Searching Standard: Dragapult EX

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 ForTheWinTCG. It features Dragapult ex TWM 130, a powerful new attacker, who deals damage to your opponent's Active and Benched Pokemon at the same time. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Dragapult ex TWM 130 is the main attacker in this deck. Its Phantom Dive attack deals 200 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon, plus you get to put 6 damage counters on your opponent's Benched Pokemon in any way you would like. Prior to evolving, though, you have a full playset of Drakloak TWM 129. By using its Recon Directive Ability, you can filter through your deck to find the cards you need for success.

This deck runs a pair of Xatu PAR 72 for the use of its Clairvoyant Sense Ability. This lets you ramp up your Energy attachment, plus draw extra cards. Drawing extra cards is always a nice benefit.

Radiant Charizard PGO 11 is a great backup attacker for this deck, and a terrific finisher. By attacking with its Combustion Blast attack, you can deal a ton of damage with very little Energy needed. Tatsugiri TWM 131 and Manaphy BRS 41 are both included for their useful Abilities. Tatsugiri TWM 131's Attract Customers Ability can let you find a useful Supporter from the top six cards of your deck, while only risking one Prize if it gets Knocked Out. Manaphy BRS 41 has the Wave Veil Ability which has been proven in Standard to be a way of keeping your Benched Pokemon safe from damage.

To help find the Pokemon you need, this deck utilizes the usual package of Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144, Nest Ball SVI 181, and Ultra Ball SVI 196. These are all commonly found in Standard decks, and are generally the best ways to find any Pokemon you need from within your deck.

To help Dreepy TWM 128 evolve into Dragapult ex TWM 130 more quickly, you can use a Rare Candy SVI 191. Doing this lets you skip the Stage 1 evolution entirely.

With the help of this batch of Trainer cards, you can choose which of your opponent's Pokemon to move to their Active Spot. This allows you to choose a Pokemon you can be sure to Knock Out, allowing you to draw multiple Prize cards more effectively.

With both Arven SVI 166 and Earthen Vessel PAR 163, you can search through your deck for something you're in need of. Arven SVI 166 lets you search for an Item and a Pokemon Tool, while Earthen Vessel PAR 163 helps you find some much needed Energy.

Drawing cards is always beneficial, and both Iono PAF 80 and Professor's Research PAF 87 are commonly seen in Standard for this purpose. Professor's Research PAF 87 is the best Supporter allowing the most new cards to be drawn, but playing it comes at the cost of discarding your current hand. Iono PAF 80 also draws you new cards and has the added benefit of resetting your opponent's hand, which may noticeably slow down their momentum.

To move up a fully powered Pokemon from your Bench to your Active spot, you can use Switch SVI 194. Similarly, by attaching Rescue Board TEF 159 to your Active Pokemon, you can retreat it more easily, possibly for free.

Both Lost Vacuum CRZ 135 and Temple of Sinnoh ASR 155 can help you get rid of an opponent's annoying Stadium card. Lost Vacuum CRZ 135 can also discard an attached Pokemon Tool, if needed. Temple of Sinnoh ASR 155 has the added benefit of making all of your opponent's Special Energy only produce a single colorless Energy and removes any added effects that Energy has. You're not affected by this since there's no Special Energy in this deck. There's also a pair of Super Rod PAL 188 cards you can use to shuffle back Pokemon or Energy from your discard pile into your deck.

The final pair of cards are both Technical Machines. Technical Machine: Evolution PAR 178 can allow you to Evolve your Pokemon more quickly, while Technical Machine: Devolution PAR 177 can devolve your opponent's Pokemon, possibly resulting in some unexpected Knock Outs. Playing this can be particularly devastating for decks that rely on evolving with the help of Rare Candy SVI 191 alone.

Wrapping Up

Is Dragapult ex TWM 130 the best new attacker from Twilight Masquerade? Possibly, but it's too soon to know for sure. One thing is certain, though. It is very powerful, and has the capability of Knocking Out multiple Pokemon with a single attack.

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