Hi. I'm new to submitting these TCG tips, but I have been into the
Pokemon TCG for a while. These days, everyone's been using haymakers,
raindances, and the like, and if you ask me, this is kind of making the
game a little boring. Sure... I have built a Raindance before, but it
lacked a lot of originality. So, instead, I use a family of cards
players rarely ever give the time of day: The Charmander family
Yes, I've heard how much it sucks, but to me at least, the Charmander
line is a very fun line of cards. To me, nothing is more satisfying that
taking down Scyther with base Charmander's Ember, or beating Wigglytuff
with a combo of Charmeleon's Slash and Flamethrower. And let's not
foreget burning down Blastoise with Charizard's Fire Spin before he can
even take advantage of his Raindance power.
Here, let's take a look at the Charmander family, dark and Blaine's
Charmander included
Base Set Charmander
I don't care what anyone says. This is a decent basic Pokemon. 50 hp
is
better than its rivals (squirtle and bulbasaur), and can beat both of
them (Bulbasaur, with Ember, and Squirtle with a combined use of ember
and scratch). Not to mention that this little guy can KO the almighty
Scyther with ember. Speaking of Ember... this move is nearly as good a
deal as Electabuzz's Thunderpunch, what with it's chance of back-fire.
Rocket Charmander
10 less HP, but a good attack and a decent Pokemon Power. 20 HP for one
energy is always a good deal, but he doesn't have the scyther mashing
power ability that base set does, but he's a good Mime killer. But
here's a real good strategy to use with Rocket Charmander: put him into
play on your when you have lots of energy cards on your other Pokemon,
and then when you have loads of energy brought over to Charmander, use
Pokemon Breeder to evolve him into Charizard. It works real well for me.
^_^
Blaine's Charmander
My favorite of the 3 Charmanders. Kindle is a great attack, and so is
Slash. I don't think I'll use it until Blaine's Charmeleon and Blaine's
Charizard show up, but he still has alot going for him.
Base Set Charmeleon
You should always try to have 4 energy cards on this guy. Why? If
you
can get 4 energy cards attached to it, it can beat both Wigglytuff and
Blastoise with two hits (heh... unless Blastoise hits you first... aw,
stop it...). 80 HP is also good. Also, the low retreat cost can help
if
any of those dangerous water Pokemon come into play.
Dark Charmeleon
AUGH! The one "Char" card I hate. It doesn't have the
solid damage
potential of the original, and has lower HP and a higher retreat cost.
The only reason why I'd use it is to get to Dark Charizard, and even
them, sometimes its better to use Pokemon Breeder. Now, get this waste
of paper away from me...
Base Set Charizard
Hee haa haa... my favorite Pokemon and one of my favorite cards. I don't
really care what people say about him, I love em. Very few Pokemon can
survive being hit with a one hundred damage attack (beat those Mr. Mimes
before you evolve him). The best way to use this guy is to pack him with
loads of energy (see what I said about Rocket Charmander for tips on how
to do this), so he can use Fire Spin more regularly. Think about it...
if you can get him to Fire Spin absolutely every turn, wouldn't that be a
GOOD thing? As for the Pokemon power... that's REALLY good. It
actually
makes him fit into a multicolor deck, and with attacks like Charmander's
Slash and Charmeleon's Slash, you can still attack even if you had... oh,
nothing but grass energy attached to them. Okay... enough about him...
onto the next card.
Dark Charizard
I like this guy nearly as much as his base set counterpart. Sure, you
have to rely on chance more, but you can do 100 damage for just 2 energy!
And with Nail Flick, he's a fairly decent Mr. Mime killer. I'd like
Dark Charizard alot more if he had more HP, but hey, that's not really a
staple of the Dark Pokemon, is it?
Cards to use with these guys
Hey, it's not really wise to build a deck around one card and its
evolutions. Ya gotta use some other cards with em. Here's what I
recommend:
No Removal Gym
I keep hearing how the Charmander is vulnerable to Energy Removal. Well,
this changes all of that. Using No Removal Gym makes it very hard for
your opponent to remove energy, and so, bingo, Charizard's "problem"
is
solved. I recommend combining this with Rocket's Sneak attack to make it
so he has no cards to discard in order to lay down an energy removal.
Potions and Super Potions
Duh! These things are useful with any Pokemon, especially one that is
vulnerable to the ever so common Raindance.
Defender
See above. Not quite as necessary as a Potion tho
Energy Retrievals and Energy Searches
It's no secret that the Charizard line is a line of energy munchers, and
Energy Retrieval and Energy Search can help you get the energy cards you
need after your reserves run out.
Dark Dragonair
This dude has an abusive Pokemon Power. Evolutionary Light would be good
in combination with Rocket Charmander, Pokemon Breeder, and whatever
Charizard you're intending on using. And since he uses colorless
attacks, you don't need to build a two type deck to use him.
Fossil Magmar
Here's why I cave. This is where I do use an arch-type Pokemon. He's
got a great stalling attack (smokescreen), and can protect your Char
until he's ready to fight. And Smokescreen is also very good.
Bakufuun
What the heck's a Neo card doing in here? Okay, okay, so he may not be
out yet, but I recommend using him in combination with Charizard when he
does. Why? His Pokemon Power, fire charge. With it, you can
take any
fire energy in your discard pile and attach it to your Pokemon. Think
about it... if you have Bakufuun on yer bench, and an energy card in your
hand, you can get two energy cards attached to Charizard each turn,
making it possible to use Fire Spin quite a bit. Also consider using
this with Rocket Charmander's Gather Fire.
Ok, I'm done. Yah, Charizard may be under-rated, but if you can get him
to work, you can do loads of damage, and still have plenty of fun with it
too. ^^
SonIXcool = JMsonix@juno.com