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 Venusaur ex MEG 3 that can help ensure that your team stays powered up throughout the entire match. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Mega Venusaur ex
LittleDarkFury
Pokémon
2 Bayleef 9
2 Chikorita 8
1 Toedscool 17
1 Fezandipiti ex 142
3 Teal Mask Ogerpon ex 25
2 Bulbasaur 1
1 Regigigas 86
2 Ivysaur 2
1 Toedscruel ex 5
1 Genesect 8
1 Budew 4
1 Mega Meganium ex 10
2 Meganium 1
1 Toedscruel 17
2 Mega Venusaur ex 3
Trainers
4 Bug Catching Set 102
1 Night Stretcher 61
4 Lillie's Determination 192
3 Iono 80
1 Dawn 87
3 Forest of Vitality 117
1 Lana's Aid 155
1 Max Rod 116
3 Ultra Ball 131
2 Professor Turo's Scenario 121
2 Boss's Orders 172
3 Nest Ball 181
Energy
9 Grass Energy
Thanks to Mega Venusaur ex MEG 3's Solar Transfer Ability, you'll be able to keep your Basic Grass Energy in play by moving it from one Pokémon to another before your opponent manages to Knock Out that Pokémon. This Ability also helps you power up the right Pokémon for the job, as this is a 'tool box' deck that has a Pokémon for a variety of situations.
Teal Mask Ogerpon ex TWM 25's Teal Dance Ability offers you a way of accelerating the amount of Basic Grass Energy you have attached to your Pokémon. This Energy can then be moved wherever you need it via Mega Venusaur ex MEG 3's Solar Transfer Ability. Teal Mask Ogerpon ex TWM 25 also makes for a great attacker with its Myriad Leaf Shower attack, which benefits from having extra Energy attached. Genesect PFL 8 is a nice backup attacker. Its Bug's Cannon attack deals damage that scales with the amount of Grass Energy attached to it, allowing you to Knock Out Pokémon with high amounts of HP. Regigigas PRE 86 is another backup attacker for this deck. Its Jewel Breaker attack is especially potent when used against a Tera Pokémon.
You'll almost certainly want to have a copy of Meganium MEP 1 on your Bench. Its Wild Growth Ability doubles the amount of Grass Energy your Basic Grass Energy cards produce. This Ability helps both Teal Mask Ogerpon ex TWM 25 and Genesect PFL 8 attack for extra damage. It also helps Mega Meganium ex ASC 10 deal extra damage as well when you use its Giant Bouquet attack.
Toedscruel PAR 17's Slime Mold Colony Ability helps shut down your opponent's plans of reusing cards in their discard pile. At least, it does if they were planning on returning any cards from there to their hand with the use of an Ability or Trainer card. Toedscruel ex PAF 5 also has a very beneficial Ability, Protective Mycelium. This Ability protects your team from any effects of attacks, provided that the Pokémon being protected has an Energy attached.
As an early game attacker, few are as good as Budew PRE 4. Its Itchy Pollen attack requires zero Energy to use, deals 10 damage, and prevents your opponent from playing any Item cards from their hand during their next turn. This will certainly slow down almost any deck. Fezandipiti ex ASC 142 is included in this deck for the use of its Flip the Script Ability, which helps to catch you back up after suffering a Knock Out.
In order to make sure you have the proper Pokémon for the job, you can use this batch of cards to help find the Pokémon you need. Bug Catching Set PRE 102 only allows you to search the top 7 cards of your deck, but you can put any combination of Grass Type Pokémon and Basic Grass Energy found there into your hand. While this effect is great in this deck, you won't find this card played in any non-Grass decks. Nest Ball SVI 181 and Ultra Ball MEG 131 are commonly found in most decks. They help you find Basic Pokémon (in the case of Nest Ball SVI 181) or any Pokémon you choose (in the case of Ultra Ball MEG 131).
Since this deck relies on numerous evolved Pokémon, you'll likely want to play Forest of Vitality MEG 117 sooner rather than later. While it's in play, you'll be able to Evolve your Grass Type Pokémon more quickly than usual (as will your opponent). A single copy of Dawn PFL 87 is included to help you find 3 Pokémon quickly from your deck, a Basic Pokémon, a Stage 1 Pokémon, and a Stage 2 Pokémon. The Pokémon you find do not need to come from the same Evolution line, so she can help set up multiple plans at once. Lana's Aid TWM 155 offers you the chance to put any combination of up to 3 Basic Energy cards or Pokémon that don't have a Rule Box from your discard pile into your hand. It's a great way to get an extra use from something that has been Knocked Out or that you had to discard earlier in the game.
If your Pokémon has taken some damage and you don't want them to get Knocked Out, you can play Professor Turo's Scenario PRE 121 to return it to your hand. Make sure you've moved away any Energy first with Mega Venusaur ex MEG 3's Solar Transfer Ability, though. If you do end up having some Basic Grass Energy or Pokémon make their way into your discard pile, you can always use the ACE SPEC for this deck, Max Rod PRE 116, to put up to 5 of them into your hand. There's also a copy of Night Stretcher SFA 61 that does the same thing, only on a much smaller scale.
Most decks currently opt to play 4 copies of Lillie's Determination ASC 192, with good reason. It's simply the best Supporter currently in Standard for drawing a new hand of cards. Iono PAF 80 also helps you draw a new hand of cards, but she's at her best when your opponent is forced to draw a new hand of cards much smaller than they had. It can really slow down any momentum they might have built up. The final Trainer for the deck is Boss's Orders PAL 172, which has been a Standard staple for years. Use it to switch one of your opponent's Benched Pokémon with their Active Pokémon, and score an easy Knock Out.
Wrapping Up
'Tool box' decks like this one can be a lot of fun. Being able to find the perfect Pokémon for the job can make games a breeze, but it takes some skill to learn what you need. If you are familiar with some of the more popular archetypes currently being played, this deck will be a lot of fun to play.
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
