The 2024 Europe International Championships (EUIC) Masters Division in London. The Philippines Regional League. The São Paulo Regional League. The Orlando Regional League. These are just some of the tournaments – to name a few – where Charizard ex decks have come out tops in recent times.
In short, this tera type tyrant is continuing to define and dominate the TCG post rotation, competing against the likes of Snorlax stall, turbo Iron Hands ex, and Lugia V Star. And more often not seeing them off from atop Pokémon’s pedestal.
So, let’s find out what it looks like and what makes it such a competitive force.
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Deck List: What does the deck build look like?
Of course, there is no hard and fast rule of how a Charizard ex deck build should look. Players will have variations, and trialling new strategies can yield success. And the release of Twilight Masquerade will see further evolutions arise.
A good place to start is Tord Reklev’s deck composition that saw the Norwegian TCG player win the illustrious EUIC Championships. This ought to give us some solid foundations from which to examine and work.
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6 x How does the deck strategy work?
Charizard ex is a deck built around dangerous damage output and impressive Energy acceleration. No doubt, you’ll want to get your Charizard ex in a position to sweep, with its bulk belying the addition of a huge attack. But how do we get here?
You’ll want to begin by setting up your basic Pokémon, such as Charmander or Pidgey, and quickly getting them to their full power stage two evolutions. These are the fundamentals, the fiery kindlings, of the deck’s strategy.
And that strategy is to set up as many of these beastly dark type Charizard ex's to overwhelm your opponent. Rare Candy, the showpiece Item card in this deck, helps you to accelerate this set up, despite the fact it can’t be used in the very first turn. Nonetheless, it is a good way to get that crucial go-ahead and engulf the board.
Charizard ex's ability, Infernal Reign, is a key component. Upon playing Charizard ex from your hand to evolve your in-play Charmander, you can search your deck for three Fire Energy cards and attach them to your Pokémon in any way you like. And when you realise its destructive attack, Burning Darkness, only costs two Fire Energy, you quickly see how OP this fan-favourite is. Of course, you’ll need to keep a weather eye on the board as Stadium cards such as Path to the Peak negate the energy acceleration ability, though Charizard ex also has that bulk to withstand attacks.
Back to Burning Darkness, this attack does 180 plus 30 for each Prize card your opponent has taken, meaning it quickly scales as the game progresses. Frighteningly (for your opponent), this can be used in consecutive turns without any drawback. Get multiple Charizard ex's in play, and your opponent has an inferno to reckon with.
As alluded to, one of the other key Pokémon in this archetype is the Pidgey line. Quickly evolve Pidgey into Pidgeot ex using the same Rare Candy approach, and you’ll have a feathered threat ready to back up your primary attacker.
Pidgeot ex is firstly capable of doing this using its attack, Blustery Wind. Blustery Wind deals out a respectable 120 damage but, more importantly, allows you to discard a Stadium in play. This is vitally important for taking out the challenge of navigating Path to the Peak, allowing you to harness the power of Charizard ex truly.
The second aspect that makes Pidgeot ex a proper proponent of the deck’s strategy is its ability Quick Search. Quick Search lets you search your deck for a card once per turn and add it to your hand. This can be useful for accessing those Trainer cards that maximise the effects of Charizard ex, or indeed reaching the other attackers in this deck.
Of those Trainer cards, you’ll no doubt want to seek out Boss’s Orders, which can shift your opponent’s field of play and move one of their benched Pokémon into the active spot. Suddenly, they could have a basic Pokémon facing up against a Burning Darkness attack. Gulp.
Of similar effect is the ACE SPEC card, Prime Catcher, which allows you to switch one of your opponent’s Pokémon from the bench to the active spot and switch your active Pokémon with one of your benched. You can quickly get those favourable match-ups.
For those Pokémon still out of reach with Charizard ex's 220 damage attack, you can find and attach Defiance Band to get that extra 30 damage and take out the likes of Chien-Pao ex with a one shot hit.
Beyond these options, the archetype still has much to offer, with Bibarel and Cleffa helping you to replenish your hand throughout the game, Rotom V helping you to get that quick start when you don’t intend to attack, and Lumineon V diving into your deck for those useful Supporter cards. On the defensive side, Jirachi and Manaphy help to protect the Pokémon on your bench.
Overall, this build gives you a well-rounded approach that can vie and compete with almost any approach in the current meta.
How can the deck be upgraded?
It’s difficult to say that a deck can be upgraded when it has won so many international tournaments…but it can of course, be altered, varied and tweaked. And with the recent release of Twilight Masquerade, even more options have arisen.
Among these, Dragapult ex – one of the top cards from our latest set. This new beast of the TCG can strike up a potent partnership with Charizard ex, benefiting from its acceleration of Fire Energy cards to launch its huge Phantom Dive attack.
Of course, including this dragon line comes at the expense of Pidgey and Pidgeot ex, which are your typical draw engines, helping you grab what you need from your deck. However, with Drakloak, Dragapult ex's pre-evolution, you can look at the top two cards of your deck and place one in your hand. Not quite as effective as the Quick Search ability, but certainly one you can reap the benefits of. Another workaround here is the inclusion of the new Tatsugiri card, which lets you look at the top six cards of your deck and then add a Supporter to your hand. And while you are still getting through what can be a slower start for this deck, the ACE SPEC Scoop Up Cyclone can help you to protect your big hitters, such as Dragapult ex.
That said, while the Dragapult ex and Charizard ex hybrid is a relatively new approach to varying the profile, it is far from the only one. Among the other options is a build that brings together Charizard ex and Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon ex, with the latter coming out of the new Twilight Masquerade set. Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon ex can make up for Charizard ex's lack of early-game damage with its attack, Dynamic Blaze, which can hit for 280 damage when used on a Pokémon that has evolved. You can one-shot V Star Pokémon without giving up any Prize cards. As it is a basic Pokémon, you can catch your opponent off guard with a substantial attack, accelerating the necessary Energy cards for Dynamic Blaze using Charizard ex. The masked marauder could be an interesting foil in the traditional Charizard ex and Pidgeot ex build.
Unsurprisingly, many different strategies can be brought to life, and many different Pokémon vying to complement the incredible Charizard ex. How would you play it?
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