Searching Standard: Forretress 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 LittleDarkFury. It features a ton of Energy acceleration with the help of Forretress ex SV2 5. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

By using Forretress ex PAL 5's Exploding Energy Ability, you'll be able to thin your deck of up to five Basic Grass Energy cards that you can then attach to your Pokemon however you would like. This Ability pairs up nicely with our main attacker...

Yes, Regidrago VSTAR SIT 136 is the main attacker in this deck. We'll talk about its attack in a bit, but first, let's take a look at its VSTAR Power. The Legacy Star Ability allows you to discard the top seven cards of your deck. You'll then put up to two cards from your discard pile into your hand. Keep in mind that the cards you get don't have to come from the seven you discarded. Those discarded cards will hopefully be some Dragon Type Pokemon, so that you can utilize Regidrago VSTAR SIT 136's Apex Dragon attack. The next batch of Pokemon we'll go over are ones you want in your discard pile specifically for this attack.

These five Pokemon all provide the attacks for Regidrago VSTAR SIT 136 to copy with its Apex Dragon attack. Most of these Pokemon can be played to your Bench in the usual fashion, so you'll need to make sure to discard these if they are ever in your hand and you need to discard cards. The only exception to this is Flygon V BRS 106, which can act as a backup attacker for Regidrago VSTAR SIT 136 while it's in play.

The last pair of Pokemon in this deck are useful for their Abilities. With Spiritomb PAL 89, its Fettered in Misfortune Ability will shut off any Abilities of Basic Pokemon V that are in play. Keep that in mind if you're planning to play Lumineon V BRS 40, as the only reason to play it is for its Luminous Sign Ability. This Ability lets you find any Supporter card from within your deck to put into your hand when you play Lumineon V BRS 40 onto your Bench. There are many great Supporters you could find, but there's one in particular you should keep in mind...

Of course, Iono PAL 185 is the Supporter I'm referring to. By playing Iono PAL 185 after you've searched for Energy with Forretress ex PAL 5, you'll likely get to draw more cards than your opponent will. Often you'll draw up to six cards, while your opponent only draws two or four cards. Once they've drawn these cards, you can try to get a soft lock into place by playing Path to the Peak CRE 148. This can force them to go into top deck mode for a while if they don't have any cards that allow for additional card drawing. It's a great way to slow down their momentum and give you the upper hand. Roxanne ASR 150 is similar to Iono PAL 185, but you can only play Roxanne ASR 150 if your opponent has three or fewer Prize cards remaining.

In order to make sure you are able to get both Forretress ex PAL 5 and Regidrago VSTAR SIT 136 into play as quickly as possible, you can use this batch of Item cards. Battle VIP Pass FST 225 is only playable on your first turn of the game, but if you're able to play it, it will provide you with a lot of value. While Nest Ball SVI 181 can only help you find Basic pokemon from your deck, Ultra Ball SVI 196 can be played to find any Pokemon you need. Ultra Ball SVI 196 also requires you to discard two other cards from your hand, so you can use this as another way to get Dragon Type Pokemon into your discard pile.

This batch of Trainer cards are all other great ways to discard Dragon Type Pokemon. When you play Professor's Research SVI 189, you'll also draw a new hand of seven cards. Trekking Shoes ASR 156 is a great way to avoid drawing one of those Dragon Type Pokemon if they happen to be on the top of your deck. Serena SIT 164 serves a dual purpose. She can either help with discarding cards and then drawing new ones, or she can make one of your opponent's Pokemon V their Active Pokemon. Which mode you use will depend on what you most need at the time.

In order to make your attacks as effective as possible, you can use Boss’s Orders PAL 172 as a way to switch your opponent's Pokemon positions around. Escape Rope BST 125 is similar, but they'll get to choose which Pokemon they make Active, and you'll have to switch your Pokemon too. Switch SVI 194 can be very helpful when you need to move a powered up Pokemon from your Bench to your Active Spot or you want to avoid having one of your Pokemon get Knocked Out.

Choice Belt PAL 176 is always helpful when you're attacking an opponent's Active Pokemon V. The extra damage it provides can be the difference between scoring a Knock Out or leaving that Pokemon with a few HP left. The final card in this deck is Temple of Sinnoh ASR 155, which can be very useful against decks that use a lot of Special Energy. Playing it won't negatively impact you, but it could cripple your opponent's deck.

Wrapping Up

Being able to accelerate five Energy is well worth the price of allowing your opponent to draw two of their Prize cards. This deck is just one example of the power that Forretress ex PAL 5 provides with its Exploding Energy Ability.

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