Searching Standard: Castform - 20 Stadiums

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 a pair of Castform that have the potential to attack for free. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Castform Sunny Form CRE 22 is the main attacker for this deck. Once you're able to get 8 Stadium cards into your discard pile, Castform Sunny Form CRE 22's Weather Reading Ability will allow you to begin attacking with its High-Pressure Blast attack without needing any Energy. You can also use Castform Snowy Form CRE 34 as an additional attacker. It also has the Weather Reading Ability, so you'll be able to use its Frosty Typhoon attack for free. Since both forms of these Castform have no retreat cost, you'll be able to move them to and from your Bench with ease.

Gallade ASR 62 is one of the backup attackers for this deck. Its Swirling Slice attack deals 160 damage, and allows you to move an Energy from this Pokemon to one on your Bench. This can be a really useful way to power up a Benched Pokemon if Gallade ASR 62 is likely to be Knocked Out on your opponent's turn. If you don't find Gallade ASR 62, don't worry, because in some ways, Kirlia SIT 68 is even better. By using Kirlia SIT 68's Refinement Ability, you have the means of discarding a card from your hand to draw two cards from your deck. This is a great way to discard a Stadium you have in your hand.

This deck is likely to fall behind on taking Prize cards since it can take a while to get 8 Stadiums in your discard pile. While you have a copy of Luxray PAL 71 in your hand, you won't mind being behind on taking Prize cards. That's because the Swelling Flash Ability it has will allow you to put Luxray PAL 71 onto your Bench as long as you have more Prize cards remaining than your opponent. Luxray PAL 71 has a great attack, Wild Charge, which can deal 180 damage. It's also a Lightning Type Pokemon, for those times your opponent's Pokemon are weak to lightning.

The remaining Pokemon in this deck are all included due to their useful Abilities. Squawkabilly ex PAF 75's Squawk and Seize Ability gives you the ability to discard multiple Stadium cards at once, plus you get to draw a bunch of new cards. The drawback is that this Ability can only be used on your first turn of the game. Both Manaphy BRS 41 and Jirachi PAR 126 have Abilities (Wave Veil and Stellar Veil, respectively) that protect your Benched Pokemon from taking damage or having damage counters placed on them.

Here are the 20 Stadiums found in this deck. Artazon PAL 171 can be useful to help you find Basic Pokemon from within your deck. By playing Collapsed Stadium BRS 137, you make it possible to discard Squawkabilly ex PAF 75 from your Bench if you played it on turn one. It's better to do this than to have it get moved to your Active Pokemon and get Knocked out, netting your opponent two Prize cards. Path to the Peak CRE 148 is considered by many to be the best Stadium in Standard, and while it's in play it nullifies any Ability that a Pokemon with a Rule Box has. Primordial Altar SIT 161 allows each player the chance to look at the top card of their deck and discard it, if they'd like. This can be a great way to discard some upcoming Stadium cards. Finally, Town Store OBF 196 lets you search your deck for a Pokemon Tool card to put into your hand. This can come in handy during the late game, as you'll see at the end of the Trainer discussion.

Since the damage you can do when attacking is a little lower than in some other decks, attacking smartly is important. By using both Boss’s Orders PAL 172 and Counter Catcher PAR 160, you can choose which of your opponent's Pokemon to attack. You can also do this by playing Serena SIT 164, but you'll usually want to use her first mode when you play her, as this will allow you to discard up to three cards and draw until you have five cards in hand. This can be a great way of discarding multiple Stadium cards at once.

In addition to using Artazon PAL 171, this deck has a few more ways of finding the Pokemon you need. Level Ball BST 129 can be used to search your deck for any Pokemon with 90 HP or less. Since both of the Castform forms have 70 HP, this can be a great way to make sure you have an attacker once things are set up for you. Ultra Ball SVI 196 can be played to find any Pokemon from within your deck, plus it requires you to discard two cards when you play it, providing another way to discard Stadiums from your hand.

Drawing additional cards is very important for most decks. Playing Professor's Research PAF 87 will result in you drawing a new hand of seven cards. Professor's Research PAF 87 also forces you to discard your current hand before you draw, providing another method of discarding Stadium cards. Zinnia's Resolve EVS 164 also requires you to discard cards when you play it, two to be precise, and when you do, you'll draw a number of cards equal to the number of Pokemon your opponent has in play.

Since the Castform in this deck only have 70 HP, it's likely that some of them will get Knocked Out. You can play Rescue Carrier CRZ 142 to return up to two Pokemon from your discard pile to your hand, but this only returns Pokemon with 90 HP or less. The lone copy of Switch SVI 194 is included for those times your opponent switches your Pokemon, placing a Pokemon that is unable to attack in your Active Spot. Simply play Switch SVI 194 and switch in a Pokemon capable of dealing some damage.

The final cards in this deck are a pair of Technical Machines. There's a lone copy of Technical Machine: Devolution PAR 177, which might prove to be helpful if you've done some damage to your opponent's Evolved Pokemon. More useful, though, is Technical Machine: Crisis Punch PAF 90. While this TM can only be used if your opponent has one Prize card remaining, it does offer you a very powerful attack that might be just what you need to finish off your opponent.

Wrapping Up

While the two Castform in this deck might not hit for much damage, the fact that they can attack while having zero Energy attached makes this deck a fun deck to play. While playing this deck, you'll often feel like you're a step behind your opponent, but if you're up for a challenge, you should 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