Card of the Day: Armaldo (Legends Awakened)

One of my least favorite cards to play against and one of my friend's favorite cards to hassle me with!
Let's start at the top. Notice Armaldo is a Stage 2, which means that you can spend between 2 to 3 turns getting him out there and set up, unless you've got a Rare candy or Space-Time rift. This can be especially tough since it starts as a fossil with a measly 40 hp. However, with the plethora of cards that search for pokemon from your deck or discard, it shouldn't be an issue, and Armaldo's whopping 140 hp is more than enough incentive.

This card's best attribute is hard to choose, but in my opinion, the poke-body is the reason this card excels and can be a major headache to take out. Unless Armaldo takes over 60 damage from an attack, he just brushes off the damage. This severely limits the ways in which Armaldo can be brought down. Poison is good, but with such a large amount of hp, the chances of you waiting out the KO is slim; Other  special conditions like sleep and confusion are risky at best, and futile at worst. Paralyzation is ok, but it's not going to solve the problem, just buy time. This leaves one-shoting it, or bringing out something that can deal over 60 to whittle away at it, or a grass type to play on its weakness. However, Armaldo's attack, arguably its other best trait, will make short work of almost anything.

Armaldo's attack starts off at 60, but each consecutive turn he turns that 60 into 100, so buying time with a throw-away basic to build up something on your bench is almost impossible. Truly, this card can turn a game around and pummel you into the ground if you have nothing built up; and even if you do, its going to cost you some serious damage.

Tips: One strategy that seems to be working for one of my other friends involves Machamp GL. Assuming you can get it built up (and it can even take some moderate damage with its 100 hp), its Brush Off attack can throw Armaldo and the time your opponent spent building it, right out.