Searching Standard: Painful Energy

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 FlexDaddy. It features Arctozolt DAA 66 and Galarian Cursola V CPA 21, punishing your opponent for attaching Energy to their Pokemon. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Both Galarian Cursola V CPA 21 and Arctozolt DAA 66 help punish your opponent for attaching Energy from their hand to their Pokemon. Galarian Cursola V CPA 21 has the Gnawing Aura Ability, which requires it to be in your Active Spot. This Ability will put three damage counters on any Pokemon your opponent attaches an Energy card to. Galarian Cursola V CPA 21 can also attack with its Hollow Missile attack, which will put three damage counters on your opponent's Benched Pokemon in any way you would like. You can use this to pick off previously damaged Pokemon. Arctozolt DAA 66's Biting Whirlpool Ability can be used while it is on the Bench, so having multiple copies of Arctozolt DAA 66 in play is an advantage. It will place two damage counters on any Pokemon that your opponent attaches an Energy to from their hand.

Necrozma V BST 63 is a great attacker in this deck. With its Prismatic Ray attack, you can pick off your opponent's Benched Pokemon that have damage on them. It's a great way to finish off a Pokemon your opponent is trying to power up while it is on their Bench. The Special Laser attack can also be useful, especially if your opponent has any Special Energy attached to their Active Pokemon.

The remaining Pokemon in this deck are all useful due to their Abilities. Crobat V SHF 44's Dark Asset Ability is a great way to refill your hand once you've played anything useful. Lumineon V BRS 40 has the Luminous Sign Ability, which allows you to find any Supporter from your deck to put into your hand. It can be a great way to find a copy of Cara Liss VIV 149, if you need to get a Rare Fossil DAA 167. Finally, Manaphy BRS 41 has the Wave Veil Ability, which protects your Benched Pokemon from receiving damage from your opponent's attacks.

Next, we have our Trainer cards that help with our plan to damage your opponent when they attach Energy from their hand to their Pokemon. Old Cemetery CRE 147 will put two damage counters on any non-Psychic Type Pokemon that has an Energy attached to them from a player's hand. Even though this affects both players, you'll only be attaching Energy to Galarian Cursola V CPA 21 and Necrozma V BST 63, which are both Psychic Type Pokemon. Finally, with Crushing Hammer SSH 159 you have a chance to discard an Energy from one of your opponent's Pokemon. This can be a great way to remove one of that Pokemon's powerful attacks from the equation, until they can attach another Energy (taking more damage in the process).

This next pair of cards benefit us during attacks. Cape of Toughness DAA 160 will provide an additional 50 HP to any of our Basic Pokemon. The obvious target for this is Galarian Cursola V CPA 21, as it will allow this Pokemon to remain in your Active Spot longer. Boss's Orders BRS 132 allows you to switch your opponent's Active Pokemon with one from their Bench. Use this to score a quick Knock Out or to move up a Pokemon that's almost powered up, and KO it before it becomes a credible threat.

As I mentioned earlier, Cara Liss VIV 149 helps you find a pair of Rare Fossil DAA 167 cards onto your Bench, allowing you to Evolve them into Arctozolt DAA 66. This is the only way to search out Rare Fossil DAA 167 cards, so try to get two copies whenever possible. Quick Ball FST 237 can be used to search for any Basic Pokemon from your deck. This can be a great way to find any Pokemon you might need other than Arctozolt DAA 66.

Drawing extra cards is a good way to find what you need from your deck faster than usual, so most decks play some number of each of these cards. Professor's Research BRS 147 allows you to draw seven cards, but requires you to discard your current hand first. With Marnie CPA 56, you'll shuffle your current hand back into your deck before drawing a new hand of cards. Your opponent will also shuffle their hand into their deck and draw a new hand, which might spoil any plans they were making.

In order to make sure Galarian Cursola V CPA 21 is in your Active Spot and Arctozolt DAA 66 is safe and sound on your Bench, you might need to rely on these Trainer cards to help them move around. Air Balloon SSH 156 can allow almost any Pokemon on your team to retreat for free, while Switch SSH 183 simply makes your Active Pokemon change positions with one of your Benched Pokemon. These are best used when your opponent forces your Pokemon to change positions, but they can also be used to help set things up on your side of the arena when cards come out in a different order than you expected.

The final cards in this deck are general all-purpose cards found in many Standard decks. Raihan EVS 152 offers you a chance to catch up when one of your Pokemon gets Knocked Out. Ordinary Rod SSH 171 allows you to shuffle back either a pair of Pokemon or a pair of Basic Energy into your deck from your discard pile. Both cards can be extremely useful in the right circumstances, or they could both be worthless. When you need these cards, you'll be happy to know they are in your deck.

Wrapping Up

This deck forces your opponent to play differently than normal. They will have to choose carefully where they attach Energy, and may find themselves unable to use some of their more powerful attacks. Give this deck a try and watch your opponent squirm while they make these tough choices.

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