Searching Standard: Pawmot 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 one of the best sniping Pokemon currently in Standard, Pawmot ex OBF 73. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck.

By using Pawmot ex OBF 73's Levin Strike attack, you can deal 220 damage to any of your opponent's Pokemon in play. Using this attack does require you to discard two Lightning Energy when you use it, however, but you'll see that there is a way to mitigate this drawback. Since Pawmot ex OBF 73 is a Stage 2 Pokemon, you'll want to use Rare Candy SVI 191 to evolve from Pawmi SVI 74 so you can attack more quickly.

With the help of Flaaffy EVS 55's Dynamotor Ability, you can reuse Lightning Energy that has gone to your discard. This can help you recharge Pawmot ex OBF 73 after using its Levin Strike attack. Since Pawmot ex OBF 73 has no Retreat Cost, moving it from your Active Position to your Bench is a breeze.

Both Raikou V BRS 48 and Miraidon ex SVI 81 act as backup attackers for this deck. Raikou V BRS 48's Lightning Rondo attack can deal quite a bit of damage depending on how many Benched Pokemon are in play. Its Fleet-Footed Ability also offers you a bit of card drawing. Miraidon ex SVI 81 has the Tandem Unit Ability, which can be helpful in filling up your Bench with Basic Pokemon. You can also attack with its Photon Blaster attack if you need a powerful attack late in the game.

The last pair of Pokemon are included for the use of their Abilities, and will never be able to attack. Radiant Greninja ASR 46's Concealed Cards Ability allows you to put an Energy card from your hand into your discard pile to draw two cards. This works well in conjunction with Flaaffy EVS 55's Dynamotor Ability. Manaphy BRS 41 is a staple card in most decks thanks to its Wave Veil Ability, which helps keep your Benched Pokemon safe from taking any damage.

Since it's important for you to get Pawmot ex OBF 73 up and running quickly, this deck has a few ways of helping you find both Pawmot ex OBF 73 and Rare Candy SVI 191. Colress's Experiment LOR 155 helps you find any missing pieces from within the top five cards of your deck. Iono PAL 185 can give you an entirely new hand to use, and she also resets your opponent's hand, potentially hindering them greatly in the process. There's also a copy of Forest Seal Stone SIT 156 you can use to search your deck for a specific card you need.

If the previous cards weren't enough to help you find what you need from within your deck, you can always play Professor's Research SVI 190. Remember that Professor's Research SVI 190 forces you to discard your current hand when you play it, so it can be a good way to get some Lightning Energy cards into your discard pile where they can be reused.

There are three copies of Boss’s Orders PAL 172 in this deck that are specifically included to help fight the Wave Veil Ability of Manaphy BRS 41. If your opponent has Manaphy BRS 41 on their Bench, you'll want to use Boss’s Orders PAL 172 to move it to their Active Spot, allowing you to attack and Knock it Out. If you also have Lost City LOR 161 in play, any Pokemon that are Knocked Out will go to the Lost Zone, gone forever.

By attaching Bravery Charm PAL 173 to Pawmi SVI 74, you provide it with an additional 50 HP, keeping it in the game longer in the event that your opponent is able to attack it before you can evolve. There are also a couple of copies of Cheryl BST 123 that you can use later on to heal Pawmot ex OBF 73 after it has attacked and discarded its Energy.

Mobility can help keep your Pokemon in the game longer. With Beach Court SVI 167 in play, the Retreat Cost of all Basic Pokemon is one Energy less. Switch SVI 194 simply allows your Active Pokemon and a Pokemon from your Bench to switch places, without the need to pay any Energy. Finally, Escape Rope BST 125 acts like Switch SVI 194 for you, while also forcing your opponent to exchange their Active Pokemon with one of their choice from their Bench.

The final cards in this deck are a pair of Poke Balls that help you find the Pokemon you need. Nest Ball SVI 181 can only find a Basic Pokemon from your deck, while Ultra Ball SVI 196 can find any Pokemon at all. Ultra Ball SVI 196 does require you to discard two cards, which can be useful for Flaaffy EVS 55's Dynamotor Ability.

Wrapping Up

Decks that are capable of dealing damage to Benched Pokemon are very powerful. They're also a lot of fun to play, because you're able to bend one of the usual rules of the game to your advantage. If you haven't tried playing a sniping deck before, I'd encourage you to give this deck 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