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's a combo deck that focuses on the synergy between Electivire BRS 47 and Magmortar BRS 20. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Usually, you'll want to begin the game with Electivire BRS 47 as your main attacker. By using its Explosive Bolt attack, you'll be able to attack for 120 damage for a single Energy. This is, of course, dependent on having a Magmortar BRS 20 on your Bench with some amount of damage on it. As you'll see, getting a little damage on your Magmortar BRS 20 won't be a problem. Finally, Electivire BRS 47 has the High-Voltage Current attack, which is capable of scoring you multiple Knock Outs since it will deal 50 damage to each of your opponent's Pokemon. You won't use this attack often, but it's nice to have when you need it.
Magmortar BRS 20 is a great attacker later in the game when you need to deal a lot of damage with a single attack. Boltsplosion will deal a base amount of 120 damage, plus 120 additional damage if you have a copy of Electivire BRS 47 on your Bench. 120 damage for three Energy isn't so great, but 240 damage for three Energy is pretty good. I mentioned earlier that Electivire BRS 47 needs a copy of Magmortar BRS 20 on your Bench with some damage on it for its Explosive Bolt attack to deal its maximum amount of damage. By using the effect of Magma Basin BRS 144 to attach a Fire Energy from your discard pile to Magmortar BRS 20 you'll not only accelerate the amount of Energy you have in play, but doing this will place two damage counters on Magmortar BRS 20. It's a win-win scenario.
Both Crobat V DAA 104 and Lumineon V BRS 40 help you get the cards you need into your hand easier, but they do so in different ways. Crobat V DAA 104 is all about quantity over quality. By playing Crobat V DAA 104 onto your Bench, you'll be able use its Dark Asset Ability to draw cards until you have six in your hand. Lumineon V BRS 40, on the other hand, is more about quality over quantity. By playing Lumineon V BRS 40 onto your Bench, its Luminous Sign Ability allows you to search your deck for any Supporter card to put into your hand. Neither of these Pokemon will ever be able to attack, so try to keep them safe and sound on your Bench.
Speaking of keeping your Benched Pokemon safe and sound, you'll be able to do just that thanks to Manaphy BRS 41. With its Wave Veil Ability, Manaphy BRS 41 will prevent all damage done to your Benched Pokemon by your opponent's attacks. Against certain spread decks, this Ability can be crippling.
Every deck needs to be able to find the Pokemon you need from your deck to succeed. This group of cards does just that. With Quick Ball FST 237, you can find any Basic Pokemon from your deck. Evolution Incense SSH 163 allows you to find any Evolution Pokemon from within your deck. Finally, Ultra Ball BRS 150 can be used to search for any Pokemon, regardless of its size, evolution status, or any other factor. One other thing to note is both Quick Ball FST 237 and Ultra Ball BRS 150 force you to discard cards from your hand in order to use them, which is a great way to get a Fire Energy card into your discard pile for Magma Basin BRS 144.
Drawing additional cards will always help you find what you need from your deck easier. Professor's Research BRS 147 allows you to draw a new hand of seven cards, but you must first discard your current hand. Cynthia's Ambition BRS 138 also allows you to draw cards until you have a maximum of eight in your hand, without the drawback of having to discard any cards. Finally, you can use Marnie CPA 56 as a means of changing up your hand by shuffling those cards into your deck and drawing a new hand. Your opponent will do the same, which might ruin any plans they had.
This next group of cards helps you out during combat. Both Magmortar BRS 20 and Electivire BRS 47 have a Retreat Cost of three, so you'll likely need to rely on using Switch SSH 183 to move them to and from your Active Spot. By attaching Choice Belt BRS 135 to Magmortar BRS 20, you'll be able to deal a maximum of 270 damage to your opponent's Pokemon V if you have a copy of Electivire BRS 47 on your Bench. Finally, by playing Boss's Orders BRS 132, you'll be able to choose one of their Benched Pokemon to move to their Active Spot. Doing this will allow you to score an easy Knock Out.
The last group of cards all have unique effects that you're sure to find beneficial. Raihan EVS 152 can only be played on the turn after one of your Pokemon were Knocked Out. Since you'll only be giving up a single Prize card most of the time when this happens, getting Knocked Out isn't as painful as it could be. Raihan EVS 152 provides you with a great advantage when you play him, accelerating your Energy and allowing you to search your deck for any card. Your opponent might regret Knocking Out your Pokemon once you play Raihan EVS 152. Kindler BRS 143 is another way of getting a Fire Energy into your discard pile. By using this Supporter, you'll also be able to put your choice of two of the top seven cards of your deck into your hand, while shuffling the rest back into your deck. Finally, Ordinary Rod SSH 171 will most commonly allow you to shuffle back a pair of Pokemon, so you can continue the combo shenanigans of Electivire BRS 47 and Magmortar BRS 20.
Wrapping Up
Combo decks can be a lot of fun to play. Electivire BRS 47 and Magmortar BRS 20 were obviously made for each other, and pair up nicely. If you like playing decks that feature Pokemon that aren't usually in the main event, you might want to give this deck a try.
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
