Searching Standard: Wo-Chien 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 Wo-Chien ex PAL 27 as its main, tanky attacker. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Wo-Chien ex PAL 27 has a pair of great attacks. For four Energy, you can use its Forest Blast attack, which deals 220 damage. This is just enough to Knock Out most Pokemon V or Pokemon ex. Alternatively, you can use its Covetous Ivy attack, which will deal 60 damage to one of your opponent's Benched Pokemon for each Prize card they have taken. As you'll soon see, it will be fairly easy for this attack to deal a minimum of 120 damage whenever you use it.

In order to make Wo-Chien ex PAL 27 into the tankiest Pokemon possible, you can attach a Bravery Charm PAL 173 to it, increasing its HP to 280. Additionally, if you have Kricketune ASR 10 on your Bench, Wo-Chien ex PAL 27 will have its HP increased by 40 more HP, giving it a maximum of 320 HP.

Trevenant V EVS 13 serves as a back-up attacker for this deck. Its Absorb Life attack will deal 30 damage while also healing 30 damage from Trevenant V EVS 13. You can also use its Shadow Claw attack to deal 120 damage, but perhaps more importantly, this attack also allows you to discard a random card from your opponent's hand.

I said I would mention how Wo-Chien ex PAL 27's Covetous Ivy attack would deal a minimum of 120 damage most of the time soon, and that time is now. When you use Forretress ex PAL 5's Exploding Energy Ability, you get to search your deck for up to five Basic Grass Energy cards to attach to your Pokemon however you would like. The "drawback" to using this Ability is that you have to Knock Out Forretress ex PAL 5, which will see your opponent take two of their Prize cards. Whenever you can, try turning a drawback into something positive for you.

Radiant Tsareena SIT 16 helps this deck out with her Elegant Heal Ability. This will heal 20 damage from each of your Pokemon in play. By healing damage, you increase the tankiness of Wo-Chien ex PAL 27, making it harder to Knock Out.

Every deck needs ways of drawing additional cards, and many of them rely on the Industrious Incisors Ability of Bibarel BRS 121. By using this Ability, you can draw cards until you have five cards in your hand, which helps you find the cards you need faster.

Drapion V LOR 118 is included in this deck due to the possibility of being able to attack for free, thanks to its Wild Style Ability. However, if Spiritomb PAL 89 wasn't currently banned on Pokemon TCG Live, it would replace Drapion V LOR 118.

The best way to reduce your opponent's hand size currently in Standard is by playing Iono PAL 185. As an added bonus, playing Iono PAL 185 also helps reset your own hand, possibly providing you with additional options. A pair of Pokégear 3.0 SVI 186 are included in this deck primarily as a way of finding Iono PAL 185.

Once you've started taking Prize cards, Iono PAL 185 might not help you draw as many cards as you'd like. At that point, you'll want to play Roxanne ASR 150. This deck also includes a pair of Professor's Research SVI 190 as another way of drawing additional cards, even though you don't have any way of getting cards back from your discard pile.

Every deck has certain Pokemon it needs in play to run smoothly, so nearly every deck includes cards that allow you to search your deck for certain Pokemon. Battle VIP Pass FST 225 can only be played on your first turn, and it can find up to two basic Pokemon from your deck to put into play. Nest Ball SVI 181 also puts a Basic Pokemon from your deck onto your Bench, but it can be played all throughout the game. Ultra Ball SVI 196 can find any Pokemon you need, but it requires you to discard two cards in order to play it.

By playing Boss’s Orders PAL 172, you can choose one of your opponent's Benched Pokemon to become their Active Pokemon. This is a great way to ensure that your attack will Knock Out your opponent's Pokemon. Escape Rope BST 125 also switches your opponent's Active Pokemon with one from their Bench, but they get to decide which one. You'll also have to switch yours, so make sure you have a powered up Pokemon on your Bench. Finally, Switch SVI 194 can be played to keep your Active Pokemon in play, by moving it back to your Bench where it can hopefully receive some much-needed healing.

The final cards in this deck are a pair of Stadium cards. Path to the Peak CRE 148 helps you out by removing all Abilities of any Pokemon with a Rule Box that are in play. Make sure you play this Stadium after using Forretress ex PAL 5's Exploding Energy Ability. Lost City LOR 161 can be played to ensure that any Pokemon Knocked Out aren't able to return from their owner's discard pile.

Wrapping Up

By combining the Energy acceleration that Forretress ex PAL 5 with the powerful attacks of Wo-Chien ex PAL 27, you get a deck that can hit hard very quickly. By adding in the extra HP that Bravery Charm PAL 173 and Kricketune ASR 10 provide, you add a lot of resilience that most aggressive decks are lacking.

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