sandslash is Knocked Out), the Attacking Pokémon is now Poisoned.
The key feature is Poison Payback. If your Dark Sandslash takes damage from an attack, the attacking Pokemon becomes poisoned immediately. This matters because it forces your opponent to deal with a status condition even if they manage to hurt you.
Attacks
This attack's damage isn't affected by Weakness, Resistance, Poké-Powers, Poké-Bodies, or any other effects on the Defending Pokémon.
Abilities
If Dark Sandslash is your Active Pokémon and is damaged by an opponent's attack (even if Dark Sandslash is Knocked Out), the Attacking Pokémon is now Poisoned.
Which deck it belongs in
This card suits decks that want to disrupt the opponent's strategy through poison effects. It works well in teams that can protect it or benefit from the confusion caused by poisoning key attackers.
- •Ignores resistance
- •Triggers on damage
- •Punishes aggression
- •Weak to grass
- •Low hit points
- •One active turn only
Use it as a sacrifice to poison a powerful attacker before switching to a stronger Pokemon.
Dark Sandslash is a rare variant of Sandshrew found in the Team Rocket Returns set.
Remember that the poison effect triggers even if Dark Sandslash is knocked out, so it remains a threat until the end of that turn.
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