By Tord Reklev, Contributing Writer
The Mega Evolution—Phantasmal Flames expansion just released, and with it, a ton of fun and interesting cards. There were a couple of cards that caught my eye: Mega Charizard X ex and Mega Lopunny ex. Mega Charizard X ex can realistically Knock Out any Pokémon in the format with ease, and Mega Lopunny ex is an extremely cost-effective attacker for its high damage output. Two very different cards with different uses, but they have the potential to greatly supplement each other in battle.
This is the list I am the most excited about from Phantasmal Flames, so let’s break it down. At first glance, this doesn’t look too far off from a classic Charizard ex and Pidgeot ex deck, but don’t let that fool you. Everything from the attack plan to the consistency lineup has gotten an overhaul thanks to the new cards available.
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Mega Charizard X ex & Mega Lopunny ex
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6Basic Fire Energy
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4Jet Energy
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3Dawn
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3Lillie’s Determination
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2Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis)
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2Iono
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2Professor Turo’s Scenario
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4Buddy-Buddy Poffin
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4Ultra Ball
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3Rare Candy
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1Counter Catcher
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1Superior Energy Retrieval
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1Super Rod
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1Unfair Stamp
Supporting Mega Lopunny ex and Solving for Speed
One of the main issues with Stage 2 Evolution-based decks is speed. Setting up one or multiple Stage 2 Pokémon can sometimes take a little too long, especially if the opponent starts piling on pressure immediately. With Mega Lopunny ex, we now have a way to answer aggression immediately or even be the aggressor ourselves with relatively low investment. Gale Thrust, an attack we first saw on Scizor-EX, is back and stronger than ever.
Another long-standing issue for Charizard ex decks specifically is dealing with wall Pokémon like Mimikyu, Cornerstone Mask Ogerpon ex, or Crustle. All of these are conveniently dealt with by Mega Lopunny ex’s Spiky Hopper attack, which ignores all effects on your opponent’s Active Pokémon.
Since Mega Lopunny ex has become such a big part of our early game plan, we made sure that the rest of the list can support the strategy. Another deviation this list makes from the more-standard Charizard ex lists is the lack of Arven, Pokémon Tool cards, and even Stadium cards.
Using Technical Machine: Evolution to speed up the process of setting up Evolution Pokémon has been the norm for Charizard ex lists so far, but this build aims to use Pidgey’s Call for Family to get a wide Bench. There are several reasons why we have decided to go in this direction instead. The first one, as expected, is Mega Lopunny ex. With a strong and easily available attacker on the second turn, we no longer need to reach for a Stage 2 attacker right away, but rather can take our time manually evolving instead.
The second and arguably most important reason is the incredible synergy Jet Energy provides the deck. Jet Energy fulfills multiple critical mobility roles in this list, but most importantly, it makes a turn-one Pidgey attack a very consistent option compared to using Technical Machine: Evolution. It also enables Gale Thrust and Tatsugiri’s Attract Customers, and it even helps out Oricorio ex’s Excited Turbo Ability. Since Excited Turbo only targets Benched Pokémon, Jet Energy can be used to move Mega Charizard X ex to the Bench to be charged again after an all-out attack where every Energy is discarded.
The third and final reason is the substitute Supporter available in Mega Evolution—Phantasmal Flames: Dawn. Dawn is a great option for any deck that’s based on Stage 2 Pokémon, but it feels incredible in this list, being able to search out all the Pokémon you need to keep building a strong board state while attacking with Mega Lopunny ex.
As a side note, choosing not to rely on Pokémon Tool cards at all means we also don’t have to worry about the commonly played Stadium card Jamming Tower, and therefore we don’t even need to include any countering Stadium cards in the list.
A New Take on Hit and Heal
Another thing I enjoy about the Mega Lopunny ex strategy is that it redirects the focus away from targeting arguably your most important Pokémon, Pidgeot ex, while it’s evolving. With its Quick Search Ability, you have access to any card in the deck at any point, which is a massive advantage in a game of the Pokémon TCG. If you are still not sold on Mega Lopunny ex, the pressure it provides early in the game also is a great way to deal with Budew and Frillish, each having Item-locking skills known to annoy many players.
Although Mega Lopunny ex comes with a lot of perks, the main disadvantage is being a Mega Evolution Pokémon ex, which give up three Prize cards. That’s why the list also includes two copies of Professor Turo’s Scenario to pick up Mega Lopunny ex when it’s in danger of being Knocked Out. After taking it back to your hand, Buneary can be Benched and await its chance to evolve again if the opportunity strikes. This hit-and-heal strategy is something Charizard ex decks are notorious for, but there are fewer resources lost when returning Mega Lopunny ex to the hand compared to Charizard ex.
Should Mega Lopunny ex go down quickly, your strategy might still end up being manageable, as Charizard ex’s Burning Darkness attack will do a lot more damage right away.
In the event you are successfully defending your Mega Lopunny ex, we have one final trick up our sleeves to really push our advantage: Mega Charizard X ex. Arguably, the only thing Charizard decks in the past have been missing is high damage output against more passive opponents or against decks that purposefully are not taking Knock Outs until they can go for a massive board wipe. With Mega Charizard X ex, we can now threaten to Knock Out Pokémon like Dragapult ex, Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex, or other Mega Evolution Pokémon ex like Mega Absol ex or Mega Kangaskhan ex. The attack Inferno X is a costly endeavor, but with Infernal Reign from Charizard ex combined with Oricorio ex’s Excited Turbo Ability, we can launch multiple devastating attacks.
Rounding Out the Deck with Defense
Let’s talk about some of the other card choices in this list.
Playing three Pidgey might seem excessive, but since we want Pidgey to take the lead early with Call for Family, I think it’s important to always have a backup ready on the Bench. This means we need access to at least two Pidgey, and as a general deck-building principle, I like to play one extra copy of the cards we expect to use in every single game. Should the first Pidgey survive, you can then establish two Pidgeot ex later down the line, which is difficult to disrupt.
Our ACE SPEC card of choice in this list is Unfair Stamp. This is a great way to stop early aggression from the opponent and is another way to refresh your hand. Since this deck doesn’t play any strong single-Prize Pokémon, it’s important to be able to pressure the opponent’s hand size, stopping them from assembling enough cards to take the big Knock Outs.
Psyduck is another defensive card inclusion, and its main purpose is blocking Dusclops and Dusknoir from using Cursed Blast. Instead of going in this direction ourselves, we instead try to play a grindier game using Professor Turo’s Scenario and leaning more into favorable two-hit KOs.
I still like that even if this is our main strategy, thanks to Mega Charizard X ex, we can also turn it up a notch when needed. With the inclusion of Superior Energy Retrieval, we can take full advantage of Oricorio’s Excited Turbo Ability by recovering our Basic Fire Energy and sending it directly to our hand.
Getting Tricky with Gale Thrust
Lastly, I will send you off with a cool trick I learned after playing with this deck.
After attacking with Mega Lopunny ex, if you have a Jet Energy to reset Gale Thrust, make sure to attach the Energy to Pidgeot ex whenever possible. Since Pidgeot ex retreats at no cost, you can then move straight back into Mega Lopunny ex, but you also get to preserve the Energy for the future, which could line up well for a Blustery Wind attack. Especially since this specific list does not run any Stadium cards, should you run into the lesser-played Team Rocket’s Watchtower, using Pidgeot ex itself to get rid of the pesky Stadium could be a great option. It’s also important to point out that in a pinch, even Charmander can use Blazing Destruction if necessary.
There you have it—a breakdown of a new variant of one of the established giants in the Standard format. I have personally had a ton of fun with this deck so far, and I urge you to try it out! There are a lot of other interesting cards and combos available in Mega Evolution—Phantasmal Flames: experiment with everything you think looks fun!
Tord Reklev is a contributing writer for Pokemon.com. He is a longtime player from Norway, playing the game since he was 6 years old. In becoming Champion at the 2022 Latin America International Championships, Tord is the first player to win all four International Championships and complete the Grand Slam. Outside of the game, he is a student and enjoys playing tennis. You can find him at most big events and can follow him on X at @TordReklev.
