Searching Standard: Conkeldurr

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 Conkeldurr TWM 105, a Pokemon capable of dealing a ton of damage even with zero Energy attached. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Conkeldurr TWM 105 is the main attacker for this deck. By using its Gutsy Swing attack, you can deal 250 damage. However, this attack is very expensive to use, requiring four Energy. Luckily, if Conkeldurr TWM 105 is affected by a Special Condition, you can ignore all Energy required to use Gutsy Swing. Which brings us to our next Pokemon...

In order to ensure that Conkeldurr TWM 105 is affected by a Special Condition, we'll turn to Brute Bonnet PAR 123. While Brute Bonnet PAR 123 is on your Bench, you can activate its Toxic Powder Ability to make both Active pokemon Poisoned. If you also have Radiant Hisuian Sneasler LOR 123 on your Bench, the Poison damage your opponent's Active Pokemon will take is increased by 2 damage counters each Pokemon Checkup. And since the plan is to affect our Pokemon with a Special Condition, this deck utilizes Klawf PAR 105 as a backup attacker. With its Unhinged Scissors and a Double Turbo Energy BRS 151 attached to it, you'll deal 170 damage when it attacks and is affected by a Special Condition.

This last batch of Pokemon are all included in the deck for their useful Abilities. By using Bibarel BRS 121's Industrious Incisors Ability, you'll be able to refill your hand to five cards if it drops below that. Manaphy BRS 41 has the Wave Veil Ability, which protects your Benched Pokemon from taking damage when your opponent attacks.

Since Conkeldurr TWM 105 is a Stage 2 Pokemon, you'll usually want to rely on using Rare Candy SVI 191 when evolving into it. Doing this will help you get Conkeldurr TWM 105 into play faster than evolving the usual way.

For additional damage, you can attach either Maximum Belt TEF 154 or Defiance Band SVI 169. Keep in mind that Maximum Belt TEF 154 only adds 50 damage to an opposing Pokemon ex, while Defiance Band SVI 169 only adds 30 damage if you have more Prize cards remaining than your opponent. The playset of Ancient Booster Energy Capsule PAR 159 are included to be attached to Brute Bonnet PAR 123, as it will generally be targeted once your opponent knows how vital it is in this deck.

Being able to target whichever Pokemon your opponent has in play can result in you taking Prize cards more easily. With that in mind, this deck includes both Boss’s Orders PAL 172 and Counter Catcher PAR 160. A pair of Switch SVI 194 cards are included to help return Brute Bonnet PAR 123 to the safety of your Bench if your opponent swaps it into your Active Spot.

Since this deck isn't able to utilize Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144 to find the Basic Pokemon you need, you'll have to rely on Artazon PAF 76 and Nest Ball PAF 84. Ultra Ball SVI 196 can be used to find any Pokemon you need, regardless of Stage, but it's costly to use, requiring you to discard two cards from your hand.

Drawing extra cards is always helpful, and there's no better way of drawing cards than Professor's Research PAF 87. You'll draw a new hand of seven cards, but you'll have to discard your current hand to do so. Iono PAL 185 can also be used to draw a new hand of cards, but it is also useful in slowing down your opponent's momentum, as your opponent will be forced to draw a new hand of cards equal to the number of Prize cards they have remaining. If they've been doing well, this card can severely limit their options for their next few turns.

Arven OBF 186 helps you find both an Item and a Pokemon Tool from your deck. There are multiple great choices for him to find in this deck. Finally, there's a pair of Super Rod PAL 188, which can be a vital way of shuffling back copies of Brute Bonnet PAR 123 that have previously been Knocked Out. By putting them back into your deck, you can seek them out again for their useful Ability.

Wrapping Up

While this deck needs to have specific cards in play for it to function properly, you have all of the tools needed to set things up right within this deck. While it seems strange to want to have your Pokemon affected by a Special Effect, the results can't be argued with.

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