Time to rock out with some heavy metal!
Time to go mental with some metal. We are reaching the tail end of the season with not many huge competitions left. Players are doing what they can to get those last minute Championship Points. Some people have resorted to playing some trashy plays. Others have decided to try some new tricks. Guardians Rising has plenty of new things that have given players many great things to play. One of those things include a Metal monster that not only recycles but can hit hard. Some people have wrote this card off but it is now showing that it can do well at the top tables. It is efficient in recycling and can take out the trash. Because of this we are going to hit you with some heavy Metal in the form of Metagross GX!
Metagross GX is a Stage 2 Metal type Pokemon with 250 HP from Guardians Rising. This Pokemon has an ability, an attack and a GX attack. Metagross GX’s ability is called Geotech System which allows the player to attach a Metal or Psychic energy from the discard to their active Pokemon. If you want to attack then Metagross can use Giga Hammer which does 150 damage for two Metal and another energy. Once you use this attack then you will not able to use it again during your next turn. Lastly, Metagross GX can use Algorithm GX to allow the player to search their deck and put five cards into their hand. Metagross GX has a weakness to Fire types, resist Psychic types and has a three energy retreat cost.
The Pros
What does Metagross GX has going for it? The ability to recycle energy with Geotech System is pretty handy. You can freely discard energy by using Ultra Ball and Professor Sycamore knowing that you can reattach them using Metagross GX. This can be used on anybody in the active as a form of energy acceleration for Psychic, Metal or colorless attackers. So the ability is pretty versatile if you play it in the right deck.
You also have a pretty strong attack in the form of Giga Hammer. It is easy to power up if you have at least two Metagross GX on the field and a Metal energy in your hand. It normally hits for 150 damage which is enough to knockout non EX/GX attackers like Garbodor. If you want to hit harder then attach a Choice Band to hit 180 damage. That will knockout almost any EX/GX Basic Pokemon. If you do not then all you have to do is simply hit your opponent’s Pokemon again during your next turn. How would you do that if Giga Hammer can’t be used next turn? Simply find a way to retreat your Metagross GX and put it in the active.
Another option is retreat to another Metagross GX and power it up by using Geotech System and attack again. If you can stream a few Metagross GX then the hits will never stop.
Lastly, Metagross GX has tons of HP. It is pretty hard to one hit KO something with 250 HP. Most of the time your opponent will be fail to knock out Metagross GX or will be short by a few damage counters. This could leave you open to a few cheeky healing options like Max Potion to remove that damage while using the discard Metal energy as fuel for Metagross GX or another attacker.
The Cons
One of the biggest cons to using Metagross GX is how much this card relies on abilities. It will take a while for Metagross GX to get set up and even more to get a few of them going. The deck can be a bit slow but that is fine. The problem is that if your opponent can slow you down by turning off abilities then that means no Geotech System to accelerate the energy. You will find that BREAKpoint Garbodor and Hex Maniac to be the bane of this deck.
This deck does not like Fire types. It will melt like butter when facing against Fire based decks. Most Fire decks tend to be speedy so it will burn through Metagross GX before it can even hit the field. Volcanion will pose trouble but also any Stage 1 deck that plays Ancient Origins Flareon will really make Metagross GX feel the heat.
Lastly, Metagross GX’s Algorithm GX attack is a moot attack. The ability to grab any five cards and putting into your hand is great. The problem is that your opponent will think you grabbed five awesome cards and then decide to use N to get rid of those cards that you wanted. It is because of that reason why Algorithm GX is pointless and can be discouraging to use.
Now, if you wanted to force your opponent to use an N then you can go ahead and use Algorithm GX. That way your opponent will be force to decide between allowing you to keep your hand or get rid of it. If your opponent’s decides to use a N then you get a new hand. If your opponent decides not to use N then you have the perfect hand. Though, most of the time your opponent will try to use N in order to disrupt your perfect Algorithm GX hand.
How Would You Play It
So how did Metagross GX lead a second place win at a Regional? It played the game slow and steady to win the race.
You can get Metagross GX out by being slow which involves drawing into the right cards to get your Metang and Metagross GX out in three turns. That is a bit slow but luckily there is Alolan Vulpix with the Beacon attack. Simply place Alolan Vulpix in the active and use Beacon to grab whatever Pokemon you need for your next turn. Your opponent may try to N away your Pokemon but that doesn’t mean it will hurt you too much. If they do not use N then you have the Pokemon you need to have another successful turn. Eventually you will have a few Metagross GX out on your side of the field who can help you recycle your Metal energy.
The other way to get Metagross GX out quickly with little support from Items is to use Rare Candy. This item will allow you to evolve your Beldum into Metagross GX on your second turn. That would put pressure on your opponent as you have a hefty 250 HP Pokemon on your side of the field. Especially one that can hit for 150 damage with an amazing ability.
The little support from Items makes Metagross GX the perfect counter to Garbodor from Guardians Rising. You may use a few Ultra Balls, Rare Candy and VS Seekers to get what you need but it will help keep Garbodor’s damage output low. Once you get a few Metagross GX set up then you can constantly knockout Garbodor. Though watch out for BREAKpoint Garbodor who can throw a wrench into your plan and keep you from taking constant knockouts.
So how do you take constant knockouts? Metagross GX’s Giga Hammer attack states that you can’t attack with it next turn. You can simply pay the three energy retreat cost to put the previously attacking Metagross GX back on the bench. Once you have done that then you can use Metagross GX’s Geotech System to attach the energy on to the new active Metagross GX. If you have three Metagross GX on your field then those three Metal Energy will can be used to fuel up the new active.
If you want to be really cheeky then play cards like Olympia to swap around your Metagross GX and heal some damage. That way you have two possible Metagross GX on the field that can attack.
Ready to make your opponent upset after they fire off a big attack that fails to knockout your Metagross GX? Manually retreat your active Metagross GX by paying the three energy retreat cost, attach three energy on to your new active Metagross GX and then use a Max Potion to remove all the damage from your previously attacking Metagross GX. If you do this then your opponent will not be able to use Lysandre to take an easy prize. It will also ensure that your Metagross GX will be able to help recycle your Metal energy for the late game.
Make sure that you have plenty of Choice Band in your deck if you are using Metagross GX as your main attacker. Doing 150 damage is a lot but it is short of a KO for EX/GX Pokemon. That extra 30 damage provided by Choice Band will be just what you need to take a knockout. Add a Dhelmise to your deck to hit 190 so you can knockout Lapras GX.
Do you want to make good use of Metagross GX’s ability to draw up Psychic energy with Geotech System? Simply have two Psychic energy on your deck to use Tapu Lele’s Tapu Cure GX attack. We mention earlier that Metagross GX’s Algorithm GX isn’t the best thing to use. So why not use a GX attack that will be pretty handy in the late game. Metagross GX has plenty of HP and the damage can build up. If you are in a good position in the game with plenty of damage on Metagross GX then you can use Tapu Cure GX to remove all that damage from two of your Metagross GX. It is a nasty thing to pull when your opponent is struggling to knockout a Metagross GX.
Metagross GX can be slow to play but once the system gets started then it will be impossible to stop. This card is the perfect recycling factory to ensure that you get the most out of your Metal. Metagross GX is a cold blooded machine that will keep running until the mission is a success. Is Metal dead? It sure isn’t with Metagross GX constantly running! So give this card a try and best of luck in your upcoming competitions!
