Until recently, the Groudon card from Raging Surf [SV3a] hadn’t had much of a presence in the Pokémon TCG metagame. This, however, changed following the Orlando Regionals when US player Hunter Butler made use of an unorthodox Lost Zone Box deck build on his way to a 10th-place finish. Unlike most Lost Zone Box decks, Butler’s deck variant used this Groudon card to serve several purposes.

Most Lost Zone Box decks find themselves in difficult matchups against decks containing the Iron Hands ex card from Future Flash [SV4M]. Crucially, Groudon hits Iron Hands ex for double damage due to Iron Hands ex’s weakness. By discarding two Energy cards, Groudon is able to one-shot what would otherwise be a serious threat to the Lost Zone Box deck via its Magma Purge attack. This same attack is also able to one-shot Arceus VSTAR from Star Birth [S9] with three discards as well as Chien-Pao ex from Snow Hazard [SV2P] with four.

In addition, Groudon yields just one Prize card when it’s KO’d. Given its relatively low HP tally of 130, that makes it a viable alternative to more common selections such as Hoopa ex from Raging Surf [SV3a] and Roaring Moon ex from Ancient Roar [SV4K].

Visually, this Art Rare (AR) card’s Full Art illustration alludes to the in-universe lore surrounding Groudon. The Legendary Pokémon known to rule over dry land is shown summoning volcanic eruptions as it stands on a platform of magma. Groudon is also positioned near water—a likely reference to its duel with Kyogre, the sea deity of the Pokémon universe.

In English, this card is card 199/182 of the Paradox Rift [PAR] set.

The price of a Groudon (Raging Surf [SV3a] 069/062) card of AR rarity is 3,250 JPY (~US$21).

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