MetaByss (TCG): Difference between revisions

MetaByss
Metagross and Gorebyss Types used Major cards Metagross, Gorebyss, Special Metal Energy, and Double Rainbow Energy Era 2004

MetaByss was a Pokémon Trading Card Game deck archetype that saw success toward the end of the 2003-2004 season, after the release of EX Hidden Legends in June 2004. Its name is a blend of Metagross and Gorebyss, the deck's two main attackers. MetaByss was one of several popular deck archetypes of the era to include Gorebyss, the others being CroByss; Jumpluff/Gorebyss; and a number of decks focusing on Stage 1 attackers.

Strategy

The prime reason Metagross and Gorebyss were used in tandem was not for any inherent synergy in their effects, but in their typing. Together, they covered each other's weaknesses and were able to take advantage of the weaknesses of many other attackers of the era. Furthermore, each were capable of abusing Double Rainbow Energy to attack faster. As a dual Psychic/Metal-type, Metagross attacked for increased damage against popular Pokémon such as Walrein, Gardevoir ex, and Crobat (a frequent fixture in other Gorebyss decks). Metagross was weak to Fire, which was problematic due to the prevalence of Blaziken and Blaziken ex in the metagame, so Gorebyss served to counter Fire-types.

Although the primary goal of the deck was simple (attack as soon and as often as possible with either Metagross or Gorebyss, depending on the matchup), there was no clear-cut path on how to optimally accomplish this. A particular area of contention involved which Beldum to use. There were three options: Beldum (EX Hidden Legends 28), Beldum (EX Hidden Legends 29), and Beldum (EX Hidden Legends 54). The first had a Poké-BODY, Levitate, that granted it free retreat if it had any Energy attached. This was useful both in tandem with a starter Pokémon such as Dunsparce or Jirachi, as it provides a way to easily retreat Beldum and attack with a preferable Pokémon instead. Levitate was particularly useful given Metagross's Metal Juncture Poké-POWER, which could be used to move Metal Energy used to retreat off of Beldum and onto an attacking Metagross later in the game. The second Beldum, numbered 29, had a Poké-POWER called Magnetic Call that allowed the user to flip a coin once during his or her turn, and (upon a successful flip) search his or her deck for another Beldum and place it onto the Bench. The third Beldum, numbered 54, had a Call for Family attack for a cost of , which searched the deck for one Basic Pokémon and placed it onto the user's Bench. Unlike the other two Beldum, which were Metal-type, this Beldum was Psychic-type and thus not weak to Fire, giving it greater staying power against Blaziken-based decks.

MetaByss lists also often differed in their choice of starting Pokémon. Like most decks of the era, MetaByss often relied on Dunsparce's Strike and Run attack to set up, but a more aggressive player may have felt that Dunsparce was redundant when included in a deck already running either the Magnetic Call or Call for Family Beldum and opted to run Jirachi instead. The list below runs both, making it less consistent but more versatile.

Key cards

Dunsparce

• Metagross - Metagross was one of the deck's two main attackers. Pending favorable coin flips, it was capable of doing large amounts of damage with its Squared Attack, as well as abusing the effects of both Special Metal Energy and Double Rainbow Energy.
• Gorebyss - Gorebyss, the deck's other primary attacker, served as a hard counter to Blaziken ex.
• Dunsparce - Dunsparce was the deck's ideal starter Pokémon. With its Strike and Run attack, Dunsparce could instantly give the player a strong setup; most decks of the time relied on Dunsparce early in the game.
• Special Metal Energy - Special Metal Energy reduced 10 damage done by attacks to the Metal-type Pokémon it was attached to. Thus, a Metagross with one or more Metal Energy attached was difficult for many decks to knock out in one or even two attacks.
• Double Rainbow Energy - Double Rainbow Energy provided a way to power up either Metagross's Metal Juncture or Gorebyss's Mystic Water in fewer turns than usual.

Typical decklist

The deck list appearing below is not official; it is meant to represent an average build of the archetype, not specifically constructed for any regional metagame. Being that this is merely an archetype, a player may wish to change any part of this deck when building his or her own version.

Quantity	Card	Type	Rarity
4×	Metagross
2×	Metang
3×	Beldum
1×	Beldum
3×	Gorebyss
3×	Clamperl
3×	Dunsparce
1×	Jirachi
4×	Steven's Advice	Su
3×	Copycat	Su
3×	Professor	Su
3×	Pokémon Reversal	T
3×	Fast Ball	T
2×	Rare Candy	T
1×	Warp Point	T
3×	Desert Ruins	St
4×	Double Rainbow Energy	E
4×	Rainbow Energy	E
4×	Psychic Energy	E	—
2×	Grass Energy	E	—
2×	Water Energy	E	—

Possible tech cards

Ditto

The following cards are often used in CroByss in place of certain cards included in the above list.

• Jirachi - Because CroByss relied so heavily on Evolutions, Jirachi could serve as a viable alternative or partner to Dunsparce.
• Igglybuff - Igglybuff served a similar purpose, but with the option of retrieving an Energy card. Given CroByss's reliance on a variety of different Energy types, this could prove useful.
• Ditto - Ditto served a number of purposes. Its Prismatic Body Poké-BODY allowed Water Energy and Grass Energy to count as Psychic Energy when applied to the damage output of Gorebyss's Mystic Water attack. Ditto also served as a powerful attacker in some matchups, hitting Rayquaza ex (one of the most popular attackers of the era) for Weakness and being able to effectively copy the attack of opposing Gorebyss.
• Ancient Tomb - In areas where the metagame included many Lightning-type and/or Psychic-type Pokémon, a CroByss player may want to include Ancient Tomb to negate the weaknesses of Gorebyss and Crobat, respectively.
• Ancient Technical Machine [Rock] - Ancient Technical Machine [Rock] was useful against Evolution-based decks, particularly those that relied heavily on Rare Candy.

See also

• 2004 World Championships (TCG)

This article is part of Project TCG, a Bulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.