The Easiest Broken Deck — Turbo Iron Hands ex

Several post-rotation decks performed well at the massive Fukuoka Champions League tournament in Japan. This tournament was the first to showcase the new Temporal Forces set as well as the post-rotation format. I wrote about this tournament a couple of weeks ago, and I covered most of the decks that made Top 16. The results seem to indicate a format just as diverse as the one we have now, and even after seeing the results, the meta remains unsolved and open-ended. New formats are always exciting, as there is a lot to explore, and I’ve been testing various decks for post-rotation which I like quite a lot.

Last time, I wrote about [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], which I believe to be the best overall deck, however, at the end of my Champions League review, I indicated that a new deck that quietly snuck into Top 16 has some real potential; turbo [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]. Iron Hands ex has been popular both in Japan and in our format since its release in Paradox Rift thanks to that unique and powerful Amp You Very Much attack. With Temporal Forces, Iron Hands ex gains a ton of new cards and thus receives a massive power buff.

What has Iron Hands ex Gained?

[cardimg name=”Iron Crown ex” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”206″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

First and foremost is [card name=”Iron Crown ex” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card]. Iron Crown ex’s Ability buffs the damage of your Future Pokemon by +20 — if you have three Iron Crown ex on your Bench, Iron Hands ex’s Amp You Very Much now deals 180 damage. This is insane! I cannot understate how huge this is for Iron Hands ex. Previously, Amp You Very Much was a strong attack, but it could only one-shot weak single-Prize Pokemon. This made Iron Hands ex notorious as an option to counter single-Prize attackers, but its downside was its low damage output, which limited the card’s overall usefulness — that weakness is now completely negated. With four Iron Crown ex and a [card name=”Future Booster Energy Capsule” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card], Amp You Very Much deals 220 damage, enough to one-shot most two-Prize Pokemon as well as nearly all single-Prize Pokemon. This sounds like a lot of setup, but it’s relatively easy to find a swarm of Iron Crown ex thanks to [card name=”Techno Radar” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”180″ c=”name”][/card].

Next is the new [card name=”Miraidon” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card]. Miraidon’s attack deals 40 base damage and searches out two Basic Energy from the deck to directly attach to Iron Hands ex. This serves several purposes; Iron Hands ex requires four Energy to use Amp You Very Much… Even with access to [card name=”Electric Generator” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card], this is a very steep cost. Miraidon smooths out this process and offers a way to consistently charge up Iron Hands ex. Even after some unlucky whiffs from Electric Generator, Miraidon saves you. In short, it’s a consistent game plan — you are almost always attacking with Miraidon to start the game and set yourself up. Additionally, Miraidon applies pressure. Against any deck with single-Prize Pokemon like [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] and Lost Zone box, Miraidon easily deals enough damage to take an early KO. Thanks to Iron Crown ex and Future Booster Energy Capsule, Miraidon’s attack KOs weak single-Prize Pokemon. This applies pressure and takes Prize cards, which gives you an easier Prize map along with Amp You Very Much. This level of synergy is crazy!

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Finally, Miraidon throws off your opponent’s Prize map — it’s a single-Prize Pokemon that applies pressure at the very start of the game. If the opponent neglects to deal with it, you can flood your board with Energy while also dealing relevant damage. If they KO Miraidon, they are now permanently stuck on odd Prizes. This is convenient for utilizing [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card], and they still have to KO three of your two-Prize Pokemon. It is ridiculous how much value this card provides for basically no cost.

The last card that significantly buffs [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] is [card name=”Heavy Baton” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card]. Heavy Baton is a Pokemon Tool card that easily allows you to chain Iron Hands ex. After the initial Miraidon attack, Heavy Baton takes over as Energy acceleration in the form of Energy preservation. You can think of it like using three [card name=”Flaaffy” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] at once! This card is completely useless in any other conceivable deck, but with Iron Hands ex, it is completely broken.

My Deck List

Thanks to Iron Crown ex, Miraidon, and Heavy Baton, it’s now feasible to play a deck entirely centred around Amp You Very Much. Here is my current list for this deck — I only changed a few cards from the Japanese list. I think the original list had a lot of good ideas and also had the right idea for how to build the deck.

[decklist name=”hands” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Miraidon” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”121″][pokemon amt=”10″]4x [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Iron Crown ex” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”81″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Miraidon” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”121″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”34″]4x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Arven” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”186″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”80″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Techno Radar” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”180″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Electric Generator” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”84″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Prime Catcher” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Future Booster Energy Capsule” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Heavy Baton” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”151″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Town Store” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”16″]12x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”12″][/card]4x [card name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Playing the Deck

This is potentially the most straightforward deck list of all time… The difficulty of the deck correlates to the complexity of the list. This deck is extremely easy to play, and its output is beyond absurd. For such a simple deck, it’s considerably powerful. In other words, this deck is a bad player’s dream. To me, the funniest thing about this deck is the complete lack of support Pokemon that draw or otherwise find more cards, which is rare as of late. Most decks in recent memory have a powerful draw engine, but this deck has a board full of Future Pokemon; [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Miraidon” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] for attacking, and [card name=”Iron Crown ex” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] for buffing damage. For draw, this deck relies entirely upon Supporters and [card name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card].

[cardimg name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Gift Energy seems like it would be possible to play around, as your opponent does not always have to KO your attacker, however, this deck does not care if the opponent ignores Gift Energy because an attacker is all it needs. If your opponent leaves the attacker, you can still happily keep attacking. If they KO your attacker, you draw cards with Gift Energy. It is a win-win scenario! Unlike combo-heavy decks, this deck is low-maintenance, so you don’t have to draw or search as many cards each turn.

Aside from Gift Energy, you draw cards with one Supporter per turn the old-fashioned way. This list is reminiscent of old Team Plasma decks, as the Pokemon are almost one-for-one reprints of the [card name=”Thundurus-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Deoxys-EX” set=”Plasma Freeze” no=”53″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Lugia-EX” set=”Plasma Storm” no=”134″ c=”name”][/card] core, and the Supporter lineup is essentially the same as [card name=”Professor Juniper” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”98″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”N” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”96″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Skyla” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] (run in the same counts too!). A whole decade later, things have come full circle! The Supporters are generally enough to keep things going, but if you don’t draw into any initially, you are out of luck.

After using Miraidon to set up, you’ll use three back-to-back Iron Hands ex, because that’s all the deck can do! Amp You Very Much takes Prize cards like crazy, and Arm Press is still powerful even when you can’t get the Amp KO. Your game plan revolves around setting up a convenient Prize map by utilizing Amp You Very Much to take extra Prizes on key KOs. Usually, you use Amp You Very Much whenever you can, however, there are some situations where you intentionally hold off, setting up for a game-ending play with [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card]. By neglecting to think ahead when using Amp You Very Much, you may deny yourself an opportunity to win the game, after all, taking more Prize cards makes it more difficult to use Counter Catcher. You aren’t always in a rush to take Prizes, as Iron Hands ex can quite easily take three Prizes at once.

My Changes

I’ve added a fourth copy of Iron Crown ex to the original Japanese list. You usually need three on the board, but usually you want all four. If you only play three, you are susceptible to an Iron Crown ex getting prized or KO’d. You only use one copy of [card name=”Miraidon” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] each game, and you rarely put the second copy into play to stick your opponent on odd Prizes. The deck still needs two copies of Miraidon, as you don’t want to Prize the lone copy and lose because of it!

Since this deck relies entirely on draw Supporters to function, it makes sense to max out the most powerful draw Supporters, [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card], for a no-nonsense engine. [card name=”Arven” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] is acceptable in this deck too, since it utilizes multiple important Pokemon Tool cards — you need the Heavy Baton on your attacking [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]. In addition to these twelve Supporters, I think it’s worth considering [card name=”Pokégear 3.0″ set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] for more consistency. It’s also possibly worth cutting an Arven or two for Pokegear 3.0, though I don’t know exactly what the optimal split is. With too few Supporters, Pokegear 3.0 increases the risk of whiffing, which is more punishing to this deck than others that play Pokegear 3.0.

[cardimg name=”Techno Radar” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”180″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Since this deck only has Future Pokemon, [card name=”Techno Radar” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”180″ c=”name”][/card] is far superior to other search options. Two Techno Radar fill your board, and one is usually sufficient for the early game. This deck loves Techno Radar because it desperately wants to fill the Bench as fast as possible. There is even a copy of [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] as a pseudo-fifth Techno Radar — we can only play four Techno Radar, but we want more searching cards anyway. It’s also conceivable to play a Pokegear 3.0 or other consistency card in Nest Ball’s spot.

All the new toys don’t take away from the fact that [card name=”Electric Generator” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card] is still insane with Iron Hands ex. If you attach to Miraidon, you’ll still need to hit at least one Energy off Electric Generator to use Amp You Very Much immediately after charging it up with Miraidon. Electric Generator also gives you some recourse and stability in case something happens to the [card name=”Heavy Baton” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] game plan, such as not finding it, getting hit by [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card], or needing the extra damage from [card name=”Future Booster Energy Capsule” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] instead.

This deck uses [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] to piece together key KO’s — you will often only use one Counter Catcher in a game, but in those games, you truly need it on the key turn. Oftentimes this is the last turn of the game where you either have it or lose. Sometimes you do chain Counter Catcher though, especially against aggressive decks that trade evenly with Iron Hands ex. Since Iron Hands ex can take three Prizes in a turn, it does not mind going behind in Prizes at random points in the game, as Counter Catcher is an easy way to win the game with a three-Prize KO. Counter Catcher is more consistent than [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] because you can draw into it with a draw Supporter or search it out with Arven. If you are ahead in Prizes and can’t use Counter Catcher, that’s fine, because you are probably winning anyway.

[card name=”Reboot Pod” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”158″ c=”name”][/card] looks like an ACE SPEC tailor-made for Future deck archetypes, but it is not even a consideration in this deck. [card name=”Prime Catcher” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card] is more powerful in orders of magnitude, and while the extra Energy acceleration would be nice, the opportunity cost of not playing Prime Catcher is far too steep. With Amp You Very Much and Arven, Prime Catcher has lots of synergy with this deck in addition to being inherently broken.

I added a third Heavy Baton and fourth [card name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] from the Japanese list due to how integral those cards are to the deck’s functionality. They keep things moving and carry the entire deck on their back, and [card name=”Town Store” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”196″ c=”name”][/card] is effectively a wildcard Pokemon Tool as it can be a Heavy Baton or Future Booster Energy Capsule — it is simply a consistency piece by providing more outs to important Pokemon Tool cards. Since Stadiums are a little less important than they were in pre-rotation, there is an increased chance of Town Store sticking and giving you repeated uses. Of course, like most Stadiums, it also has the potential to help out your opponent, so keep that in mind before mindlessly putting it into play.

Other Options

[cardimg name=”Mew ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”232″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This deck can go in a lot of potential directions. I think the simple list does quite well, but there are some options for customization. [card name=”Mew ex” set=”151″ no=”151″ c=”name”][/card] is a common inclusion in the deck, as its Restart Ability offers a low-maintenance draw option that you can leave on the board, which is quite handy. Furthermore, Genome Hacking is a powerful attack that can help tremendously against [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card]. On the other hand, it will be difficult to draw with Restart unless you somehow include [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”name”][/card]. It would also be awkward to find the Mew ex without more [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”84″ c=”name”][/card] or Ultra Ball as it’s not a Future Pokemon. In any case, trying to rework the Item count to accommodate Mew ex while retaining power and consistency seems tricky. Of course, Mew ex is definitely worth considering.

[card name=”Raichu V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] seems like a powerful option that can take advantage of the high amounts of Lightning Energy on the board. Raichu V also provides the deck with an option to one-shot anything with high-HP, which is something that the deck currently lacks and desires. Furthermore, you could add [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] to use with Raichu V; this is incredibly appealing due to the high counts of [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card] and Town Store in the deck, which make it consistent. Like Mew ex, you would need more Nest Ball to consistently find the Raichu V, but it’s my favorite potential inclusion.

[card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] is an overall great card, and would help with turn-one consistency and power. Even its Motivate attack could come in handy! Again, you would need more Nest Ball in the deck to utilize it.

Finally, an idea I have is cutting [card name=”Electric Generator” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”170″ c=”name”][/card]… This seems absurd at first glance, as you wouldn’t be able to use Amp You Very Much until turn three at the earliest. After using [card name=”Miraidon” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], you would only be able to Arm Press, and then Amp You Very Much on following turns. This is workable, but would greatly increase the deck’s reliance on Miraidon and especially [card name=”Heavy Baton” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card]. The deck seems strictly worse as a result, but now consider the upside… We could cut several Lightning Energy, maybe even up to five or six, along with the four Electric Generators. This opens up nine or ten slots in the deck, which we can devote to whatever we want! Nest Ball, other Pokemon like Mew ex and Squawkabilly ex, [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Trekking Shoes” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], who knows?! I’m probably not going to do this, but that is a lot of deck space to work with, so I thought it would be interesting to consider.

Matchups

Charizard ex — Depends

[cardimg name=”Maximum Belt” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”154″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Surprisingly, the matchup against [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is not that bad. From my testing, this deck goes slightly favored against the Bibarel version and slightly unfavored against the [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] version (Charizard ex is forced to gust early and often, and the Pidgeot ex build is better at doing that).

The Pidgeot ex version is also more likely to play [card name=”Maximum Belt” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], which is impactful in the matchup, whereas Bibarel usually packs Prime Catcher instead. Miraidon takes a fast KO, and then [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] smacks Charizard ex and tanks a hit because you’ve only taken one Prize. Iron Hands ex can then follow up with an Amp You Very Much KO and any two-Prize KO, in any order. The Pidgeot ex version has more two-Prize Pokemon, which gives you more flexibility in your Prize map.

Lugia VSTAR — Free Win

Iron Hands ex obliterates [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] and there is absolutely nothing they can do about it!

Giratina VSTAR — Unfavorable

The [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] matchup is tough because you have no way to one-shot Giratina VSTAR. If they set up multiple VSTARs, things get hairy. If that wasn’t enough, Star Requiem bypasses [card name=”Gift Energy” set=”Lost Origin” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] and Heavy Baton, which is devastating. Very few decks can do this so effectively, and it is difficult to deal with. If you manage to play around an early Star Requiem, they will simply use it later paired with [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] and you’re powerless to stop it. That said, Iron Hands ex has a significant speed advantage — you can take Prize cards quickly, especially if you can snipe a [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Prime Catcher” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card]. Giratina VSTAR doesn’t always draw well enough to play a fast game, because of this, you have a decent chance to win.

Lost Zone Box — Favorable

Iron Hands ex tramples over their single-Prize Pokemon. They can respond with Frenzied Gouging from [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], which is interesting because it bypasses Gift Energy and Heavy Baton. If you can Amp You Very Much in return for three Prizes, great. If not, you may end up using your second [card name=”Miraidon” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] to take the KO, which is completely fine. This is one of the few matchups where the second Miraidon is incredibly strong.

Conclusion

This deck is fun, simple, and much stronger than I originally expected it to be. I initially wrote the deck off, but after testing, it proved to be one of the best decks in the post-rotation format. I encourage you to give the deck a shot. Even if you don’t plan on playing it much, you may as well have such an easy and powerful deck in your back pocket.

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