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 Flareon ex PRE 14, a Pokemon I expect you'll see in quite a few new decks. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Even though Flareon ex PRE 14 is the main focus of this deck, it's actually a very good supporting Pokemon. With its Burning Charge attack, you'll deal 130 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon, plus you'll get to search your deck for up to 2 Basic Energy cards that you can then attach to one of your Benched pokemon. This helps you set up future attackers. Flareon ex PRE 14 also has the Carnelian attack which deals a respectable 280 damage, even though it can be challenging to power this attack up.
Jolteon ex PRE 30 and Radiant Greninja ASR 46 are both backup attackers for this deck. Similar to Flareon ex PRE 14's Carnelian attack, Jolteon ex PRE 30 has the Dravite attack, which deals the same damage, has the same Energy requirements, and the same disadvantage that Jolteon ex PRE 30 won't be able to attack next turn. Jolteon ex PRE 30 also has the Flashing Spear attack that has the ability to deal up to 240 damage. Radiant Greninja ASR 46 is not often thought of for its attacking prowess, but since it can be powered up easily with Flareon ex PRE 14's Burning Charge attack, Moonlight Shuriken can suddenly become very threatening to your opponent's team. Radiant Greninja ASR 46 also has the Concealed Cards Ability, offering you the potential of drawing additional cards each turn.
This batch of Pokemon are all useful for their Abilities that allow you to search your deck for specific cards. With Noctowl SCR 115's Jewel Seeker Ability, when you evolve into Noctowl SCR 115 by playing it from your hand, you can search your deck for up to 2 Trainer cards, as long as you have a Tera Pokemon in play. Fan Rotom SCR 118's Fan Call Ability is a bit more restrictive to use, as it can only be activated on your first turn. Using it will allow you to search your deck for up to 3 Colorless Pokemon with 100 HP or less to put into your hand. This is a great way of finding the Basic Pokemon you need when starting out.
The last Pokemon in this deck are included for their Abilities. If you had a Pokemon get Knocked Out during your opponent's previous turn, you can use Fezandipiti ex SFA 38's Flip the Script Ability to help you catch back up. Munkidori PRE 44's Adrena-Brain Ability allows you to move damage counters from your Pokemon to your opponent's Pokemon, as long as it has a Darkness Energy attached. This can definitely help getting Knock Outs easier.
This batch of Trainer cards are all helpful for any deck that utilizes Tera Pokemon. Playing Area Zero Underdepths SCR 131 while you have a Tera Pokemon in play will give you a bigger Bench, allowing you to put more Pokemon into play that have useful Abilities. Glass Trumpet SCR 135 lets you attach Energy from your discard pile to your Benched Colorless Pokemon, as long as you have a Tera Pokemon in play. Attaching Sparkling Crystal SCR 142 to a Tera Pokemon allows it to attack for one fewer Energy. This is very helpful since so many of their attacks require multiple types of Energy to use.
Next, we have a group of Items that are useful in finding the Pokemon you need for success. Both Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144 and Nest Ball SVI 181 can help you find Basic Pokemon, while Ultra Ball SVI 196 can be used to find any Pokemon you need. By remembering the restrictions each of these Items has, you can use whichever is most appropriate to find the Pokemon you need from within your deck.
Tera Orb SSP 189 is another way to search your deck for Pokemon, specifically Tera Pokemon. Since Tera Pokemon are such a big part of this deck, you'll likely find this to be a very useful card.
Both Crispin SCR 133 and Earthen Vessel PAR 163 help you find the Energy you need from within your deck. Crispin SCR 133 helps accelerate the amount of Energy you have attached, while Earthen Vessel PAR 163 simply lets you find Energy to play on upcoming turns.
In order to make the most of your attacks, you can play Boss’s Orders PAL 172 to target a Pokemon from your opponent's Bench that either has a lower HP amount, making it easy to Knock Out in one hit, or a Pokemon that will allow you to take multiple Prize cards when you Knock it Out. Briar SCR 132 also offers you a way to take additional Prize cards, but the timing of when she can be played is pretty narrow. Keep that in mind and take advantage of her ability if you're able to.
Drawing extra cards is always helpful, giving you card advantage over your opponent. No Trainer in Standard is unconditionally better at drawing you new cards than Professor's Research SVI 190. Of course, playing Iono PAL 185 also allows you to draw a new hand of cards, but its most important feature is that it resets your opponent's hand, hopefully slowing them down in the process.
Night Stretcher SFA 61 is a great way to be able to reuse either a Pokemon or Basic Energy card that has gone to your discard pile. You might only be able to return a single card, but since it goes to your hand, it can have an immediate effect on the game. The final Trainer in the deck is Switch SVI 194, which offers you some mobility for your team. You'll be happy to see this Item if your opponent places a Pokemon you're unable to attack with in your Active Spot.
Wrapping Up
Even though this deck is listed as a Flareon ex Deck, Flareon ex PRE 14 might not become your main attacker. In fact, in many ways, Flareon ex PRE 14 is a better support Pokemon than main attacker. I really believe you'll see a lot of Flareon ex PRE 14 in decks for the next few months, simply due to its ability to power up your Benched Pokemon.
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