Sort of inspired by Yoshidude's recent Tyram thread, I figured I'd make an attempt at an article myself and possibly open some discussion on what people think of Magneboar and it's prospects. I heard from a little bird that decklist articles were being phased out, so if and until that clears up, I figured I might post it here. No harm right? I hope. Now I haven't done matchups yet because they'd be mostly theorymon, but I will edit some in if people want. Anyway, here we go.
Introduction
Since Emboar's release in the Black and White expansion to Pokemon: TCG, its two decks, Reshiboar and Magneboar, have received both great hype and serious criticism. Both decks, along with Donchamp, were originally frontrunners to be the best deck in the HGSS-on format, but after the Canadian Nationals, and especially after the release of Pokemon Catcher, not even the World Championship crown could convince players that Emboar variants were viable in the Catcher metagame. Slower setup and high retreat costs made these decks very vulnerable to Catcher at every stage of the game, often making them prey to faster decks such as Reshiphlosion, Stage 1s and ZPST. Magneboar in particular really suffers from the release of Pokemon Catcher, and has ultimately become a random threat in the competitive metagame instead of a serious contender.
However, the rerelease of Pokemon EX may very well make this deck viable again. Pokemon like Mewtwo EX, Kyurem EX, and the dragon EXs all have high expectations in the current format and are expected to influence the current metagame decks. These EX pokemon, and a couple cards from the Noble Victories set, I feel greatly aid Magneboar's cause, and can result in a lot of favorable matchups, enough to redeem the slower setup and make the deck competitive again.
A Brief Overview of the Deck
Before I get into the important changes the EX pokemon bring, I'm going to provide a simple outline of the two main pokemon in Magneboar. For those that find this redundant, feel free to skip down to the next section "So What's Changed?" For those that feel less familiar with the deck, feel free to continue reading.
Magnezone Prime is the draw engine and one of the main attackers in any Magneboar deck (the others being Reshiram and Rayquaza Deoxys Legend). Magnezone is unique insomuch that it is the only pokemon in this format that has a theoretically limitless damage cap. Hurling energy into the Lost Zone naturally limits this attack to reasonable numbers, but the fact that Magnezone is the only pokemon that could reliably score knockouts on EX pokemon, including those that might run Eviolite, is something worth noting, especially considering the powerful draw engine this pokemon enjoys. However, permanently losing the energy means that Magnezone needs a constant supply of energy in order to attack, which brings us to Emboar...
With high retreat cost and a horrible attack, Emboar serves only one purpose in any deck: unparallelled energy acceleration. Emboar's Inferno Fandango completely nullifies the energy attachment rule by allowing a player to attach as many fire energy to their pokemon as they want, with absolutely no consequence or catch to the player using Emboar. This ability makes Magnezone's otherwise costly attack quite reasonable, while simultaneously emptying the player's hand to make the most out of Magnezone's Magnetic Draw. However, its retreat cost of four proved to be sometimes crippling when it was dragged out into the active spot, and the deck's over reliance meant the deck was almost irreparably behind if the Emboar Engine was shut down even for a couple turns.
So What's Changed?
The inclusion of Pokemon EX into the competitive metagame does a few very important things in Magneboar's favor. The first thing to note is the high HP of every EX pokemon (usually at a minimum of 170). This high HP makes it nearly impossible (short of type weakness) to score a OHKO, generally giving an EX player another turn to work with. However, for four energy, Magnezone's Lost Burn can remove any EX from the field in one shot, which can greatly shift momentum into Magneboar's favor. More importantly, because a player takes two prize cards when KOing an EX pokemon, Magneboar players are only investing two energy for each prize, making Lost Burn something it has never been before: relatively energy efficient for the prize exchange. This means that Magnezone can safely attack early because the energy invested in taking each prize is lower, meaning that you can set up the draw engine and a reliable attack engine all at once, instead of also trying to set up RDL, Badboar, or Reshiram.
Perhaps more importantly however, is not how Magneboar can counter EXs, but how it can use them, namely Reshiram EX.
To translate the attacks: the first attack, Shining Claw, does 50 for {R}{C}{C}, and does 30 more on a coin flip for a total of 80 damage, but the real star is the second attack, Brave Fire, which for {R}{R}{C}{C} does 150 and flip for 50 recoil. This is much better than any of Magneboar's previous secondary attackers for several reasons. The attack does 150 instead of Reshiram's 120, meaning it can, like Magnezone, KO heavier targets like Gothetelle, other Emboars, Beartic, etc, but unlike Badboar, Reshiram EX is a basic, meaning that it can be dropped right away. Most importantly however, the attack does not discard energy. This means that, provided Reshiram EX is not revenge killed next turn, it can swing for a consistent 150 while the rest of the deck sets up energy for Lost Burn. This is extremely important for Magneboar as now, the deck doesn't stall as badly if energy can't be recovered from the discard, or if the worst should happen and Emboar is KO'ed, Magneboar can still use Reshiram EX to attack in a pinch until the Emboar Engine is back online. If two of these are set up, future Emboars might not even be necessary, as Reshiram EX can be used to attack, and Magnezone can lost burn energy off Reshiram EX should an opposing EX rear it's ugly head.
Another card that recently came out in Noble Victories also gives Magneboar, and Magnezone in general, a strong edge in the late game matches.
N, the new Rocket's Admin, forces both players to shuffle their decks and draw as many cards as they have prizes remaining. This can be gamebreaking in a prize exchange, as where Mangezone can immediately draw you into a new six card hand, your opponent may be down into as little as a one or two card hand, slowing them down at a key moment in the game. This can be incredibly useful in many of Magneboar's previously unfavorable matchups, namely those dragon decks that were infinitely faster than Magneboar and could take that quick prize lead. In the early game, it acts as a card heavier judge that can help you set up and potentially force the player out of a good hand, though its disruption value is much worse than Judge since it gives your opponent 5-6 cards in the early game.
Optional Techs
The current format has a couple useful tech cards, mostly for Reshiram EX, that can make things go smoother for Magneboar. A few optional "one of" techs that stick out to me are:
Eviolite is nice because it increases the survivability of Reshiram EX, and therefore keeps that four energy in play for another turn to either lost burn, or use for a second Brave Fire attack. It also reduces the recoil damage from Brave Fire to a manageable 30. This makes revenge KOs much more difficult since the opponent now has to do 170 for the KO instead of 130.
Like Eviolite, Victini is for recoil control. Victini allows you to reflip for recoil, reducing the odds of any self arm to 25%. Like Eviolite, this increases Reshiram EX's survivability, and in tandem with Eviolite, makes the risk of recoil negligible. However, Victini is an easy prize, it has a horrible attack, and takes up a spot on the bench. The two cards together could do well in theorymon, but I see this as a 61st card right now, and think Evolite is the better play overall.
This is a card I think has potential as a one of tech. If a Reshiram or Magnezone is heavily damaged and the energy was recently Lost Burned away, this card can be dropped for a quick heal at no consequence. This could be especially useful on Reshiram EX to deny two prizes in a heated exchange. However, I will be the first to admit I need to test this more before I give it a verdict.
I also think that one of cards of Fisherman, Energy Retrieval, or Super Rod may also have value in a Magneboar decklist as a failsafe to get energy or pokemon back from the discard.
Tentative Decklist
Pokemon: 17
3-1-3 Magnezone Prime
3-1-2 Emboar
2 Reshiram EX
2 Cleffa HGSS
T/S/S 32
4 Pokemon Collector
2 Sage's Training
4 N
3 Twins
1 Fisherman
4 Pokemon Communication
4 Rare Candy
1 Pokemon Catcher
4 Junk Arm
1 Eviolite
1 Super Rod
2 Switch
Energy: 12
4 {L} Energy
8 {R} Energy
Some Drawbacks
Emboar is still very vulnerable Emboar is going to get dragged out by Pokemon Catcher, it's inevitable. However, with cards like Reshiram and Zekrom EX, killing off Emboar has never been easier. If Magneboar players don't have an attacker ready to go, this can still put Magneboar in an awkward position. The deck now has an answer in Reshiram EX, making the situation manageable, but it still causes complications in board presence, and can force the difficult decision of risking a two prize loss by putting down Reshiram EX early.
Setup speed is poor Magneboar has some nice options and can even go straight Reshiboar in the early game if it wants, however, the deck still has to play keep up with the faster decks, and will need good Twins plays, N plays, and smart use of Catcher and attacks to shift the momentum in Magneboar's favor.
Magnezone CAN get OHKO'ed by other EX pokemon Reshiram and Zekrom EX can OHKO Magnezone, and, as a stage 2, it can be harder to setup than EX pokemon. Smart play should ensure a second Magnezone gets on the field before that, but it bears mentioning regardless.
Conclusion
Mangeboar has more strengths than ever in the coming EX format. The high HP of these new pokemon make Magnezone's Lost Burn attack far more useful, while Reshiram EX allows the deck to pick off any non EX pokemon with relative ease. In addition, N provides incredible late game disruption to any deck not running Magnezone, allowing Magneboar to catch up on prizes more easily than before. The drawbacks that sidelined Magneboar are still there, but for the first time, the strengths Magneboar brings to the table might strongly outweigh the drawbacks enough to make it a serious contender and metagame threat.
Introduction
Since Emboar's release in the Black and White expansion to Pokemon: TCG, its two decks, Reshiboar and Magneboar, have received both great hype and serious criticism. Both decks, along with Donchamp, were originally frontrunners to be the best deck in the HGSS-on format, but after the Canadian Nationals, and especially after the release of Pokemon Catcher, not even the World Championship crown could convince players that Emboar variants were viable in the Catcher metagame. Slower setup and high retreat costs made these decks very vulnerable to Catcher at every stage of the game, often making them prey to faster decks such as Reshiphlosion, Stage 1s and ZPST. Magneboar in particular really suffers from the release of Pokemon Catcher, and has ultimately become a random threat in the competitive metagame instead of a serious contender.
However, the rerelease of Pokemon EX may very well make this deck viable again. Pokemon like Mewtwo EX, Kyurem EX, and the dragon EXs all have high expectations in the current format and are expected to influence the current metagame decks. These EX pokemon, and a couple cards from the Noble Victories set, I feel greatly aid Magneboar's cause, and can result in a lot of favorable matchups, enough to redeem the slower setup and make the deck competitive again.
A Brief Overview of the Deck
Before I get into the important changes the EX pokemon bring, I'm going to provide a simple outline of the two main pokemon in Magneboar. For those that find this redundant, feel free to skip down to the next section "So What's Changed?" For those that feel less familiar with the deck, feel free to continue reading.
Magnezone Prime is the draw engine and one of the main attackers in any Magneboar deck (the others being Reshiram and Rayquaza Deoxys Legend). Magnezone is unique insomuch that it is the only pokemon in this format that has a theoretically limitless damage cap. Hurling energy into the Lost Zone naturally limits this attack to reasonable numbers, but the fact that Magnezone is the only pokemon that could reliably score knockouts on EX pokemon, including those that might run Eviolite, is something worth noting, especially considering the powerful draw engine this pokemon enjoys. However, permanently losing the energy means that Magnezone needs a constant supply of energy in order to attack, which brings us to Emboar...
With high retreat cost and a horrible attack, Emboar serves only one purpose in any deck: unparallelled energy acceleration. Emboar's Inferno Fandango completely nullifies the energy attachment rule by allowing a player to attach as many fire energy to their pokemon as they want, with absolutely no consequence or catch to the player using Emboar. This ability makes Magnezone's otherwise costly attack quite reasonable, while simultaneously emptying the player's hand to make the most out of Magnezone's Magnetic Draw. However, its retreat cost of four proved to be sometimes crippling when it was dragged out into the active spot, and the deck's over reliance meant the deck was almost irreparably behind if the Emboar Engine was shut down even for a couple turns.
So What's Changed?
The inclusion of Pokemon EX into the competitive metagame does a few very important things in Magneboar's favor. The first thing to note is the high HP of every EX pokemon (usually at a minimum of 170). This high HP makes it nearly impossible (short of type weakness) to score a OHKO, generally giving an EX player another turn to work with. However, for four energy, Magnezone's Lost Burn can remove any EX from the field in one shot, which can greatly shift momentum into Magneboar's favor. More importantly, because a player takes two prize cards when KOing an EX pokemon, Magneboar players are only investing two energy for each prize, making Lost Burn something it has never been before: relatively energy efficient for the prize exchange. This means that Magnezone can safely attack early because the energy invested in taking each prize is lower, meaning that you can set up the draw engine and a reliable attack engine all at once, instead of also trying to set up RDL, Badboar, or Reshiram.
Perhaps more importantly however, is not how Magneboar can counter EXs, but how it can use them, namely Reshiram EX.
To translate the attacks: the first attack, Shining Claw, does 50 for {R}{C}{C}, and does 30 more on a coin flip for a total of 80 damage, but the real star is the second attack, Brave Fire, which for {R}{R}{C}{C} does 150 and flip for 50 recoil. This is much better than any of Magneboar's previous secondary attackers for several reasons. The attack does 150 instead of Reshiram's 120, meaning it can, like Magnezone, KO heavier targets like Gothetelle, other Emboars, Beartic, etc, but unlike Badboar, Reshiram EX is a basic, meaning that it can be dropped right away. Most importantly however, the attack does not discard energy. This means that, provided Reshiram EX is not revenge killed next turn, it can swing for a consistent 150 while the rest of the deck sets up energy for Lost Burn. This is extremely important for Magneboar as now, the deck doesn't stall as badly if energy can't be recovered from the discard, or if the worst should happen and Emboar is KO'ed, Magneboar can still use Reshiram EX to attack in a pinch until the Emboar Engine is back online. If two of these are set up, future Emboars might not even be necessary, as Reshiram EX can be used to attack, and Magnezone can lost burn energy off Reshiram EX should an opposing EX rear it's ugly head.
Another card that recently came out in Noble Victories also gives Magneboar, and Magnezone in general, a strong edge in the late game matches.
N, the new Rocket's Admin, forces both players to shuffle their decks and draw as many cards as they have prizes remaining. This can be gamebreaking in a prize exchange, as where Mangezone can immediately draw you into a new six card hand, your opponent may be down into as little as a one or two card hand, slowing them down at a key moment in the game. This can be incredibly useful in many of Magneboar's previously unfavorable matchups, namely those dragon decks that were infinitely faster than Magneboar and could take that quick prize lead. In the early game, it acts as a card heavier judge that can help you set up and potentially force the player out of a good hand, though its disruption value is much worse than Judge since it gives your opponent 5-6 cards in the early game.
Optional Techs
The current format has a couple useful tech cards, mostly for Reshiram EX, that can make things go smoother for Magneboar. A few optional "one of" techs that stick out to me are:
Eviolite is nice because it increases the survivability of Reshiram EX, and therefore keeps that four energy in play for another turn to either lost burn, or use for a second Brave Fire attack. It also reduces the recoil damage from Brave Fire to a manageable 30. This makes revenge KOs much more difficult since the opponent now has to do 170 for the KO instead of 130.
Like Eviolite, Victini is for recoil control. Victini allows you to reflip for recoil, reducing the odds of any self arm to 25%. Like Eviolite, this increases Reshiram EX's survivability, and in tandem with Eviolite, makes the risk of recoil negligible. However, Victini is an easy prize, it has a horrible attack, and takes up a spot on the bench. The two cards together could do well in theorymon, but I see this as a 61st card right now, and think Evolite is the better play overall.
This is a card I think has potential as a one of tech. If a Reshiram or Magnezone is heavily damaged and the energy was recently Lost Burned away, this card can be dropped for a quick heal at no consequence. This could be especially useful on Reshiram EX to deny two prizes in a heated exchange. However, I will be the first to admit I need to test this more before I give it a verdict.
I also think that one of cards of Fisherman, Energy Retrieval, or Super Rod may also have value in a Magneboar decklist as a failsafe to get energy or pokemon back from the discard.
Tentative Decklist
Pokemon: 17
3-1-3 Magnezone Prime
3-1-2 Emboar
2 Reshiram EX
2 Cleffa HGSS
T/S/S 32
4 Pokemon Collector
2 Sage's Training
4 N
3 Twins
1 Fisherman
4 Pokemon Communication
4 Rare Candy
1 Pokemon Catcher
4 Junk Arm
1 Eviolite
1 Super Rod
2 Switch
Energy: 12
4 {L} Energy
8 {R} Energy
Some Drawbacks
Emboar is still very vulnerable Emboar is going to get dragged out by Pokemon Catcher, it's inevitable. However, with cards like Reshiram and Zekrom EX, killing off Emboar has never been easier. If Magneboar players don't have an attacker ready to go, this can still put Magneboar in an awkward position. The deck now has an answer in Reshiram EX, making the situation manageable, but it still causes complications in board presence, and can force the difficult decision of risking a two prize loss by putting down Reshiram EX early.
Setup speed is poor Magneboar has some nice options and can even go straight Reshiboar in the early game if it wants, however, the deck still has to play keep up with the faster decks, and will need good Twins plays, N plays, and smart use of Catcher and attacks to shift the momentum in Magneboar's favor.
Magnezone CAN get OHKO'ed by other EX pokemon Reshiram and Zekrom EX can OHKO Magnezone, and, as a stage 2, it can be harder to setup than EX pokemon. Smart play should ensure a second Magnezone gets on the field before that, but it bears mentioning regardless.
Conclusion
Mangeboar has more strengths than ever in the coming EX format. The high HP of these new pokemon make Magnezone's Lost Burn attack far more useful, while Reshiram EX allows the deck to pick off any non EX pokemon with relative ease. In addition, N provides incredible late game disruption to any deck not running Magnezone, allowing Magneboar to catch up on prizes more easily than before. The drawbacks that sidelined Magneboar are still there, but for the first time, the strengths Magneboar brings to the table might strongly outweigh the drawbacks enough to make it a serious contender and metagame threat.
