It’s Still You! — Charizard’s Identity Crisis in a World of Budew

[cardimg name=”Charizard ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”234″ align=”left” c=”none”][/cardimg]Hello PokeBeach readers! Isaiah here, and I am happy to be writing another article for you all! Last time, I discussed [card name=”Archaludon ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card], including discussion about why I wanted to play it in San Antonio if I had gone to the event and also how the deck has potential going forward in this format. Now that we have had a bit of time to play the new format with the ever-present Budew, there is a lot to be said about where things can go for a lot of the format’s best decks. Slower archetypes with strong late-games like [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”29″ c=”name”][/card] are the clear winners of the set with so many of the best decks in the format dramatically slowing down, giving these archetypes that may have been considered too slow to be great a new way to match pace with everything else. A lot of the format is choosing to go second right now, too, so [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] has gained a lot by consistently getting to go first and execute its game plan before its opponents, provided it is not stopped by Budew and/or [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card].

As for the losers, there is not deck that has lost as much as [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] has in this format, changing from a year-defining titan to being a deck that is probably barely Tier Two thanks to the introduction of Budew. Initially, I was optimistic that Regidrago VSTAR would be surviving Budew, but the more I see, the worse I feel about the likelihood of that happening. Another deck that has taken quite a massive hit is [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card]. Previously, this deck has been something of a comfort pick for me, being the perfect answer to formats where I do not really like anything else, but in this format, I wonder if the deck is capable of taking that role anymore or not. Budew is clearly an issue for any deck that is reliant on Rare Candy, and Charizard ex is probably the most reliant on Rare Candy of any meta-relevant Stage 2 that has been released in the last few years. This is mostly because, when compared to [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Drakloak” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”129″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Charmeleon” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] is a pretty terrible card with very little functional purpose, so you basically just have to play Rare Candy or completely shift the deck in a way that causes it to lose the identity it has held for the last few formats as being the most reliable Rare Candy Stage 2 deck in the last decade. For a baseline on this discussion about Charizard ex, how about we start with my friend Michael Bio’s 14th Place Charizard ex deck list from the San Antonio Regional Championship.

[decklist name=”mbio zard” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″][pokemon amt=”19″]2x [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Charmeleon” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”8″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Charmander” set=”151″ no=”4″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dusclops” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Duskull” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”60″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Rotom V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”58″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”36″]4x [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Briar” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Turo’s Scenario” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Thorton” set=”Lost Origin” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”196″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Rare Candy” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”191″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Precious Trolley” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Canceling Cologne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Defiance Band” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Collapsed Stadium” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”137″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”5″]5x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card][/energy][/decklist]Following the release of Shrouded Fable and later Stellar Crown, Charizard ex turned from being a powerful midrange deck with a pretty good late game into a powerful [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”name”][/card] combo deck that was impressive to watch when played at the top level, and extremely difficult to beat for most archetypes in the format. As the format started to pick up pace, this went from being a powerful way to play the deck to being the only way to play the deck, and while that is not necessarily a bad thing, if this strategy ever became ineffective, problems would exist for the deck. When we worked together on the deck list that Michael played for San Antonio, we recognized that this game plan is by far Charizard ex’s biggest strength right now, so we wanted to make sure that his deck list was as good as possible when going first, committing some extra space to Item search cards like [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card]and [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”name”][/card] where other players would remove them from [card name=”Precious Trolley” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] deck lists. The unfortunate reality that one has to face, though, is that building to go first is much less valuable in the new format now with the problem of likely never getting to play a lot of these items when you cannot play them with [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card] on Turn Two if needed thanks to the threat of Itchy Pollen. This is where Charizard ex finds its first of many issues in the new format.

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Building for a Blind Second Format

[cardimg name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”235″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Historically, Charizard ex has always been fine with the possibility of going second. Before Buddy-Buddy Poffin released in Temporal Forces, going second was a necessity so you could find [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card] on the first turn of the game, as you would really struggle to setup without it. This problem was alleviated a bit with the release of Buddy-Buddy Poffin, though, giving you a way to setup on your second turn with a bad turn one, meaning that just choosing to go first and saying that you will either high roll into a good turn one and get a huge lead or you will settle for effectively going second was often the ideal strategy. In the Budew era, we are presented with a new issue, through, as choosing to go first and then missing could lead to us never getting to set up at all. Naturally, the best course of action here is probably to just trim down the Item search in the deck, play more powerful techs, and just blind second. After all, most of why blind first was required in the previous format was because of [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] getting to easily Trifrost or Phantom Dive on Turn Two going first, meaning that your board would often get crippled before you even get to play, but now that Regidrago VSTAR has seemingly fallen off the face of the Earth, blinding second is a pretty fair strategy.

There’s just one problem: Everyone wants to go second right now.

Thanks to the presence of Budew in the format, almost every deck in the game is choosing to go second blind right now. This is done partially to get the first Budew attack, but also partially for the purpose of making sure that you get value out of as many Items as you can before you get hit with Itchy Pollen. The fact that everything is choosing to blind second right now creates a huge fundamental issue for a deck that needs to go second a lot of the time. In the past, blind second decks usually exist in a format where there are few other decks choosing to go second, so you stand to gain a significant benefit from basically always getting to play the game how you want to, but when everyone is choosing second, it starts to become better to be going first because you frequently get to play the game how you prefer. In the case of Charizard ex, we are faced with huge problem in this situation, as we face a cyclical dilemma. If we build to go second and cut Items, we then get punished more harshly for being forced to go first. To solve this, we add more items to solve the problem, but then it feels like we are wasting deck space to solve the problem of maybe being forced to go first sometimes, so maybe we consider going first. If we start to choose first, then if we do whiff, we get punished by Budew and have a bunch of worthless Item Cards in our deck. Because of the threat of Budew, we want to choose second, but in doing so, the extra items feel useless, so we want to trim them for powerful cards, but then we lose to being forced to go first, bringing us back to where we started. In reality, this issue is not to bad of a problem on its own, as we could just settle for an unchanging list and solve the problem reasonably well because we already have the cards we want, but of course, problems arise if we need to add more cards to the deck to solve other issues, which, of course, takes us into our next problem.

How Does a Rare Candy Deck Beat Budew?

Great question! I do not really know! Jokes aside, we do have some options.

Option One: Do Nothing

Surprisingly, I do think this is one of the more viable options, but it is a bit risky. A lot of the decks that are actually using Budew are not particularly threatening with Budew on its own, so we could just sit and use Instant Charge for a while until we find [card name=”Charmeleon” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”8″ c=”name”][/card] and manually set up a Charizard ex, or maybe we can find some Energy to Knock Out the Budew with Pidgey or Charmander to break the Item Lock. While this option is not terrible, I do think it comes with some problems, most notably [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card]. As I mentioned previously, Lugia VSTAR is on the rise, so Spiritomb to slow it down and shut down Wyrdeer V is pretty likely to appear in several decks right now, and this provides a form of collateral damage to our Charizard ex deck, as it shuts off Instant Charge, denying the “sit and wait” game plan. Additionally, I did not mention this previously, but it also can shut down a Turn One Lumineon V if we choose to go second, which is another way that blinding second can get punished without an excess of consistency cards. Also, even if you included a card like [card name=”Vitality Band” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”197″ c=”name”][/card] or maybe even [card name=”Rocky Helmet” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”193″ c=”name”][/card] (yes, you read that right) you could help address Budew faster and with Arven, but then you are probably giving them access to cards like [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card], which can be super dangerous for an underdeveloped board.

Option Two: Grand Tree

I have long said that [card name=”Grand Tree” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] is the “baseline” ACE SPEC in Charizard ex, where an ACE SPEC can only be considered playable in the deck if it is better than what is, effectively, a fifth Rare Candy. This comes mostly from a place of not really liking seeing the card in Charizard ex deck lists, but also recognizing that the card could be useful at some point, and that time is now. In a world where I consider Precious Trolley to be the most useful ACE SPEC in Charizard ex, I do have to acknowledge that the card is a bit redundant, which is important in this context because it does also indicate that the card is not a necessity. If we play more Buddy-Buddy Poffin to account for removing the card, it is far less disastrous on the consistency, and in return we get an extremely effective way to get Pidgeot ex in play against Budew decks as long as we also include a [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”151″ no=”17″ c=”name”][/card]. In my testing, this has been very, very useful and often game winning. The Budew decks are really slow and reliant on getting free time from Budew, so if you can make it so that Budew is effectively useless against you, they will easily get rolled. Of course, the big issue with Grand Tree is that the card allows your opponent to also benefit from it, but I think this drawback is a bit overstated, as you getting to setup is way more valuable than them maybe getting a Dragapult ex in play a turn sooner at most.

Option Three: Technical Machine: Evolution

This one can be broken down into two styles, where you either commit a ton of space to a really dense [card name=”Technical Machine: Evolution” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”178″ c=”name”][/card] package with multiple Charmeleon, multiple Technical Machines, and often an [card name=”Energy Search” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”172″ c=”name”][/card] or you can keep it a bit more simple and just play one Technical Machine and one Pidgeotto to get value out of it. Of the two choices here, I much prefer the latter, mostly because it is completely unrealistic to ever fit as many cards as the first choice would require you to play. With this second option, we are provided with a pretty solid option for at least slightly reducing the deck’s dependence on Rare Candy without committing the ACE SPEC slot or really any remotely significant amount of space, which is a huge plus, but I do worry that this option is a bit ineffective. While you can get your Evolutions in play, you still have to find the Stage 2s themselves, which you are likely only play two of each, and without access to Ultra Ball, the only way you can realistically find them is going to be with [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], but that feels like a bit of a waste of a VSTAR power. This, of course, is balanced by the fact that something like Grand Tree likely also can only be found by using Forest Seal Stone, but the card has a bit more of an instant payoff and also has the benefit of being useful throughout a longer game where it stays in play.

How Do We Adapt?

[cardimg name=”Grand Tree” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”136″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Now that we have examined the two biggest issues that Charizard ex is facing in the new format, we have to consider how we want to implement these adaptations into a deck list, which is where the actual problems start to appear. It is a bit difficult to fit everything that I would want to play in a Charizard ex deck while also being able to solve the issues that the deck faces in the format, so figuring out how to best leverage that space is the key. In my opinion, the best way to do this is going to be by continuing to play with the intention of going second but still play high counts of [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”name”][/card]because I am also cutting [card name=”Precious Trolley” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] in favor of [card name=”Grand Tree” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]. In my testing, while Technical Machine: Evolution has been useful at times, it does create some issues where the card is a bit awkward to use without a way to tutor for an Energy card to pay for Evolution’s attack cost, and then you also have to find the Stage 2 afterward anyway. The card just feels a bit too slow and sluggish while splashing in a Grand Tree feels really smooth and like a natural fit for the deck. As for other changes, I have decided to include my own Budew to possibly slow down the opponent’s ability to Budew me back, increasing my likelihood of being able to just play my own Rare Candy instead. I also included a [card name=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] as a way to handle Lugia VSTAR in the new format, as the matchup is pretty difficult now thanks to the new Regigigas. [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] sadly makes its departure now, too, in favor of a third copy of [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card], mostly just as a more reliable form of draw. I also have removed [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] from the deck because the card is a game-losing starter against Budew decks while also not providing much in the format. With these changes, my deck list has landed on the following.

[decklist name=”charizard budew” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″][pokemon amt=”19″]2x [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Charmeleon” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”8″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”Charmander” set=”151″ no=”4″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”164″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Pidgeotto” set=”151″ no=”17″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Dusclops” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”19″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Duskull” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”60″ 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=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Budew” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”43″ 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]2x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Briar” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”132″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Thorton” set=”Lost Origin” no=”167″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Professor Turo’s Scenario” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”171″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/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]4x [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Defiance Band” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”169″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ 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=”Temple of Sinnoh” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Grand Tree” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”136″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”5″]5x [card name=”Fire Energy” set=”HeartGold and SoulSilver” no=”116″ c=”deck2″ amt=”5″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Conclusion

As we move into a new era of the Pokemon TCG with the release of Budew, the format is set to change in many ways, but sometimes the best way to adapt to change is to stick to what is familiar. In my case, there is no deck that is as familiar to me as Charizard ex, so figuring out how to adapt it to the new format has been the number one focus of my testing so far in the new format, and I think that I have been able to find a reasonably good solution to my problems while retaining the spirit of the deck as a Pidgeot ex combo deck, which was the ultimate goal of adapting the deck to the new format. Grand Tree in particular feels like the key to the future of Charizard ex, acting as a reliable way to get to your Pidgeot ex under the menacing power of Itchy Pollen, especially when supplemented by a strong start from choosing to go second and possibly even a Budew of your own. Despite what people have claimed about the deck, I do confidently believe that this deck is here to stay for the foreseeable future, continuing to be the threat that it was before.

With that, this article comes to a close. As always, I hope you enjoyed giving this article a read, as the shift to guiding through my deck building process rather than analysis was a bit of an unusual spin for me. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out in the comments or on Social Media!

Until next time!

– Isaiah

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