Charizard Dominates San Antonio — The Broken Deck?

Hello everyone! Recently my team and I attended the San Antonio Regional Championships and dominated the tournament. For whatever reason, this tournament was massive, with almost 2000 players. I played [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] with [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] and made Top 4, narrowly losing to Azul with the same 60, who won the event. Caleb tied his win-and-in with the same 60, meaning that we nearly got the trifecta of Top 8s once again. Charizard is an extremely strong deck, and the list that we played was highly refined.

[cardimg name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”223″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

We decided to play Charizard partly because of how good of a deck it is, and also because it is strong against [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card], and Lost Box. We also teched for the mirror match with [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Justified Gloves” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card]. However, Charizard has lots of sketchy and close matchups, such as [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card]. Furthermore, the [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] Stall matchup is abysmal, and our list had no way to beat it.

Things got hairy for me as I faced Snorlax in the first round and the second-to-last one. Luckily, I did not lose to anything besides Snorlax in swiss, so I was able to barely squeak into Top 8 with an 11-2-2 score. I was annoyed that both ties (to Giratina and Charizard mirror) were due to my opponents hitting the perfect cards off [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] to two, but that is part of the game.

It turned out that Charizard was the most represented deck at the tournament, following recent trends. After this, Charizard will certainly have a target on its back, but it remains a great deck. A strong player will be able to outmaneuver opponents even in the slightly unfavorable matchups. Although the deck seems linear as it has limited attacking options, Charizard’s easy access to Pidgeot’s Quick Search opens up lots of room for clever plays and thinking ahead. I would say that the deck is fairly skillful. Sometimes you have to rely on Iono’s disruption though, which feels like an unreliable strategy.

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Here is the deck that I played, which is a somewhat stock-standard Charizard list.

Charizard ex Deck List

[decklist name=”zard” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″][pokemon amt=”17″]3x [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Charmeleon” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”27″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Charmander” set=”151″ no=”4″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x Charmander (Promo #SVP047)2x [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pidgey” set=”151″ no=”16″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”126″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”36″]4x [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Sword and Shield Black Star Promos” no=”SWSH178 ” c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”EX Sandstorm” no=”88″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Ancient Origins” no=”76″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Justified Gloves” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”143″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”197″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lost City” set=”Lost Origin” no=”161″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Artazon” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”7″]7x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”108″ c=”deck2″ amt=”7″][/card][/energy][/decklist] 

Something that you need to keep in mind is that [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]’s damage and HP are resources. You want to get as much value as possible from each of Charizard’s attacks, which are weaker at the beginning of the game. You also want to keep in mind that Charizard may receive damage after it attacks, so you always have to evaluate the most efficient use of these resources (damage and HP) in your quest for six Prize cards. I would sometimes get punished when I carelessly attacked with Charizard, and rewarded when I planned out my game more meticulously.

[cardimg name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”225″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Between [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card]’s Quick Search, you basically always have whatever you want. The Charizard player is the one with the agency, so you really have to know what you’re doing with this deck to push it to its limits. Not to mention, Charizard ex is a beast itself. Charizard has a ridiculous amount of HP. Its attack is crazy for two Fire Energy, getting a clean two shot on anything, as well as big one-shots at the end of the game.

You can play similarly as [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]-based decks like Sablezard, aiming to get two Prizes at some point in the first several turns, and using Burning Darkness as a nuke to take four Prizes across back-to-back turns to close out the game in the blink of an eye. Basically, Charizard ex is so good that you don’t need any other attackers. Sometimes you do attack with Pidgeot ex though.

A common mistake that I see is players prioritizing getting Charizard ex into play over Pidgeot ex, in order to attack as fast as possible. Sometimes this is correct, but often it is not. I will sometimes prioritize setting up Pidgeot ex even if it delays my attack by one turn. Quick Search provides so much consistency and control over the game that it is almost always required. Sometimes against [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card], you don’t bother with it, as Charizard can efficiently deal with those decks on its own, and they typically play multiple copies of [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] anyway.

We found the 90 HP [card name=”Charmeleon” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”27″ c=”name”][/card] to be very helpful, especially since it has great synergy with [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card]. Level Ball offers lots of consistency, so we played two copies of it. It is very easy for this list to build multiple Charizard ex thanks to the easy access to Charmeleon. We decided that [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”name”][/card] was unnecessary without Radiant Charizard. However, the lack of Nest Ball can be felt when you want to combo Arven into [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] in the middle or later stages of the game.

One Pokemon has quickly become standard in Charizard decks is [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card], after being popularized by several strong Japanese players. However, many of them cut Arven entirely and used Rotom to make up for that, but the Arven engine works too perfectly for this deck. Basically, since we are relying on Arven, we have to play Forest Seal Stone as part of the package. Therefore, we must play a Pokemon V, and Rotom is the best candidate. Rotom is great because it accelerates your starts and helps you recover from bad hands at any point in the game with its convenient Instant Charge Ability. After all, you often don’t want [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] in play, but may still want access to that Forest Seal Stone.

A no-brainer tech card we included was [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] due to the prevalence of [card name=”Medicham V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], as it completely neutralizes both of those threats. Some Charizard lists have cut the [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card], but that card is just way too good. It is slightly weaker in this list because we play the minimum amount of Energy cards, which you want to retreat into and out of Mew, but its Ability is just too valuable. Mew dramatically spikes the consistency of the deck, and it gives you playable options when forced to go first.

Speaking of which, you choose to go second in almost every matchup. The only ones you want to go first against are [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], and maybe Rapid Strike (I am unsure about that last one). The reason is because this deck heavily relies on Arven for [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card], so going first drastically reduces your chances of hitting that turn 1 Battle VIP Pass and getting that perfect setup for turn 2. [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] for Lumineon just does not hit the same way when you have to go first.

I got a ton of mileage from [card name=”Professor’s Research” set=”Celebrations” no=”23″ c=”name”][/card], and I am glad we played it over a fourth [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] or any other card. Professor’s Research is just strong, but you never need to use more than one in a game. The one copy was often fetched with Lumineon V or Forest Seal Stone. You could also Quick Search for it in the early-game, as your hand was often exhausted during your initial set up, especially if you had to use an Ultra Ball or two.

I am glad that we went with the [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Justified Gloves” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card]. I had wanted to play [card name=”Defiance Band” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card] to save that precious deck spot, but Azul was adamant on the Gloves plus Band combination because they “cover every situation.” Defiance Band, in just one card spot, covers every situation, but only when you are behind in Prizes. The idea, of course, is that if you are winning already, then you are fine. In reality, that is not always the case, and I often needed Vitality Band and Justified Gloves. And of course, sometimes you are just tied in Prize cards.

Vitality Band shines in the [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] and mirror matchups, which are always nail-biters that you appreciate having the edge in. You may sometimes use it against Chien-Pao or Miraidon, or other random situations. Justified Gloves, of course, is only good in the mirror. You will almost always win if your opponent doesn’t also have Justified Gloves, and at the very least, you don’t always lose if they do. It just so happens that Defiance Band covers very few relevant situations that are not also covered by the combination of Vitality Band and Justified Gloves.

We played five Stadium counters to deal with Path to the Peak, with all five of them having some sort of additional function. [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] is the obvious one. [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”name”][/card] removes your own Rotom V or Lumineon V from play if your opponent does not KO it first. It can also be helpful to prevent your opponent from utilizing their own Collapsed Stadium. [card name=”Lost City” set=”Lost Origin” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] helps a lot against Lost Zone decks, and it basically forces Gardevoir to immediately respond to it. [card name=”Artazon” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] was originally a Nest Ball, but it makes more sense as Artazon to counter Path. Shoutout to Grant Shen for pointing out this fact during our dazed midnight scramble to build this deck at the last minute.

We also made some greedy decisions in this list, which allowed us to play all of the cards we wanted. Seven copies of Fire Energy, one [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card], and one Forest Seal Stone is definitely the bare minimum and may get punished from time to time. However, it turned out fine. You just had to be careful with your Energy cards. I was always very hesitant to commit my Energy to the board, as I know just how sketchy things can get once your resources start running thin.

The only change I would consider going forward is adding a [card name=”Minior” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”99″ c=”name”][/card] to beat Snorlax Stall, but even that doesn’t work against the Pidgeot ex version. Nest Ball could also be nice to have sometimes, but I think the second Level Ball is better on average.

Charizard ex Matchups

Charizard ex Mirror

[cardimg name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”215″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

The mirror is actually somewhat complicated. Using [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] is fine, but you obviously shouldn’t if you don’t think you have to, as it gives the opponent an easy target. The idea is that they cannot take a two Prize KO when you are at four Prizes, but they can if you have Rotom on the board. Taking the first Prize if you can is good, but you have little control over that.

After you take a Prize, take out another single-Prize Pokemon because you don’t want to go to three Prizes. You want to go straight from six to four to two so that your opponent cannot easily take out your [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] with the [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] play.

In the same way, you want to force your opponent to go to three Prizes if possible and then take out their Pidgeot ex. Without Pidgeot in play, [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] has to draw [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] at least once, which can be difficult to do after getting hit by an [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card]. Because of this, feeding your opponent a Rotom when they are at five Prizes is actually good, but if they are smart, they won’t take the bait. Some Charizard lists actually played [card name=”Tool Jammer” set=”Battle Styles” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card], so keeping a [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] around for that may be important.

If you are the initial aggressor, you will probably end up two-shotting an opposing Charizard at some point, which is fine. If you aren’t, you will probably go for a 1-1-2-2 line (without even hitting a Charizard), but it really just depends on how everything shakes out. Of course, Justified Gloves is crucial for closing out games because it lets your Charizard one-shot opposing Charizard when they are on two Prizes.

Gardevoir ex

The [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] matchup is tough, but not abysmal. You want to get a fast two Prize lead. You can take out two single-Prize Pokemon as fast as possible, and try to do so before they start taking big KO’s. You don’t want to go ahead by just one Prize if you think they will immediately get a two-Prize KO. It is fine to do nothing sometimes. You do not want to activate [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Reversal Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] until you get a substantial lead. If you stay even on Prizes, it will be very difficult for them to get a big KO on Charizard, and you can end the game with back-to-back two Prize KO’s.

Basically, your default game plan is to get a two Prize head start with your superior speed. Your backup game plan is to stay even on Prizes and prevent them from using Reversal Energy. This is used if your start is subpar, or if you think they can take a big two Prize KO after you get only a one Prize lead.

Both [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] can stop [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Scream Tail” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] if necessary, but they aren’t always required. The Ember Charmander is sometimes useful, as they may take a KO with a Shining Arcana [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] with 100 damage on it. If that’s the case and they are also on even Prizes, return the KO with Ember Charmander. Unless you can checkmate them by KO’ing the Gardevoir ex, of course.

In general, you don’t always KO the Gardevoir ex, but you do sometimes. Other times it is bait, and you just have to use your better judgement based on the board state and Prize count. KO whatever makes the most sense, and use Iono for disruption when you aren’t using Boss’s Orders and they have a big hand.

Miraidon ex

Set up [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] when it is convenient, but don’t place as much of an emphasis on it as usual. Charizard ex alone is often sufficient. If you are able to set up multiple Charizard, Pidgeot may just be bait, because you want to make it difficult for them to take Prize cards. Save your [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] counters if you are against the Path version, or if you don’t know which version you are against.

Leaving [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] on the bench is effective against the Path to the Peak version as well. Lost Vacuum can be used against [card name=”Bravery Charm” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”173″ c=”name”][/card] in crucial spots during the match. Just throw Charizard at them and make them deal with it. Using Boss’s Orders to target their lower-HP two-Prize Pokemon can be an efficient means to take Prize cards when you cannot KO their Active Spot Pokemon.

Mew VMAX

Basically everything for the Miraidon matchup applies to the [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] matchup as well. Just swap Bravery Charm for [card name=”Box of Disaster” set=”Lost Origin” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], and you need fewer attacks to beat Mew.

Giratina VSTAR

[cardimg name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG69″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Two-shot the first [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] for your first two Prizes if possible. If you can use Boss’s Orders and one-shot another [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] for your second two Prizes, that is ideal. Otherwise, just take the single-Prize KO. Don’t try to two-shot two separate Giratina, as that is just inefficient. Conserve Path to the Peak counters, and don’t instantly bump Path if you don’t have to. You do often want to though, especially if there’s an incoming [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] or if you want to Quick Search for something.

Leaving an unused Forest Seal Stone on your Bench is a very effective way of countering Roxanne plus Path to the Peak. Put Jirachi on your Bench right before [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] becomes a threat. Manaphy is to be used if you foresee [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] being a threat, but often that is not the case. Fortunately, Giratina’s moves are always very telegraphed, so if you have some experience playing against it, you always know what you need to play around. You don’t need to go for Manaphy or Jirachi right away, as it takes them some time to build up the Lost Zone.

Try to build up multiple Charizard while you can, as your opponent is likely to play [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] to KO your Pidgeot in the mid-game.

Lost Box

Most Lost Box decks are fairly easy to deal with. Manaphy neutralizes the threat of Radiant Greninja and [card name=”Kyogre” set=”Celebrations” no=”3″ c=”name”][/card], and Jirachi similarly shuts off Sableye. Charizard iex s very difficult for them to deal with. If they use [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card], return the KO with [card name=”Lost City” set=”Lost Origin” no=”161″ c=”name”][/card] to remove it permanently. Furthermore, you can easily spam Iono at convenient times to cripple their hand.

Others

Chien-Pao is somewhat difficult, but very winnable. If you can remove [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card] and use Iono, that is the most reliable way to beat [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card]. Lost City can be useful against Bibarel, or even [card name=”Baxcalibur” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”60″ c=”name”][/card] if the situation is just right.

Rapid Strike can be tough as well, just focus your attacks on the Pokemon VMAX or the Pokemon V that are likely to evolve into Pokemon VMAX, and go for a 3-3 Prize card line to win the game. Stagger your uses of [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] after the initial Pidgeot Ex and Charizard ex, and make use of [card name=”Charmeleon” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”27″ c=”name”][/card], as one attack from [card name=”Technical Machine: Devolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”177″ c=”name”][/card] will undo your early Rare Candy plays at once.

One deck that is impossible to beat is [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card]. Get a setup of just Charizard ex and Pidgeot ex with two Energy each and start swinging. When they use [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card], evolve into Charmeleon and KO Mimikyu with Lost Vacuum plus Lost City. [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] recovers the Energy you used to retreat your first Charizard, and Charmeleon evolves into Charizard to finish things off. Use Quick Search for cards like Level Ball and Ultra Ball. When you topdeck a bad Basic Pokemon, search a bunch of them out and use Iono to put them all on the bottom of your deck to play around [card name=”Erika’s Invitation” set=”151″ no=”160″ c=”name”][/card].

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is an incredibly strong deck right now, and I always enjoy playing it alongside [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] and that amazing Quick Search Ability. Hopefully this helps you understand the deck a little bit more, which will be helpful playing with or against it.

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