Searching Standard: Slaking 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 Slaking ex SSP 147, a Pokemon capable of Knocking Out nearly any Pokemon with a single attack, but who also comes with a drawback. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Slaking ex SSP 147's Great Swing attack is very powerful, dealing a whopping 280 damage for just two Energy. You do need to discard an Energy when you use this attack, but there are ways to mitigate that. You also won't be able to attack with Slaking ex SSP 147 unless your opponent has a Pokemon ex or Pokemon V in play, due to its Born to Slack Ability. Most of the time, this won't be an issue, but it needs to be remembered for the times it is.

Thanks to Pidgeot ex OBF 164's Quick Search Ability, there's not as much need for raw card drawing in this deck. Quick Search allows you to search your deck for any one card to put into your hand each turn. This can be very helpful at all stages of the game. Pidgeot ex OBF 164 can also be utilized as a secondary attacker. Another secondary attacker in this deck is Radiant Charizard PGO 11, who has the potential to attack with its Combustion Blast attack for a single Fire Energy thanks to the Excited Heat Ability. This makes it a great attacker, especially if your opponent has taken multiple Prize cards.

If you're lucky enough to have Fan Rotom SCR 118 in your starting hand, you can use its Fan Call Ability to search for Slakoth PAL 160 and Pidgey OBF 162, helping to make your future turns go more smoothly. Rotom V LOR 58 offers a bit of card drawing, if you need it, but using its Instant Charge Ability does end your turn. With Fezandipiti ex SFA 38's Flip the Script Ability, you have the chance to recover after suffering a Knock Out on your opponent's previous turn.

In order to Knock Out certain opposing Pokemon in a single shot, you might need to deal more than 280 damage. For those times, you can attach either Maximum Belt TEF 154 or Choice Belt BRS 135 to your Slaking ex SSP 147. Alternatively, you could attach Counter Gain SSP 169 instead as a way to make your attack require one less Energy to use.

A copy of Mela PAR 167 is included in this deck as a way to quickly power up one of your Pokemon and recharge your hand after suffering a Knock Out. Playing Professor Turo's Scenario PAR 171 allows you to put a Pokemon you have in play into your hand, saving it from being Knocked Out and allowing your opponent to take any of their Prize cards. Iono PAL 185 acts as both a way for you to draw a new hand, and as a way to reset your opponent's hand, potentially slowing them down.

By playing Colress's Tenacity SFA 57, you can search your deck for both a Stadium card and an Energy card. Your only choice of Stadium in this deck is Collapsed Stadium BRS 137, which is amazing against some Tera Pokemon based decks. The Energy you might find most beneficial is Boomerang Energy TWM 166, which allows your Slaking ex SSP 147's Great Swing attack to be used again and again.

Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144, Nest Ball SVI 181, and Ultra Ball SVI 196 are all found in most Standard decks as the means of finding the Pokemon you need to succeed. Search for your Basic Pokemon with Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144 and Nest Ball SVI 181, and use your Ultra Ball SVI 196s to find the evolutions you need.

Rare Candy SVI 191 will be vital for you to evolve multiple copies of Slakoth PAL 160 into Slaking ex SSP 147. It's also the only way you have to evolve into Pidgeot ex OBF 164. Using the Star Alchemy Ability on Forest Seal Stone SIT 156 lets you search your deck for any one card to put into your hand. This can be a great way of finding a Rare Candy SVI 191 if you need one. Lost Vacuum LOR 162 can be used to remove an attached Pokemon Tool that provides additional HP to your opponent's Active pokemon, allowing you an easier time of scoring a Knock Out.

You can also use both Boss’s Orders PAL 172 and Counter Catcher PAR 160 to be able to attack any of your opponent's benched Pokemon. Move someone you're sure to be able to Knock Out to your opponent's Active Spot when using either of these Items.

Playing Arven SVI 166 is another way to search your deck for specific things you need. He allows you to find both a Pokemon Tool and an Item card into your hand. As you've seen, there are a lot of great choices he can help you find. There are also a lot of great Supporters in this deck, and playing Pal Pad SVI 182 allows you the potential to use two of them an additional time.

The final pair of Trainer cards in this deck are recursion cards. Both Night Stretcher SFA 61 and Super Rod PAL 188 allow you to return Pokemon or Basic Energy from your discard pile to either your hand, or shuffled into your deck.

Wrapping Up

Even though there is the possibility that you might face a deck that isn't playing any Pokemon ex or Pokemon V cards, the odds of this are highly unlikely in our current Standard environment. This deck packs a lot of punch, and is capable of standing toe to toe with any of the best decks in the format.

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