When the Charizard ex deck first emerged as a staple of the Pokémon TCG metagame, the most common deck build paired the titular card from Ruler of the Black Flame [SV3] with the Pidgeot ex card from the same set as well as the Delphox V card from Lost Abyss [S11].

However, as if that deck weren’t already dominant enough, in recent times this build has been superseded by one replacing Delphox V with the Bibarel card originally from Star Birth [S9] and reprinted in Art Rare (AR) form in VSTAR Universe [S12A].

Recently, players using Charizard ex decks featuring this Bibarel card emerged victorious at two major Pokémon TCG tournaments. Tord Reklev won the Pokémon Europe International Championship (EUIC) and just one week later, Shinya Kaneko took the title at Champions League Aichi. Both made use of this card’s Ability of Industrious Incisors to load up their hands with the cards they needed to set up victory.

There are two other key advantages of including Bibarel as part of a Charizard ex deck. For one thing, Bibarel works well with the Iono card from Clay Burst [SV2D] in late-game situations. Since the number of Prize cards remaining will be reduced, Iono can be used to shrink the size of the opponent’s hand. The player can then follow it up with Industrious Incisors to draw more cards until the player has five in hand.

Additionally, Bibarel isn’t a Pokémon-ex. This means that Bibarel’s presence may force opponents into situations in which they have to KO Bibarel, sparing Charizard ex or Pidgeot ex. This not only keeps the more powerful Pokémon in play; it also ensures that the opponent will take just one Prize card for the KO instead of two.

Visually, the AR rarity version of this card’s Full Art illustration depicts the Beaver Pokémon in its usual habitat, in a river shielded by the dome of sticks it formed for itself. The image also features several Bidoof, Bibarel’s pre-evolution.

In addition to the card’s gameplay viability, the inclusion of Bidoof in the illustration might also jack up the card’s desirability because Bidoof is something of a “cult favorite” within the Pokémon fanbase.

In English, this card is GG25/GG70 in the Crown Zenith set.

One copy of a Bibarel (VSTAR Universe [S12a] 200/172) card of AR rarity goes for 2,780 JPY (~US$18).

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