SR Charizard ex (TCG Pocket)

Shining Revelry Charizard ex
Charizard ex and Rare Candy Types used Major cards Charizard ex Era 2025-present

Shining Revelry Charizard ex is a Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket deck archetype built around the eponymous card Charizard ex card from Shining Revelry. The deck attempts to take advantage of Charizard ex's ability to quickly deal high damage to overpower opponents.

While the key Pokémon of the deck was released in Shining Revelry, it only started gaining significant popularity after the release of Celestial Guardians due to the addition of Rare Candy.

Strategy

In contrast to the original Charizard ex, the Shining Revelry Charizard ex trades raw damage for the ability to charge its own attack with Stoke. This effectively means it only needs to attach 2 Energy to begin dealing 150 damage with Steam Artillery, giving it incredible early-game damage and making this deck one of the few that gains a significant advantage from going first due to being able to evolve on turn 3. Rare Candy greatly accelerates this process by skipping the extra turn required to evolve to a Stage 2.

Because SR Charizard ex does not require external assistance to attach Energy to itself, the deck's core is very compact and allows for many different builds using various synergistic Pokémon and Trainer cards. Turtonator (with support from Kiawe), Incineroar ex, and Silvally, for instance, fit well with Charizard ex's gameplan of reliable early damage.

Eevee Grove introduced the most popular variant of the deck which pairs it with an Eeveelution package to patch up Charizard ex's weaknesses. Eevee and Sylveon ex give the deck a powerful draw engine to greatly enhance the consistency of getting Charizard ex and Rare Candy, and the addition of Eevee also means the deck can run Flareon as an answer to Oricorio.

Weaknesses

Charizard ex is hindered by bad draws more than most decks because it needs to evolve as early as possible. The very high Energy cost of Steam Artillery means Charizard ex effectively needs to use Stoke once before being able to deal damage, which is negligible early on but can be a crippling cost in the late-game when the opponent's attackers already have enough Energy to deal heavy damage. Furthermore, Steam Artillery's 150 damage is survivable by many high-HP Pokémon ex, unlike its Genetic Apex counterpart's Crimson Storm, further exacerbating its weakness in endgame situations where opponents can do more than 150 damage in 2 turns.

Hand disruption can also prove detrimental to the deck's game plan due to its need to evolve quickly. An early Red Card or Mars can potentially interrupt the deck's setup. Energy removal like Squirt Bottle and Team Rocket Grunt and forced switches like Sabrina can also delay the deck's aggression, letting the opponent stabilize against it.

Key cards

• Charizard ex - The namesake card of the deck, Charizard ex uses Stoke to ready its 150-damage Steam Artillery attack and overwhelm most Pokémon.
• Rare Candy - The key to the deck's speed and power, Rare Candy allows a Charmander to instantly evolve into Charizard ex and have Steam Artillery ready as early as turn 5 for an overwhelming early advantage.
• Lillie - Because Shining Revelry Charizard ex deals less damage and is more susceptible to damage than its Genetic Apex counterpart, Lillie helps it outlast opponents that can survive its hits.

Variants

• Sylveon ex - Introduced in Eevee Grove, Sylveon ex helps draw through the deck to more reliably fetch Rare Candy and Charizard ex.
  • Eevee - The Eevee Grove print of Eevee is preferred for the extra card draw.
  • Flareon - A supplemental late-game attacker and Energy sink, Flareon also prevents Oricorio from walling the deck.
• Silvally - The Silvally and Gladion package helps the deck more reliably start pressuring opponents early due to putting out early threats more consistently. It also makes the deck stronger going second.
• Incineroar ex - A second target for Rare Candy that can also put out early damage with its -cost Fire Fang.
• Turtonator - Has decent starting HP and can quickly ramp Energy with Kiawe, giving the deck a stronger early-game.

Typical Decklist

Celestial Guardians (2025) - Incineroar ex variant

{{{title}}}
Quantity	Card	Type	Rarity
2×	Charmander
1×	Charmeleon
2×	Charizard ex
1×	Litten
1×	Incineroar ex
1×	Pokémon Communication	Item
2×	Rare Candy	Item
2×	Poké Ball	Item	—
1×	Red Card	Item	—
1×	Giant Cape	Tool
1×	Iono	Supp
1×	Red	Supp
2×	Lillie	Supp
2×	Professor's Research [Professor Oak]	Supp	—
Energy used:

Celestial Guardians (2025) - Turtonator variant

{{{title}}}
Quantity	Card	Type	Rarity
2×	Charmander
1×	Charmeleon
2×	Charizard ex
2×	Turtonator
2×	Rare Candy	Item
2×	Poké Ball	Item	—
1×	Red Card	Item	—
1×	Giant Cape	Tool
1×	Iono	Supp
1×	Red	Supp
2×	Kiawe	Supp
1×	Lillie	Supp
2×	Professor's Research [Professor Oak]	Supp	—
Energy used:

Extradimensional Crisis (2025)

{{{title}}}
Quantity	Card	Type	Rarity
2×	Charmander
1×	Charmeleon
2×	Charizard ex
2×	Type: Null
2×	Silvally
1×	Pokémon Communication	Item
2×	Rare Candy	Item
2×	Poké Ball	Item	—
1×	Gladion	Supp
1×	Lillie	Supp
1×	Mars	Supp
1×	Sabrina	Supp
2×	Professor's Research [Professor Oak]	Supp	—
Energy used:

Eevee Grove (2025)

{{{title}}}
Quantity	Card	Type	Rarity
2×	Charmander
2×	Charizard ex
2×	Eevee
2×	Sylveon ex
1×	Flareon
2×	Rare Candy	Item
2×	Poké Ball	Item	—
1×	Giant Cape	Tool
2×	Lillie	Supp
1×	Sabrina	Supp
1×	Mars	Supp
2×	Professor's Research [Professor Oak]	Supp	—
Energy used:

This article is part of both Project Sidegames and Project TCG, Bulbapedia projects that, together, aim to write comprehensive articles on video games about the TCG.