Standard Deck Guide: Lucario Box - Budget/Rogue

Greetings!

In today's article, we'll go through a list that plays the best Lucarios we can use in Standard. This list is great if you're looking for something to beat the Electric decks that are currently dominating the meta, like Iron Hands ex sv4 70 and Iron Thorns ex PRE 32. One of its greatest strengths is how accessible the cards are, and how it performs really well consistently.

So, let's go!

Decklist

Deck Structure

Lucario ex

Lucario ex PR-SV 17's second attack, Aura Sphere, is incredible. It deals 160 damage to the opponent's active Pokémon and 50 to one of their Benched Pokémon, which is great if you're struggling to beat backrow Pokémon.

As for Lucario ex PRE 51, it stands out because of its attack, Tornado Rush. At first, it deals 100 damage, but, if you use it again on the following turn, it will deal 200 damage.

This attack is even more powerful when you apply weakness buffs: 100 damage becomes 200, so Iron Hands ex and Iron Thorns ex will have only 30 HP after you use this attack against them. If you use Tornado Rush multiple times in a row, it will deal 400 damage* to these Pokémon, so you'll Knock them Out immediately.

"Baby" Lucario

Lucario sv1 114 is remarkable because of its attack, Avenging Knuckle, which deals more damage when one of your Fighting Pokémon is Knocked Out. After you activate this effect, you'll deal 150 damage with it, and, if you apply weakness buffs, you'll deal 300 damage.

In this deck, we'll use Lucario PR-SW SWSH186 because of its ability, Roaring Resolve, which lets you get a Basic Fighting Energy sv1 258 from your deck and attach it to Lucario itself. The only drawback is that you'll have to put 2 damage counters on it.

Afterward, you can move this energy to other Lucario with Energy Switch sv1 173, so it is a way to set up your Pokémon.

Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex

This Pokémon disables strategies that rely on abilities, and is incredibly useful against Pokémon like Charizard ex sv4pt5 54, Lugia VSTAR SIT 139, and Regidrago VSTAR SIT 136.

Furthermore, its attack ignores certain defensive abilities, like Mimikyu sv4pt5 37's. However, it can't go around Iron Thorns ex PRE 32's effect - which disables Rule Box Pokémon abilities.

Support Pokémon

Mew ex sv3pt5 151's ability, Restart draws, at most, 3 cards for you.

You can only use Fezandipiti ex SFA 38's ability, Flip the Script, when one of your Pokémon is Knocked Out by an enemy attack, and, once again, it draws three cards for you.

Trainers

Supporters to Draw Cards and Manipulate your Board

Draws items and tools.

Lets you move cards on your board and draws new cards at the same time.

Sabotages your opponent's hand and refills yours.

Items to Get Pokémon

Items to Recycle Resources

Item to Transfer Energies

Item to Attach Energies and Draw Cards

Gutsy Pickaxe reveals a card from the top of your deck. If it is a Basic Fighting Energy sv1 258, you can attach it to one of your Benched Pokémon. Otherwise, you can just draw it.

A great combo is getting an energy from your discard pile with Night Stretcher SFA 61 and putting it on the top of your deck with Academy at Night SFA 54. This way, you'll always be able to get the most out of Gutsy Pickaxe.

Tool

Stadium

This stadium lets you get a card from the top of your deck and put it in your hand every turn. So, it is also great with cards like Gutsy Pickaxe.

ACE SPEC

This card lets you swap one of your opponent's Benched Pokémon with their active Pokémon. Then, you'll do the same with your Pokémon.

Special Energy

When you attach it to one of your Benched Pokémon, this energy will automatically promote it into the active position.

Pros

This deck answers many popular decks, like Charizard ex, Dragapult ex, Raging Bolt ex, Terapagos ex, and Regidrago VSTAR, really well. It also stands out against the Electric decks in the meta, Iron Hands ex and Iron Thorns ex, and disrupts control strategies like Snorlax Control.

Cons

This deck may struggle against Psychic decks like Gardevoir ex sv4pt5 29, and mill strategies like Hydreigon ex SSP 119. Pikachu ex SSP 57 might be a problem as well because its ability prevents you from Knocking Out Pokémon directly, so your opponent will have one extra turn to react.

This is an accessible, fun, and efficient deck, particularly for the current meta. The only cards it will lose when the April rotation comes along are Lucario PR-SW SWSH186 and Gutsy Pickaxe ASR 145, which let you attach energies to your Pokémon (alongside Academy at Night SFA 54 in Gutsy Pickaxe's case).

If you're looking for a competitive deck that isn't too expensive, this is an excellent choice!

What did you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!