Exploring Lucario & Melmetal-GX

What’s poppin’ Po Town readers? I’m going to start this article off by saying I have an active love/hate relationship with Lucario & Melmetal-GX (Unbroken Bonds) Pokemon decks. I often think they’re poor plays because it's easy to counter Dauntless Shield on Zamazenta V (Sword and Shield), but find myself playing the deck all the way to Top Four of the Chill TCG events. This deck is linear, yet complex, and most players aren’t playing the right version of the deck. My goal with this article is to let you know why we changed Lucario & Melmetal-GX from playing Tag Call (Cosmic Eclipse) to Pokegear 3.0 (Sword and Shield) and where we’re at with the deck now. If you need any Pokemon TCG codes to pick up the cards for these decks or any other deck, you’re in the right place. PoTown Store has a great selection of PTCGO codes at great prices and they’ll get them delivered via email ASAP! That being said, let’s jump into it!

This version of Lucario & Melmetal-GX plays out the same as most versions of the deck, you use Lucario & Melmetal-GX against Pokemon with lots of HP and hit hard with Zacian V (Sword and Shield) using Brave Blade. You pull out Zamazenta V when you need to wall against a VMAX Pokemon and the deck has answers to most of the metagame. The real change is the amount of Pokegear 3.0 and Professor’s Research this deck runs to get around the Night Watch combo whenever possible.

Well, if the metagame for Pokemon wasn’t fluid, the end of the article would have been slightly after my Lucario & Melmatal-GX list. Since the release of Chilling Reign, things have slightly changed… Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX decks are still some of the best Pokemon Online decks in our format, but the Trevenant & Dusknoir-GX/Path to the Peak build has virtually disappeared. The more popular lists run either Alcremie VMAX (Champions Path), Galarian Zapdos V (Chilling Reign), or Gengar & Mimikyu-GX (Team Up). That being said, the deck that was stopping us from switching back to the more successful Tag Call version was nowhere to be seen. I personally helped steer this change by letting some of the best Lucario & Melmetal-GX players know, like Joshua Sutherland, and the rest is history. Let's check out my newest list for this awesome deck!

The strategy of this Pokemon online deck is going to remain the same as the above variant, but we have more control over the card we want to grab. That is the main appeal behind Tag Call because you can grab Mallow & Lana (Cosmic Eclipse) when you need to heal/switch, grab Guzma & Hala (Cosmic Eclipse) if you need an Energy, and/or Cynthia & Caitlyn(Cosmic Eclipse) to draw some cards! I like the strategic options that this list offers and it often rewards players who understand this deck! Don’t get me wrong, you can do well by hitting VMAX decks all day long and countering them with Zamazenta V or hitting two Metal Energy off Intrepid Sword, but overall this is a skill-based deck. Let’s look at my list.

Whether you’re trying to become the next Chill TCG champion or play fun games on the Versus ladder, Lucario & Melmetal-GX is one of the best Pokemon Online decks in our Chilling Reign metagame! I’m stoked to continuously test this archetype and learn more about the metagame myself! If you need any PTCGO codes for your own testing or collection, PoTown Store is one of the best places to pick PTCGO codes. Happy testing!

Zach Lesage is a contributing writer for PoTown Store. As a Toronto local, he has been playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game since 2005 and creates Pokemon content as his full time career. Under the moniker of theloneblown, he creates YouTube content, streams on Twitch, and provides hot takes on his Twitter. With multiple prestigious accomplishments in the game, such as 2020 Players Cup 2 Champion and 2020 Oceania International Championships Finalist, he has proven his success in the game. Outside of the game, he travels the world, enjoys the culture of designer streetwear, and is a professionally trained chef. You can catch him at most Pokemon events and follow him on Twitter @ZachLesagePTCG