art by 5ban Graphics
Phantom Forces has finally been released and several new cards will be hitting the metagame. Some of them are rather spooky which is perfect for Halloween. Others are proving to have hearts of cold steel. Though, there is one shocking card that will be causing sparks to fly! The Pokemon we are featuring can surely run a current though your deck and quickly! Pair it up with the right cards and you will be shocking your opponents. This week we are featuring M Manectric EX!
M Manectric EX is a Mega Pokemon with 210 HP and evolves from Manectric EX. It has a weakness to Fighting type Pokemon but takes minus twenty from Metal type Pokemon thanks to a resistance. It has no retreat cost which makes it perfect to quickly attack one turn and the next turn run away to another powerful attacker. That is great since it has the single attack, Turbo Bolt. This attack only cost one Lightning and a Colorless and it does 110 damage. When this attack is used, it takes two basic Energy out of your discard and allows you to attach them to one of your benched Pokemon.
M Manectric EX will may not be your main attacker but it will make a great supporting Pokemon. Turbo Bolt is a strong attack that does 110 damage for only two energy plus an additional effect. That is insane for the energy cost it takes to use Turbo Bolt. Compare M Manectric EX to another once popular Pokemon card, Darkrai EX. This card does 90 damage plus 30 bench damage for a two Darkness and a colorless energy. M Manectric EX does more damage for one less energy.
M Manectric EX may see usage thanks to the fact that it can hit Yveltal EX for weakness. The dark Big Bird may not like getting shocked for 220 damage from one Pokemon. That is a solid 220 damage unlike Raichu who damage output depends on the number of your benched Pokemon.
Another thing that might make M Manectric EX considered to be played is how much easier it is to play. Prior to Phantom Forces, Mega Pokemon were difficult to play thanks to the Mega Evolution rule that states your turn ends upon Mega Evolving. Now there is a new item card that allows you to bypass that little rule: Manectric Spirit Link. If you attach this item to Manectric EX and Mega Evolve him then your turn won’t end. That means you can attack with Turbo Bolt and start powering up your benched Pokemon.
Now it is time for the cons. Thanks to the Manectric Spirit Link, Mega Evolving isn’t such a con. Though, having a weakness to Fighting Pokemon is. Furious Fist was release last set and it is still trying to battle its way to the top. A Lucario EX that can do 20 extra damage via Muscle Band, Fighting Stadium, or Strong Energy with two energy attachments can knock out M Manectric EX easily with Corkscrew Smash. Another rising star that can easily knock out M Manectric EX is Donphan who will be playing hard to hit while hitting back. Either of these things sound too great when you are a Mega Pokemon and trying to get some prizes after all your set up.
Another con is that M Manectric EX may not be one of your main attackers. It’s attack is really one that you will see on a supporting Pokemon. The difference between M Manectric EX and a normal support Pokemon is that M Manectric EX has a huge amount of HP which will raise it chances of staying around and a powerful attack that will do major damage to the receiver. The closest Pokemon that does this is Virizion EX who draws Energy from the deck but only does a base 50 damage. M Manectric EX may not want to be in the active for too long just like Virizion EX but it will at least hit hard and make sure the opponent’s active Pokemon is ready to be knocked out by your bigger guns.
So how will you use M Manectric EX if it isn’t your main attacker? Combo it with Pyroar from Phantom Forces. How will this work?
You will need to set up M Manectric EX to use Turbo Bolt and make sure to have two Fire Energy in the discard. Once you have fired up your first Turbo Bolt, attach the two Fire Energy to Pyroar on the bench. After that has happen then you will be in a prime position to take knockouts. Pyroar has an ability called Flare Command which allows you to switch your opponent’s active Pokemon with a Pokemon on their bench. Thanks to M Manectric EX, there should be plenty of Fire Energy on Pyroar to Flare Command any Pokemon on your opponent’s bench into the active. From there you can use M Manectric EX to knock out low HP Pokemon or retreat to another attacker that is damage free. Some possible Pokemon that could fit into a deck like this will be Reshiram, Zekrom or Mewtwo EX. It won’t be the first time this set of Pokemon have been in a deck together. These three Pokemon provide great coverage seeing that Pokemon with Fire, Lightning and Psychic Pokemon currently rule the format. If you want to keep attacking with M Manectric EX then he can guarantee a 2-hit KO on any Pokemon with Turbo Bolt. Either way, if this deck does get some ground then Genesect EX, Yveatal EX and Lucario EX may have something to be scared of.
M Manectric EX may have a future in the metagame. There are certainly a lot of Pokemon that wouldn’t mind a bolt of Energy from the discard and M Manectric EX won’t mind providing it! This card is quick just like it’s attack and could easily make friends with plenty of Pokemon. So keep an eye out for this Pokemon card.
