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 Entei V BRS 22 as its main attacker, with additional supporting Pokemon that can spread damage around. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Entei V / Iron Valiant ex
LittleDarkFuryPokemon
1 Budew 4
1 Elekid 59
3 Entei V 22
1 Fezandipiti ex 38
1 Iron Bundle 56
4 Iron Valiant ex 89
1 Mew ex 151
1 Radiant Charizard 20
1 Squawkabilly ex 169
Trainers
2 Boss’s Orders 172
1 Earthen Vessel 163
2 Forest Seal Stone 156
2 Future Booster Energy Capsule 149
3 Iono 185
4 Magma Basin 144
4 Nest Ball 181
1 Night Stretcher 61
1 Penny 183
1 Prime Catcher 157
3 Professor's Research 189
1 Surfer 187
4 Switch 194
4 Switch Cart 154
1 Techno Radar 180
3 Ultra Ball 196
Energy
5 Basic Fire Energy
1 Double Turbo Energy 151
3 Jet Energy 190
As your main attacker, Entei V BRS 22 shines when each player has a Bench full of Pokemon. Its Burning Rondo attack deals a base amount of just 20 damage, but it will deal an additional 20 damage for each Benched Pokemon you and your opponent have. Entei V BRS 22 also has the Fleet-Footed Ability, letting you draw a card once per turn if Entei V BRS 22 is in your Active Spot.
Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 makes for an excellent supporting Pokemon in this deck. With Iron Valiant ex PAR 89's Tachyon Bits Ability, if it moves from your Bench to your Active Spot during your turn, you can put 2 damage counters on one of your opponent's Pokemon. This Ability can only be used once per turn, but those extra damage counters can come in pretty handy. As you'll see when we get to the Trainer section, there are a lot of cards that help Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 remain mobile in the combat arena
Both Radiant Charizard CRZ 20 and Mew ex MEW 151 are great backup attackers. With Radiant Charizard CRZ 20's Combustion Blast attack, you can deal 250 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon, Knocking Out most Pokemon with a single attack. Its Excited Heart Ability allows you to use this attack for fewer Energy if you're behind on taking Prize cards. Mew ex MEW 151 can mimic the attacks of your opponent's Active pokemon with its Genome Hacking attack. Mew ex MEW 151 also has the Restart Ability, which helps you draw additional cards throughout the game.
Budew PRE 4 and Elekid PAR 59 are annoying pests that are able to do amazing things. Budew PRE 4 has the Itchy Pollen attack that you can use without having any Energy attached. While this attack only deals 10 damage, it prevents your opponent from playing any Item cards from their hand during their next turn. Items are used for numerous things including finding Pokemon from within a player's deck and searching for Energy to power up a Pokemon's attacks. Elekid PAR 59 also has an attack that requires zero Energy to use, Crackling Shot. This attack deals 30 damage to one of your opponent's Pokemon, regardless of whether they are in the Active Spot or on the Bench. This can be a great way to deal the final amount of damage needed to finish off a Pokemon that has retreated to the safety of their Bench. It's also a great way to Knock Out an opposing Budew PRE 4.
The final batch of Pokemon all have Abilities that you will find useful during the game. Iron Bundle PAR 56's Hyper Blower Ability offers you a way to force your opponent to switch out their Active Pokemon with a Pokemon of their choice from their Bench. Fezandipiti ex SFA 38's Flip the Script Ability gives you the means to draw additional cards on the turn following a turn where your opponent Knocked Out one of your Pokemon. You can use those additional cards to gain back some of the momentum you may have lost. Finally, if you have Squawkabilly ex PAL 169 in play during your first turn of the game, you can use its Squawk and Seize Ability to discard your hand and draw a new hand of 6 cards. Use that extra card advantage to get a leg up on your opponent.
In order to make sure you can utilize Iron Valiant ex PAR 89's Tachyon Bits Ability, there are numerous ways to help you switch around your Active Pokemon. Switch SVI 194 is the most obvious way of doing this, and Switch Cart ASR 154 is similar, but also happens to heal whichever Pokemon moves to your Bench. You can also attach a Future Booster Energy Capsule TEF 149 to Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 to remove its Retreat Cost, allowing it to move around for free.
Continuing the cards that allow you to switch Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 to your Bench and Active Spot, there are single copies of Surfer SSP 187, Prime Catcher TEF 157, and Penny SVI 183 in this deck. Surfer SSP 187 switches your Pokemon and allows you to draw some extra cards. Prime Catcher TEF 157 switches both player's Pokemon, allowing you to set up an easy Knock Out. Penny SVI 183 allows you to put your Active Pokemon into your hand, so Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 can move up from the Bench. She also helps prevent your opponent from Knocking Out a Pokemon and gaining any Prize cards.
To find the Pokemon you need, this deck has a few items that can help. Techno Radar PAR 180 is a great way of finding a pair of Future Pokemon. Nest Ball SVI 181 can be used to find any Basic Pokemon. Finally, Ultra Ball SVI 196 can be used to find any Pokemon at all, but requires you to discard two other cards from your hand when you play it.
It's also important to be able to find the Energy you need in order to be able to attack. Earthen Vessel PAR 163 can be used to find Fire Energy from within your deck, while Magma Basin BRS 144 can be used to attach Fire Energy that has gone to your discard pile.
To make the most of your attacks, you can use Boss’s Orders PAL 172 to move specific Pokemon to your opponent's Active Position where they can be attacked directly. It's also important to be able to draw additional cards, so there are multiple copies of Professor's Research SVI 189 and Iono PAL 185 in this deck. Iono PAL 185 also resets your opponent's hand, potentially slowing things down for them if they've taken a lot of Prize cards.
Attaching Forest Seal Stone SIT 156 to Entei V BRS 22 allows it to use the Star Alchemy Ability. This will let you search your deck for any one card to put into your hand. Finally, there's a single copy of Night Stretcher SFA 61, which helps you reuse a Basic Energy or Pokemon that has gone to your discard pile.
Wrapping Up
This deck has a lot going on. You'll be spreading out damage to your opponent's team in order to set up easier Knock Outs with Entei V BRS 22 or your other backup attackers. If you're looking for a deck that's a challenge to play, give this one a shot.
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
