Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Obsidian Flames Battle Pass deck strategies  revealed featuring Charizard ex and Toedscruel ex

Get more from Pokémon TCG Live when you use the in-game Battle Pass. With the Battle Pass, you can complete quests to earn experience and unlock new tiers by playing Ranked or Casual matches. Each Battle Pass is accessible only until the next expansion releases.

Begin your path along the Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet—Obsidian Flames Battle Pass with a new deck featuring Charizard ex. Advance through the Battle Pass to unlock booster packs, Credits, a Collector Crate, and 16 additional cards that you can add to your new deck!

You can also redeem Crystals for a Premium Pass to unlock an additional deck centered around Toedscruel ex. Premium Pass tiers also offer a bounty of fun items themed around Charizard, booster packs, Coins, another Collector Crate,Crystals, and 19 additional foil cards to upgrade your Toedscruel ex deck. The Premium Pass + gives you a 15-tier head start to your journey on top of the items offered with the regular Premium Pass.

Learn how to play and upgrade these powerful decks in Pokémon TCG Live.

Charizard ex’s Infernal Reign Ability can quickly power up your team with Fire Energy, so be sure to use it when you evolve. While Charizard ex itself is a good choice to attach to, don’t forget some of your other Pokémon like Torkoal, whose Concentrated Fire attack lets you flip a coin for each Fire Energy attached to it and do 80 damage for each heads. If you want to double the fun, the Burn Brightly Ability of Charizard from the Pokémon GO expansion will make each Fire Energy provide two Fire Energy instead!

Pelipper’s Hearsay Ability can help dig into your deck to fetch a Supporter card or delve into your discard pile to recycle one back into your hand. This can be a good way to find Arven in the early game, who can grab a copy of Rare Candy to quickly evolve your Charmander into Charizard ex. The Hearsay Ability can also get you a Boss’s Orders when you’re low on Prize cards.

Make your way through Tier 16 to unlock the cards listed below:

Many of these cards can be added to your deck to provide more power and flexibility. But to add cards, you’ll also need to remove cards. We’ve highlighted some cards in the “Starting Deck” list that you might consider swapping out for the new ones, but feel free to mix and match!

If you use the suggested cuts, you’ll find your attacker lineup is more flexible. Radiant Charizard is not only useful in the late game with its Excited Heart Ability but can also be used earlier in the game with the help of an Infernal Reign or two. Castform Sunny Form has free retreat and can remove pesky Stadiums while doing some respectable damage. Finally, Heatmor helps give your deck some additional reach with its Energy-hungry Exciting Flame attack, which can do 90 damage normally and has a bonus effect that kicks in if it has 6 total Energy attached, doing 180 damage to 1 of your opponent’s Benched Pokémon.

Pidgeot ex is a flashback to the Pidgeot found in the EX—FireRed & LeafGreen expansion. Its Quick Search Ability can only be used once per turn (so you don’t need to evolve into both copies) but for a good reason: you can find any card in your deck and add it to your hand! Prioritize getting this powerful Pokémon ex into play to help get the rest of your deck online.

Artazon serves two main purposes in this deck. First, it lets you consistently get Basic Pokémon from your deck, which not only jump-starts your board early in the game but also helps you find your choice of Basic attacker as the turns go by. Secondly, it is a counter to powerful Stadiums like Path to the Peak, which would otherwise Reign on your parade.

Make your way to Tier 50 to unlock a special illustration rare version of Charizard ex! You can swap this into your deck or even run a full playset of it.

Now that you’ve mastered the awesome power of Charizard ex, perhaps it’s time to take a detour with some fungis.

Toedscruel ex is ready to deliver the smackdown with Colony Rush, a cheap 2-Energy attack that does extra damage for each of your Benched Pokémon that has any Grass Energy attached, letting it do up to 280 damage! Toedscruel ex’s Protective Mycelium will also help protect those Pokémon—and itself—from the effects of your opponent’s attacks (like placing damage counters or applying Special Conditions). Keep in mind that attack damage is not an effect of an attack.

A good way to quickly get all that Energy into play is with Cherrim, whose Spring Bloom Ability lets you attach Grass Energy from your hand to your Pokémon as often as you like. But it can’t use Spring Bloom to attach to a Pokémon with a Rule Box (like Toedscruel ex), so make sure to use this Ability to power up your Toedscool before evolving it.

By Tier 14, the following cards will be granted to you:

Cards highlighted in the “Starting Deck” list are suggested cuts to make way for your new ones, but you can adjust as you like!

If you update your deck with the suggested picks, the deck will become more focused on quickly increasing Colony Rush’s damage. Eldegoss can use its Cotton Lift Ability to add 2 Basic Energy cards from your deck to your hand, which can then be attached to your Pokémon with Cherrim’s Spring Bloom Ability. Lumineon V and Squawkabilly ex help smooth over your early game by maximizing your chances of getting the ideal start. Finally, Level Ball not only helps get your Basic Pokémon into play, but it also finds both Cherrim and Eldegoss to get the potent Stage 1 Grass Pokémon combo going.

The addition of Path to the Peak might seem odd since it disables Toedscruel ex’s Protective Mycelium Ability, but the pressure it can put on your foes is undeniable. You can play it early to stop your opponent from using a Lumineon V or Squawkabilly ex of their own, or you can use it in the mid- and late game to shut down powerful Rule Box Pokémon who rely on their Ability to fully function. That said, keep on the lookout for opposing Pokémon like Sableye from Sword & Shield—Lost Origin or Mewtwo V-UNION, who have attacks that place damage counters. Against foes like those, you’ll want to avoid playing Path to the Peak to keep your Toedscruel ex’s Protective Mycelium active.

If you make it all the way to Tier 50 of the Premium Pass, four illustration rare Toedscool will join your party. Feel free to swap them into your deck to spruce things up a bit.

Enjoy your new decks, Trainers!