Searching Standard: ‘Lordly’ Politoed

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 Politoed LOR 32 and is capable of dealing out a lot of damage. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list!

By attacking with Politoed LOR 32's Lordly Songleader attack, you can potentially deal up to 280 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon. The exact amount of damage is determined by which of the next batch of Pokemon you have on your Bench.

Having Poliwag LOR 30 on your Bench will make Politoed LOR 32's Lordly Songleader attack deal 70 damage. Having Poliwhirl LOR 31 will make Politoed LOR 32's Lordly Songleader attack deal 100 damage. Having Poliwrath LOR 85 on your Bench makes Politoed LOR 32's Lordly Songleader attack deal 130 damage. Having a combination of all three of these Pokemon is what you'll be looking for, so you can deal the maximum amount of 280 damage.

As a card drawing engine, you won't find any much better than by using Bibarel BRS 121's Industrious Incisors Ability. This Ability allows you to draw until you have five cards in hand, once per turn. Since it's an Ability, you can use it turn after turn, and it won't use up your one Supporter per turn like much of the card draw in Standard.

Since you'll need specific Pokemon on your Bench in order to deal as much damage as possible, you'll need a way to keep your Bench safe. Manaphy BRS 41's Wave Veil Ability will help with this. Plus, there's just enough room on your Bench for Manaphy BRS 41, Bibarel BRS 121, and the three Poli- Pokemon to be in play at the same time.

To help you find the Pokemon you need, you can rely on these Item cards. With Quick Ball SSH 179, you can find any Basic Pokemon. Level Ball BST 129 is limited to only finding Pokemon with 90 HP or less. Ultra Ball BRS 150 can find any Pokemon, but has a bigger drawback that you'll need to deal with.

This next batch of Trainer cards will also help you find the Pokemon you need quickly. Battle VIP Pass FST 225 can only be played during your first turn, but it will help you find two Basic Pokemon to put onto your Bench. On later turns, you can simply discard Battle VIP Pass FST 225 when you play something that requires you to discard, like Ultra Ball BRS 150. Evolution Incense SSH 163 is a great way of finding Evolution Pokemon right when you need them. Finally, Irida ASR 147 helps you find any Water Type Pokemon plus an Item card. There are numerous Item cards in this deck worth searching for.

Speaking of great Item cards, Rare Candy PGO 69 can be very important in allowing you to Evolve into Politoed LOR 32 as quickly as possible. It can also be helpful in getting Poliwrath LOR 85 into play right away, so you can deal extra damage when attacking.

By drawing extra cards, you'll be able to find what you need from your deck easier. It also provides you with more options that you can use during your turn. Professor's Research BRS 147 is the best Supporter for pure card drawing in Standard, allowing you to draw seven cards. This comes at the cost of discarding your current hand, though, so play everything you can before playing Professor's Research BRS 147. Bruno BST 121 can offer you a similar amount of card drawing, but only if you had a Pokemon get Knocked Out on the previous turn. With Bruno BST 121, you'll shuffle your hand into your deck before drawing new cards. Finally, Marnie CPA 56 also shuffles your hand back into your deck before you draw a new hand, but it also does this to your opponent. It's a great way to mess with any plans they had for future turns.

Attacking is always important, as is dealing the most damage possible. With Choice Belt BRS 135 attached to Politoed LOR 32, you can deal a maximum of 310 damage to an opposing Pokemon V. By playing Boss's Orders BRS 132, you'll choose which of your opponent's Benched Pokemon to move to their Active Spot. This can allow for an easy Knock Out, possibly allowing you to take multiple Prize cards. Air Balloon SSH 156 allows a Pokemon to retreat for two less Energy, often for free. It's a great thing to play when your opponent switches out your Active Pokemon and you want to move Politoed LOR 32 back to your Active Spot right away.

The final Trainer cards both allow you to use cards from your discard pile again. Rescue Carrier EVS 154 puts up to two Pokemon with 90 HP or less back into your hand, while Ordinary Rod SSH 171 can be used to shuffle back into your deck a pair of Pokemon or Basic Energy cards. Both of these cards give you extra value from something that's already been used.

Wrapping Up

This is a deck that needs to get multiple Pokemon into play as quickly as possible. It has all of the tools to do this, but requires the right type of player to play this deck as efficiently as possible. If you're looking for a fun challenge, 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