Pokémon TCG: Standard Deck Tech - Charizard ex (The NAIC Senior Champion!)

On June 13th, 2025, the second NAIC of the year took place in New Orleans, Louisiana. The next event on the calendar, in August, is the World Championship!

At this NAIC, however, the spectacular Gabriel Fernandez from Brazil won the Pokémon TCG senior category, and took another title home. Fernandez is actually a known competitive Pokémon TCG player, as he has played in more than a few big events and won some of them as well.

Also this year, in February, he became the EUIC champion in London. Back then, we also discussed his winning list, with Dragapult ex.

In all, Gabriel has gotten 1st place at international events four times, and gotten 1st and 4th at two different world championships:

International

1) EUIC - London (April 5th, 2024) - 1st place, senior category.

2) LAIC - São Paulo (November 15th, 2024) - 1st place, senior category.

3) EUIC - London (February 21st, 2025) - 1st place, senior category.

4) NAIC - London (June 13th, 2025) - 1st place, senior category.

Worlds

1) Yokohama Worlds (2023) - 1st place, junior category.

2) Honolulu Worlds (2024) - 4th place, senior category.

This time, he used Terastal Charizard ex to win. Let's see how it works, bit by bit, throughout this article!

Decklist

Deck Structure

Charizard ex

This Pokémon is great against Psychic Pokémon (like Gardevoir ex sv4pt5 29) because it is a Darkness Pokémon, and, as such, deals twice as much damage to them. That is just one reason why it is so great.

Furthermore, Charizard ex deals more damage as the game goes on. Burnin' Darkness, its main attack, deals 30 extra damage for each Prize card your opponent has taken. The best-case scenario is when your opponent only has one card remaining because then your Charizard ex will deal 330 damage!

Its ability, Inferno Reign, is also critical, as it lets you attach up to 3 Basic Fire Energy sv3 230 from your deck to any of your Pokémon when you evolve it from your hand on your turn.

Chi-Yu - Attaching Energies and Attacking

This Pokémon is essential in this list.

Its attack, Flare Bringer, lets you recycle 2 Basic Fire Energy SVE 10 from your discard pile and attach them to any of your benched Pokémon. This is quite useful, particularly when you can't use any other cards to attach energies.

If you need to be more aggressive, its second attack is quite useful. You can use it to deal 50 + 90 damage if your opponent Knocked Out one of your Pokémon on the previous turn. It is an excellent way to answer this "single prize" format.

Recursive Pokémon

Pokémon ex to Draw Cards

►Fezandipiti ex SFA 38's ability, Flip the Script, draws up to three cards for you if your opponent Knocked Out one of your Pokémon with attacks.

►Pidgeot ex sv3 164's ability, in turn, lets you look for any card in your deck and add it to your hand straight away.

"Baby" Pokémon

►Cleffa sv3 80 stands out because of its attack, which draws up to six cards for you.

►Munkidori TWM 95's ability, Adrena-Brain, lets you move three damage counters from your Pokémon to an enemy Pokémon. This means you'll be able to keep your Pokémon in play for longer, and Charizard ex will be able to Knock Out more Pokémon early on, as its attack, which deals 180 damage, will be enough.

Trainer Cards

Supporter to Filter Items and Tools

Supporter to Reset Both Your and Your Opponent's Hand

Supporter to Filter Basic and Evolution Pokémon

Supporter to "Pull" Enemy Pokémon

Supporter to Retreat a Pokémon in Play to Your Hand

Items to Get Pokémon

Item to Filter and Get Energies

Item to Recycle Basic Energies and Pokémon

Item to "Pull" Enemy Pokémon

Item to Heal Your Pokémon

This card is curious because it heals all Pokémon in play, yours and your opponent's, by 30 HP. This effect will make Charizard ex sv3 125 and other critical recursive Pokémon, such as Pidgeot ex sv3 164, a lot more resilient. Particularly Pidgeot, considering its evolution line is a bit slow, and you'll have to rely on 2 Rare Candy sv1 191 to go through it.

Tools

This tool lets you evolve benched Pokémon, so you won't have to rely on Rare Candy sv1 191 as much.

Stadiums

►Artazon sv2 171 puts "baby" Pokémon on your bench, so it's a great way to put your plans in motion early on.

►Jamming Tower TWM 153 disables any tools in play, so it's incredibly useful in this format, as it is full of support tools.

ACE SPEC

This ACE SPEC makes your Pokémon deal 50 extra damage to enemy Pokémon ex, so it will be great on your Charizard ex sv3 125.

Pros

It is great against Gardevoir ex sv4pt5 29, Terapagos ex PRE 92, and Dragapult ex PRE 73. It is also great against Raging Bolt ex TEF 123 if the opponent takes too long to set up.

Cons

Marnie's Grimmsnarl ex DRI 136 can be an issue if your opponent manages to set up at least 3 Munkidori TWM 95 and move 3 damage counters.

Teal Mask Ogerpon ex PRE 12 / Toedscruel ex sv3 22 could be an issue as well because they deal more damage to Darkness Pokémon, like your Terastal Charizard ex.

It could struggle against Milotic ex/Feraligatr.

Any deck that uses Iron Hands ex PRE 31 to draw extra Prize cards when they Knock Out Pokémon will be ahead of this list because it plays many "baby" Pokémon.

Raging Bolt ex TEF 123 could also be an issue because it is easy to set up and quite explosive.

Joltik Box is your last problem.

Gabriel Fernandez is an incredible Brazilian player. He is constantly inspiring new generations of players to dedicate themselves to the game and win matches just like he does. Pokémon TCG is much more than a "children's game" for them: it is a hobby that promotes learning new skills, such as creating strategies, and lots of discipline.

What do you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!