Searching Standard: Spiritomb

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 Spiritomb LOR 117 and is the perfect way to begin the month of October. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Both Spiritomb LOR 117 and Ditto PGO 53 are our main attackers in this deck. Spiritomb LOR 117 has the Chain of Spirits attack, which does a base amount of 10 damage, plus an additional 60 damage for each Spiritomb in your discard pile. If you manage to get three Spiritomb LOR 117 into your discard pile, you can attack for 190 damage, which isn't too bad. Alternatively, with all four copies of Spiritomb LOR 117 in your discard pile, Chain of Spirits will deal 250 damage. This is possible by attacking with Ditto PGO 53, because its Sudden Transformation Ability allows you to use the attacks of any Basic Pokemon without a Rule Box that is in your discard pile.

This deck only plays a single Supporter, so you'll be relying on Cinccino SSH 147's Make Do Ability to help you draw extra cards. To use this Ability, you'll need to discard a card from your hand, which happens to be a great way to get Spiritomb LOR 117 into your discard pile.

Since none of the Pokemon in this deck have more than 90 HP, you'll want to keep them safe from damage as much as possible. Manaphy BRS 41's Wave Veil Ability will keep your Benched Pokemon safe and sound.

To find the Pokemon you need from your deck quickly, you can count on this batch of Item cards. Quick Ball SSH 179 can find Basic Pokemon, while Evolution Incense SSH 163 can find Evolution Pokemon. Level Ball BST 129 can be used to find any Pokemon from within your deck, since none of your Pokemon have more than 90 HP.

In order to make sure none of your Spiritomb LOR 117 are trapped in your Prize cards, you can use Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146 to search through them. If you find a Basic Pokemon, you can put it into your hand and replace it with Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR 146 as one of your Prize cards.

To be able to maximize your effectiveness when attacking, you can rely on this pair of Trainer cards. With a copy of Choice Belt BRS 135 attached, a Pokemon will deal an additional 30 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon V. That means Ditto PGO 53 can potentially deal 280 damage when transformed into Spiritomb LOR 117. Cross Switcher FST 230 allows you to choose one of your opponent's Benched Pokemon to move to their Active Spot, allowing you to get an easy Knock Out. It also forces you to switch your own Active Pokemon with one from your Bench, so make sure you have a Pokemon on your Bench that's all powered up.

Raihan EVS 152 is the only Supporter in this deck. When you're able to play him, he can really help catch you up, allowing you to attach a Basic Energy from your discard pile to one of your Pokemon and to search your deck for any card to put into your hand. He's so valuable that you can use Crossceiver FST 231 to return him to your hand after you've played him. Crossceiver FST 231 can also return a Pokemon from your discard pile to your hand if needed.

Dark Patch ASR 139 can be a great way to accelerate your Energy attached to Spiritomb LOR 117, but remember that it only attaches Energy to a Benched Dark Type Pokemon. It will never help boost Ditto PGO 53's Energy. Rescue Carrier EVS 154 can be used to put any two Pokemon that are in your discard pile back into your hand. Finally, Air Balloon SSH 156 can be attached to a Pokemon to reduce its Retreat Cost by two Energy. This can help you out in a pinch when your opponent has switched your Pokemon and your attacker is now on your Bench.

The final Trainer in this deck is PokéStop PGO 68. Since there's such a focus on Item cards in this deck, PokéStop PGO 68 is the perfect Stadium to use. By using it every turn, you'll not only be able to put extra Item cards into your hand, but you might also happen to put a copy or two of Spiritomb LOR 117 into your discard pile.

Wrapping Up

If you manage to set everything up and are able to deal 250-280 damage when attacking, you should be able to take Prize cards more quickly than your opponent, especially since the Pokemon in this deck only give up a single Prize when Knocked Out.

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