Searching Standard: Tinkaton 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 Tinkaton ex PAL 240, who is capable of dealing a massive amount of damage. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Tinkaton ex PAL 240 is the main attacker in this deck. With its Big Hammer attack, you'll deal 30 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon for each card you have in your hand. Naturally, that means you'll want to have as many cards in your hand as possible. As you'll soon see, there are a ton of ways to draw additional cards in this deck. One thing to note is that there's only one copy of Tinkatuff PAL 104 in this deck, so you'll need to use Rare Candy SVI 191 to evolve into Tinkaton ex PAL 240 the majority of the time.

Both Gardevoir CRE 61 and Kirlia SIT 68 have Abilities that allow you to draw extra cards. Gardevoir CRE 61 has the Shining Arcana Ability which effectively lets you draw two cards. There's only two basic Energy cards in this deck, so you won't be attaching Energy with this Ability very often. Kirlia SIT 68's Refinement Ability also lets you draw two cards, but you'll have to discard one card from your hand in order to use this Ability. Doing this results in you having one more card in your hand than before you discarded, so it's a positive result for you.

Rotom V CRZ 45 also has an Ability that helps you draw additional cards. Its Instant Charge Ability can be used to let you draw three cards. However, using this Ability will end your turn.

The last batch of Pokemon in this deck are included for their defensive Abilities. Manaphy BRS 41 has the Wave Veil Ability, which keeps your Benched Pokemon safe from damage. Milotic EVS 38 has the Dew Guard Ability, which will keep the cards in your hand safe and sound. Since you need to keep a lot of cards in your hand for Tinkaton ex PAL 240's Big Hammer attack, you'll need Milotic EVS 38's Dew Guard Ability to protect you from an opponent's Judge SVI 176 or Iono PAL 185.

This deck includes a variety of Supporter cards that all help you draw additional cards. With Falkner PAL 180, you can draw up to four cards. Similarly, Schoolgirl FST 239 is also capable of drawing you four additional cards. Worker SIT 167 allows you to draw three cards. Avery CRE 130 also draws you three cards. Miriam SVI 179 provides you with the means of shuffling Pokemon from your discard pile back into your deck. As long as you shuffle one Pokemon back, you'll be able to draw three extra cards.

To make sure you can get a copy of Tinkaton ex PAL 240 into play as quickly as possible, this deck includes a few ways of searching for the Pokemon you need. With Nest Ball SVI 181, you'll put a Basic Pokemon from your deck onto your Bench. Level Ball BST 129 can find any Pokemon with 90 HP or less from your deck. It's a great way to find Kirlia SIT 68, if needed. Finally, with Ultra Ball SVI 196, you can put any Pokemon from your deck into your hand, but you'll need to discard two other cards to do so. This can be worth the reduced damage output if you're in serious need of a copy of Tinkaton ex PAL 240.

With Artazon PAL 171 in play, you'll be able to put the majority of your Basic Pokemon into play, one per turn. Your opponent will also benefit from this. Fog Crystal CRE 140 is another means of searching your deck for a Basic Psychic Type Pokemon to put into your hand. You usually won't need to search for the Psychic Energy, but the option to do this can still come in handy. Collapsed Stadium BRS 137 offers you a little protection when your opponent's Bench is out of control.

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The next batch of Trainer cards offers you a way to reuse those cards that have gone to your discard pile. Pal Pad SVI 182 will let you shuffle two Supporters back into your deck. Super Rod PAL 188 lets you shuffle back three cards in any combination of Basic Energy and Pokemon. Finally, Rescue Carrier CRZ 142 lets you put up to two Pokemon with 90 HP or less from your discard pile into your hand.

The final two cards in this deck help you maximize your chances of scoring a Knock Out. Escape Rope BST 125 forces both players to switch their Active Pokemon with a Pokemon from their Bench. By playing this Item, you allow your opponent to choose for themselves which Pokemon you'll be attacking. Conversely, if you play Boss's Orders BRS 132, you get to choose which of your opponent's Pokemon to switch places with their Active Pokemon, and your Pokemon will remain in their places. This is a great way to choose a Pokemon to attack that will reward you with multiple Prize cards when it gets Knocked Out.

Wrapping Up

While you're basically relying on a single Pokemon to do the majority of attacking with this deck, Tinkaton ex PAL 240 can be incredibly effective. With the amount of extra cards you can draw each turn, you should have no problem knocking your opponent's Pokemon out with a single attack.

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