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 Dragalge ex CRI 65, a Pokémon with a powerful poisonous attack. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Mega Dragalge ex
LittleDarkFury
Pokémon
1 Budew 16
2 Dudunsparce 80
3 Dunsparce 120
2 Mega Dragalge ex 65
2 Mega Froslass ex 47
1 Meowth ex 62
2 Munkidori 44
3 Skrelp 58
2 Snorunt 46
Trainers
1 Air Balloon 181
3 Boss's Orders 183
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin 184
2 Crispin 105
1 Enhanced Hammer 148
1 Gravity Mountain 177
1 Hilda 84
4 Lillie's Determination 192
2 Night Stretcher 196
2 Perilous Jungle 156
4 Poké Pad 81
2 Roxie's Performance 81
1 Special Red Card 82
3 Ultra Ball 213
2 Wally's Compassion 132
Energy
4 Darkness Energy
4 Water Energy
1 Legacy Energy 167
Mega Dragalge ex CRI 65's Pernicious Poison attack is the reason for trying this deck out. When you use it, you'll simply make your opponent's Active Pokémon Poisoned. While this effect usually amounts to a small amount of damage being placed on your opponent's Active Pokémon during Pokémon Checkup, this damage is significantly increased due to the Pernicious Poison attack's effect. Instead of 1 damage counter being placed, 16 damage counters will be placed instead. Since Pokémon Checkup happens between each player's turn, you'll end up placing 32 damage counters with this attack by the time your next turn rolls around. That does mean your opponent's Active Pokémon will be able to make one more attack before succumbing to Poison damage, so keep that in mind.
As a secondary attacker, Mega Froslass ex ASC 47 is able to do what Mega Dragalge ex CRI 65 can't do most of the time... Knock Out opposing Pokémon in one shot so they can't retaliate. This is by attacking with Mega Froslass ex ASC 47's Resentful Rain attack. This attack deals 50 damage to your opponent's Active Pokémon for each card they have in their hand. Normally having cards in your hand is a good thing, as it allows you to have options available, but this attack will make your opponent think otherwise. They might even make some mistakes, playing cards to the field that they'd be better off holding onto.
The lone copy of Budew ASC 16 makes for a terrific early attacker. You can build up your team while still being able to attack with Budew ASC 16's Itchy Pollen attack, since it requires no Energy to use. It also prevents your opponent from playing any Item cards from their hand during their next turn, which can substantially slow down some decks. Meowth ex POR 62 is primarily included here for the use of its Last-Ditch Catch Ability, which allows you to search your deck for a Supporter card when you play Meowth ex POR 62 to your Bench. You can also use Meowth ex POR 62's Tuck Tail attack as a backup attack if you really need to, which will allow you to utilize its Last-Ditch Catch Ability again. In most decks that employ Darkness Energy, you'll find some amount of copies of Munkidori PRE 44. By attaching a Darkness Energy to Munkidori PRE 44, you can use its Adrena-Brain Ability to move damage from your team to your opponent's team. Use this damage to Knock Out any Pokémon that have retreated to your opponent's Bench and have only a few HP remaining.
Since drawing additional cards is always beneficial, most decks will use a variety of methods to accomplish this. Dudunsparce PRE 80's Run Away Draw Ability is one of the ways this deck cycles through its deck. Like Meowth ex POR 62's Tuck Tail attack, you'll generally never want to attack with Dudunsparce PRE 80's Land Crush attack, but it is available if you have no other options.
By having a copy of Perilous Jungle TEF 156 in play, 2 additional damage counters will be placed on each Poisoned non-Darkness Type Pokémon during Pokémon Checkup. While this additional damage won't make a huge difference most of the time, there will be instances where that extra little bit will matter. If having this Stadium in play means you Knock Out an opposing Pokémon before it can attack back, you'll really appreciate that extra damage. In order to help ensure that your opponent doesn't simply retreat their Poisoned Active Pokémon to their Bench (thus removing the Poisoned condition), there is a pair of Roxie's Performance CRI 81 included in this deck. There's also a pair of Crispin PRE 105 in this deck to help you quickly power up Mega Dragalge ex CRI 65.
This next batch of Trainer cards should be pretty familiar to you if you've been playing the game for more than a short time. Buddy-Buddy Poffin ASC 184, Ultra Ball ASC 213, and Poké Pad POR 81 will all help you find the Pokémon you need from your deck. They each have their own restrictions for what Pokémon they can find and if there are other requirements to be met, but if you keep those things in mind, you shouldn't have any trouble. These cards are found in most Standard decks, making them Standard staples.
Hilda WHT 84 does her part to help out the previous batch of cards, helping you find an Evolution Pokémon from your deck. She also allows you to find an Energy Card to put into your hand. If possible, you'll likely want to search for Legacy Energy TWM 167, as you don't have any other way to search for it, but there could be reasons you want to find a Basic Energy instead. As I mentioned before, drawing additional cards is vital, so seeing a full playset of Lillie's Determination ASC 192 shouldn't be unexpected. There's no better card in Standard for refreshing your hand in Standard than Lillie's Determination ASC 192, hands down. Since your opponent will likely get a retaliation strike with their Poisoned Pokémon, there are a couple of copies of Wally's Compassion MEG 132 in this deck, so you'll be able to heal any of the damage you take.
This next batch of cards specifically are cards that are included to punish your opponent. Enhanced Hammer TWM 148 allows you to discard a Special Energy from one of your opponent's Pokémon. Gravity Mountain SSP 177 reduces the HP of each Stage 2 Pokémon in play by -30HP. This will only affect your opponent's team, since this deck doesn't have any Stage 2 Pokémon. Finally, there's Special Red Card CRI 82, which can help to slow down an opponent's momentum by resetting their hand to 3 cards.
By playing Boss's Orders ASC 183, you get to choose which opposing Pokémon you want to attack. You'll generally want to use it to force a Pokémon that will be unable to attack or retreat (due to a lack of attached Energy) into your opponent's Active Spot. If that Pokémon provides you with multiple Prize cards when it's Knocked Out, so much the better. A single copy of Air Balloon ASC 181 is included to allow you a bit of mobility for those times you need to retreat more easily. Finally there's a pair of Night Stretcher ASC 196 cards that offer you the chance to get some additional use from Pokémon or Basic Energy that have gone to your discard pile.
Wrapping Up
While Mega Dragalge ex CRI 65 is probably the worst of the Mega Pokémon from Chaos Rising, it still has a lot of potential. By attacking with its Pernicious Poison attack, you'll often be able to Knock Out any opposing Pokémon by the time you get to your next turn. If you're a fan of Poisoning your opponent's team, you'll want to 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 Pokémon TCG. I'll see you then!
- Mike Likes
