Searching Standard: Qwilfish Bursting Needles & Poison
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 taking a look at a deck that was recently featured on the YouTube channel of LittleDarkFury. It features Qwilfish CRE 101, a Pokemon that's definitely overlooked. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Thanks to the Bursting Needles Ability of Qwilfish CRE 101, your opponent may reconsider attacking during their turn. That's because Bursting Needles will place six damage counters on your opponent's Active Pokemon if Qwilfish CRE 101 is in your Active Spot and is Knocked Out by damage during your opponent's attack. By combining that with Qwilfish CRE 101's Poison Jab attack, which deals 30 damage and makes your opponent's Active Pokemon Poisoned, you'll be able to take out large opposing Pokemon in no time. Especially with some additional help, which we'll talk about later.
Toxicroak SSH 124 should normally chill out on your Bench. That way you can take advantage of its More Poison Ability which will deal an additional two damage counters to your opponent's Active Pokemon while they are Poisoned. This extra damage happens during the Pokemon Checkup phase on each player's turn, rapidly adding to the amount of Poison damage taken.
Since Qwilfish CRE 101 is a Single Strike Pokemon, you can take advantage of Houndoom BST 96's Single Strike Roar Ability to search for Single Strike Energy BST 141 from within your deck to attach to it. This will not only accelerate the amount of Energy attached to Qwilfish CRE 101, allowing you to attack right away, but its Poison Jab attack will deal an extra 20 damage when you attack. It also will deal 20 damage to Qwilfish CRE 101 when you attach Single Strike Energy BST 141 to it in this way, making Qwilfish CRE 101 more susceptible to being Knocked Out.
Morpeko FST 179 is a fine backup attacker, especially if you attach a copy of Single Strike Energy BST 141 to it via the use of Houndoom BST 96's Single Strike Roar Ability. You'll then be able to attack with Morpeko FST 179's Explosive Discontent attack for 60 damage. This isn't bad for only needing a single Energy, and it can help finish off a previously Poisoned Pokemon.
Both Rocky Helmet VIV 159 and Karen's Conviction CRE 144 can be used to help deal with larger Pokemon your opponent has in play. By attaching a copy of Rocky Helmet VIV 159 to Qwilfish CRE 101, your opponent's Active Pokemon will receive two damage counters when they attack Qwilfish CRE 101 and deal damage to it. With Karen's Conviction CRE 144, the attacks of your Single Strike Pokemon will deal an extra 20 damage to your opponent's Active Pokemon for each Prize card your opponent has taken. This extra damage can help you catch up if you've fallen behind.
This group of cards are all focused on your Single Strike cards. Tower of Darkness BST 137 allows you to draw two cards if you discard a Single Strike card from your hand. Urn of Vitality BST 139 allows you to shuffle up to two Single Strike Energy BST 141 from your discard pile back into your deck, where you can search for them again with Houndoom BST 96's Single Strike Roar Ability. Welcoming Lantern CRE 156 allows for a second use of a Single Strike Supporter, such as Karen's Conviction CRE 144.
This next group of cards is all about drawing extra cards. Professor's Research CEL 23 allows you to draw a new hand of seven cards, but you must first discard your current hand to do so. Make sure to play any important cards before playing Professor's Research CEL 23 for maximum effectiveness. Bruno BST 121 will allow you to draw a new hand of either four or seven cards, depending on whether one of your Pokemon was Knocked Out during your opponent's last turn. With Bruno BST 121, your current hand is shuffled back into your deck before drawing. Marnie CPA 56 also shuffles your current hand back into your deck, but it will also force your opponent to do the same. You'll each draw a new hand, hopefully with more cards for you and less for your opponent. This can be a great way to slow down your opponent's momentum and give you a chance to catch up.
Both Rescue Carrier EVS 154 and Ordinary Rod SSH 171 offer you the chance to reuse cards that have gone to your discard pile. Rescue Carrier EVS 154 allows you to put up to two Pokemon that have 90 HP or less into your hand. Conveniently, Qwilfish CRE 101 happens to have 90 HP. Ordinary Rod SSH 171 is best used to shuffle a pair of Pokemon from your discard pile back into your deck. Alternatively, you can shuffle back the lone copy of Darkness Energy if you need to, but since there's only a single basic Energy in this deck, that can often feel wasteful.
This batch of cards are all ways to help you find the Pokemon you need for the deck to run smoothly. If you keep the limitations of each of these cards in mind, you generally should be able to find what you need with ease. Quick Ball FST 237 can search your deck for any Basic Pokemon, while Evolution Incense SSH 163 can only search for an Evolution Pokemon. Level Ball BST 129 can only find a Pokemon from within your deck that has 90 HP or less. Once again, Qwilfish CRE 101 conveniently happens to have 90 HP.
The final pair of Trainer cards allow you to move both you and your opponent's Pokemon around more easily. You can attach a copy of Air Balloon SSH 156 to any of your Pokemon to allow it to retreat for free. Boss's Orders SHF 58 allows you to move a Pokemon of your choice from your opponent's Bench to their Active Spot. This can allow you to score an easy Knock Out, or you can move up a Pokemon that isn't able to attack, due to a lack of Energy, while you Poison it and start piling on the damage counters.
Wrapping Up
Most people would probably overlook Qwilfish CRE 101. While it's not a flashy Pokemon that has a ton of HP or deals a lot of damage with a single attack, it's deceptively good. It's very capable of taking down nearly any opposing Pokemon, even if it has to sacrifice itself to do so.
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