Who doesn’t love openingPokemon TCGbooster packs? With the sweet musky smell of cardboard, the thrill of mystery, and the drive of curiosity, it’s like opening a little birthday present. And of course, there’s the ever-elusive hunt for all the illustrious secret rare cards. Maybe it’s for the collector’s value, maybe it’s for the gorgeous art—either way, how can you resist?
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The Obsidian Flames expansion brought with it 33 brand-spankin’ new secret rare cards. Some of them are powerhouses, some of them are worth the price of a premium gallon of paint, and some of them are just simply beautiful to behold. Here are the best ones.
12Charizard ex
To no one’s surprise, special illustration rare Charizard ex is the most valuable card in the Obsidian Flames expansion. At the time of writing, TCGPlayer has Charizard ex listed at $91.86. It’s not thehighest-valued cardyou’ll find in the Pokemon TCG, but surely it’ll only appreciate in time. you may bet your sweet tuchus this card will be worth the price of somebody’s house 20 years from now.
Putting its monetary value aside, Charizard ex is one of the hardest-hitting cards in the expansion as well. You can build quite the beefy team with this boy as your lead, dealing a maximum 330 base damage with his Burning Darkness attack. And naturally, the dynamic full illustration art with its crystal terastallization effect makes for quite the eye candy.
11Lechonk
Illustraton Rare Lechonk isn’t a winner in any way, but it sure is cute. Just look at this tubby fella rolling around with snacks and enjoying life. Surely we should live our lives following suit. Be like Lechonk.
When he’s not snacking, Lechonk is a basic colorless card with 60 HP and a Tackle attack, which does 20 base damage. At the time of writing, TCGPlayer has him valued at $2.19—the price of cheap toothpaste. Again, not a winner. Appreciate him for his looks.
10Pidgey
Illustration Rare Pidgey is a good lesson on basic art composition and color theory by artist Jerky. The saturated green shrubbery has the hiding Pidgey stand out against the stark contrast of the yellow background. The eye is drawn to the bottom-right which holds a simple yet elegant white sign with a Pidgey peering over, demanding to be seen. Are the Pidgey menacing, or are they playful? Who knows?
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Pidgey is a basic colorless card with 60 HP and the attack “Gust,” which does 20 base damage. Maybe frame the card and then contemplatively stare at it with friends over a glass of wine while ruminating on the virtues of Pokemon as art.
9Pidgeot ex
Artist Jerky is back at it again with Pidgey’s second-stage evolution: Pidgeot ex. Jerky’s simplistic style is on full display here, making use of color-blocking to create a vivid, eye-catching display that places Pidgeot along a coastal city.
Pidgeot ex is one of the best utility cards in Obsidian Flames. His Quick Search ability allows you to search for a card in your deck and place it in your hand once a turn, and his Blustery Wind attack hits for 120 base damage while also discarding any stadium cards in play. TCGPlayer has this Special Illustration Rare card currently at a market price of $16.97—one of themore valuableof the bunch.
8Houndour
In Illustration Rare Houndour, we see a pack of allegedly smart pups choosing to spend their time in what looks like a trash-heap of a yard. Two of them seem to be arguing, perhaps about their living situation. Are they doing okay? One must imagine houndour livingmás.
Houndour is a dark-type card with 50 HP and a move called “Coordinated Attack” that lets you place dark energy on each of your benched Houndour. This card could do some interesting work in a Houndoom-centric deck, but, really, the allure of this card is illustrator Kyupiyama’s playful artwork.
7Palafin
Palafin is one of themost interesting cardsin Obsidian Flames, with his Justice Kick attack that does 250 base damage if it moved from the bench to the active spot that turn. Paired with the right card that allows for flexible movement, it can be a fun way to do a lot of damage.
Illustration Rare Palafin also has some wonderful art by Akira Komayama that has him crashing onto the scene (or at least a poor coral reef) with a herd of fanboy Finizen. They’re here to either do some heroics or use intimidation tactics; it’s unclear. TCGplayer has this card listed at $3.66.
6Varoom
Illustration Rare Varoom wants you to believe that a pair of sentient engines with no hands can build a go-kart. That’s a pretty hard sell, which is probably why TCGPlayer has it valued at only $1.34. Regardless, it’s some pretty fun colorful art by illustrator Souichirou Gunjima.
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When it’s not busy allegedly building cars, Varoom is a steel-type card with 60 HP and an attack, Spinning Draw, that does ten damage with the added effect of letting you draw a card—not a bad secondary effect at all.
5Revavroom ex
Special Illustration Rare Revavroom ex is a vivid colorful display by Souichirou Gunjiman that perfectly encapsulates the speed and ferocity behind one of the strangest creature designs in the entire Pokemon series.
Revavroom ex blasts off with a steel-type attack called “Wild Drift,” which does 170 base damage and reduces any incoming damage from your opponent during their next turn. The card also has an ability, Tune-Up, which lets you attach up to four Pokemon tools to it, which might just be too many tools. Seek it out if only to attempt to better understand Revavroom’s anatomy.
4Ninetails
Special Illustration Rare Ninetails is one stunning fox. Illustrator Sie Nanahara uses a limited color palette to paint an ethereal aura that makes this card stand out as one of the most gorgeous of the pack.
In terms of gameplay, Ninetails is a bit more lackluster than its image, with the attacks Will-O-Wisp, which does 20 base damage, and Nine-Tailed Dance, which puts nine damage counters on an opponent’s Pokemon, but prevents Ninetails from attacking during your next turn. Ninetails is currently valued at $10.63 according to TCGPlayer.
3Gloom
Special Illustration Rare Gloom is a feast for the eyes, with artwork by Masako Tomii. Here, Gloom is almost lost in a sea of heavily saturated colors that paint an enchanting jungle, leaving you wondering if it’s the intense visual stimuli that has Gloom perpetually drooling.
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A Grass-type card, Gloom can use Inviting Scent to switch in one of your opponent’s benched Pokemon to the active spot, or deal 20 base damage with its Leaf Step attack. Pick up this card and stare deeply into it—not once will your eyes get bored.
