Searching Standard: Noivern EX

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 Noivern ex PAL 153 in a Lost Zone shell. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

By attacking with Noivern ex PAL 153's Dominating Echo attack, you're hoping to lock your opponent into a situation where they aren't able to do anything. Since this attack makes your opponent unable to play any Special Energy or Stadium cards from their hand during their next turn, they may be unable to power up their Pokemon. The effects of this attack can be even more effective if you have a copy of Path to the Peak CRE 148 in play. Noivern ex PAL 153 also has the Covert Flight attack you can use to great effect if your opponent's team is comprised of mostly Basic Pokemon.

As I mentioned before, this deck is also a Lost Zone deck. You can utilize Comfey LOR 79's Flower Selecting Ability as a means of putting cards into the Lost Zone as well as a way to draw extra cards. Once you have four cards in the Lost Zone, you can begin attacking with Cramorant LOR 50's Spit Innocently attack for free, thanks to its Lost Provisions Ability. As the game progresses and you are able to get more cards into the Lost Zone, you'll be able to attack with Sableye LOR 70's Lost Mine attack, putting 12 damage counters on your opponent's Pokemon however you would like. You might be able to Knock Out multiple Pokemon with a single use of this attack.

As an additional backup attacker, this deck includes a copy of Roaring Moon ex PAR 124. By using its Frenzied Gouging attack, you'll Knock Out any opposing Pokemon, taking 200 damage in the process. This can be a great way to finish off your opponent, if you can take your last Prize cards due to this.

The remaining Pokemon in this deck are included for their useful Abilities. Manaphy BRS 41's Wave Veil Ability will keep your Benched Pokemon safe from taking any damage when your opponent's Active pokemon attacks. Radiant Greninja ASR 46's Concealed Cards Ability offers you an opportunity to draw extra cards. Finally, Spiritomb PAL 89's Fettered in Misfortune Ability removes all Abilities of any Basic Pokemon V in play, which doesn't affect this deck at all.

Since using Sableye LOR 70's Lost Mine attack requires you to have 10 cards in the Lost Zone, you'll probably need more than just Comfey LOR 79's Flower Selecting Ability to get enough there. Colress's Experiment LOR 155 can help with that. It also helps enable the use of Mirage Gate LOR 163, which can allow you to power up Noivern ex PAL 153's Dominating Echo attack right away.

If you're able to play Battle VIP Pass FST 225 on your first turn of the game, you'll be able to breathe a bit easier with a pair of Basic Pokemon of your choice on your Bench. Later in the game, you can still search for Basic Pokemon to put onto your Bench with Nest Ball SVI 181, but you'll be limited to finding one at a time.

For your attacks to be their most effective, you can choose to make one of your opponent's Benched Pokemon their Active Pokemon. The premier way of doing this is by playing Boss’s Orders PAL 172. However, if you're behind on taking Prize cards, you'll be able to use Counter Catcher PAR 160 for the same effect, allowing you to play any Supporter you'd like during your turn. Alternatively, if you don't mind letting your opponent choose which of their Benched pokemon to move to the Active Spot, you can always play Escape Rope BST 125. You'll also have to switch your Pokemon, so this is a great way to move up a fully powered Pokemon.

Pokemon mobility is very important for this deck, as you'll want to move your Comfey LOR 79 around to be able to put cards into the Lost Zone. Switch Cart ASR 154 can help with this. It can also provide a small amount of healing. But there will likely be times when you have a Pokemon that is Knocked out. You can use Super Rod PAL 188 to shuffle back into your deck three cards from your discard pile, which can consist in any combination of either Pokemon or Basic Energy. this can be a great way to get an additional use of a key Ability or a powerful attacker.

Even though the timing of when you can play Roxanne ASR 150 is pretty restrictive, her effect can be back breaking. Both you and your opponent have to shuffle your current hands back into your decks, but you'll get to draw a new hand of six cards while your opponent only gets to draw two cards. By taking away their options, you're able to reduce any forward momentum they might have had. And since there are many useful Supporters in this deck, there's also a pair of Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186 cards you can play to help find them easier.

The final pair of cards are both Technical Machine cards that will prove very useful in some match-ups and might not be useful in others. Technical Machine: Devolution PAR 177 can allow you to score multiple Knock Outs at once if your opponent's Pokemon are Evolved and have damage counters on them. Technical Machine: Crisis Punch PAF 90 provides you with a massive attack that will deal 280 damage, but it can only be used when your opponent has exactly one Prize card remaining.

Wrapping Up

This deck is an example of how useful the Lost Zone shell can be. By putting a Pokemon that doesn't seem to fit anywhere else into this shell, you have a stable base that a unique Pokemon can slot into. This is a great way to test out a Pokemon to see how you like its attacks and Abilities without needing to create an entirely new deck.

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