Searching Standard: Oinkologne 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 Oinkologne ex SVI 158 and attempts to outlast your opponent by removing a lot of damage throughout the game. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Oinkologne ex SVI 158 is the main attacker for this deck. You can use its Maddening Scent attack to deal a base of 10 damage, plus an additional 30 damage per Pokemon on your opponent's Bench. Since using this attack only requires a single Energy, you'll often be attacking in this way. Oinkologne ex SVI 158 also has the Heavy Stomp attack, which deals 210 damage. This extra damage comes with a bit of risk, however. You'll have to flip a coin, and if you flip tails, you won't be able to attack with Oinkologne ex SVI 158 during your next turn.

Bibarel BRS 121 is a great source of card drawing for this deck thanks to its Industrious Incisors Ability. It allows you to draw cards from your deck until you have five cards in your hand, and can be activated once per turn. Even if you're only able to draw one additional card each turn, you'll get your value from playing Bibarel BRS 121.

Each of the remaining Pokemon in this deck are included for their Abilities. Skwovet SVI 151's Nest Stash Ability can be used to place your current hand on the bottom of your deck in order to draw one card. You'll obviously only want to use this Ability when you don't have a large amount of potentially useful cards in your hand, or when the situation is dire. Manaphy BRS 41's Wave Veil Ability will keep your Benched Pokemon safe from any damage that might come their way due to an opponent's attack. Finally, Dunsparce FST 207's Mysterious Nest Ability will remove any Weakness Colorless Pokemon in play have. This is definitely helpful in keeping your Pokemon from getting Knocked Out as easily.

For your Oinkologne ex SVI 158 to be able to outlast your opponent's Pokemon, there are a few helpful Trainer cards you can use. Playing Cheren's Care BRS 134 lets you put one of your Colorless Pokemon and all attached cards back into your hand, as long as that Pokemon has any damage counters on it. This can be an effective way to fully heal Oinkologne ex SVI 158. Alternatively, you can play Cheryl BST 123 and she will heal all damage that any of your Evolution Pokemon have on them. The drawback to this is that you'll have to discard any attached Energy from the Pokemon who receive this healing. Instead of healing Oinkologne ex SVI 158 when it takes damage, why not prevent that damage from happening. By attaching Full Face Guard EVS 148, you'll prevent Oinkologne ex SVI 158 from 20 damage when your opponent attacks. While Full Face Guard EVS 148 doesn't stop all of the damage, even reducing the damage taken by 20 will be helpful.

Path to the Peak CRE 148 is a great Stadium card for this deck. While it is in play, any Pokemon with a Rule Box will see its Ability removed. This won't hurt your deck in the slightest, but might put a major crimp in your opponent's plans.

Every deck needs a way to find the Pokemon it needs in order to succeed. With Nest Ball SVI 181, you simply get to search your deck for a Basic Pokemon to put onto your Bench. Ultra Ball SVI 196 is a little more costly, requiring you to discard two cards from your hand when you play it, but that extra cost comes with additional benefits. You can find any Pokemon from your deck to put into your hand.

By playing Arven SVI 166 as your Supporter for the turn, you can search out an Item and a Pokemon Tool card to put into your hand. You'll usually want to find an Ultra Ball SVI 196 and a Full Face Guard EVS 148, but that could change, depending on what is currently in your hand. Boss's Orders BRS 132 lets you choose which of your opponent's Benched Pokemon to attack. It can be a great way to take multiple Prize cards. With Pal Pad SVI 182, you can shuffle up to two Supporters from your discard pile back into your deck. You'll usually want to shuffle back Cheren's Care BRS 134 and Cheryl BST 123, but sometimes shuffling Boss's Orders BRS 132 back is the right choice.

Often, your opponent might play a card that switches your Active Pokemon with one from your Bench. By playing Escape Rope BST 125, you force your opponent to switch their Active Pokemon out while switching in a powered up Pokemon from your Bench. Echoing Horn CRE 136 lets you place a Pokemon from your opponent's discard pile back onto their Bench. This can allow you to deal extra damage when attacking with Oinkologne ex SVI 158's Maddening Scent attack. Finally, playing Judge SVI 176 is a great way to reset both player's hands back to four cards. Doing this will surely mess with your opponent's plans for their next turn or two, and it can get you some sorely needed new cards in your hand.

Wrapping Up

Even though this deck only has one main attacker, it is not a simple deck to play. Since Oinkologne ex SVI 158 isn't able to Knock Out the majority of opposing Pokemon with a single attack, this deck will require a lot of skill to figure out when it's best to press the attack and when it's time to heal up. If you're looking for a challenging deck to play, give this one 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 Pokemon TCG. I'll see you then!

- Mike Likes