Searching Standard: Kingdra 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 Kingdra ex SFA 12 and is capable of Knocking Out any opposing Pokemon with a single attack. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck.

Kingdra ex SFA 12 has a pair of attacks that can really help you win matches. First is the King's Order attack, which allows you to put up to three Water Type Pokemon from your discard pile directly onto your Bench. You do not have to obey the normal evolution rules when doing this. It's perfectly legal to choose a Stage 2 Pokemon to put directly into play with this attack. Kingdra ex SFA 12's Hydro Pump attack will deal a base of 50 damage, plus an additional 50 damage for each Water Energy attached to Kingdra ex SFA 12. Since this deck only has Basic Water Energy in it, you'll deal a minimum 0f 150 damage with this attack, and it can scale upwards to reach any amount of damage needed to Knock Out your opponent's Active Pokemon.

To help make sure that Kingdra ex SFA 12 has enough Energy to Knock Out any opposing Pokemon, you can use the Super Cold Ability of Baxcalibur PAL 60 to attach extra Basic Water Energy from your hand to your Pokemon. Remember that you can put Baxcalibur PAL 60 into play directly if you use Kingdra ex SFA 12's King's Order attack. The copies of Rare Candy SVI 191 can either be used for this line of evolution or for the Kingdra line.

This batch of Pokemon all make great backup attackers. Kingdra LOR 37 can deal 130 damage with its Hydro Splash attack, while only risking one Prize if it gets Knocked Out. It also has a great Ability, Seething Currents, which can be used to have either player shuffle their hand and put it on the bottom of their deck and then draw 4 cards. Disrupt your opponent's hand or give yourself additional options; the choice is yours. Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR ASR 40 has the Star Portal Ability VSTAR Power that can help you attach additional Energy from your discard pile to your Pokemon.

With Fezandipiti ex SFA 38's Flip the Script Ability, you have an opportunity to take some of the sting out of a bad situation. Extra cards equals extra options, which is always a good thing. Radiant Greninja ASR 46 is included in this deck for the use of its Concealed Cards Ability, which allows even more card drawing and a way to put Basic Water Energy into your discard pile where it can be used with some of the Abilities I mentioned earlier.

All of the Trainer cards in this deck are pretty standard cards for a Standard deck. This batch of Items all help you find the Pokemon you need from within your deck. By watching the limitations each Item has, you can use the best one to get the job done most efficiently.

By choosing which of your opponent's Pokemon to move to their Active Spot, you can get the most bang for your buck. Choose something you're sure to Knock Out that will give you the most Prize cards.

Both of these Items are useful for helping you get the Energy you need for effective attacks. Earthen Vessel PAR 163 finds Energy from within your deck, while Superior Energy Retrieval PAL 189 finds Energy from your discard pile. Both of these cards require you to discard other cards, so they can be a great way of getting Pokemon that you want to return to your Bench later on into your discard pile.

Professor's Research SVI 189 acts as both a means of drawing extra cards and a way of putting cards into your discard pile. While Iono PAL 185 may not put cards into your discard pile, she can be effective at drawing you new options. She also resets your opponent's hand, which can be very detrimental for them. Finally, while Irida ASR 147 doesn't offer card drawing in volumes like the previous Supporter cards, she offers something arguably better, selection. You won't need to worry that randomness will get in your way when you play her, as you can search for specific cards from within your deck. Your only worry will be that the card you want is trapped within your Prize cards.

There's a number of good Item cards in this deck, and having a copy of PokéStop PGO 68 in play can help you find them. It's also another way you can get Pokemon and Energy into your discard pile where it can be utilized later on. The final card in this deck is Super Rod PAL 188 which is found in most decks. It's a way that you can reuse both Pokemon and Basic Energy. There is only a single copy of Super Rod PAL 188 since you have multiple other ways of using the cards in your discard pile throughout the game.

Wrapping Up

Kingdra ex SFA 12's Hydro Pump attack reminds me of Chien-Pao ex PAL 61's Hail Blade attack. The main difference is that with Kingdra ex SFA 12's Hydro Pump attack, you don't have to discard Energy from your Pokemon to use it. Once you're set up, you'll be able to keep attacking for a ton of damage (at least until Kingdra ex SFA 12 gets Knocked Out). That difference makes it a more viable option to play than Chien-Pao ex PAL 61.

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