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 Gengar ex PFL 56, who forces your opponent to take fewer Prize cards if they're attacking with Pokemon ex. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Mega Gengar ex
LittleDarkFury
Pokemon
1 Fezandipiti ex 38
4 Gastly 54
2 Haunter 55
1 Mega Absol ex 86
3 Mega Gengar ex 56
2 Munkidori 95
1 Pecharunt ex 39
2 Toxel 67
2 Toxtricity 68
Trainers
2 Air Balloon 79
2 Arven 166
2 Boss’s Orders 172
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin 144
1 Counter Catcher 160
1 Dawn 87
1 Grimsley's Move 90
3 Iono 80
4 Lillie's Determination 119
2 Nest Ball 181
2 Rare Candy 89
1 Secret Box 163
2 Super Rod 188
2 Technical Machine: Evolution 178
1 Town Store 196
3 Ultra Ball 196
Energy
9 Basic Darkness Energy
Mega Gengar ex PFL 56 is the star of this deck. If your opponent is using a lot of Pokemon ex, you can keep Mega Gengar ex PFL 56 safe and sound on your Bench where its Shadowy Concealment Ability can work its wonders. Force your opponent to work harder if they want to take any Prize cards. Mega Gengar ex PFL 56 can also be an effective attacker with its Void Gale attack, dealing 230 damage while simultaneously helping to power up your Benched Pokemon.
With the use of Toxtricity PFL 68's Sinister Surge Ability, you can power up your Benched Pokemon with ease, simply by taking a little damage. If needed, Toxtricity PFL 68 can also be a backup attacker with its Gentle Slap attack, but you won't want to do this often as the damage you'll deal isn't great for the amount of Energy you need.
Mega Absol ex ME1 86 is a great backup attacker. While its Terminal Period attack has limited effectiveness, the fact that it can easily be set up with the help of Munkidori TWM 95's Adrena-Brain Ability makes it very powerful. Mega Absol ex ME1 86 can also use its Claw of Darkness attack, which not only deals damage, but also lets you prune any annoying card you find in your opponent's hand.
The final pair of Pokemon are included in this deck for the use of their Abilities. Fezandipiti ex SFA 38's Flip the Script Ability can help you get back into the game if you've suffered a Knock Out. Pecharunt ex SFA 39's Subjugating Chains Ability offers you an easy means of swapping your Active Pokemon with one from your Bench, as long as you don't mind having your Active Pokemon Poisoned.
This batch of Items all help you find the Pokemon you need. Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144 and Nest Ball SVI 181 help you find Basic Pokemon, while Ultra Ball SVI 196 can be used to find any Pokemon you might need.
Dawn PFL 87 also helps you find specific Pokemon from within your deck. Being able to find a Basic, Stage 1, and Stage 2 Pokemon is very powerful. Remember that these Pokemon do not need to be from the same Evolution line. Grimsley's Move PFL 90 also helps you find a Pokemon you need, but only if that Pokemon is within the top 7 cards of your deck. Keep in mind that Grimsley's Move PFL 90 can put any Dark Type Pokemon into play including Evolved Pokemon, not just Basic Pokemon.
If you're looking for an easy way to find an Item and a Pokemon Tool, Arven SVI 166 is your guy. Another terrific way to find specific things from your deck is by playing Secret Box TWM 163. You'll want to try to search for all 4 types of cards when you play it for maximum effectiveness. Since this deck revolves around getting a Stage 2 Pokemon into play, you'll often rely on Rare Candy PAF 89 to quickly be able to Evolve.
Whenever possible, you'll want to use both Boss’s Orders PAL 172 and Counter Catcher PAR 160 to put a Pokemon ex in your opponent's Active Zone. This will help you take more Prize cards when you Knock it Out, and your opponent will usually take less Prize cards when they Knock Out one of your Pokemon. A pair of Air Balloon BLK 79 cards are included to help you retreat easier for those times your opponent switches your Active Pokemon with one from your Bench.
By playing Iono PAF 80, you'll reset each player's hand to a number of cards equal to the number of Prize cards they have remaining. This can often mess up your opponent's future plans and cause them to stall out for a bit. Lillie's Determination ME1 119 is, in my opinion, the best Supporter card currently in Standard. Being able to shuffle the cards currently in your hand, giving you the possibility of drawing them again in the future, while also refilling your hand to 6 or 8 cards is amazing.
As you've seen, Evolving your Pokemon is very important for this deck to succeed. Playing Town Store OBF 196 will allow you to search your deck for a Pokemon Tool. No Pokemon Tool is more useful for helping you Evolve your Pokemon quickly than Technical Machine: Evolution PAR 178. The final card in this deck is Super Rod PAL 188, an important recursion tool that allows you to shuffle back a combination of Pokemon and Basic Energy from your discard pile into your deck.
Wrapping Up
Forcing your opponent to take 1 fewer Prize card when one of their Pokemon ex's Knocks Out one of your Pokemon can make it difficult for your opponent to succeed. They'll have to spend more resources and turns to defeat you, giving you just the opening you need to beat them before they can beat you.
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
