Pidgeot ex never needs to attack to be the best card on your board. Its Ability, Quick Search, searches your deck for any one card once per ...
Pidgeot ex never needs to attack to be the best card on your board. Its Ability, Quick Search, searches your deck for any one card once per turn — the single most flexible effect in the game, on a 280 HP Stage 2 that sits safely on your Bench.
What Pidgeot ex Does
Pidgeot ex — Stage 2 Colorless Pokémon from Obsidian Flames (card #164 of 197), 280 HP, Double Rare. Evolves from Pidgeotto.
Quick Search (Ability): Once during your turn, you may search your deck for a card and put it into your hand. Then, shuffle your deck. You can't use more than 1 Quick Search Ability each turn.
Blustery Wind — Cost: Colorless + Colorless. Damage: 120. You may discard a Stadium in play.
Weakness: Lightning ×2. Resistance: Fighting -30. Retreat Cost: 0.
Which Decks Want It
Almost any Stage 2 deck can justify the Pidgey line: Charizard ex lists made it famous, but any strategy with a silver-bullet card for each matchup gets better when it can fetch that card every single turn.
Related reading: Charizard ex Deck Guide: Building the Pidgeot ex Fire Engine — keep it open for when you finish this one.
Playing With (and Against) It
Quick Search is once per turn and cannot be used the turn Pidgeot ex comes into play, so evolve it early and protect it. Blustery Wind for 120 exists, but the moment you are attacking with Pidgeot ex, something else has gone wrong. Keep its Weakness (Lightning ×2) in mind when you choose your matchups.
By the Numbers
Pidgeot ex is one of 21 Pokémon ex printed at Double Rare in Obsidian Flames. Its 280 HP ranks #5 among those 21 ex on raw bulk. The Pokémon also appears in Paldean Fates in the card data we track, so compare printings before you settle on a favorite — our comparison series does exactly that for the era's repeat stars. Its hardest printed hit is Blustery Wind at 120 damage — the number every Weakness and Resistance calculation in its matchups starts from.
Verdict: Pidgeot ex earns its spotlight in Obsidian Flames — a card with a clear job, a clear home, and a clear plan for the turns it is on the table. That is more than most cards in any set can say.
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