Steam Siege Magearna EX- cotw 22SEP16

[Hands]

CARD OF THE WEEK

Magearna EX
Set:Steam Siege #75/114​

This week marks the first EX that I've featured, and as with the prior weeks, it's another great supporter card that can work in a lot of decks. Magearna EX hasn't seen maybe as much competitive use as it deserves, despite this it was a key part of the M Audino deck that won worlds.

It's ability, Mystic Heart, is where it really shines. Protecting all of your Pokemon with a metal energy attached from all non direct damage effects of opponents attacks is beyond useful. Poison? Not anymore, Retreat block? Blocked. Energy removal? Denied. Magearna even gives itself this protection, providing the energy is there. For most decks, direct damage is easy to get around, the loss of energy and retreat blocks are not.

It's only attack, Soul Blaster, is less impressive, but still has it's merits. 120 Damage for three energy (that could be paid for in 2 with a Metal and DCE) is fairly decent for a basic EX, but the secondary effect that slashes the damage is terrible. I'd say only use this if you really have no other choice.

With a resistance to psychic, fairly sturdy HP, a semi decent attack, a single energy retreat cost and a great ability Magearna EX really holds it's own as a hefty bench support card that can bite back if it has to. It works great in both M Scizor decks and the lesser seen M Steelix decks, saving precious energies (especially in M Steelix's case) and keeping nasty side effects out of the game. It's main weakness comes from the lesser seen, though rapidly emerging, Volcanion EX. It doesn't fair well against Delphox decks either but they aren't too pressing to deal with. Against M Gardevoir decks Magearna is scoring 1 hit knock outs on virtually everything, giving it some offensive use too.

 

[gimmepie]

I imagine this would work quite well in decks that are predominately colourless also, wouldn't it? Maybe something built around Rayquaza EX?

 

[Hands]

I imagine this would work quite well in decks that are predominately colourless also, wouldn't it? Maybe something built around Rayquaza EX?

Yeah, pretty much anything colourless could benefit from both this and Manaphy EX actually, as both only specificity having energy attached, not what type of Pokemon they're attached to. Magearna would be pretty handy in a colourless toolbox or C-Ray or as we saw at Worlds, M Audino

 

[donavannj]

I think people just haven't realized what they can pair it with, really, or they're choosing other support Pokemon because they've run out of room.