>From: Sparkey450@aol.com

>Subject: Charizards-worthless or playable?- Sparkey450

>
>  Thought you'd heard the last of me? Hah! I'm persistant. I've actually
>written two other articles before this, but they were never posted. I'm not
>entirely sure why. Anyway... Today I will be looking at all currently
>released Charizards and deciding if they are playable or totally worthless.
>(Yes, I know this debate is about a century old now, but it will be an
>interesting read... really)
>
>First off- Base set Charizard. You either love it or you hate it. Contrary 
>to
>popular beleif, it is not impossible to play with. Play with LOTS of No
>Removal Gyms to protect him from energy removal and keep tons of Gold
>Berries, and he might actually be possible to play. Of course, this would 
>be
>extremely difficult. Also, as I have mentioned in one of my first articles,
>Charizard can be combined with Feraligatr (with riptide). You play lots of
>water energies on him, Firespin for tons of damage (remember, his pokemon
>power turns the water energies into fire), and then send out Gatr for a
>massive Riptide. Of course, playing with 2 Stage 2's is risky, maybe even
>insane, but then anything that I'm involved in is usually not what you'd 
>call
>normal.
>Verdict- Playable, but this card is best saved for "fun" decks or showing 
>off
>to obsessed collectors.
>
>Dark Charizard- Okay, 40 HP drop from base, you still have to discard 2 
>fire
>energy for 100 damage, but this time you have to flip coins! Yes, it's true
>that Dark Charizard can do more damage than his base set counterpart, but I
>have never liked being dependant on dumb luck. (That's why you normally 
>won't
>see Sneasels in my decks)
>Verdict- Playable, but barely. Save it for Draft tourneys with friends, or
>just keep it in your binder for show. (The latter seems more practical,
>though)
>
>Blaine's Charizard- Very much improved from the first two. It has a solid
>evolution family all the way up, and isn't as dependant on dumb luck. Like
>most Charizards, it suffers from being a Stage 2 and an extreme weakness to
>Feraligatr and all other water types in general.
>Verdict- Playable. In fact, this is not such a bad card. If you really want
>to play a Charizard, play Blaine's. It's not exactly gamebreaking, but can 
>be
>worked with in some environments.
>
>Shining Charizard- Being an avid Charizard fan, I have to say I'm offended 
>by
>this card. It is the worst Charizard I have ever seen. Put it in a plastic
>case, and tuck it safely away. 50 years from now, you can sell it to some
>wacked-out packrat who loves stuff like that.
>Verdict- Absolutely not playable, unless you and your friends play under 
>the
>format of all "broken" cards, water types, and non- evolving cards besides
>Shining cards being illegal, which I'm sure nobody does. I wouldn't say 
>it's
>worthless though, because you can sell it for some extra cash. That counts 
>as
>a use, I think.
>
>FINAL VERDICT-
>Charizards (except for Shining Charizard) are playable if you're creative
>enough. anyone who can win a Standard Tournament with a Charizard themed 
>deck
>has GOT to be good, because no amount of dumb luck or miracles could do 
>that.
>
>MY OPINION-
>WotC should release at least one really good Charizard, just for a change.
>
>SPARKEY'S RANDOM THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
>It would be really cool if I owned my own rubber room. I don't mean to say
>that I want to be thrown in the nut house, but you have to admit that it
>would be fun to bounce off the ceiling.
>
>Remember: Pokemon isn't dead until absolutely NO ONE in the whole world 
>likes
>it. I still like it. You still like it (after all, if you don't like 
>pokemon,
>then why are you reading this?). Pojo still likes it ( you are awesome 
>Pojo!
>:) ), so Pokemon is still alive and kickin'.
>
>Email me anytime at Sparkey450@aol.com. I will respond ASAP, but remember
>that I'm oftem busy with school work. :(