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SincePokemon Pocketlaunched, the Metal archetype has been the least favored of all the types. While many players have tried to build competitive decks around it, most have failed, and the metagame has yet to see a truly successful Steel-type deck.
That said, there’s still room for creativity. Recent Steel decks, particularly those refined with Mythical Island cards, have shown potential. In this guide, I’ll walk you through building two of these decks, which usePokemon Pocket’s new cards to offset the archetype’s below-average stats.
The Best Metal Deck in the Current Meta
To build a consistent Steel deck, limit your Pokemon to three: Meltan, Melmetal, and Druddigon. Use Meltan to accelerate Energy, stall with Druddigon, and deal damage with Melmetal.Fill the rest of the deck with Trainer Cardsto improve draw rates.
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The Best Experimental Steel Deck
Recent tournaments saw the rise of a new Metal deck that caught many meta decks off guard:the Melmetal-Greninja deck,supported by Druddigon. And it’s one of the most promising setups for the Metal archetype.
The deck’s concept is simple: Place Druddigon in the frontline to stall. Build up Meltan, which evolves into Melmetal. Once Melmetal is ready to attack, start dealing damage. Meanwhile, keep Greninja on the Bench to provide additional chip damage, helping to make up for Melmetal’s below-average output.
You won’t need toadd Water-type Energyto the Melmetal & Greninja deck, as Greninja stays on the Bench and only applies chip damage with its Energy-free ability.
Current Performance of Metal Decks in Pocket’s Meta
I analyzedten recentPokemon Pockettournamentsfocusing on the number of players using a Metal deck. My research shows that Steel-type setups appeared in 40% of the matches, with an average ranking of 66.2. In other words, Metal decks didn’t make it into the top 50.
The only tournament where a Melmetal deck performed well was one that landed in 12th place. In all other cases, the Steeldecks I reviewed either conceded or ranked below 40.
Why Steel Decks Have Failed in Pocket’s Meta
There are two major issues with the Metal archetype inPokemon Pocket’s current meta: 1) There aren’t many Steel-type Pokemon, and 2) Only a few Pokemon are weak to Steel-type attacks, and none of them are meta cards. This leaves you with a small pool to build from and a loss of type advantage, which is why Metal decks often fail.
However, Metal decks could gain popularity withupcoming expansions. New cards could address both issues: introducing more meta-friendly Steel-type Pokemon and adding more meta-affecting Pokemon that are weak to Metal.
How to Counter Metal Decks in Pokemon TCG Pocket
In the current metagame, all Steel-type Pokemon inPocketare weak toFire-type decks. As a result, basic Charizard ex or Arcanine ex decks could be highly effective against them. Generally, though, fast-build lineups, like Pikachu ex decks, perform well against the slow-paced Metal setups.
