IntroductionPitch Black, the new Pokémon TCG set, has been out for almost a month, and since then, we've been able to explore the many interesting single-prize Pokémon it brought to Standard.Today, we'll discuss a Hide 'n' Sneak deck. This archetype involves using many Pokémon with this ability so that we can use many other effects and deal a lot of damage with our main attackers, Dhelmise me05 039 and Spiritomb me05 035.The main mechanic, which also involves putting these Hide 'n' Sneak Pokémon in the discard pile, is similar to the old Night March archetype from the X&Y era (mid-2014 to 2016) and also the old Mad Party archetype from the Sword & Shield era.Take a look at Night March:And at Mad Party:As I always say, nothing in Pokémon TCG is new. It's all recycled.That being said, let's explore this new version!Hide ‘n’ Sneak no Standard - Rogue DeckDecklistThe AttackersLet's start with Dhelmise. It deals 30 damage, but, if there are 4 Pokémon with the Hide 'n' Sneak ability or more in your discard pile, it deals 140 extra damage!This will be your main attacker, as it can deal up to 170 damage.The drawback is that, though this is a lot of damage for a single-prize Pokémon that only needs 1 energy to attack, it's not enough to knock out many Pokémon ex and Mega Pokémon ex in the current meta. You'll have to take 2 turns or more to do that.Moving on to Spiritomb: If there are 13 Pokémon with the Hide 'n' Sneak ability in your discard pile or more, you may pick 2 enemy Pokémon and quadruple the number of damage counters on them.Like so, this Pokémon is better when the enemy Pokémon have already taken a lot of damage, as this way you can try to knock out 2 targets at once. For instance, you can use it to knock out Rule Box Pokémon to get more Prize cards at once, and it also goes great with Poltchageist me05 005 and Sinistcha me05 006!Lillie's Clefairy ex: The Dragapult ex CounterThis Pokémon stands out because of its ability, Fairy Zone, which makes all enemy Dragon Pokémon weak to Psychic Pokémon.So, Lillie's Clefairy ex JTG 56 is an "anti-dragon" machine. It is your main way to answer Dragapult ex PRE 73, and it also counters Mega Dragonite ex me02.5 152.Its main attack, Full Moon Rondo, deals 20 damage for each Pokémon in play, both yours and the opponent's, so it can deal up to 240 damage!Recursive PokémonBaby PokémonThese four Pokémon make this entire deck work. They all share the same ability, Hide 'n' Sneak: prevent all effects of your opponent's Pokémon's attacks and abilities done to this Pokémon. (Damage is not an effect.)So, basically, Dusknoir PRE 37's abilities don't work against these Pokémon ("spread damage"). Dragapult ex PRE 73's Phantom Dive doesn't work either.Nonetheless, you can also use these Pokémon aggressively.Poltchageist me05 005 puts 1 damage counter on the opponent's active Pokémon.Sinistcha me05 006 lets you put 4 damage counters on all enemy Pokémon if there are 6 Pokémon with the Hide 'n' Sneak ability or more in your discard pile.Shuppet me05 033 deals 10 damage.Banette me05 034 deals 80 damage and lets you look in your deck for any card and put it in your hand.Dudunsparce PRE 80's ability, Run Away Draw, draws cards.When this Pokémon is in play, you may use this ability. Afterward, all cards attached to it (energies or tools) return to your deck.As for Shaymin DRI 10, its ability, Flower Curtain, protects your benched single-prize Pokémon from direct enemy damage!Keep in mind that this won't protect your Rule Box Pokémon. That won't be an issue with this list, however, because it plays mostly baby Pokémon.TrainersSupportersGwynn me05 078 lets you discard up to 2 Pokémon from your hand as long as they don't have a Rule Box. If so, you may draw 3 cards for each Pokémon you discarded this way.It's a way to draw more cards and discard all your Hide 'n' Sneak Pokémon so that you can progress your main game plan and enable Dhelmise me05 039 and Spiritomb me05 035!Carmine sv06 145 is another way to draw cards. It lets you discard your entire hand and draw 5 new cards.But it does something else: you can use it on your very 1st turn if you're first to play, which breaks the traditional Pokémon TCG rules. It also lets you put your game plan in motion a bit faster, as you'll discard all your Hide 'n' Sneak Pokémon with it!Larry's Skill sv08.5 115 lets you discard your entire hand to get a Pokémon (basic or evolution), a Supporter, and a basic energy from your deck.It's another way to "burn" the cards in your hand and put your Hide 'n' Sneak Pokémon in your discard pile.Boss's Orders me02.5 183 lets you pull a benched enemy Pokémon into the active spot. You should use it to knock out any problematic enemy Pokémon.Items to Get PokémonUltra Ball MEG 131 lets you get any Pokémon from your deck (evolution or basic), as long as you discard 2 cards from your hand.Poké Pad me03 081 lets you get 1 single-prize Pokémon (baby Pokémon) from your deck, evolution or basic.Buddy-Buddy Poffin me02.5 184 lets you get up to 2 basic Pokémon with up to 70 HP from your deck and put them directly on your bench. (If you don't have space on your bench to put a Pokémon, you can't use this card).Items to Recycle Pokémon and EnergiesSacred Ash DRI 168 recycles up to 5 Pokémon from your discard pile and shuffles them back into your deck.Night Stretcher sv06.5 061 recycles 1 Pokémon or 1 basic energy from your discard pile and puts it in your hand.ToolsLucky Helmet only works if it is attached to your active Pokémon.If so, when this Pokémon is knocked out by an enemy attack, you may draw 2 cards.StadiumWhen this Stadium is in play, each player may discard 2 cards from their hand to draw 1 card each turn.It is very useful to discard, whenever possible, Shuppet me05 033, Banette me05 034, Poltchageist me05 005, and Sinistcha me05 006 to enable your main combo.ACE SPECSecret Box is an Item ACE SPEC. To use it, you must discard 3 cards from your hand, but, if so, you may then look for 1 Supporter, 1 Item, 1 Stadium, and 1 Trainer in your deck and put them in your hand.Final WordsThis deck is pretty cheap and easy to build, but it does have a few weaknesses.Firstly, the main setup is a bit slow.You'll have to discard as soon as possible your Hide 'n' Sneak Pokémon (Shuppet me05 033, Banette me05 034, Poltchageist me05 005, and Sinistcha me05 006).Currently, there aren't many Items that do that fast, except for Ultra Ball me02.5 213. Prism Tower me04 080 is also an option. In the X&Y era, we could use Battle Compressor Team Flare Gear PHF 92, which allowed us to discard these cards quite fast.Secondly, it doesn't play many card draw Pokémon.Besides relying on Prism Tower me04 080, other versions of this archetype always play Dudunsparce PRE 80 to draw cards and not be as vulnerable to bad hands.Finally, it doesn't deal a lot of damage.If you set up the Dhelmise me05 039 combo and put 4 Hide 'n' Sneak Pokémon in the discard pile, it'll deal 170 damage.But most Mega Pokémon ex have over 300 HP, so you'll need 2 turns or more to knock them out with this list.Of course, you can use Spiritomb me05 035, quadruple the damage counters on enemy Pokémon, and knock them out this way. But, to do this, you'll also need more turns to set up the Poltchageist me05 005 and Sinistcha me05 006 combos.What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.Thank you for reading, and see you next time!
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