Searching Standard: Giratina VSTAR Post Rotation

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. Since Standard rotation is right around the corner, I'm taking a look at decks that you can play post rotation. This week, I'm looking at a deck that was recently featured on the YouTube channel of ZapdosTCG. It features Giratina VSTAR LOR 131 and some Lost Zone shenanigans. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Giratina VSTAR LOR 131 is a great attacker in this deck. It's Lost Impact attack can deal out a massive 280 damage, but using it will require you to send two Energy attached to any of your Pokemon to the Lost Zone. Sending cards to the Lost Zone isn't really a drawback for this deck, especially because it will eventually allow you to use Giratina VSTAR LOR 131's Star Requiem VSTAR Power attack. You'll need at least ten cards in the Lost Zone to use this attack, but with it, you can immediately Knock Out your opponent's Active Pokemon, regardless of how many HP it has.

Comfey LOR 79 is the best starting Pokemon for this deck. By using its Flower Selecting Ability, you'll start putting cards into your Lost Zone while also getting cards from your deck into your hand. Once you've managed to get four cards into the Lost Zone, you can begin attacking with Cramorant LOR 50. You'll be able to ignore the Energy requirement of Cramorant LOR 50's Spit Innocently attack due to its Lost Provisions Ability. This attack will deal 110 damage that isn't affected by your opponent's Pokemon's Weakness. As a complimentary attacker to Giratina VSTAR LOR 131, Sableye LOR 70 also has a super powerful attack that is only usable once you have ten or more cards in the Lost Zone. It's Lost Mine attack allows you to put 12 damage counters on your opponent's Pokemon however you would like. This can be a great way to pick off wounded Pokemon that have retreated to your opponent's Bench, allowing you to Knock Out multiple Pokemon with a single attack.

Radiant Greninja ASR 46 is included in this deck primarily for the use of its Concealed Cards Ability, which allows you to draw extra cards. However, it can also be a formidable attacker. Radiant Greninja ASR 46's Moonlight Shuriken can be a great way to finish off a pair of your opponent's Pokemon, as it allows you to deal 90 damage to two of your opponent's Pokemon. It is a costly attack, requiring you to discard two Energy from Radiant Greninja ASR 46, but there are ways of returning discarded Energy to your deck.

Snorlax LOR 143's Thumping Snore attack deals an impressive 180 damage, quite good for a Basic Pokemon. It also only gives up a single Prize when Snorlax LOR 143 is Knocked Out, making this a terrific back up attacker.

The last pair of Pokemon in this deck are both useful due to their Abilities. Once Standard rotation happens, it's expected that the number of Single Strike, Rapid Strike, and Fusion Strike decks will increase, due to their consistency in an unproven meta. That makes Drapion V LOR 118 a great attacker. Normally, its Dynamic Tail attack requires four Energy to use, but this cost is reduced by one for each Single Strike, Rapid Strike, and Fusion Strike Pokemon your opponent has in play. Any time you can attack for free, you should. Manaphy BRS 41 is included for the use of its Wave Veil Ability, which keeps your Benched Pokemon safe from any damage your opponent's attacks might send their way.

Colress's Experiment LOR 155 is the main card drawing Supporter in this deck. It is also a great way to get additional cards into the Lost Zone. Roxanne ASR 150 can also be a way to draw more cards than you currently have in your hand, but her true purpose is to disrupt your opponent's hand, often slowing down their momentum.

Playing Boss's Orders BRS 132 can help make sure that your attack is able to Knock Out your opponent's Active Pokemon, but there's only one copy of this Supporter in the deck due to the amount of damage you're able to do to your opponent's Benched Pokemon. Klara CRE 145 offers you a bit of recursion, allowing you to return up to two Pokemon and up to two basic Energy cards from your discard pile to your hand. This can be very helpful later in the game once your single prize Pokemon have been Knocked Out.

This next batch of Item cards are all helpful in finding the Pokemon you need. While Battle VIP Pass FST 225 can only be played on your first turn, it allows you to put a pair of Basic pokemon from your deck onto your Bench. It's also a great card to send to the Lost Zone later on, if possible. Nest Ball SVI 181 also allows you to find a Basic Pokemon from your deck, and since all of your Pokemon except Giratina VSTAR LOR 131 are Basic Pokemon, you shouldn't have any trouble finding something to search for. Finally, Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146 helps ensure that your key players aren't hidden in your Prize cards.

While Mirage Gate LOR 163 can only be played if you have seven or more cards in the Lost Zone, it can be a very helpful way of accelerating the amount of Energy you have attached to your Pokemon. More Energy usually gives access to more powerful attacks, giving you an advantage over your opponent.

You can rely on both Switch Cart ASR 154 and Escape Rope BST 125 for help moving powered up Pokemon from your Bench to your Active Spot. Switch Cart ASR 154 also provides a bit of healing to the Pokemon moving to your Bench, while Escape Rope BST 125 forces your opponent to switch their Pokemon as well.

Since you might be discarding Energy from your Pokemon when attacking, it's nice to have a copy of Energy Recycler BST 124 to allow you to shuffle back up to five basic Energy cards from your discard pile into your deck.

The final pair of Trainer cards are both Stadiums. Beach Court SVI 167 provides a one Energy reduction in the Retreat Cost of all Basic Pokemon in play. This allows many of your Pokemon to Retreat for free. Temple of Sinnoh ASR 155 is included in this deck as a means of disruption for those decks that are running a lot of Special Energy. You might find that this Stadium isn't needed against certain opponents, but you'll be happy to see it against specific decks.

Wrapping Up

Lost Zone decks didn't lose much with our latest Standard rotation, and this deck shows that. Much like how I expect to see a resurgence of Single Strike, Rapid Strike, and Fusion Strike decks, I expect that Lost Zone decks will be prevalent in the early stages of our new Standard environment.

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