Hello and welcome to another episode of Searching Standard, where each and every week I look for new, innovative decks for you to play in Standard. This week, I'm looking at a deck that was recently featured on the YouTube channel of LittleDarkFury. It features Beedrill ex CRI 3, a Pokémon that can potentially deal over 400 damage with a single attack. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Beedrill ex Deck
LittleDarkFury
Pokemon
1 Arboliva ex 23
4 Beedrill ex 3
1 Budew 16
2 Dolliv 22
2 Dudunsparce 129
1 Dunsparce 128
1 Dunsparce 120
1 Fezandipiti ex 142
4 Kakuna 2
2 Smoliv 21
4 Weedle 1
Trainers
2 Boss's Orders 183
2 Buddy-Buddy Poffin 184
4 Bug Catching Set 143
3 Dawn 87
4 Forest of Vitality 188
4 Lillie's Determination 192
1 Morty's Conviction 155
1 Night Stretcher 61
3 Poké Pad 81
1 Sacred Ash 168
1 Special Red Card 82
4 Ultra Ball 131
1 Unfair Stamp 165
Energy
5 Grass Energy
1 Growing Grass Energy 86
When you attack with Beedrill ex CRI 3's Rumbling Bees attack, you'll be able to deal 110 damage to your opponent's Active Pokémon for each Beedrill ex CRI 3 you have in play. This makes it possible for you to Knock Out any opposing Pokémon with a single attack as long as you have enough copies of Beedrill ex CRI 3 in play. The worst-case scenario will be that your Active Pokémon is the only copy of Beedrill ex CRI 3 you have in play, but even then, dealing 110 damage for just a single Energy is really good.
Arboliva ex DRI 23 can help clean up your opponent's side of the field. By using Arboliva ex DRI 23's Oil Salvo attack, you can deal anywhere from 20-120 damage to an opposing Pokémon, regardless of whether they are in the Active Spot or on the Bench. You can also target multiple opposing Pokémon, allowing you to score multiple Knock Outs in a single turn.
As a means of drawing extra cards and helping you cycle through your deck more quickly, Dudunsparce TEF 129's Run Away Draw Ability will be very useful. This Ability allows you to draw 3 cards, but it requires you to shuffle Dudunsparce TEF 129 and all cards attached to it back into your deck. You'll often be able to trigger this Ability multiple times during the game, helping you find what you need more quickly.
Budew ASC 16 is one of the best early attackers in the game. Its Itchy Pollen attack requires 0 Energy to use. While it only deals 10 damage, it also prevents your opponent from playing any Item cards from their hand during their next turn. This can tremendously slow down your opponent's plans, as they might be unable to find the Pokémon or Energy then need for many, many turns. Fezandipiti ex ASC 142 is included in this deck for the use of its Flip the Script Ability, which can help you recover after suffering a Knock Out.
By getting a copy of Forest of Vitality ASC 188 into play, you'll be able to evolve your Grass Pokémon during the turn they enter play as long as it isn't your first turn of the game. In a deck like this that utilizes multiple Stage 2 Pokémon, being able to evolve quickly is very important. Since you'll want to have multiple copies of Beedrill ex CRI 3 in play in order to deal the maximum amount of damage possible, there's a copy of Sacred Ash DRI 168 included in this deck which allows you to shuffle back up to 5 Pokémon from your discard pile back into your deck. Dawn PFL 87 also plays a key role in helping you find the Pokémon you need quickly. With her, you can search for any Basic Pokémon, any Stage 1 Pokémon, and any Stage 2 Pokémon to put into your hand. Remember, these Pokémon do not need to be from the same evolution line, so you can use Dawn PFL 87 to find any missing evolution you might need.
In addition to Dawn PFL 87, this deck includes a variety of other cards that help you find the Pokémon you need. Buddy-Buddy Poffin ASC 184 is a great way to find a pair of Basic Pokémon that have 70 HP or less. Ultra Ball MEG 131 can be used to find any Pokémon you need, but it will require you to discard 2 other cards in order to use it. There's also Bug Catching Set TWM 143, which lets you find up to 2 Grass Pokémon or Basic Energy cards from the top 7 cards of your deck. This is another card that doesn't care about the evolution status of the Pokémon you find, just that they happen to be in the top 7 cards of your deck. Poké Pad POR 81 allows you to search your deck for any Pokémon without a Rule Box to put into your hand. It's another way you can make sure you're able to evolve your team quickly.
By switching your opponent's Active Pokémon with one from their Bench, you can maximize the effectiveness of your attack. You can also pull someone into the Active Spot that is unable to attack due to a lack of Energy, giving yourself a turn or two to set up your team.
Lillie's Determination ASC 192 is the premier way of drawing new cards throughout the game. She even helps you out if you still have 6 Prize cards remaining, letting you draw a couple of extra cards. Morty's Conviction TEF 155 has the potential to draw you a good amount of cards, but it's based on how many Benched Pokémon your opponent has. While I'm reluctant to cut any card that allows me to draw more cards, if there was a card you wanted to try out in this deck, I'd suggest cutting Morty's Conviction TEF 155 for that card before removing anything else.
Unfair Stamp TWM 165 is the ACE SPEC for this deck. While you're limited to only being able to play Unfair Stamp TWM 165 on the turn after you have a Pokémon get Knocked Out, resetting both player's hands can feel... unfair. Hopefully playing this will turn your momentum around. Special Red Card CRI 82 also has a timing restriction for when it can be played, but by playing it at just the right time, you can devastate your opponent's plans.
The final card in this deck is found in most decks. Poké Pad POR 81 Night Stretcher SFA 61 offers a bit more recursion for your deck. You can put either any Pokémon or a Basic Energy card from your discard pile into your hand. It's another way you're able to utilize Pokémon that have been previously Knocked out.
Wrapping Up
While you might not always deal 440 damage with Beedrill ex CRI 3's Rumbling Bees attack, knowing you have the potential to do so makes this deck a blast to play.
What do you think of this deck? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Let me know by leaving a comment below. And be sure to join me here again next week as I continue my search for innovative decks in the Pokemon TCG. I'll see you then!
- Mike Likes
