Pokémon TCG - Standard Deck Tech: Heatran Metang (A Promising Rogue List!)

Pokémon EX are clearly dominating the current Pokémon TCG meta. However, though they might deal a lot of damage, they also give the opponent two Prize cards when Knocked Out.

Black Bolt & White Flare gave us the same type of Pokémon EX, so, currently, not that many decks lean on slower strategies with "baby" Pokémon or single prize Pokémon.

At first, Heatran TWM 123 doesn't seem that impressive. Its ability is not that relevant in terms of dealing damage, and its attack is quite expensive. However, dealing 50 damage for each energy you discard is quite decent for a single prize Pokémon, and we can explore this in many ways. We can even build an entire deck around this attack.

That's the list we'll discuss today!

Let's go through our main attacker first. Heatran's ability is "Incandescent Body", which Burns the opponent's active Pokémon. It might not be that relevant in terms of dealing damage, as we mentioned above, but it occasionally deals the little bit of damage we need to deal to Knock Out a Pokémon after using other attacks. It can also prevent Pokémon like Maractus JTG 8 from "locking down" a Heatran without any energies in your active spot.

What interests us the most about this Pokémon is its attack, "Steel Burst", which costs at least 3 energies and deals 50 damage for each energy you discard with it. The list we'll explore today actually uses many Metal energies (20 in total) so that we never run out of energies to use this attack and can always easily deal 250 damage whenever we attack.

Our single alternative attacker is Regigigas PRE 86, which can easily Knock Out relevant Tera Pokémon like Charizard ex svp 196 and Dragapult ex PRE 73.

However, Heatran's attack is already quite expensive, and we have to discard all energies whenever we use it. So, this list plays Metang TEF 114, whose ability, "Metal Maker", lets you look at the top 4 cards in your deck and attach any number of Metal energies you find there to your Pokémon however you like.

In the best-case scenario (that is, if you manage to set up 2 or 3 Metangs on your board), you'll be able to attach an average of 6 Metal energies per turn to your attackers.

Heatran + Metang Decklist

To make "Metal Maker" work, you need to play at least a certain number of Metal energies in this list. The current version plays 19 basic Metal energies, but some versions play even more. As you'll have to discard all the energies attached to it whenever you attack, you'll also need 3 Energy Recycler DRI 164. With this card, you'll never run out of energies. This list also plays 3 Night Stretcher SFA 61 so that you can get your Heatrans out of the discard pile and keep attacking with them.

The only support Pokémon in this strategy is Tatsugiri TWM 131, which you can equip Air Balloon BLK 79 to and use as your active Pokémon after the opponent Knocks Out your other Pokémon. Its ability, "Attract Customers", is quite relevant early on, particularly when you need an Arven sv1 166 or a Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) sv2 172 later on to finish the game.

If you can't find Tatsugiri, Pokégear 3.0 BLK 84 is your best choice.

Finally, a beautiful new addition from Black Bolt is Genesect ex BLK 67. Its ability, "Metal Signal", lets you get 2 Metangs from your deck per turn, and this is why this list doesn't need cards like Technical Machine: Evolution sv4 178.

Precious Trolley SSP 185 is the best ACE SPEC for this strategy because you can't get all of your Pokémon with Buddy-Buddy Poffin. Ideally, when you use this card, you should get 2-3 Beldum, 2 Heatran, and 1 *Genesect, your ideal setup for turn 1.

Dragapult EX - Slightly Unfavorable

Dragapult is slow but consistent. Its main attacker can reasonably get more than 1 Prize card per attack throughout the entire game, particularly if they also play Dusknoir PRE 37. As you need your Metangs above all else and will usually get ahead in the Prize card race early on, you're vulnerable to Counter Catcher sv4 160. This card pulls all your setup Pokémon from your bench, which makes this matchup a lot worse.

Your best bet is playing as fast as possible and attaching energies to your attackers as soon as you can so that you can make up for the Benched Pokémon your opponent will easily Knock Out. Regigigas PRE 86 is essential in this matchup, as it Knocks Out Dragapult ex PRE 73 with just a single strike and doesn't force you to discard your energies.

Raging Bolt EX - Very Favorable

This matchup is simple and objective: Raging Bolt EX has notoriously struggled against single Prize attackers since forever, and, in essence, that's precisely what you'll lean on. If they Knock Out one of your active Heatran, they'll only make it all worse, because you can just put another one back and Knock Out anything they play next. Ideally, you should avoid playing your Genesect because they can be a weak spot in this matchup. Otherwise, just play it as straight forward and consistently as you can, and attack every turn to win.

Gholdengo EX - Slightly Favorable

This matchup is similar to the Raging Bolt EX matchup. Gholdengo EX is a double prize attacker, so it's weak against your deck. However, it has 260 HP, so it's a lot harder to Knock Out, and they also use Scizor sv3 141, a single Prize attacker that can disrupt you quite a bit.

In this matchup, you should also avoid playing Genesect EX at all costs, unless it's absolutely necessary, and never play more than one on your bench.

Pros

This deck leans on single prize attackers to deal a lot of damage. It is also great against Raging Bolt EX.

Cons

It is a bit too simple and doesn't play too many attackers or disrupt the opponent's hand. Finally, it also struggles against decks like Typhlosion.

I believe Metal decks became a lot more powerful since the last set came out, and this is a very solid option if you want to catch your local game store off-guard. Raging Bolt EX is still very popular in certain places as well, so it is definitely a decent choice.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!