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 Mega Darkrai ex PBL 48, a Pokémon capable of immediately Knocking Out any opposing Pokémon, regardless of how many HP's it has. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Mega Darkrai ex
LittleDarkFury
Pokemon
1 Fezandipiti ex 142
1 Latias ex 76
2 Mega Darkrai ex 48
2 Mega Kangaskhan ex 104
2 Meowth ex 62
1 Moltres 14
1 Munkidori 99
2 Pecharunt ex 39
1 Volcanion ex 31
1 Yveltal 88
Trainers
3 Boss's Orders 183
1 Crispin 105
3 Dark Bell 75
1 Dusk Ball 175
4 Energy Switch 115
1 Hero's Cape 152
4 Janine's Secret Art 112
1 Jumbo Ice Cream 91
4 Lillie's Determination 192
3 Mega Signal 193
2 Night Stretcher 196
2 Pokégear 3.0 84
2 Risky Ruins 127
1 Special Red Card 82
4 Ultra Ball 213
Energy
8 Darkness Energy
2 Fire Energy
Mega Darkrai ex PBL 48 makes for a great attacker for this deck. By using its Abyss Eye attack, you'll be able to Knock Out any opposing Pokémon as long as that Pokémon is affected by a Special Condition. As you'll see, there are numerous ways in this deck to give your opponent's Active Pokémon a Special Condition. One way is by playing Dark Bell PBL 75 to make your opponent's Active pokemon Confused (as long as it's not a Darkness Pokémon). Follow this up with an Abyss Eye attack and reap some easy Prize cards.
Volcanion ex JTG 31's Scalding Steam Ability can also be used to give your opponent's Active Pokémon a Special Condition. Since Volcanion ex JTG 31 requires you discarding 3 Energy from it to Retreat, you likely won't want to do this unless you also have Latias ex SSP 76 in play. That's because Latias ex SSP 76's Skyliner Ability removes the Retreat Cost from all Basic Pokémon you have in play.
Latias ex SSP 76's Skyliner Ability also benefits this next batch of Pokémon who all have useful Abilities for you to exploit. Mega Kangaskhan ex MEG 104's Run Errand Ability allows you to draw 2 cards as long as Mega Kangaskhan ex MEG 104 is in your Active Spot. Meowth ex POR 62's Last-Ditch Catch Ability lets you search your deck for any Supporter card to put into your hand when you play Meowth ex POR 62 from your hand to your Bench. Pecharunt ex SFA 39's Subjugating Chains Ability provides you with the means of switching your Active Pokémon with a Darkness Pokémon from your Bench (with the exception of Pecharunt ex SFA 39) in exchange for that Darkness Pokémon becoming Poisoned.
Both Moltres PFL 14 and Yveltal MEG 88 act as backup attackers for this deck. Moltres PFL 14 has the Fighting Wings attack, which can deal 110 damage to an opposing Pokémon ex for just a single Energy. Yveltal MEG 88 has a pair of attacks you can use, dealing between 20 - 110 damage. These are both 1-Prize attackers, so if they happen to get Knocked Out, your opponent will only get 1 Prize card, unlike many of the other Pokémon ex in this deck.
The final pair of Pokémon in this deck are both useful for their Abilities. Fezandipiti ex ASC 142's Flip the Script offers you the potential to catch up after suffering a Pokémon Knock Out. Munkidori ASC 99's Adrena-Brain Ability provides you a way of transferring damage counters from your Pokémon to your opponent's Pokémon, allowing your team to stay in the fight longer.
By attaching Hero's Cape TEF 152 to Mega Darkrai ex PBL 48, you'll boost its HP from 280 to 380. This will make it a lot more difficult for your opponent to Knock it Out. If you have a copy of Risky Ruins MEG 127 in play, whenever either you or your opponent plays a non-Darkness Pokémon to their Bench, that Pokémon will get 2 damage counters. This offers you a way of getting some damage on your team to move with Munkidori ASC 99's Adrena-Brain Ability, as well as making it a little easier to Knock Out your opponent's Pokémon.
This next batch of Trainer cards all help you find the Pokémon you need. Dusk Ball SSP 175 can find any Pokémon that is in the bottom 7 cards of your deck. Mega Signal ASC 193 allows you to search your deck for any Mega Evolution Pokémon ex, so it's a great way to find a copy of Mega Darkrai ex PBL 48 if you need one. Ultra Ball ASC 213 is the ultimate Item to find the Pokémon you need. With it, you can search for any Pokémon from your deck, however you'll need to discard 2 other cards from your deck in order to play it.
Now that you have the tools to find the Pokémon you need, you might also need to find Energy from your deck, which is what this batch of Trainer cards does. Janine's Secret Art PRE 112 lets you attach a Darkness Energy to up to 2 of your Darkness Pokémon. Use this to attach Energy to your Benched Pokémon unless you don't mind having your Active Pokémon become Poisoned. Crispin PRE 105 offers you a way to accelerate the amount of Energy you have in play. Energy Switch MEG 115 lets you move Energy from one Pokémon to another, wherever you feel it will be more useful.
Ruin your opponent's plans by choosing a Pokémon from their Bench that they're building up and moving it to their Active Spot with Boss's Orders ASC 183. It's really great if that Pokémon provides you with multiple Prize cards when it's Knocked Out. Lillie's Determination ASC 192 is included because it's simply the best card in Standard for drawing a new hand of cards. Both of these cards are Standard staples for good reason.
Even though Hero's Cape TEF 152 gives added HP to Mega Darkrai ex PBL 48, you will probably acquire some damage on it as the game progresses. Use Jumbo Ice Cream PFL 91 to help heal some of that damage, but only if your Mega Darkrai ex PBL 48 has at least 3 Energy attached. Night Stretcher ASC 196 is useful if your Mega Darkrai ex PBL 48 gets Knocked Out, as you can simply put it from your discard pile into your hand. Alternatively, you can get a Basic Energy card with Night Stretcher ASC 196 if that would be more beneficial.
By playing Pokégear 3.0 BLK 84, you'll be able to search the top 7 cards of your deck for any Supporter card you might need. There are a lot of good Supporters in this deck, so finding any of them can be beneficial depending on your current situation. The final card in the deck is Special Red Card CRI 82, which will be very helpful if your opponent is doing well and you need to slow down their momentum.
Wrapping Up
While it does require a little bit to set up, being able to Knock Out any opposing Pokémon with a single attack, regardless of how many HP it has, is incredible. If this sounds fun to you, you should give Mega Darkrai ex PBL 48 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 Pokémon TCG. I'll see you then!
- Mike Likes
