Skip straight to the scores and summary for a concise overview.
Please
note that while I denote δ Delta Species Pokémon by
adding a δ to the end of their name, but that said symbol is not
actually part of their name for gaming purposes to my
understanding. For example, a “Pokémon δ” can Evolve from or
into a non-Pokémon δ, so long as no other rules are being
broken. That is, I can Evolve Dratini δ into a Dark
Dragonair, plain Dragonair, of the “Dragonair δ”.
I cannot, however, Evolve a Dark Dragonair into a
Dragonite δ or a Dragonair δ into a Dark
Dragonite. Also, a card can have δ Delta Species
Pokémon and not be from EX Delta Species – its just one
of those questionable naming decisions.
Name:
Charizard δ
Set:
EX Crystal Guardians
Rarity:
Holographic-Rare
Card#:
4/100
Type:
Lighting, Metal
Stage:
2 (Evolves from Charmeleon)
HP:
120
Weakness:
Water
Resistance:
None
Retreat:
CC
Poké-Power:
Peal of Thunder
Once
during your turn, when you play Charizard from your hand to
evolve 1 of your Pokémon, you may look at the top 5 cards of
your deck, choose as many Energy cards as you like, and attach
them to 1 of your Pokémon. Discard the other cards.
Attack:
(LMMC) Metal Burn [120]
Discard all (M) Energy attached to Charizard.
Name:
Charmeleon
Set:
EX Crystal Guardians
Card#:
29/100
Type:
Fire
Stage:
1 (Evolves from Charmander)
HP:
70
Weakness:
Water
Resistance:
None
Retreat:
C
Attack#1:
(CC) Rage [10+]
Does 10
damage plus 10 more damage for each damage counter on
Charmeleon.
Attack#2:
(RRC) Flamethrower [60]
Discard a (R) Energy attached to Charmeleon.
Name:
Charmeleon δ
Set:
EX Crystal Guardians
Card#:
30/100
Type:
Lightning
Stage:
1 (Evolves from Charmander)
HP:
70
Weakness:
Water
Resistance:
None
Retreat:
C
Attack#1:
(CC) Slash [20]
Attack#2:
(LCC) Thunder Jolt [50]
Flip a coin. If tails, Charmeleon does 10 damage to itself.
Name:
Charmander
Set:
EX Crystal Guardians
Card#:
48/100
Type:
Fire
Stage:
Basic
HP:
50
Weakness:
Water
Resistance:
None
Retreat:
C
Attack#1:
(C) Retaliate [10x]
Does 10
damage times the number of damage counters on Charmander.
Attack#2:
(RC) Flame Tail [20]
Name:
Charmander δ
Set:
EX Crystal Guardians
Card#:
49/100
Type:
Lightning
Stage:
Basic
HP:
50
Weakness:
Water
Resistance:
None
Retreat:
C
Attack#1:
(C) Scratch [10]
Attributes:
Charizard is of course a Pokémon δ, hence it being a
Lightning-Type Pokémon instead of Fire or Colorless (it part
Flying-Type in the video games). This definitely shakes things
up for our big charred lizard: it’ll fry a Blastoise ex
but no longer will it grill a Steelix ex. I can’t
say that it’s an improvement but I don’t think it’s really bad
thing, so it does indeed appear to be merely a “change”.
Charizard
is a Stage 2 Pokémon, Evolving from Charmeleon which in
turn Evolves from Charmander. There is two of each this
set, one Fire and one Lightning Pokémon δ version. Both
Charmeleon have an adequate 70 HP, expected Water Weakness,
no Resistance, and a Retreat of one. Both Charmander
have an adequate 50 HP, that same Water Weakness, lack of
Resistance, and Retreat Cost of one. Both versions can combo
with Stadiums. In terms of Attributes, the Pokémon δ versions
win just because they can use Pokémon δ support. However, the
Fire versions each have attacks that let them hit hard,
inexpensively, so long as they are damaged. The Fire
Charmeleon also has Flamethrower, a pricey but potent
attack, and ultimately just a hair more useful than Thunder Jolt
on the Lightning version. Pity the Lighting Version didn’t have
Rage instead of the Fire version. That’d be a nasty and
delightful combination. Thunder Jolt does do a good deal of
damage for the Energy put in, so it is a great attack as well.
Ultimately I’d recommend the still legal Charmander from
Fire Red/Leaf Green with Rage and the Charmeleon δ, since
then I could still use Memory Berry to Rage for
major damage. If I don’t care about that combo, probably just
use the Charmander δ version just to keep Energy types
all consistent. Note that next format this Fire Charmander
will clearly replace the Rage version since Retaliate is the
next best thing.
Charizard
has a perfect 120 HP for a non-Pokémon-ex. All Weakness is an
issue right now: I keep hearing more and more decks people think
will be big at Worlds, and if it’s not diverse it’ll mostly be
due to luck. No Resistance is a disappointment. Resistance
keeps getting rarer and rarer, and it is a shame. The Retreat
Cost of two is manageable.
All and
all, these are solid stats for Charizard.
Abilities:
Peal of Thunder is a throwback to Howl Entei from Neo
Revelation. It can backfire horribly, if you hit a lot of
non-Energy cards, but if you prepared for it right, you can
attach up to five Energy (any Type, Basic or Special) so long as
they are the top five cards of your deck. It is not a surprise
that the effect is greater than Entei’s Howl Pokémon
Power since Charizard is a Stage two and Entei is
just a Basic. Even though Peal of Thunder is better than Howl,
it will be much harder to abuse, and that is great.
Metal
Burn is a big, heavy hitting attack. (LMMC) should pay for
about 60 points of damage, and discarding all Metal should be
worth about another 40. Factor in being an Evolution and this
being the only attack on the card, and the attack might be a
hair sub par. Still, 120 points of damage is nothing to scoff
at, and if you play it right, the Metal discard clause will be
satisfied with minimal effort.
So all
and all, the Abilities are just about right.
Uses
and
Combinations:
Charizard may end up being the main attacker, or it may
be a Bench sitter. Peal of Thunder can be amazing in the right
deck. It probably won’t make your deck set up a turn earlier
since you have to get a Stage 2 into play normally to do
it and without any extra cards its just a matter of luck how
much Energy you get out of it and how many other, potentially
useful cards, are wasted. What makes it valuable is that it
sets up your second and possibly third attacker up quite fast.
Used on
its own, I’d suggest using it with
Holon
Pokémon even though it could use Double Rainbow Energy.
The reasoning is simple: you get a few non-Metal Energy with
Peal of Thunder, drop like a Holon’s Castform and bounce
one of those Energy, and then discard the Castform for
the discard cost of Metal Burn. With any luck, you’ll have
enough to get off two Burns in a row. Memory Berry or
Meteor
Falls
can also be useful, letting you alternate between Metal Burn and
useful attack from a lower Stage Pokémon.
Ratings
Unlimited:
1/5 – While the Trainer support would let you run a low Pokémon
and higher Energy count, discarding Pokémon isn’t a huge issue.
It’s when you hit a bunch of Trainers that it hurts. Also, I
don’t believe Charizard makes a good enough attacker for
this format.
Modified:
3.5/5 – I am predicting that someone will figure out a good
combo for this card. I mean, on its own, it’s an okay deck but
I don’t see it being “the next big thing” save enough
Charizard fans latching onto it. I think one of them will
find some combo I am overlooking and bam we’ll have a new, good
deck.
Limited:
3/5 – Only because the lower Stages and Peal of Thunder are so
good. Even if you get a Double Rainbow Energy, that’s
only good enough for a single Metal Burn. So Charizard
is meant to be a bench sitter, something you use for its Poké-Power
and then pray it never has to go active. If you are really
fortunate, you might get a Memory Berry to allow for a
surprise attack on your opponent.
Summary
A good
card, overall, I think it intentionally clashes with itself to
prevent it from being easily abused. I don’t know if it can
hold its own in a deck, but give it a good partner and it might
be a winner.
