Charizard ex is the only Pokémon in the format capable of one-shotting any Pokémon. Crimson Storm (RRCC) deals 200 and requires discarding 2 R Energy. Once you power up Charizard Ex with R Energy thanks to Moltres ex’s Inferno Dance attack, there is no Pokémon that can withstand its attack
Charizard ex - Suggested decklist
Rarity requirements
◊◊◊◊ – Charizard ex, Moltres ex
◊◊ – Charmeleon, Sabrina
Booster requirements
The deck’s strategy is to begin with Moltres ex in the active position, utilizing Inferno Dance to power up the benched Charmander and other Moltres ex. While in the active spot, Moltres ex serves as a sturdy tank with 140 HP. The goal is to accumulate as much R Energy as possible before retreating Moltres ex and bringing in Charizard ex, allowing it to use Crimson Storm repeatedly.
If you can manage to keep Moltres ex alive for multiple turns, try to charge Charizard ex as much as possible so it can use Crimson Storm twice in a row once promoted to the Active.
Red Card is used to disrupt your opponent, especially if they haven’t committed their hand to the field—this is particularly effective against Stage 2 decks. In a meta dominated by decks with mostly Basic Pokémon, you can swap out one or both Red Cards for Giovanni to hit key damage thresholds with Slash (against cards like Electabuzz), in situations where charging up Crimson Storm isn’t feasible or when you want to conserve Energies for a bigger Pokémon.
Charizard ex - Rapidash variant
Rarity requirements
◊◊◊◊ – Charizard ex, Moltres ex
◊◊ – Charmeleon, Rapidash, Sabrina
Booster requirements
This version is slightly less aggressive but more resilient. It includes Rapidash as an additional Pokémon to be more proactive in the early game. Since Rapidash’s Fire Mane only costs R and can be used as early as turn 2, it doesn’t interfere too much with the Energy acceleration required for Charizard ex and offers a backup plan for when your start isn’t ideal. It also provides a fodder option when you’re hit by an opponent’s Sabrina: you lose less resources by promoting a Ponyta or Rapidash than a Charmander, Charmeleon or even Charizard that you took multiple turns powering up with Moltres ex.
Weaknesses
- The deck has a single plan: getting Moltres ex active on turn 1 and using Inferno Dance until Charizard ex is fully charged. It relies on a coin flip attack to pull this off.
- Being a stage 2 deck with no searchable bits, it is weak to quick decks and has a hard time against decks like Pikachu ex when they go second.
- Charizard ex takes time to charge up, even more when you consider that it’s safer to bring its Energy count to 5 to be able to use Crimson Storm twice in a row.
