Searching Standard: Lugia VSTAR

Mike Likes
November 17, 2022
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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 AzulGG. It features Lugia VSTAR SIT 139, a Pokemon with a very strong attack requiring a lot of Energy to use. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.

Lugia VSTARAzulGG Regigigas 130 Radiant Gardevoir 69 Archeops 147 Lugia V 138 Lugia VSTAR 139 Crobat V 104 Pumpkaboo 76 Dunsparce 207 Evolution Incense 163 Marnie 169 Serena 164 Boss's Orders 58 Professor's Research 60 Quick Ball 237 Choice Belt 135 Collapsed Stadium 137 Ultra Ball 150 Gift Energy 171 V Guard Energy 169 Capture Energy 171 Powerful Colorless Energy 176 Double Turbo Energy 151

 


Lugia VSTAR SIT 139 is the main attacker for this deck. With its Tempest Dive attack, you can deal 220 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon in addition to being able to discard a Stadium in play. That's a decent amount of damage, but Tempest Dive does require four Colorless Energy to use, which is a lot. Luckily, as you'll soon see, this deck has the means of accelerating Energy very well. Lugia VSTAR SIT 139 also has the Summoning Star Ability as its VSTAR Power, allowing you to find up to two Colorless Pokemon without a Rule Box in your discard pile to put onto your Bench. This allows some incredible Energy acceleration to happen as well as getting some protection for Lugia VSTAR SIT 139.



Archeops SIT 147 serves a couple of purposes in this deck. Primarily, you'll want to use its Primal Turbo Ability to place additional Energy onto Lugia VSTAR SIT 139. Archeops SIT 147 also acts as a secondary attacker, able to use its Speed Wing attack for 120 damage. If you manage to get a pair of Archeops SIT 147 onto your Bench, you can attach up to four Special Energy to Lugia VSTAR SIT 139, fully powering its Tempest Dive attack.


 


Regigigas ASR 130 also acts as a backup attacker, specifically against opposing Pokemon VMAX. By attacking with its Gigaton Break attack, you can deal 300 damage to a Pokemon VMAX, which is generally enough to Knock it Out in one hit. Radiant Gardevoir LOR 69 is a supporting Pokemon in this deck. Its Loving Veil Ability allows your Pokemon to take 20 less damage from any attacks from your opponent's Pokemon V. That damage reduction can keep you in fighting form for an extra turn, giving you an additional opportunity to score a Knock Out.


 


This last batch of Pokemon are all supporting Pokemon. Crobat V DAA 104 has the Dark Asset Ability that can be used to help you draw additional cards. Pumpkaboo EVS 76 has the Pumpkin Pit Ability, which can get rid of a Stadium card. Finally, Dunsparce FST 207 has the Mysterious Nest Ability, which will remove any Weakness of all Colorless Pokemon in play. That will make Lugia VSTAR SIT 139 a little more resilient.


 


Quick Ball FST 237, Evolution Incense SSH 163, and Ultra Ball BRS 150 are all Standard Staples that will help you find the Pokemon you need. Remember that you can only find a Basic Pokemon with Quick Ball FST 237, and an Evolution Pokemon with Evolution Incense SSH 163. By keeping those limitations, you can make sure to use the right Item for the job.


 


Serena SIT 164 can be a great way to discard copies of Archeops SIT 147 or Special Energy, allowing them to be played easier. Alternatively, you can use her second option to switch one of your opponent's Benched Pokemon V with their Active Pokemon. This can be especially useful if you plan to attack with Regigigas ASR 130. Boss's Orders SHF 58 is another Standard Staple that you'll see in most decks. It allows you to choose any of your opponent's Benched Pokemon to move to their Active Spot. This can give you quite the advantage when attacking.


 


Marnie SSH 169 is a great card to play when you want to mess up your opponent's plans. It can also be a good way for you to draw extra cards if there's nothing in your hand that you need. Professor's Research SHF 60 also helps you draw new cards, but does so at the cost of discarding your hand. This can be a great way to discard some Special Energy that Archeops SIT 147 can help you get into play. Finally, since you're only worried about filling a couple of spots on your Bench, playing Collapsed Stadium BRS 137 might be a great way to hinder your opponent's options without affecting you much.


 


Normally, I don't discuss Energy too much, but in a deck where there is only Special Energy, I'll make an exception. Obviously, Double Turbo Energy BRS 151 is the best Energy to attach if you want to attack quickly. Doing this comes at a cost, because having a copy of Double Turbo Energy BRS 151 attached causes that Pokemon's attacks to deal 20 less damage. You can offset that by attaching Powerful Colorless Energy DAA 176, as this Energy adds 20 damage to the attached Pokemon's attacks. Capture Energy RCL 171 can allow you to easily search your deck for Archeops SIT 147 to put into play.


 


The final pair of Energy are more defensive in nature. V Guard Energy SIT 169 protects your Pokemon from 30 damage from attacks from your opponent's Pokemon V. This reduction is only usable once, so you won't want to attach multiple copies of V Guard Energy SIT 169 to one of your Pokemon usually. Gift Energy LOR 171 is protection against getting Knocked Out. You'll be able to draw cards until you have seven cards in hand if a Pokemon that has Gift Energy LOR 171 attached is Knocked Out. This can give you quite a chance of catching back up after receiving such a loss.


Wrapping Up

Lugia VSTAR SIT 139 is not only one of the faces of Silver Tempest, but it's actually one of the best Pokemon from the set. By pairing it up with Archeops SIT 147, you create a powerful engine that can quickly win games.

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