The meta of the Pokemon TCG is constantly changing, and with it, the price of building what most would consider an unbeatable deck. Constructing a conventional winning team can cost upwards of $200 or $300, if not more, if you’re attempting to use rare and popular cards. Fortunately, there are strategies you can use that won’t break the bank, which is why we’re here to break down the top 5 best Pokemon TCG Standard format budget decks.
Lunatone/Solrock Deck ($34.00)
Best Pokemon TCG Standard Format Budget Decks
The Lunatone/Solrock decks have been making the rounds within the Pokemon TCG community and for good reason.
Utilizing the variants and cards from the Pokémon GO set, this deck is centered around boosting Lunatone with Psychic energy cards so that it can devastate opponents with its Moon Kinesis. This is done via Solrock’s ability Sun Energy, as well as the many items that make up the deck’s support structure. This becomes all the more potent when one is able to properly bench as many Solrocks as possible, swapping them in and boosting a select Lunatone’s power to the moon.
The inclusion of Manaphy also protects from sniping deck builds that utilize Inteleon, while the Trainer cards like PokéStop and Rescue Carrier can help you recover quickly from lost team members.
Of the variants available, the one shown above offers the best setup potential at the low price of only $34.00.
Alolan Exeggutor Power Deck ($49.00)
Best Pokemon TCG Standard Format Budget Decks
If you’re out to set up a heavy hitter with plenty of support to back it up, look no further than the Alolan Exeggutor Power Deck.
Using Alolan Exeggutor as its centerpiece, this deck offers a variety of ways to quickly deal with opponents. The most immediate strategy is to get Alolan Exeggutor out on the field, stacking Grass Energy cards onto it so that it can obliterate both active and benched Pokémon using Head Swing. The deck’s trainer cards can be used to quickly gain said Energy cards, offering plenty of options for drawing new cards repeatedly.
Should you need to set up support for Exeggutor, you can do this through your other Pokémon. Rilaboom can be obtained quickly using Rare Candy, and can use its Voltage Beat ability to rapidly bolster Alolan Exeggutor’s Energy. Venusaur, meanwhile, can use Sunny Bloom to help you draw more cards or apply status effects, while Crobat and Lumineon can help you dig through your deck for even more energy.
The only downsides are the risk of a Deck Out loss and the higher-end price tag of $49.00. In most cases though, these pale in comparison to the easy victories you’ll enjoy.
Durant Mill Deck ($40.00)
Best Pokemon TCG Standard Format Budget Decks
When it comes to breaking current metas, the Durant Mill Deck is an unconventional wall of a budget solution.
Instead of targeting your opponent’s Pokémon with attacks, this deck is all about forcing them to draw, discard or use up cards repeatedly. This is all thanks to Durant’s Devour ability, which forces your opponent to discard the top card of their deck. The ability is multiplied by the amount of active or benched Durants you have in play, which with the deck shown above can allow you to tear through four cards per turn.
Everything else about this deck is tailored in service of this strategy. Cinccino can use Energy Assist to stack Energy on Durant, Manaphy can ensure your benched Durants don’t get sniped via its Wave Veil, and the Trainer cards can ensure you’re never unable to use Devour.
It’s well worth the $40.00 price tag and will shut down a wide variety of popular deck builds, present and future.
Regigigas Deck ($33.00)
Best Pokemon TCG Standard Format Budget Decks
If you use the Regigigas Deck properly, your hits will start coming and they won’t ever stop.
While there is definitely merit to placing Regigigas at the center of this deck’s strategies, the wider approach is all about boosting any Regi you put on the field. Each is capable of dealing heavy damage to an active Pokémon, while their special abilities can disrupt your opponent or target benched Pokémon with ease. Cards like Cynthia’s Ambition will act as a safety net, preventing your damage potential from faltering due to an early team member knockout.
All the while, you’ll be accelerating your Energy acquisition and recycling via the rest of your deck. This allows you to constantly attack without delay, using and reusing Energy on whichever Regi is currently active.
It’s a straightforward yet effective build, and the $33.00 price tag is a huge boon in its favor as well.
Morpeko Hit and Run Deck
Best Pokemon TCG Standard Format Budget Decks
The Morpeko Hit and Run Deck is a work of evil genius, all while clocking in at only $14.00 to create it.
The basic gist of this deck’s strategy is simple: Get both versions of Morpeko V on your bench, buff them with the appropriate Energy cards, and then let them loose on your opponent with their heavy-hitter attacks. The Electric variant will be able to switch out via its Electro Wheel attack, which can in turn allow you to bring in the Dark variant for a Hangry Spike follow up.
every other card in the deck acts in service of this approach. Marnie’s Pride will double the damage of Hangry Spike each time they’re used in tandem with each other, while Bird Keeper can keep the swaps coming even if you’re short on Energy. Flaffy and Dark Patch, meanwhile, will allow you to recycle Energy indefinitely so that you’ll never be off the offensive for long.
It’s an amazing deck build with few weaknesses, and your opponents will hate having to watch as you decimate them with it.
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