Pokémon TCG: Standard - 8 Decks with Surging Sparks!

Finally, Surging Sparks, the new Pokémon TCG set, is out! Let's see a few decks with it.

Pikachu ex

Pikachu ex is the star of this set, and will be an excellent addition to the Electric archetype. Its energy cost might be a bit unusual, but don't worry: Magnezone's ability is essential for Pikachu ex. It lets you get three basic energies in your discard pile and attach them to any Electric Pokémon, though you'll have to sacrifice Magnezone in the process. That's how you'll be able to use Pikachu ex's attack, Topaz Bolt, and deal 300 damage!

Furthermore, you can also use Gravity Mountain SSP 177 to reduce the HP of any stage 2 Pokémon in play by 30 points. With this card, your Pikachu ex will be able to knock out even a Charizard ex sv4pt5 54!

If you play Magneton, you can also play Iron Hands ex sv4 70, as its ability will also be useful for Amp You Very Much, Iron Hands ex's attack. It is perfect to knock out baby Pokémon in this format, and get 2 Prize cards quite easily.

Gouging Fire ex - Upgraded with Surging Sparks

The new Latias ex SSP 76 has an ability that lets you retreat your basic Pokémon without paying any energies, which is really helpful if you want to use Gouging Fire ex PR-SV 144's second attack, Blaze Blitz. You can only use this attack again if you retreat this Pokémon and then put it back in the active spot. So, you should put two Gouging Fire ex PR-SV 144 in play and swap them constantly to deal damage as much as you can.

As a Single Prize attacker, Gouging Fire PR-SV 151 is excellent in the late game and end game, and, with it, playing Gouging Fire ex is a bit less risky.

Munkidori TWM 95's ability. Adrena-Brain, can be decisive in emergencies. It lets you move three damage counters from your Pokémon to any enemy Pokémon.

Hydreigon ex

This deck stands out because of Hydreigon ex SSP 119's attack, Crashing Headbutt, a powerful attack that deals 200 damage and also forces your opponent to discard 3 cards from the top of their deck.

In turn, Pecharunt ex SFA 39's ability will let you get Hydreigon ex from the bench and put it in the active position, but it will be Poisoned. This way, you'll activate Binding Mochi SFA 55, which lets you deal an extra 40 points of damage if the Pokémon it is attached to is Poisoned. This will make Hydreigon even more devastating.

The best ACE SPECs for this deck are:

- Secret Box TWM 163, as it accelerates your setup;

- Prime Catcher TEF 157, as it can catch an enemy Pokémon by surprise;

- Neo Upper Energy TEF 162, which makes using Obsidian, Hydreigon ex's attack, easier. This attack deals damage to three targets.

Water Box - Upgraded with Surging Sparks

We didn't change this deck that much, considering that Area Zero Underdepths SCR 131 was released in Stellar Crown. Remember, this stadium expands your bench slots to 8 if you have a Terastal Pokémon in play. The Terastal Pokémon we'll use in this deck is Eiscue ex sv3 42.

The newest addition is Black Kyurem ex SSP 48, whose attack, Ice Age, is perfect to deal with Dragons like Raging Bolt ex PR-SV 145 and Regidrago VSTAR SIT 136. This attack also Paralyzes Dragon Pokémon.

Kingdra ex - Upgraded with Surging Sparks

We also didn't change this deck that much. We only added a new recursive Pokémon to draw cards: Quaquaval SSP 52 and its ability, Up-Tempo.

You might ask yourself, how will you be able to put a stage 2 Pokémon in play directly from your deck if you don't play its previous evolutions? Simple! Kingdra ex's attack, King's Order, lets you get up to three Water Pokémon from your discard pile and put them on your bench!

This attack is the key to this deck. With it, you'll be able to draw cards with Quaquaval SSP 52, get energies with Baxcalibur PR-SV 19, and attack with your second Kingdra ex.

Regidrago VStar - Upgraded with Surging Sparks

We added Alolan Exeggutor ex SSP 133 to this deck. It is an excellent Pokémon and has two incredible attacks, which you can copy later on.

Its first attack lets you attach energies to your Pokémon as long as you have the energies in your hand. To do that, we'll play Earthen Vessel sv4 163.

As for its second attack, it has two effects:

- If it's heads, and your opponent's active Pokémon is a basic Pokémon, you'll knock them out!

- If it's tails, you'll get to pick one of your opponent's basic benched Pokémon and knock them out!

This is great to deal with those support Pokémon that stay on the enemy bench throughout the whole game. It is also perfect to deal with decks that use many basic Pokémon as brute attackers, like Iron Hands ex sv4 70, Iron Thorns ex TWM 77, and Raging Bolt ex PR-SV 145.

Ceruledge ex

Ceruledge ex is another new Stellar Terastal Pokémon from this set. In this deck, we'll focus on its attack, which deals 20 extra damage for each energy in your discard pile.

Brilliant Blender SSP 164, which lets you discard up to 5 cards from your deck, is quite useful, but be careful with it. Don't discard too many cards, or you'll make your deck less resilient. If you run out of recursive cards when you need to get your energies back or recycle Pokémon, you'll lose.

Archaludon ex

The Metal archetype got another strong addition: Archaludon ex. Its main attack removes its weakness to Fire Pokémon, so it literally makes it a "tank".

Furthermore, if you evolve any Duraludon on your board into Archaludon ex, its ability lets you get two basic metal energies from your discard pile and attach them to this evolved Pokémon.

By attacking with Archaludon ex, you'll buy enough time to set up VStar Origin Forme Dialga. Then, at the right time, you'll use Scramble Switch SSP 186 to swap your active Pokémon with one of your benched Pokémon and transfer all energies from one to another!

While VStar Origin Forme Dialga is in your active spot, you'll be able to use its VStar attack, Star Chronos, and attack for two turns in a row. That's right, you'll skip your opponent's turn!

Final Words

What did you think of these lists? Would you change anything? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!