Searching Standard: Goodra VSTAR

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 Celio's Network. It features Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR 136, which has the ability to withstand a ton of damage. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR 136 is the main attacker in this deck. By attacking with its Rolling Iron attack, you'll deal 200 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon while setting things up so that Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR 136 will take 80 less damage from your opponent's attacks next turn. That 80 less damage translates to Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR 136 being unable to be Knocked Out with a single attack most of the time, and it still might be difficult for your opponent's second attack to get the job done. Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR also has the Moisture Star VSTAR Power as an Ability that you can use to completely heal Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR, however since you're limited to using only 1 VSTAR Power per game, you'll usually want to use the VSTAR Power on our next Pokemon.

With Arceus VSTAR BRS 123's Starbirth VSTAR Power Ability, you'll be able to search your deck for any two cards to put into your hand. This can allow you to catch back up after falling behind, or maintain your dominance. Arceus VSTAR BRS 123 and Arceus V BRS 122 both have attacks that can attach up to three basic Energy cards from your deck to your Pokemon V in any way you'd like. These attacks can help you quickly power up Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR 136 in a flash.

By playing Radiant Gardevoir LOR 69 to your Bench, your Pokemon will take 20 less damage from any attacks from your opponent's Pokemon V. That allows Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR 136 to ignore 100 damage when it uses its Rolling Iron attack. That's a ton of damage that will be avoided. Remember, though, that Radiant Gardevoir LOR 69 won't be able to attack, so keep them safe and sound on your Bench.

For Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR 136 to be able to attack right away, you might need help accelerating your Energy early on. Capacious Bucket RCL 156 puts a pair of Water Energy cards from your deck into your hand, making sure you don't miss any turns of Energy attachment. Melony CRE 146 helps with that by allowing you to attach a Water Energy card from your discard pile to one of your Pokemon V. Doing this will also allow you to draw three cards, which is a great added bonus. Our next batch of cards will help you get that Water Energy into your discard pile...

Both Quick Ball SSH 179 and Ultra Ball BRS 150 require you to discard cards from your hand, allowing you to discard Water Energy, if you'd like. Both of these cards will also help you find the Pokemon you need from your deck. With Evolution Incense SSH 163, you'll simply be able to search out any Evolution Pokemon from your deck to put into your hand. With any of these cards that allow you to search through your deck, you'll want to pay attention to the cards you find there, helping you deduce what cards are locked away as your Prize cards.

As another way of knowing what cards are in your Prize cards, you can play Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146. This allows you to put a Basic Pokemon from your Prize cards into your hand, while placing Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146 as one of your Prize cards. This knowledge will help you keep things running smoothly, as you will know which cards you won't have available until you start taking Prize cards.

This next pair of Item cards are all about added protection for your team. With Big Charm SSH 158 attached, a Pokemon will have an additional 30 HP. That will give Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR 136 a total of 300 HP, making it quite difficult to Knock Out easily. Having a Big Parasol DAA 157 attached to your Active Pokemon makes your entire team invulnerable from all effects of attacks from your opponent's Pokemon. That includes attacks that don't deal damage, but instead simply Knock Out a Pokemon. Who knew an umbrella could offer so much protection?

In order to make it even more difficult for your opponent to Knock Out your Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR 136, you'll want to heal some of the damage that it takes during the game. Hyper Potion CPA 54 can heal 120 damage from any Pokemon with at least two Energy attached. That's a lot of healing, but it comes at a cost. You'll need to discard two Energy from the Pokemon that is healed. Healing 30 damage on each of your turns can be done by having a copy of Crystal Cave EVS 144 in play. This Stadium will only heal that damage from Metal and Dragon-Type Pokemon, and both players can benefit from it. By using either, or both, of these cards will make it very difficult for your opponent to score a Knock Out.

Our next batch of Trainer cards are usually found in most decks. Boss's Orders BRS 132 allows you to choose which of your opponent's Pokemon you want to attack. It allows you to either get an easy Knock Out, or put a Pokemon in your opponent's Active Spot that isn't able to attack easily. Switch SSH 183 offers you the means of moving a powered-up Pokemon from your Bench to your Active Spot without having to pay a Retreat Cost. Marnie SSH 169 offers you a new hand of cards, and can be used to interfere with your opponent's upcoming plans.

The next pair of Trainer cards are very useful when attacking. Choice Belt BRS 135 gives an additional 30 damage when the Pokemon it is attached to is attacking an Active Pokemon V. Avery CRE 130 allows you to draw three cards and then reduce your opponent's Bench size down to only three spots. Having less Benched Pokemon reduces your opponent's options, making it more difficult for them.

The final card in this deck is Ordinary Rod SSH 171. You'll usually find a copy of this Item in most Standard decks. It's a great way to be able to get a second use from a pair of Pokemon or basic Energy that has gone to your discard pile.

Wrapping Up

Having played against a deck featuring Hisuian Goodra VSTAR LOR 136, I can attest that it is a frustrating Pokemon to play against. With it being able to reduce the amount of damage dealt to it each turn, it can feel like Knocking it Out is impossible. If playing a deck like this sounds fun to you, 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