Introduction

Hello, Cut or Tap readers! I’m Michael Davidson, a Master who recently aged up following a Seniors season including a Regional win, NAIC Top 8, Worlds Top 16, and numerous other Top Cuts, finishing 5th globally in Seniors Championship Point Rankings. I’ve made Day 2 in two out of four major events I’ve attended this season, with my highlight being an 11th place finish in Pittsburgh. I’ll be attending the Latin America International Championship, and am considering Charizard ex as a possible good play for the tournament. In this article, I discuss Charizard ex’s transition from the previous format to the new one, a new variant that could be equally as strong as the Pidgeot ex variant, and the matchups of both major variants.

 The Rise of Charizard Ex

Despite early hype for Charizard ex upon its release in Obsidian Flames, by the time the first Regional of the BST-OBF format rolled around (Pittsburgh Regionals), many players had written off Charizard ex as a top-tier archetype. This opinion was seemingly correct at the time, with only a single Charizard ex deck even making Top 64 in Pittsburgh. In Barcelona, a bit of new life was breathed into the deck as a Charizard ex deck featuring Radiant Greninja and the Lost Zone engine was able to place 3rd, with another Charizard ex (featuring Radiant Charizard and the Lost Zone engine) rounding out Top 16. This was still not enough for the majority of players, with those Lost Box-Charizard ex decks having quite apparent consistency issues (think Lost Zone Giratina with less consistency cards, and no ability to use Abyss Seeking to bail you out of a poor hand).

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