Pokémon TCG - Standard Deck Guide: Toedscruel EX

Destined Rivals, the latest Pokémon TCG set, changed the meta game considerably, particularly because of Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex DRI 136, which was quite impactful. Now, spread strategies are a critical part of 3 out of the 4 main decks in the format, like Dragapult and Gardevoir.

Naturally, players are now lining up to beat these new decks, and that's precisely what Ray Chen wanted to do with Toedscruel ex sv4pt5 5 at the last North America International Championship (NAIC).

Grass attackers are popular now because Darkness decks are incredibly popular as well, and they are weak against that Grass Pokémon in particular. So, Toedscruel EX, which most players had forgotten, came back and became the star of a new deck because of its speed and explosiviness. This deck also leans on Teal Mask Ogerpon ex TWM 25 for energy support.

Main Strategy

Toedscruel ex sv4pt5 5 is an efficient attacker as well as the main star of this list, but it needs some support to deal a good amount of damage. Its attack, "Colony Rush", deals 80 base damage plus 40 extra damage for each Pokémon with a Grass energy attached on your bench. This means this Pokémon can deal as much as 320 damage whenever needed, which, in most cases, will be against stage 2 decks.

Besides attaching energies to your benched Pokémon with Teal Mask Ogerpon ex TWM 25, this list also uses Area Zero Underdepths PRE 94, which gives you extra bench slots. Finally, it plays Energy Switch sv1 173 to move energies.

Toedscruel ex's ability, "Protective Mycelium", also makes hard matchups a lot better. It protects any Pokémon with Grass energies attached from being affected by enemy attack effects.

In practical terms, attacks such as Maractus JTG 8's "Corner", Technical Machine: Devolution sv4 177, and even Dragapult ex PRE 73's "Phantom Dive" simply don't work properly against this list.

Teal Mask Ogerpon ex TWM 25's ability, "Teal Dance", is not only your main way to attach energies to your attackers but also one of your main ways to draw cards as well. Furthermore, Teeal Mask Ogerpon can also attack on the very first round and put pressure on slower decks.

Decklist

At the very center of this list, you'll find 4 Bug Catching Set PRE 102, 4 Nest Ball sv4pt5 84, and 2 Ultra Ball sv4pt5 91, which all are very efficient ways to look for cards in your deck early on. As a few decks in the format discard cards, this list plays 2 Super Rod sv2 188. These cards let you get essential Pokémon and energies from your discard pile and add them to your hand.

Our supporters are quite simple: 4 Professor's Research sv4pt5 87 for consistency, 3 Iono sv4pt5 80 to disrupt the opponent's hand, and 3 Boss's Orders (Ghetsis) sv2 172 because the goal is Knocking Out 2-Prize Pokémon every turn. Please note this list doesn't play Arven sv1 166 because it also doesn't play tools.

Another relevant highlight is the single copy of Toedscruel sv4 17: "Slime Mold Colony", its ability, prevents the opponent from getting cards in their discard pile and adding them to their hand. This includes relevant cards from the current meta, such as Night Stretcher SFA 61 and Energy Retrieval sv1 171.

As for support Pokémon, this list plays Latias ex SSP 76 to retreat Pokémon for free, Fezandipiti ex SFA 38 to draw cards whenever you Knock Out a Pokémon, and Squawkabilly ex sv4pt5 75 to set up the perfect turn 1. Furthermore, this list also plays Mew ex sv3pt5 151 and Iron Leaves ex TEF 25, which is often quite useful, as it lets you move energies around.

Prime Catcher is the best ACE SPEC for this strategy, as it centers around Knocking Out 2 Prize Pokémon. This ACE SPEC is also a way to punish slow decks that focus on discarding unnecessary Pokémon on the frontlines, which we don't really want to Knock Out.

Dragapult EX - Favorable

Toedscruel ex's main ability, "Protective Mycelium", makes Dragapult ex terrible because "Phantom Dive" will only deal 200 damage after you use it. Furthermore, as your main attacker has 260 HP and is protected from damage counters while on your bench, the opponent will have to work hard to Knock it Out. So, keep your bench open for energies. Dragapult ex PRE 73 has 320 HP, which means you'll need 6 different Pokémon with Grass energies attached on your bench to Knock it Out. Your deck also relies a lot on items, so you must play around Budew PRE 4.

The most recent Dragapult ex versions only start attacking with it on turn 3 or 4, so Miraidon can Knock something Out on the first turn, then Iron Hands ex can Knock Out 2 more Pokémon later on. The problem with this matchup is how many cards Dragapult ex draws per turn, so you should Knock Out Drakloak TWM 129. Knocking Out a nicely set-up Dragapult ex with 2 strikes is hard, and this matchup will be easier if you Knock Out smaller Pokémon instead.

Please note that Dragapult ex also uses Budew PRE 4, which disables your ACE SPEC and any items for a turn. At the same time, you must also keep Mew ex sv3pt5 151 on your bench to play around an Unfair Stamp.

Raging Bolt EX - Slightly Unfavorable

This list sets up its Pokémon as fast as you and deals a lot of damage very easily, which means they can easily Knock Out Toedscruel ex.

In this matchup, you'll need to Knock Out support Pokémon first, or Knock Out several other attackers in a row each turn, and that's no easy task. Ideally, you can also attack with Budew PRE 4 on turn 1, considering Raging Bolt relies on items, particularly early on.

Marnie's Grimmsnarl - Extremely Favorable

In this matchup, your opponent won't be able to use their main attacker because of its weakness, and this will give you a nice advantage. However, they can still play it slow and focus completely on spread damage with Munkidori PRE 44's ability, which could be an issue if you can't set up your Pokémon fast enough.

Otherwise, this matchup is quite favorable for you and heavily punishes Grimmsnarl ex if your opponent's opening hand isn't the best. Please note that Toedscruel ex's "Protective Mycelium" protects your deck against Maractus JTG 8's attacks and makes this matchup a lot better.

Pros

This list plays Bug Catching Set, which is an incredible support card. It also plays relevant abilities to beat meta Pokémon.

Finally, it is great against Darkness decks.

Cons

It is easy to play but difficult to master. It also uses countless support Pokémon, which are easy targets.

Finally, it is much too linear.

Ray Chen showed us, once again, that this deck can compete with other meta decks if you know how to play it.

It can beat the current metagame because it is fast and plays the right Pokémon type, so we'll most likely see it winning matches again in the future, maybe even in Ray Chen's hands again.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!