Article #14: Charizard (Stormfront)
Posted: Thu 04 Dec, 2008 7:47 am
Wow, haven't updated this section since February! Anyway, the featured card this time is a reprint of a classic card, and still one of the most popular cards ever printed. You guessed it, Charizard, originally from the Base set, is now reprinted in Stormfront! Unlike the old days, Charizard has it a little better in this format, although not as strong as the newer cards.
Name: Charizard
Type: Fire
Stage 2 (evolves from Charmeleon)
HP: 120
Poke-Body: Energy Burn
All Energy attached to Charizard are (R) Energy instead of their usual type.
(RRRR) Fire Spin 100
Discard 2 Energy attached to Charizard.
Weakness: Water x2
Resistance: Fighting -30
Retreat: CCC
Important Note: If you use older versions of Charizard, play its Pokemon Power as if it was a Poke-Body, and the effect is mandatory, unlike the original.
Analysis
HP: Back then, 120 was the highest HP any Pokemon could get. Now, it's about average for a Stage 2.
Stage 2 (Evolves from Charmeleon): There a two each of Charmander and Charmeleon legal for Modified. However, the SW versions are superior in every way to the originals.
Weakness: x2 can really hurt if you play against a Water deck, namely Kingdra (Legends Awakened). Other than Kingdra, I wouldn't really worry about its Weakness.
Resistance: Fighting is actually a good Resistance to have, since cards like Claydol (GE) and Machamp (SF) are being used.
Retreat: 3 is pretty high, even by today's standards, so I would use Switch or Warp Point if you need to retreat.
Energy Burn: This Poke-Body actually makes Special Energy like Call Energy usable after their effects have been used up. Not to mention that you can use different types of Energy and still be able to use Fire Spin.
Fire Spin: 100 for 4 Energy is pretty expensive, and discarding 2 Energy hurts it even more. Unlike the old days, there are several cards that can make this attack usable every turn. I'll explain them in the Combos section. Also, most of the popular Pokemon nowadays have more than 100 HP, so you would have to use PlusPower and Buck's Training to OHKO a Pokemon.
Combos
Heatran lv. X: Heatran's Poke-Power can recover 2 Energy that a Fire or Metal Pokemon discards for their attacks, and since Charizard discards 2 Energy for Fire Spin, it's as if the attack did 100 damage with no extra effects.
Leafeon lv. X: While Leafeon is a Grass type, it's Poke-Power allows you to attach an extra Energy card from your hand every turn, so as long as you have Energy cards in you hand, you can continually attack.
Typhlosion (MT) + Energy Link/Stark Mountain: This one is easy- use Typhlosion's Firestarter to attach a Fire Energy from your discard pile to a Benced Pokemon, then use Energy Link/Stark Mountain to move the Energy to Charizard.
Ratings
Notice: I will no longer be doing Unlimited ratings for cards that are legal in Modified, since I only play Modified now. Sorry.
Modified: As I said already, Charizard has it better in Modified than in Unlimited. Thanks to the cards I mentioned in the Combos section, Charizard is much more playable now than it was back in the old days. 7/10
Limited: Since the Charizard line in Stormfront are secret rares, and only show up at one per box (36 packs), you might as well put it in your binder once you pull it. 0/10
Conclusion
It's not every day that a secret rare card is actually somewhat playable! Despite this, I don't expect Charizard to be played too much.
Name: Charizard
Type: Fire
Stage 2 (evolves from Charmeleon)
HP: 120
Poke-Body: Energy Burn
All Energy attached to Charizard are (R) Energy instead of their usual type.
(RRRR) Fire Spin 100
Discard 2 Energy attached to Charizard.
Weakness: Water x2
Resistance: Fighting -30
Retreat: CCC
Important Note: If you use older versions of Charizard, play its Pokemon Power as if it was a Poke-Body, and the effect is mandatory, unlike the original.
Analysis
HP: Back then, 120 was the highest HP any Pokemon could get. Now, it's about average for a Stage 2.
Stage 2 (Evolves from Charmeleon): There a two each of Charmander and Charmeleon legal for Modified. However, the SW versions are superior in every way to the originals.
Weakness: x2 can really hurt if you play against a Water deck, namely Kingdra (Legends Awakened). Other than Kingdra, I wouldn't really worry about its Weakness.
Resistance: Fighting is actually a good Resistance to have, since cards like Claydol (GE) and Machamp (SF) are being used.
Retreat: 3 is pretty high, even by today's standards, so I would use Switch or Warp Point if you need to retreat.
Energy Burn: This Poke-Body actually makes Special Energy like Call Energy usable after their effects have been used up. Not to mention that you can use different types of Energy and still be able to use Fire Spin.
Fire Spin: 100 for 4 Energy is pretty expensive, and discarding 2 Energy hurts it even more. Unlike the old days, there are several cards that can make this attack usable every turn. I'll explain them in the Combos section. Also, most of the popular Pokemon nowadays have more than 100 HP, so you would have to use PlusPower and Buck's Training to OHKO a Pokemon.
Combos
Heatran lv. X: Heatran's Poke-Power can recover 2 Energy that a Fire or Metal Pokemon discards for their attacks, and since Charizard discards 2 Energy for Fire Spin, it's as if the attack did 100 damage with no extra effects.
Leafeon lv. X: While Leafeon is a Grass type, it's Poke-Power allows you to attach an extra Energy card from your hand every turn, so as long as you have Energy cards in you hand, you can continually attack.
Typhlosion (MT) + Energy Link/Stark Mountain: This one is easy- use Typhlosion's Firestarter to attach a Fire Energy from your discard pile to a Benced Pokemon, then use Energy Link/Stark Mountain to move the Energy to Charizard.
Ratings
Notice: I will no longer be doing Unlimited ratings for cards that are legal in Modified, since I only play Modified now. Sorry.
Modified: As I said already, Charizard has it better in Modified than in Unlimited. Thanks to the cards I mentioned in the Combos section, Charizard is much more playable now than it was back in the old days. 7/10
Limited: Since the Charizard line in Stormfront are secret rares, and only show up at one per box (36 packs), you might as well put it in your binder once you pull it. 0/10
Conclusion
It's not every day that a secret rare card is actually somewhat playable! Despite this, I don't expect Charizard to be played too much.