Pokémon TCG: Standard Deck Tech - Festival Lead + Lilligant (Rogue)

In today's article, we'll revisit a Festival Lead list. This mechanic was introduced in Scarlet & Violet: Twilight Masquerade, but this version is quite different: it plays Lilligant JTG 7, which makes your Grass Pokémon deal more damage.

In particular, it was built by those behind the Hey Game Plus YouTube channel. It is quite amazing, and if you enjoy cheap decks that perform really well, it's a great choice.

Decklist

POKÉMON: 23

4 Grookey TWM 14

4 Thwackey TWM 15

3 Applin TWM 17

1 Applin SCR 12

3 Dipplin TWM 18

2 Goldeen TWM 44

1 Seaking PRE 21

1 Petilil BLK 6

1 Lilligant JTG 7

1 Rellor TEF 23

1 Rabsca TEF 24

1 Shaymin DRI 10

TRAINERS: 32

4 Lillie's Determination MEG 119

2 Kieran TWM 154

2 Boss's Orders MEG 114

2 Dawn PFL 87

1 Lana's Aid TWM 155

1 Judge POR 76

4 Festival Grounds TWM 149

4 Poké Pad POR 81

4 Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144

3 Bug Catching Set TWM 143

1 Night Stretcher ASC 196

1 Switch MEG 130

1 Brave Bangle WHT 80

1 Air Balloon ASC 181

1 Maximum Belt TEF 154

ENERGIES: 5

5 Basic Grass Energy sv2 278

Dipplin: Grass Attacker

This archetype centers around Festival Lead abilities.

Dipplin TWM 18's ability states that if Festival Grounds TWM 149 is in play, it can attack twice. If the first attack knocks out the opponent's active Pokémon, they'll have to put a new Pokémon in its place, and that Pokémon will take Dipplin TWM 18's second attack.

Its main attack deals 20 damage for each Pokémon on your bench.

So, it can deal at most 100 damage (if you have 5 Pokémon on your bench).

Goldeen & Seaking

Both of these Pokémon have the same ability as Dipplin TWM 18. They can attack twice.

The difference is that Goldeen TWM 44 needs two energies (C)(C) to deal 10 damage and let you flip a coin. If you get "heads", you may discard an energy attached to the opponent's active Pokémon. Meanwhile, Seaking PRE 21 needs one energy (C) to deal 60 damage and also draw 2 cards for you.

Recursive Pokémon

Thwackey TWM 15's ability interacts with Festival Lead Pokémon. It lets you look for any card in your deck and add it to your hand, but only if your active Pokémon has a Festival Lead ability.

Lilligant JTG 7's ability, Sunny Day, makes your Grass Pokémon deal 20 extra damage, so your Dipplin TWM 18 will deal even more damage once it's in play.

Rabsca TEF 24's ability, Spherical Shield, protects your benched Pokémon from enemy attacks and attack effects.

Please note that damage is different from effect.

Damage in this case refers to "sniper attacks", like Wellspring Mask Ogerpon ex PRE 27's Torrential Pump.

"Spread" attacks put damage counters in play, like Dragapult ex PRE 73's Phantom Dive.

Shaymin DRI 10's ability, Flower Curtain, protects your benched baby Pokémon from attacks.

It is the easiest way to protect your Pokémon from "sniper" attacks.

Trainers

Supporters

Lillie's Determination MEG 119 lets you shuffle your hand into your deck and draw 6 new cards. If you have exactly 6 Prize cards left, you'll draw 8 cards instead.

Kieran TWM 154 lets you choose between:

1) Retreating your active Pokémon to your bench and putting a new one in its place.

2) Dealing 30 extra damage to the opponent's active Pokémon ex in the turn you played this card.

Dawn PFL 87 lets you get 1 basic Pokémon, 1 stage 1 Pokémon, and 1 stage 2 Pokémon.

Lana's Aid TWM 155 lets you recycle 3 cards from your discard pile, including basic energies and/or baby Pokémon, that is, Pokémon that don't have a rule box.

Judge POR 76 forces both players to shuffle their hands back into their decks and draw 4 new cards.

Boss's Orders MEG 114 pulls an enemy Pokémon from their bench into their active spot. You can use it to knock out any problematic enemy Pokémon.

Items to Get Pokémon and Resources

Bug Catching Set TWM 143 lets you look at the top 7 cards in your deck and get 2 cards, including basic energies or Grass Pokémon.

Buddy-Buddy Poffin TEF 144 lets you look for 2 basic Pokémon with up to 70 HP in your deck and put them on your bench.

Poké Pad POR 81 lets you look for a baby Pokémon in your deck, that is, Pokémon that don't have a rule box, and put it in your hand.

Item to Recycle Pokémon and Basic Energies

This card lets you recycle a Pokémon or basic energy from your discard pile.

Tools

You can only equip Brave Bangle WHT 80 to "baby" Pokémon (that is, Pokémon without a rule box). It makes the Pokémon it is attached to deal 30 extra damage against the opponent's active Pokémon if it is a Pokémon ex (this includes Mega Evolutions).

Air Balloon BLK 79 lets you retreat the Pokémon it is attached to for 2 colorless energies less.

ACE SPEC

This ACE SPEC is considered a Tool. It makes the Pokémon it is attached to deal 50 extra damage against the opponent's active Pokémon as long as it is a Pokémon ex (this includes Mega Evolutions).

Combo

Dealing More Damage

This combination allows you to deal 150 damage, that is, if:

1) You have 5 Pokémon on your bench so that Dipplin TWM 18 deals as much damage as possible.

2) You play Lilligant JTG 7 (which gives you 20 extra damage) and Brave Bangle WHT 80 (which gives you 30 extra damage).

If you play Kieran TWM 154 as well, you'll get 30 extra damage. So, you can deal 180 damage in a single turn in the best-case scenario.

This combination deals 170 damage, if:

1) You have 5 Pokémon on your bench so that Dipplin TWM 18 deals as much damage as possible.

2) You play Lilligant JTG 7 (which gives you 20 extra damage) and Maximum Belt TEF 154 (which gives you 50 extra damage).

If you play Kieran TWM 154 as well, you'll get 30 extra damage. So, you can deal 200 damage in a single turn in the best-case scenario.

This deck is perfect if you enjoy practical, budget-friendly lists. It's also really efficient and strong even against some of the most common meta decks in the format.

Nonetheless, as it is a rogue list, it does have its issues. For instance, it can't deal a lot of damage in a single turn, so it takes more turns to knock out Pokémon and needs Boss's Orders MEG 114 to get an enemy Pokémon that gives you 2 or 3 Prize cards.

The essence of the entire strategy, that is, the Pokémon that end up on the bench, are quite fragile as well. That's why Rabsca TEF 24 and Shaymin DRI 10 are critical.

If the opponent understands that and focuses on taking them down early with "sniper" or "spread" attacks, you'll lose. This deck desperately needs cards that recycle many resources for you, but it only plays 1 Lana's Aid TWM 155 and 1 Night Stretcher ASC 196, and they might end up in your Prize cards.

Nonetheless, Festival Lead archetypes performed well in the last relevant tournaments. It was ranked 29th at the South Korean League (held on April 25th, 2026) and occupied several spots at the Praga Regional (17th, 21st, 36th, 38th, 43rd, and 50th), which is a lot for a regional.

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

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!