Molten Reflection — Looking Back on Knoxville and Updating Charizard ex
Hey everyone! Isaiah here, and I am happy to be writing another article for you all. Last time, I discussed [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] and its recent dramatic transformation thanks to innovations lead by two-time World Championship Finalist Ross Cawthon. With a new shift to a [card name=”Galarian Moltres V” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card] focused build, the deck has seen a remarkable surge in popularity, often making it to the top of the charts for most played decks at Regional Championships. The deck had a remarkable conversion rate at the Knoxville Regional Championship, making up around 20% of Day 2 and with two in Top 8 and another at tenth.
[cardimg name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”251″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The new shift in perception around Roaring Moon ex decks has been remarkable to witness, with the deck shifting from being around low Tier 2 to being arguably Tier 1 in the current format. Speaking of decks with unusual conversion rates, [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] seems like it has fallen off on the consistency of its success. The deck went from one of the most consistently successful archetypes to only appearing in the Top 8 of Knoxville, Melbourne, and Dortmund one time total (in Melbourne where it got second, played by Haru Nishikawa). Not only that, but one Charizard ex deck was even in the Top 32 of Knoxville, and it was piloted by myself.
Seeing the unusual drop-off in success makes genuinely no sense to me, as the deck certainly did not get worse! The deck does have a somewhat fringe [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] matchup, which is a deck that has picked up a bit in popularity after Ryan Antonucci’s win in Knoxville; however, this should not have influenced Charizard ex’s results at Knoxville, as the deck did not have that major surge in popularity that it had in Dortmund. My next attempt at an explanation would be Roaring Moon ex tanking the deck’s win rate, but I would say that matchup is favored for Charizard ex, so I am not sure how that would have happened… I still maintain that the deck is genuinely one of the best decks in the current format, even with the recent shifts in the meta, but as I make that case, I also wanted to highlight some of my experiences and what I learned at Knoxville now that I have some hands-on experience with the deck at a Regional Championship.
What I Learned in Knoxville
Before Knoxville, I had played a reasonable amount of Charizard ex on the ladder, but I did not get to practice as much as I would have liked before the event, partially because I was also trying to learn [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] as well as I could in case I decided to play it. As a result, most of my understanding was based on my limited experience and some theory.
My first major test came in round one when I hit Gardevoir ex, one of the deck’s hardest matchups. This game alone ended up being super eye-opening on how to consider the matchup, and it was also the only round of the entire weekend that I regretted removing [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] from my deck (more on that later). In my experience, the most important thing to do in this matchup is to just keep removing [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] from the board. If you can go first (especially relevant in Game 2 and Game 3), then you are often able to get two Prize cards before they can take one, which is a big lead to take. If you can [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] a Kirlia after they Mirage Step, there is a fair chance that you can cause them to miss a Knock Out on a Charizard ex or [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card], forcing them to take a Knock Out on [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”name”][/card] or something if they need to take two Prize cards that turn. On this turn, it is very appealing to then Knock Out their Gardevoir ex, but it is imperative that you don’t, and instead Knock Out a Kirlia again (or maybe the [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] that they attacked with if necessary). Then the opponent will be obligated to take a Knock Out on your Charizard ex or maybe a Pidgeot ex this turn.
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[cardimg name=”Technical Machine: Devolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”177″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
Now you are going to want to use a single-Prize Pokemon to Knock Out a damaged Gardevoir if possible (this is best done with [card name=”Technical Machine: Devolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”177″ c=”name”][/card] if they used [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] to get to Gardevoir ex) along with an [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card]. Now the Prize score is two to two, which is huge because it denies access to [card name=”Reversal Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card], meaning that it can be very difficult to Knock Out a two-Prize Pokemon with their small hand post-Iono and crippled draw support in the back. From this point, it is important to keep their hand as small as possible to try and deny the Knock Out to win them the game if you are unable to Knock Out their Gardevoir ex. Additionally, removing more Kirlia from the board in this position is very strong because of the strain it puts on their Gardevoir lines as they enter the late stages of the game. This strategy was extremely effective for me against Gardevoir ex players in Knoxville, allowing me to go 2-0 in the matchup.
My next major test of the weekend came in the form of Giratina VSTAR. While my first game of the matchup went pretty flawlessly and I essentially rolled my opponent, my second set against Jac Carter was a bit harder. He understood the matchup fairly well from what I could tell, which made the round extremely difficult. I felt like I was in a good spot to win Game 3, but [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] left me with a dead hand as time was called, and I was unable to close out the game in turns. It is extremely important in this matchup to try and avoid taking a lead in the early stages of the game (or ever, really). Hitting into a [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] or VSTAR is usually pretty good as a way to progress your game while not taking Prizes since it makes it easier to Knock Out that Giratina later, reducing the total number of attacks needed from that point in the game. If you are lucky, your opponent may do what one of my Giratina VSTAR opponents did, which was that, by taking a Prize with [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card], I was able to hit a Giratina VSTAR for 240, then [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”132″ c=”name”][/card] another Giratina VSTAR and hit it for 240 too, and finally, I played an Iono and used Technical Machine: Devolution to Knock Out both Giratina at the same time while also leaving them with three cards in hand. They did not know I played Technical Machine: Devolution, so this might not always work, but when it does work it is typically game-ending. In this matchup, the most important thing in the world is to try and build a board as resilient to Roxanne as possible as you take your third Prize card. If you can save your [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card] for this point in the game, that is ideal, as it is a good way to still find what you need post-Roxanne if your Pidgeot ex has been Knocked Out.
[cardimg name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”223″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
My last major test was the [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] mirror, which should not have been that difficult, but I think a part of this was related to unfortunate luck. On Day 1, I tied a mirror because I started Charmander, attach, pass, and got Knocked Out Turn 2 (and then I ended up being a turn short of winning Game 3 in time). My loss on Day 2 was partially because I played like an absolute moron, for lack of a better term, but also partially because of some unlucky circumstances. Game 1 I prized my second [card name=”Technical Machine: Devolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”177″ c=”name”][/card] and I was not drawing well enough to win the mirror without a second one. In Game 2, I had my second Technical Machine: Devolution, but by a stroke of bizarre luck, my opponent had prized their last [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card] so they did not burn it on a Pidgeot ex and then right before I used my second Technical Machine: Devolution, they took it from the Prizes so they were able to take their final Prize cards to win the set. I probably could have played both games differently, but it was a weird experience. One of my biggest takeaways in the matchup is to keep [card name=”Pidgey” set=”151″ no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] off the board and to abuse Technical Machine: Devolution as much as possible. Eventually, you can set up a board state where you can cripple them with Technical Machine: Devolution plus [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] and sweep from there. A small wrench that can be thrown in this plan, though, is the new Charmeleon, which I am going to devote more time to discussing shortly.
The Deck List
As for the deck list that I played itself, I was very happy with it. It was pretty much exactly Caleb Rogerson’s deck list from Charlotte, but I cut [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] for a second Technical Machine: Devolution and rearranged the Charmander split. With these changes, the deck list ended up as follows.
[decklist name=”zard knox” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″][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]2x [card name=”Charmander” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”26″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Charmander” set=”151″ no=”4″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]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=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”126″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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][/pokemon][trainers amt=”37″]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=”Shining Fates” no=”60″ 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=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”194″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Technical Machine: Devolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”177″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”176″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Artazon” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”6″]6x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”6″][/card][/energy][/decklist]
Deck List Breakdown
Manaphy
[cardimg name=”Manaphy” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG06″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
The lack of Manaphy was a calculated risk that paid off pretty well for me, but I am unsure if that is correct going forward. Barring the one round against [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] where [card name=”Scream Tail” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] was pretty annoying, I did not miss having the protection for my Bench. Even against [card name=”Gholdengo ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card], I never got hit by Moonlight Shuriken early enough for it to matter. Oftentimes, the opponent drawing well enough for them to Moonlight Shuriken before you can set up is the writing on the wall for a loss regardless of if there is a Manaphy in your deck anyway, and once you set up, Manaphy is almost strictly a liability, so including the second [card name=”Technical Machine: Devolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”177″ c=”name”][/card] in its place seemed correct. As for why we kept [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] instead of Manaphy, it was largely based on fear of Technical Machine: Devolution in [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] / [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] deck lists, which is what I ended up playing against in Round 15, and Jirachi was instrumental in me winning that round. The card is also critical against [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] decks which can use Sableye to put you in bad board positions if you do not have Jirachi in play to check it.
Super Rod, Radiant Charizard, and Choice Belt
One of the biggest criticisms that I have seen from people with little [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] experience is that playing a second [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] over a seventh Fire Energy seems bad, but after playing with it, I think that the 6-2 split is perfect. Not only that, but I genuinely think that 5-3 would be better than 7-1. Super Rod is unbelievably good in this deck, not just for putting Energy back in the deck, but it also allows you to recover tech Pokemon pretty seamlessly when paired with [card name=”Artazon” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] (I was able to recover Jirachi back-to-back turns in Round 15!), and it also allows you to use [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] way more effectively. Speaking of which, Radiant Charizard is an unbelievably good card, which is something that I had mentioned in a Charizard ex article previously, but the card is unbelievable now, largely thanks to the surge in [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] decks. The addition of [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card] also makes the card much more effective, allowing it to reach up to 280 against Giratina VSTAR, giving you an effective way to KO them while not jeopardizing a Charizard ex.
Level Ball
Another common criticism that I have seen is about [card name=”Level Ball” set=”Battle Styles” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card] over [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”name”][/card]. At first, I thought that Nest Ball was better, partially for accessibility to Radiant Charizard, but as my sample size of games increased, the value of Level Ball was apparent, a majority of the time the cards do the same thing, getting a Charmander or a [card name=”Pidgey” set=”151″ no=”16″ c=”name”][/card] while setting up, but later in the game, Level Ball can find [card name=”Charmeleon” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”27″ c=”name”][/card], which is HUGE. It makes stabilizing a board for when [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] gets Knocked Out way easier, making you less reliant on [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”name”][/card], and it also makes playing around Technical Machine: Devolution much easier by making it more likely that you establish Charmeleon early. The card honestly blew me away and I refuse to play without at least one.
What Changes With Paldean Fates
In general, Paldean Fates is a pretty mediocre set when it comes to impact on competitive play. One of the more notable cards is Moonlit Hill, which is a questionable inclusion in [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] decks at best. I think that Charizard ex gains a lot with the new Charmeleon, but it also makes the mirror much weirder. Before, I thought that [card name=”Technical Machine: Devolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”177″ c=”name”][/card] almost completely solved the mirror, often allowing you to leave them with a pretty pathetic board once they burn through all of their Rare Candy. Charmeleon throws a wrench in this plan, meaning that a board of Charizard ex, [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card], and Charmeleon does not even need a Rare Candy to attack again, allowing you to save the remaining Rare Candy for the end of the game to close it out once the Charizard ex that evolved from Charmeleon goes down.
As a result of this new problem, I have been trying to find a solution to how to handle the mirror, and I have been largely unsuccessful. One of my first ideas was to go back to one Technical Machine: Devolution, as the card still has some utility in the mirror as well as in other matchups, but I am still unsure if this is good enough. Another idea that I have been experimenting with is re-adding [card name=”Justified Gloves” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”143″ c=”name”][/card] into my deck list, but the card is maybe a bit too niche to be worth including, as it only matters in very specific mirror board states and occasionally against [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card]. Another option could even be to revert to playing more consistency cards or something like that, which does not seem like a horrible idea, but I want to make sure neither of the Pokemon Tool options that I have been messing with are going to work before I abandon them.
Other than the shift in the mirror, Paldean Fates does not change much for [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] or the meta at all. Seeing the results of the Dortmund Regional Championship does scare me a bit about playing Charizard ex in the future, but I think that I may still find myself playing the deck in Vancouver at the end of March, as I do think the deck is still easily one of the best decks in Standard despite its seemingly weaker results as of late.
Conclusion
In these final months of the E block format, I would say that most things are fairly solved, and this format has a lot of cool decks to offer. With big Basics, Stage 1s, and Stage 2s all being viable, there is something for everyone to enjoy, and with decks with a variety of skillsets required to play them, the format provides a unique test for even the most experienced players. I think that this format will almost certainly be looked back on fondly, largely thanks to this diversity.
[cardimg name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG67″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]
In diverse formats like this, the best strategy is frequently to play the best deck that you can. In the case of the Lost Origin format, [card name=”Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] became a good example of this as a deck that was clearly the most reliable and powerful deck in that format. Many players saw large amounts of success with the deck in the format, even if it was unable to win a major tournament in that time. I think that [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] is this format’s Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR in a lot of ways. The decks play in a somewhat similar manner, doing little for most turns in the game while having powerful swing turns at times, but they also are both very consistent and can reliably find combo pieces that they need at any point in the game, allowing for skilled players to command games with ease while also being easily accessible to players that have not played the decks very much. Charizard ex also possesses the unique ability to overpower some of the decks that are more popular in tournaments, such as Roaring Moon ex or [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card], meaning that the deck is an excellent choice if you are hoping to make your first deep run at a Regional Championship. Going forward, I highly recommend devoting time to this archetype, as I think it is certainly here to stay as we move into the next format.
With that, this article draws to a close. I went with a slightly different style than my typical articles this time, so I hope it was still a good read. As always, feel free to reach out in the comments or on social media if you have any questions!
Until next time!
– Isaiah
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