Charizard EX 2025 Post Rotation

from Natalie Millar

his decklist has a ton of strong cards and shares a ton of similarities with the normal Charziard ex deck, specifically in pairing it with Pidgeot ex. Both of these cards compliment each other well, as they put your opponent into a difficult predicament - either they KO your Charizard ex that is attacking every turn or they KO your Pidgeot ex, which is often used to set up future Charizard exs.

What to Add

You often need a ton of support to set up that

from Natalie Millar

his decklist has a ton of strong cards and shares a ton of similarities with the normal Charziard ex deck, specifically in pairing it with Pidgeot ex. Both of these cards compliment each other well, as they put your opponent into a difficult predicament - either they KO your Charizard ex that is attacking every turn or they KO your Pidgeot ex, which is often used to set up future Charizard exs.

What to Add

You often need a ton of support to set up that initial Charizard ex and Pidgeot ex, which is why the first card I would look at adding to the deck is Cleffa OBF. Thankfully this card isn't too expensive as it's only a common, but it's Grasping Draw attack draws you cards until you have seven cards in your hand, which sets you up for getting both Charizard ex and Pidgeot ex into play on your turn two. Charizard ex decks in the current Standard format include Rotom V for its Instant Charge ability which fills a similar role to Cleffa, however many Charizard ex decks have moved away from Cleffa because you can't use it when you go first. Once Rotom V rotates out early next year, I'm expecting many more decks to adopt Cleffa to assist them in setting up which is why I would recommend adding it to this League Battle deck.

Additionally, I would also add a 2/1/1 line of Dusknoir from Shrouded Fable, with the Cursed Blast abilities. One of the biggest struggles that Charizard ex has is against decks that are able to advance the board without taking Prize cards, reducing the damage of your Burning Darkness attack. Dusclops and Dusknoir's Cursed Blast abilities let you knock themselves out, giving your opponent a Prize card and placing some damage counters on your opponent's Pokémon, five for Dusclops and 13 for Dusknoir. The Dusknoir line has found itself to be a staple in Charizard ex decks as it lets them be much more aggressive, as you can initiate the Prize trade with massive Burning Darknesses without your opponent being able to respond!

With the Dusknoir line, I also would add Night Stretcher and Briar to the deck. Briar is really strong when you can manipulate your opponent's prize cards with Cursed Blast, as you can lead the game to a point where you are guaranteed to close it with a Briar, even if you didn't attack for the first few turns! Night Stretcher is also very helpful with the Dusknoir line, as you can play Night Stretcher to help recover the pieces, and re-evolve them in the same turn! You can also recover pieces of the Charizard or Pidgeot lines, making Night Stretcher a very useful card to play.

I also would add some copies of Counter Catcher. Charizard ex naturally leads itself to making comebacks as Burning Darkness does more damage with your opponent taking more Prize cards and Counter Catcher helps facilitate this by bringing up opposing benched Pokémon when you are behind on Prize cards. Combining Counter Catcher with an Iono is one of the strongest things you can do in the format, and it contributes to a lot of the wins you get as Charizard ex, which is why I'm surprised that Counter Catcher isn't already included in the deck. I also chose to move to the 3/3 split of Iono and Arven, as well as add a Pal Pad. Arven is one of your best early game Supporter cards, and with Pal Pad you never worry about accidentally discarding important Supporter cards. I would also add a Jamming Tower over an Artazon as a Stadium bump to the deck, as removing the effects of Tools is really strong in the Pokémon TCG. You can find it at the moment you need it with Pidgeot ex, making the one Jamming Tower a worthwhile inclusion.

Professor Turo's Scenario is another card I've added to the deck. One of the strongest aspects of Charizard ex is its massive 330 HP, and if your opponent hits into the Charizard ex and you manage to pick it up with a Professor Turo's Scenario and attack that turn, you can essentially wipe a whole attack away from your opponent. You can also use Professor Turo's Scenario to pick up any other liability on your bench, if your opponent is unable to deal with your Charizard ex. I also chose to remove a bunch of the Energy from the deck and add a second Super Rod for more space, as you don't need too many Energy with Infernal Reign and it's important to have the extra Super Rod to get Energy back into your deck. I also chose to remove the three copies of Moltres MEW, as Counter Catcher and the Dusknoir line fill that role, without forcing you to spend your Infernal Reign on it. I also would personally cut the Prime Catcher from the deck, as Counter Catcher fills that role well. I would add Unfair Stamp, as it turns your Arvens into pseudo Roxannes when your opponent takes knockouts, and you can sometimes end the game on turn two if an Unfair Stamp sticks! Prime Catcher is still an incredibly useful card as it goes in a ton of other top tier decks and likely will post-rotation, but I think that Unfair Stamp is a better fit in Charizard ex.

One other note is that I would swap the Pidgey to the one from Obsidian Flames, as it has more HP and survives a Cursed Blast from a Dusclops, whereas the one from 151 does not with its 50 HP.

This leaves the deck in a good spot for now, and I'll list the changes below!

One card that I would also add but is a bit pricier than these other cards is Fezandpiti ex. Fezandipiti ex's Flip the Script ability lets you draw three cards if one of your Pokémon was knocked out last turn, giving you an incredible consistency boost, as it helps you chain Charizard exs against an opponent who is KOing them every turn. Fezandipiti ex is played in almost every deck in the current Standard format, and I don't expect that to change with rotation so it's definitely a worthwhile pickup if you're looking to play the Pokémon TCG. If you were to add it to this deck, I would cut the second copy of Professor's Research for it.

The Charizard ex League Battle Deck is a great starting off point for many players, and it comes with several cards that are included in other top-tier decks. If you're looking to get started in the Pokémon TCG, the League Battle deck is a great option for having something to get good games with right out of the box!