Searching Standard: Blastoise + Dialga VSTAR

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 FlexDaddy. It features Blastoise PGO 17 as a means of powering up Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR ASR 114 very quickly. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

The main attacker in this deck is Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR ASR 114. The plan is to use its Star Chronos VSTAR Power attack to deal 220 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon, and then take another turn. During that second turn, you can attack with Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR ASR 114's Metal Blast attack, dealing upwards of 240 damage. The difficult part of this plan is getting enough Energy attached to Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR ASR 114, since Star Chronos requires five Energy to use.

Never fear, Blastoise PGO 17 is here! By using its Vitality Spring Ability, you'll be able to quickly power up Origin Forme Dialga V ASR 113, attaching up to six Energy cards from your deck to it. Doing this does come at the cost of ending your turn, so make sure you've played everything you want to prior to activating this Ability. On your next turn, you can evolve Origin Forme Dialga V ASR 113 into Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR ASR 114 and attack with Star Chronos.

Both Diancie ASR 68 and Manaphy BRS 41 help protect your Bench, giving you the time needed to set things up. Manaphy BRS 41 is the less important Pokemon, only protecting your Benched Pokemon from taking any damage from attacks from your opponent's Pokemon. Ideally, you'll want to start things off with Diancie ASR 68 as your Active Pokemon, as its Princess's Curtain Ability protects your Benched Pokemon from any effect that a Supporter would do to them, most importantly the switching effect of Boss's Orders BRS 132.

Radiant Greninja ASR 46's Concealed Cards Ability offers you a repeatable way to draw extra cards each turn. Once during your turn, you can discard an Energy card from your hand to draw two cards from your deck. As you'll see, there is a Stadium that you can use to help return Energy from your discard pile to your hand, allowing this Ability to be used turn after turn.

Both Lumineon V BRS 40 and Pokégear 3.0 SSH 174 allow you to find the Supporter cards you need. Lumineon V BRS 40 has the Luminous Sign Ability, which allows you to search your deck for any Supporter to put into your hand when you play Lumineon V BRS 40 onto your Bench. Pokégear 3.0 SSH 174 lets you put any Supporter from the top seven cards of your deck into your hand. Even though they go about it in different ways, the end result should be the same, with you getting a valuable Supporter into your hand.

By playing Battle VIP Pass FST 225, you'll be able to search your deck for up to two Basic Pokemon to put onto your Bench. This can be a great way to start things off with Origin Forme Dialga V ASR 113 and Squirtle PGO 15, or possibly with Diancie ASR 68. The only downfall of this card is that it can only be played during your first turn. If you draw it on later turns, make sure to discard it for those cards that require you to discard a card.

When you play Irida ASR 147, you'll be able to search your deck for a Water Type pokemon and an item card. This can be a solid way to find a copy of Blastoise PGO 17 as well as the Rare Candy PGO 69 you need to evolve. Alternatively you can search for Big Charm SSH 158, which will give the Pokemon it is attached to an additional 30 HP.

The trio of Poke Balls found in this deck are found in a lot of decks, due to their versatility. Quick Ball FST 237 can find you any Basic Pokemon from your deck. Level Ball BST 129 can find any Pokemon with 90 HP or less. Ultra Ball BRS 150 can find any Pokemon you need. These are all great ways to find any Pokemon you need to keep things rolling for your deck.

Most decks with Evolution Pokemon will run at least a couple of copies of Evolution Incense SSH 163. When you play it, you'll be able to search your deck for any Evolution Pokemon to put into your hand. It's a great way to find Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR ASR 114 or Blastoise PGO 17.

In order to maximize the effectiveness of attacking with Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR ASR 114, you can play Boss's Orders BRS 132 to manipulate your opponent's Pokemon to make sure you score a Knock Out. If possible, choose a Pokemon to attack that will provide you with multiple Prize cards when you Knock it Out.

Playing Avery CRE 130 is a great way to draw a few additional cards. Perhaps more importantly, Avery CRE 130 allows you to reduce the number of Benched Pokemon your opponent has in play. This will limit their future options, and might be very crippling against decks that rely on having a huge Bench.

Attaching a copy of Air Balloon SSH 156 to Diancie ASR 68 will allow it to retreat for free. This lets you keep Diancie ASR 68 in your Active Spot for as long as you need to, protecting your Bench, then retreating her once you're ready to attack. When you have a copy of Training Court RCL 169 in play, you can return any Energy that has gone to your discard pile back to your hand. Your opponent will also benefit from this if they have any basic Energy in their discard pile, so keep that in mind.

Wrapping Up

Blastoise PGO 17 is a great way to power up nearly any attack. The key is finding a Pokemon to power up that will deal enough damage to make losing a turn worthwhile. Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR ASR 114 is certainly one Pokemon that works well with Blastoise PGO 17, but there could be others.

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