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 Lucario ex ME1 77, who has a pair of powerful attacks. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Mega Lucario ex
LittleDarkFury
Pokemon
1 Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex 58
1 Fezandipiti ex 38
2 Mega Lucario ex 77
1 Munkidori 95
2 N's Reshiram 116
4 N's Zoroark ex 98
4 N's Zorua 97
2 Riolu 50
Trainers
2 Air Balloon 79
2 Artazon 76
2 Boss’s Orders 172
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin 101
1 Counter Catcher 160
3 Cyrano 170
1 Energy Switch 173
3 Iono 185
4 Lillie's Determination 119
1 Maximum Belt 154
2 N's PP Up 153
1 Nest Ball 84
1 Night Stretcher 61
1 Pal Pad 182
2 Premium Power Pro 124
2 Professor Turo's Scenario 171
1 Super Rod 188
1 Ultra Ball 91
Energy
4 Basic Darkness Energy
5 Basic Fighting Energy
Mega Lucario ex ME1 77 is typically the main attacker for this deck. For a single Energy, you can use its Aura Jab attack, which has the added benefit of potentially accelerating the amount of Energy you have attached to your Pokemon. Mega Lucario ex ME1 77 also has the Mega Brave attack, which deals a massive 270 damage, but can't be used on two turns consecutively.
Due to Mega Lucario ex ME1 77's weakness to Psychic Type Pokemon, this deck relies on N's Zoroark ex JTG 98 when facing Psychic decks. N's Zoroark ex JTG 98's Night Joker attack replicates the attack of one of your Benched N's Pokemon. That's where N's Reshiram JTG 116 fits in, as you'll want to replicate either Virtuous Flame or Powerful Rage, whichever will deal the most damage. N's Zoroark ex JTG 98 also has the Trade Ability, allowing you to discard a card from your hand to draw 2 cards, once per turn.
Against certain decks, Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex PRE 58 will be an all-star. Its Cornerstone Stance Ability makes it invulnerable to damage from attacks that are made by Pokemon with an Ability. For the times your Pokemon do take damage, you can use Munkidori TWM 95's Adrena-Brain Ability to move some of that damage onto your opponent's Pokemon. The lone copy of Fezandipiti ex SFA 38 is included for the use of its Flip the Script Ability, which can help you recover after suffering a Knock Out.
If you need a bit more oomph from Mega Lucario ex ME1 77's attacks, you can attach Maximum Belt TEF 154, which will add 50 damage to an opposing Pokemon ex. You can also play Premium Power Pro ME1 124, which will add 30 damage to the attack of any Fighting Type Pokemon. If you take a significant amount of damage and are on the verge of being Knocked Out, there are a pair of Professor Turo's Scenario PAR 171 cards you can play, which allow you to put one of your Pokemon into your hand (discarding all attached cards).
This deck has a variety of ways to help you find the Basic Pokemon you need. Artazon PAF 76, Buddy-Buddy Poffin PRE 101, and Nest Ball PAF 84 are all well suited for this, but each has a restriction regarding what Basic Pokemon are able to be found, so pay attention to those restrictions.
While Ultra Ball PAF 91 can also be used to help find a Basic Pokemon you might need, you'll usually want to search for an Evolution Pokemon instead. Cyrano SSP 170 also helps you search for Pokemon, allowing you to put up to 3 Pokemon ex from your deck into your hand.
To help you utilize your Energy effectively, you can play Energy Switch SVI 173 to move 1 Basic Energy from one of your Pokemon to another. You can also play N's PP Up JTG 153 to attach a Basic Energy card from your discard pile to one of your Benched N's Pokemon. These cards also work well together, effectively letting you put a Basic Energy from your discard pile onto any of your Pokemon, as long as you have a Benched N's Pokemon.
To make the most of your attacks, you can play Boss’s Orders PAL 172 and Counter Catcher PAR 160 to choose which of your Pokemon to move to their Active Spot. Choose a Pokemon you're sure to Knock Out, hopefully one that rewards you with multiple Prize cards.
Every deck needs additional ways to draw cards, and there's currently no better way to do this in Standard than by playing Lillie's Determination ME1 119. Iono PAL 185 also has the potential of drawing you a lot of new cards, but, perhaps more importantly, Iono PAL 185 resets your opponent's hand and potentially slows down any momentum they had gained.
Since both Mega Lucario ex ME1 77 and N's Zoroark ex JTG 98 have a Retreat Cost of 2 Energy, you'll often want to attach a copy of Air Balloon BLK 79 to them to make mobility easier. There's a fair number of useful Supporter cards in this deck, so if you're in need of one, you'll want to play Pal Pad SVI 182 to help you find it.
The last pair of cards, Super Rod PAL 188 and Night Stretcher SFA 61, are both useful ways of reusing cards that have gone to your discard pile. Super Rod PAL 188 returns more cards to your deck, while Night Stretcher SFA 61 only brings back 1 card, but it goes to your hand where you can benefit from it immediately.
Wrapping Up
By pairing Mega Lucario ex ME1 77 and N's Zoroark ex JTG 98 in this deck, you're able to show off the power of a new Mega Pokemon while also shoring up any weakness it might have. Keep this in mind when you're crafting your own decks, as this allows a Pokemon that is perceived as being 'weaker' than others a chance to shine.
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
