Standard Deck Tech: Empoleon V + Hisuian Goodra - The Anti-Meta

Hello everybody. I'm Rodrigo, and I'm here to bring you more ideas and deck possibilities for the Standard format in the Pokémon TCG.

With the hype of the Lost Origin expansion, we have news for Empoleon V -Rapid Strike, from Battle Styles (Sword/Shield 5) with the addition of Hisuian Goodra from the recent release.

Deck Analysis

With Empoleon V BST 40 we have the ability Emperor's Eyes, which makes the opponent's basic Pokémon unable to use abilities, except for Pokémon that have a Rule Box (Pokémon V and Radiant Pokémon in this case are exempt from it).

That is, cards like Mew CEL 11, Oranguru SSH 148, Snorlax VIV 131, Snorlax PGO 55, Diancie ASR 68, Manaphy BRS 41, Galarian Meowth RCL 126, Galarian Zigzagoon SSH 117, and even Pokémon V's counter, Miltank ASR 126 lose their abilities, becoming dead weight.

In the current scenario with Pokémon focused on the Lost Zone like Comfey LOR 79 and Cramorant LOR 50 that are present in decks like Giratina VStar, it's great to make them lose relevance!

To complement this lock, we have Hisuian Goodra LOR 134 with the ability Metal Lodging, avoiding any Pokémon with metal energies attached to them to take damage from V-Type Pokémon.

And with that, we have Rapid Strike Energy BST 140, energy exchange synergy that are equipped for Empoleon V BST 40 to use its Swirling Slice attack, which for one water energy and two colorless, deals 130 damage and moves an indefinite amount of Energy to one of your Benched Pokémon; thus constantly moving the Rapid Strike Energy BST 140 to the other Empoleon V BST 40 on the bench.

The ideal game is to have at least two Empoleon V and two Hisuian Goodra to ensure this stability.

Recursive Pokémon

1) Articuno PGO 24 serves as a damage boost for Empoleon V, thanks to its Ice Symbol ability that grants 10 more damage to your basic Pokémon in play (except any Articuno).

2) Pyukumuku FST 77 serves as a draw supporter, with its ability, Pitch a Pyukumuku, where if it is in your hand, you can return it to the bottom of your deck and then draw a card.

Trainer Cards

- Colress's Experiment LOR 155 is the heart of the Lost Zone engine.

- Marnie SSH 169 serves to control the opponent's hand.

- Evolution Incense SSH 163 looks for an evolution in the deck. It's here to find Hisuian Goodra LOR 134 for your Goomy LOR 132, creating the combo with the Rare Candy.

- Rare Candy PGO 69 is a card that allows you to accelerate the evolution stage of a basic Pokémon to stage 2 at once. Therefore, it is the card to speed up Hisuian Goodra LOR 134.

- Energy Search SSH 161 is key to searching for metal energy and activating Hisuian Goodra LOR 134.

- Tower of Waters BST 138 is favorable for Rapid Strike-type Pokémon, reducing their retreat cost. As Empoleon V BST 40 has exactly two energies as retreat cost, it improves the combo of moving Rapid Strike Energy BST 140 energies during your attacks.

Advantages

This deck is fascinating because it can answer 80% of most decks with ease. Despite having a low damage output, with 140 in its entirety, it gradually manages to undermine the opponent, doing the sum of 280 damage in two turns, dealing with most VStar Pokémon int the current format such as Arceus VStar, Giratina VStar, Origin Forme Palkia VStar, Origin Forme Dialga VStar and Mewtwo VStar.

As said, Empoleon's ability crashes various "baby" Pokémon (without Rule Box) that use abilities.

Disadvantages

Decks that feature "ignore any defending Pokémon effects" such as Mew VMAX FST 114 and Duraludon VMAX EVS 123.

Archetypes with damage that mix “Spread” damage with “ignore defending Pokémon effects” like Dragapult VMAX RCL 93 and Sableye LOR 70, in which we talk about in this article, as well as decks that can inhibit attacks from basic Pokémon like Flying Pikachu VMAX CEL 7 and Eiscue EVS 47.

Massive and raw damage decks (preferably “Single Prize”) like Reshiram Amazing Rare, Charizard VIV 25, or the combination of Lunatone and Solrock (which we have deck tech on the website.)

Disrupting our engine by applying a Boss's Order on Hisuian Goodra, or decks that deals spread damage against it tends to give this strategy a hard time.

It's an excellent deck to thwart some opponents who boast of high-performance decks in the format, as it offers this protection and sabotage the abilities of basic "baby" Pokémon. I would personally build this deck.