Summary
2020’s Darkness Ablaze was a fairly unimpressive expansion for the Pokemon TCG, save for one thing: it featured the game’s first Charizard VMAX, a gigantamax version of everyone’s favorite flaming flying lizard. With so few other cards of interest in the set, opening Darkness Ablaze packs started to feel like yanking the handle on a Charizard slot machine. That expansion has proven to be the least desirable of the Sword & Shield era, with even the VMAX charizard dropping below $30 on the market, having been supplanted by fancier ‘Zards in subsequent sets. Darkness Ablaze proved that collectors need more than one big Charizard to get excited about new Pokemon expansions these days.
This month’s Obsidian Flames has a lot in common with Darkness Ablaze. It’s also the second expansion and the third set of its generation, it’s fire themed, and it features a highly-coveted Charizard card - once again the first Charizard using the current generation’s new gimmick. This time, Charizard shows up as a Tera Pokemon ex, which cannot be damaged while on your bench. To make this Charizard even more special, it’s also the first type-shifted Tera Pokemon, appearing as a Dark-type rather than Fire-type, not unlike the old Delta Species cards from 2005.
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It was hard to ignore the similarities between Darkness Ablaze and Obsidian Flames when I learned about the new expansion, but I was happy to discover that Obsidian Flames offers so much more than its predecessor did. The TCG has changed a lot since Sword & Shield, and any fears that this set will be forgotten and devalued by time like Darkness Ablaze will be alleviated the moment you see how much fantastic stuff is packed in this set for players and collectors alike.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still a Charizard hunt. Obsidian Flames features a double rare Charizard ex, an ultra rare full art Charizard ex, a special illustration rare Charizard ex, and a hyper rare gold Charizard ex. Charizard collectors, weep for your wallets, this is a big one. We’ve seen a couple of full art trainers like Miriam and Iono hold decent value throughout Scarlet & Violet so far, but this expansion is going to sell truckloads just off the back of these four Charizards. Expect higher demand and more scarcity than anything we’ve seen since Crown Zenith.
Luckily, there’s some interesting things to find other than Charizard. The special illustration gallery has a few standouts like Nintetales, Pidgey, and Lechonk that collectors will be after, and I can only assume the two Geetas will be in high demand, as all pretty girl trainer cards are (I’m not saying the other word).
While I’m not as plugged into the meta, I can see a couple of cards with real potential to see play. Pidgeot ex has the Quick Search ability, which allows you to draw any card from your deck. The fact that it needs to evolve twice to do this may make it a bit slow compared to other deck search engines, but it does have an ultra rare full art and a special illustration rare, so consider this one a target card. I can also see Toedscruel ex’s Protective Mycelium, which prevents effects of attack on any Pokemon with energy attached, become a useful way to counter decks that rely on certain abilities, like Giratina VSTAR’s Star Requiem attack.
The launch of 151 next month is going to dominate the Pokemon card scene, but I don’t think that means Obsidian Flame will be quickly forgotten the way mini-sets have overshadowed expansions in the past. Charizards are always going to demand a high price, but for what it’s worth these four are gorgeous - I should know, I pulled the SIR from my first pack. It’s exciting to open packs when there’s a possibility of pulling something really special, but it can’t be all or nothing. Obsidian Flame finds a balance - through its beautiful illustration cards and playable options - that Darkness Ablaze was missing. Plus, it’s got an Umbreon. Consider it Scarlet & Violet’s greatest success yet.
