Searching Standard: Iron Valiant 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 Popsicle Knight. It features Iron Valiant ex PAR 89, who can deal a lot of damage simply by moving from your Bench to your Active Spot. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Iron Valiant ex PAR 89's Tachyon Bits Ability allows you to put 2 damage counters on one of your opponent's Pokemon when Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 moves from your Bench to your Active Spot. That 20 damage can really add up in a deck with this much mobility. Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 also has the Laser Blade attack, which will deal 200 damage when you use it. It does have the restriction that Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 can't attack on the following turn, but this is easily mitigated by moving to your Bench and back. To help with this, you can attach a Future Booster Energy Capsule PAR 164 to Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 to remove its Retreat Cost, plus add an extra 20 damage when it attacks. Also, even though I don't normally talk about Energy when reviewing a deck, I wanted to mention that attaching a copy of Jet Energy PAL 190 is a great way to take advantage of Iron Valiant ex PAR 89's Tachyon Bits Ability.

To help power up Iron Valiant ex PAR 89, you can utilize Xatu PAR 72's Clairvoyant Sense Ability. This allows you to attach a Basic Psychic Energy from your hand to one of your Benched Pokemon, enabling you to accelerate your Energy attachments. If you do this, you'll also get to draw two cards, providing you with the potential of additional Energy to attach on future turns.

This batch of Pokemon are all of the back up attackers for this deck. Medicham V EVS 83's Yoga Loop attack can be a great way to be able to take an extra turn. Shadow Rider Calyrex V CRE 74 has two great attacks that can really hinder your opponent. Finally, by using Mew ex MEW 151's Genome Hacking attack, you'll be able to copy any attack your opponent's Active Pokemon has. Mew ex MEW 151 also has the Restart Ability, which can help you draw extra cards each turn.

The final Pokemon in this deck is Skwovet SVI 151, which is included solely for the use of its Nest Stash Ability. By using this Ability and then following it up with Mew ex MEW 151's Restart Ability, you can dig through your deck very effectively.

To help Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 move to and from your Bench more easily, these three Trainer cards are included. Switch SVI 194 does the job as efficiently as possible. Escape Rope BST 125 is similar to Switch SVI 194, except it also forces your opponent to choose a Benched Pokemon to move to their Active Spot. Finally, with Switch Cart ASR 154, you'll get a bit of healing if Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 has taken any damage.

Since finding a copy of Future Booster Energy Capsule PAR 164 can be important to this deck, there are a variety of ways to help finding one easier. Arven OBF 186 helps you find both an Item and a Pokemon Tool. Town Store OBF 196 allows both players to find a Pokemon Tool on their turn, plus you can play it to get rid of your opponent's Stadium. Finally, Forest Seal Stone SIT 156 can be used to search for any card in your deck to put into your hand.

Finding the Pokemon you need is always important, and this deck has a variety of ways to help with this. First is Battle VIP Pass FST 225. While this card can only be played on your first turn of the game, the benefits it provides are worth the risk of drawing it later in the game. And, later on, you can always discard it to help with the cost of playing Ultra Ball SVI 196. There's also Mesagoza SVI 178, which has the potential of helping you put any Pokemon from your deck into your hand, provided that you win a coin flip.

Fog Crystal CRE 140 can also be used to help you find a Basic Psychic Type Pokemon to put into your hand. Alternatively, you can use it as a way to find Psychic Energy to put into your hand instead. Klara CRE 145 can also help with this, as she is able to put either a pair of Pokemon or Basic Energy cards from your discard pile into your hand. There's also Super Rod PAL 188, which can be used to shuffle back Basic Energy or Pokemon from your discard pile into your deck, giving you another chance to utilize those cards.

The final cards in this deck are generally seen in most decks due to their usefulness. Professor's Research SVI 190 offers a huge amount of card drawing, but does require you to discard your current hand when you play it. Iono PAL 185 also offers some card drawing, but it has the potential to slow down your opponent's momentum, especially if they are ahead on taking Prize cards. Finally, by playing Boss’s Orders PAL 172, you're able to choose which of your opponent's Pokemon to attack, allowing you to choose something you're sure to Knock Out with ease.

Wrapping Up

Iron Valiant ex PAR 89 offers a lot of potential damage, as long as you're able to move it to and from your Bench easily. This deck includes a lot of cards to help with that, making it a lot of fun to play.

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