Overview
Batterymen are a new archetype, released in the Main BOX Burning Nova, that revolve around resource-generating effects and a single strong boss monster. Because the deck is expensive to build, many players should be on the fence about investing in Batterymen. In this introduction I hope to give some insight into how Batteryman decks are built, how they function, and how they perform against the current Tier 1 decks, allowing you to make an informed decision on if you should pursue the deck.
Sample Deck
One very clean way of building Batterymen is to focus on the three things the deck does best: Turbo through the deck with Sea Horse, Micro-Cell, and Solar; abuse Beatdown to hit important ATK thresholds; and turtle up defensively with backrow and Solar tokens until Industrial can be summoned.
There are a few different skill options to consider when building Batterymen. Beatdown has obvious synergy with Loading... and lets Industrial Strength hit that very important 2900 ATK mark (swinging over both Loading... and Loading... ), as well as boosts Solar/Sea Horse enough to get them over relevant monsters like the level 4 Destiny HEROs and Loading... . A similar skill is Mythic Depths , which gives a flat 200 ATK boost to all your monsters, again boosting Solar and Sea Horse over that important 1600 ATK threshold. It also gives you a way to trigger Industrial when neither you nor your opponent has any backrow, since you can destroy the Loading... as part of its effect. Finally, Switcheroo has seen play (with Loading... especially) since you consistently have fodder for it through Sea Horse and Micro-Cell, and it gives you extra chances at drawing into Industrial.
Core Cards
The main cards to consider when building a Batteryman deck are:
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The clear win condition of the deck, Industrial is easy to get out and his effect is rarely difficult to trigger. Unfortunately there are not any good ways of searching him outside of things like Beckoning Light and it's hard to protect him against common threats like Loading... . -
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Thins the deck, sets up for Industrial, and can generate tokens either for defense or ECon-take plays. Important to keep in mind that the token-generating effect is mandatory and you can easily lock yourself out of Industrial if you’re not paying attention. However, these tokens can be used as targets for Industrial’s effect if your opponent does not have any monsters of their own. -
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A great value card, Thunder Sea Horse either searches double Solar to get you started or two more copies of itself as an almost free +1. Sea Horse does turn off Industrial access on the turn you use it, but usefully it can also stop a Solar token summon if you really need to keep a monster zone clear for the following turn. -
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Another good advantage-generator, Micro-Cell is a great turn 1 set and extra copies can be dumped by Solar. Special summoning a Solar off Micro-Cell’s destruction single-handedly sets up an Industrial summon and draws a card.
Tech Cards
Some other cards that synergize well are:
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The best card in the game and any deck that can afford to run it is better for doing so. Generic protection is always nice and ECon-takes are easy to fuel either with Solar tokens or with actual Batterymen (which then sets up Industrial). -
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A spectacular card in Batterymen, Rebirth is a great way to reuse Solar’s effect, get Beatdown access without Industrial, generate Solar tokens, and give targets for Industrial’s effect against monster-heavy decks like Fur Hires. In non-Beatdown variants, this card’s value is slightly lower. -
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In a deck that plays fairly defensively until it can go into Industrial, Wall of Disruption is an amazing card for buying time (especially against Fur Hires). This will be one of the most common cards in Batterymen because it gives you a way to deal with larger threats before Industrial comes out. -
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Versatile backrow removal that also triggers Switcheroo , allowing you to get even more value off Sea Horse. An almost definite side-deck card for the Amazoness match-up, many builds main-deck Cosmic Cyclone because of how weak Industrial can be to certain backrow. Loading... fills a similar role if you’d rather keep your Life Points high. -
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With all the extra fodder in hand, Providence is a very nice way to disrupt your opponent while you wait to draw into Industrial. The discard cost can also be used with Loading... , and you can even use Providence situationally to ward off potential backrow threats. If you do play Providence, you should definitely be playing 3x Sea Horse. -
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Another defensive card that can disrupt Fur Hires, Canadia is really only worth playing if you run other tribute monsters in the deck like Charger or Loading... , which can potentially be good options from the side-deck in a slower match-up. -
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A potential Loading... , Makiu is especially effective with ATK-boosting skills like Mythic Depths and Beatdown. In particular, an Industrial under Umi or a single Beatdown is a guaranteed Raigeki against Fur Hires.
Brief Match-up Notes
As you take Batterymen out on the ladder or in competitive events, you’ll likely encounter the following decks: