Articles

Ghosts and Flames: Dragapult Charizard for NAIC

Hey, Cut Or Tap readers! Excited to be writing today about Dragapult Charizard! Not only has this been my ‘pet deck’ for the last two months, but I believe the deck is primed to be one of the best picks going into NAIC, due to being the version of Dragapult with the best Gardevoir matchup and being very resilient into the spread, including some of the perceived more difficult matchups.

Why Is Dragapult Charizard better than the other Dragapult variants?

As previously mentioned, my number one reason for picking up this version of Dragapult is its good Gardevoir matchup. Some players argue for Dragapult Dusknoir having a better Gardevoir matchup, but I’ll let the data answer that. According to Labs.Limitless, since Milwaukee (the first tournament post-popularization of Brent Tonission’s Gardevoir list), at major events Gardevoir has had a:

  • 52.48% win % vs Straight Dragapult
  • 54.99% win % vs Dragapult Dusknoir
  • 43.77% win % vs Dragapult Charizard

Ties bias these win percentages down a bit, but the message is clear: Dragapult Charizard is the variant to play to beat Gardevoir. In my experience, Dragapult Charizard takes around a 60/40 into Gardevoir, and the other versions are strictly unfavoured into Gardevoir.

The Gardevoir matchup isn’t the only reason for playing this variant. One of the other big weak points for Dragapult has been the Eevee Box matchup, which Charizard completely flips on its head. Finally, the new addition of Marnie’s Grimmsnarl brings additional challenges for Dragapult, but Charizard adds a whole new element to the matchup with its complementary energy acceleration and extra damage output.

The List

Dragapult Charizard has seen a variety of different iterations, from Psychic to Luminous Energy, Rabsca, Chi-Yu, different Ace-Specs, Stadiums, etc. This is the list I’ve landed on for NAIC currently, and I’ll go in-depth on each inclusion and exclusion.

After upgrading your membership, you will see the rest of the article, and an audio recording of this article, narrated by Andy Hyun:
private accessYou must have a Premier Membership or greater to see the rest of this post. If you don't have a Premier account, you can Sign Up for one here.

Leave a Reply