Big fan of angelic beings (and demonic ones, but angels win out for eldritch execution style) and it helps being a flying mon with Flame Body was a chef's kiss combination back then
That being said, Charizard ex is far from the tier zero deck it once was
The Greninja variant of the deck enables Gyrados ex to deal with high HP Pokmon easier while hiding behind Druddigon while the Articuno ex variant provides a powerful alternate attacker and also uses Vaporeon to shift energy
Leaving behind a Bear token is crucial here
Split second blocks players from casting new spells and activating abilities, but it doesn't affect mana abilities, triggered abilities, or special actions like morph
Finally Gisela, the Broken Blade and Decimator of the Provinces were cards I was much lower on than most, and still am