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 Wugtrio ex TEF 60 with an attack that requires you to discard Energy from your hand. I wonder if there's a way to turn this requirement into something more positive? Let's get started by taking a look at the deck list.
Wugtrio ex
LittleDarkFury
Pokemon
1 Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex 141
1 Budew 4
2 Froslass 53
2 Munkidori 95
2 Revavroom 142
2 Snorunt 37
2 Varoom 43
2 Wiglett 56
1 Wugtrio 59
2 Wugtrio ex 60
Trainers
4 Arven 186
1 Boss’s Orders 172
4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin 144
3 Counter Catcher 160
1 Earthen Vessel 106
1 Energy Retrieval 171
1 Gravity Gemstone 137
4 Iono 80
3 Levincia 150
1 Max Rod 116
1 Nest Ball 181
3 Night Stretcher 61
1 Professor's Research 155
1 Rescue Board 159
1 Switch 194
1 Technical Machine: Devolution 177
4 Ultra Ball 91
Energy
2 Darkness Energy
3 Lightning Energy
3 Water Energy
Wugtrio ex TEF 60's Tricolor Pump attack requires a single Water Energy to use, but can deal up to 180 damage to any of your opponent's Pokemon in play. That's a pretty fair return on investment. The catch is that for each 60 damage you want this attack to deal, you need to discard an Energy card from your hand. As you'll soon see, there is a way to return Energy cards from your discard pile to your hand, so using this attack won't be as detrimental as it seems. This deck also includes a copy of Wugtrio OBF 59 which has the attack, Entwining Entrapment. This attack also only requires one Water Energy to use, and while it only deals 50 damage, it keeps your opponent's Active Pokemon from retreating on the following turn.
Since the plan is to discard Energy cards for benefits, this deck runs a pair of Revavroom SVI 142. With its Rumbling Engine Ability, you can discard an Energy card from your hand to draw cards until you have 6 cards in hand. Get that Energy into your discard pile and cycle through your deck to find what you need more quickly.
Since the 180 potential damage you can deal with Wugtrio ex TEF 60's Tricolor Pump attack isn't enough to Knock Out some of the beefier Pokemon ex with a single attack, you'll want to spread some additional damage around to your opponent's team. Froslass TWM 53's Freezing Shroud Ability can help with this. During Pokemon Checkup, this Ability will put 1 damage counter on each Pokemon in play with an Ability, except Froslass. Since this includes your own Pokemon, you'll want to try to move that damage away (to your opponent's team) with the help of Munkidori TWM 95's Adrena-Brain Ability.
Budew PRE 4 is a terrific early game attacker. By using its Itchy Pollen attack, you'll deal a small amount of damage. More importantly, this attack prevents your opponent from playing any Item cards during their next turn. This can substantially slow down a lot of decks, as Items are utilized to help find Pokemon and Energy cards from within a player's deck. For the late game, there's a copy of Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex TWM 141. Its Blood Moon attack deals a ton of damage and can be used more easily with the help of Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex TWM 141's Seasoned Skill Ability.
Remember earlier when I said there was a way to return Energy from your discard pile to your hand? Well, that's where Levincia JTG 150 comes in. While Levincia JTG 150 is in play, each player will be able to put up to 2 Basic Lightning Energy from their discard pile into their hand. You can play Max Rod PRE 116 to put up to 5 Pokemon and Basic Energy from your discard pile into your hand. If you want to reduce the potential for your opponent to retreat their Active Pokemon, you can attach Gravity Gemstone SCR 137 to your own Active Pokemon, which will increase the Retreat Cost of both Active pokemon by one additional Energy.
As you probably know, this batch of cards is seen in most Standard decks. They all can be used to help you find the Pokemon you need from within your deck.
By using these cards, you can ensure a steady supply of Energy cards in your hand. Earthen Vessel PRE 106 lets you find up to 2 Basic Energy cards from your deck to put in your hand. Energy Retrieval SVI 171 and Night Stretcher SFA 61 let you put Energy cards from your discard pile into your hand, giving you the opportunity to use them an additional time.
Drawing extra cards helps you cycle through your deck more quickly, enabling you to find what you need more easily. No card in Standard offers more unrestricted card drawing power than Professor's Research JTG 155. While Iono PAF 80 can also technically provide you with card draw, its primary purpose is to reset your opponent's hand to a size based on the number of Prize cards they've taken. If they are ahead, this can often slow down their momentum, giving you a chance to get back in the game.
While Wugtrio ex TEF 60's Tricolor Pump attack can damage any of your opponent's Pokemon, there are times you'll want to switch their Active Pokemon with one from their Bench. That's where Boss’s Orders PAL 172 and Counter Catcher PAR 160 come in. Switch someone in that doesn't have enough Energy to attack, and you'll keep your team safe for a while.
If your opponent moves a Pokemon with a high Retreat Cost to your Active Spot, you can use Switch SVI 194 to swap it with a Pokemon from your Bench. Rescue Board TEF 159 can also help provide mobility for your team, reducing the Retreat Cost of the Pokemon it is attached to.
As the final Supporter in this deck, Arven OBF 186 is perhaps the most powerful. He allows you to search your deck for an Item and a Pokemon Tool. One Pokemon Tool that you might want to search for is Technical Machine: Devolution PAR 177. The Devolution attack this Pokemon Tool provides can be back breaking for some decks, while others might not be phased by it at all.
Wrapping Up
While the damage output of Wugtrio ex TEF 60 isn't particularly high, this deck can get the job done given enough time. By utilizing the recursion that Levincia JTG 150 offers, the damage you can do will certainly add up in a hurry. If there's one weakness this deck has, it's that the Wugtrio ex TEF 60's HP isn't particularly high, so you'll need to target the big attackers first, if possible.
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
