What to target in Obsidian Flames

The top 10 cards are 68% of the set’s $446.00 estimated singles cost — plan these first and the rest follows on a normal budget.

Value in Obsidian Flames is famously top-heavy. The bulk of the set's total secondary-market cost sits in a small handful of cards, and Charizard ex — specifically the Special Illustration Rare (223) — carries the load, with the Hyper Rare and Ultra Rare versions filling out the rest of the Charizard demand. If you strip the Charizards out, this becomes a much more affordable set to work through than its reputation suggests.

The cards collectors genuinely love versus the ones that merely cost money split cleanly here. The Charizard SIR is both — beloved and expensive. But the real sleeper affection goes to the Illustration Rares: Cleffa, Ninetales, and Gloom get praised for their artwork far out of proportion to their price, and they're the cards long-term set builders point to when they say Obsidian Flames aged well. Pidgeot ex's SIR is the interesting middle case — its value was propped up partly by tournament play, so its demand profile is a little more fragile than art-driven chases. Collect the IRs because you like them; chase the Charizard because you can't not.

#	Card	Number	Rarity	Market	PSA 10
1	Charizard ex	#223	Special Illustration Rare	$98.82	$757.85
2	Cleffa	#202	Illustration Rare	$35.18	$423.67
3	Ninetales	#199	Illustration Rare	$33.89	$340.17
4	Charizard ex	#228	Hyper Rare	$33.87	$272.18
5	Charizard ex	#215	Ultra Rare	$21.49	$190.57
6	Gloom	#198	Illustration Rare	$20.85	$265.97
7	Pidgeot ex	#225	Special Illustration Rare	$18.90	$162.50
8	Scizor	#205	Illustration Rare	$14.44	$336.36
9	Pidgey	#207	Illustration Rare	$13.89	$217.00
10	Lechonk	#209	Illustration Rare	$12.99	$247.10

How Obsidian Flames is built

The smart way to complete Obsidian Flames

The smart approach to Obsidian Flames is to treat it as two separate projects: the base/master set of commons, uncommons, and standard rares, which is genuinely cheap and easy to assemble, and the chase tier led by Charizard ex, which is where nearly all your budget will go. Decide up front how far up the Charizard ladder you want to climb, because that single decision determines the entire cost of your run.

Singles or sealed?

Because so much of this set's value lives in one card, the packs-versus-singles math is unusually lopsided. Opening product is a lottery weighted entirely toward whether you hit the Charizard — miss it, and your box of commons and mid-tier hits won't come close to justifying the spend. If your goal is the Charizard ex SIR specifically, buying the single is almost always the rational move. Sealed makes sense only if you value the experience of opening, want a shot at pulling the chase yourself, or are buying to hold sealed long-term. For set builders, a single box to knock out the base set plus targeted singles for the chase tier is the efficient path.

Sealed product comparison

Obsidian Flames pull-rate estimates

Community-estimated era averages from large pack-opening aggregates — not official Pokémon data. “Specific card” is the expected packs for ONE particular card of that rarity.

Obsidian Flames promo cards

Black Star promos tied to Obsidian Flames — from its ETBs, collection boxes and prerelease events. They live in the Scarlet & Violet Black Star Promos set, so a true master-set run includes them separately.

Murkrow#21 · Prerelease promo$27.69Pelipper#22 · Prerelease promo$2.25Smoliv#23 · Prerelease promo$0.35Growlithe#24 · Prerelease promo$0.74Tinkatink#25 · Prerelease promo$0.53Varoom#26 · Prerelease promo$0.43Annihilape ex#32 · Collection box promo$1.05Palafin#36 · Collection box promo$39.92Charizard ex#74 · Prerelease promo$21.29Mabosstiff ex#86 · Prerelease promo$0.46

Which Obsidian Flames cards are worth grading?

Grading in Obsidian Flames pays off almost entirely at the top of the card list. The Charizard ex Special Illustration Rare is the obvious candidate — high demand plus a meaningful gem-mint premium makes the grading fee worthwhile when the card comes back clean. Cleffa is the standout among the Illustration Rares for grading, with enough collector love and enough of a mint premium to justify the submission. Scizor and the Larvitar line also show up as grade-worthy on the numbers.

Below that tier, the economics get thin fast. The bulk of the base set doesn't carry enough of a mint premium to cover slabbing costs, and modern SV-era cards are notorious for centering and surface issues straight out of the pack, so raw-to-graded upside is easily eaten by a 9 instead of a 10. Grade the Charizards and the best IRs; leave the rest raw unless you've got a card that's visibly flawless.

Tier 1 — grade theseWorth grading

Positive expected value after ~$25 fees at live PSA prices and this set's real gem rates.

Charizard ex #223raw $98.82 → PSA 10 $757.85 7.7×EV +$160.82Cleffa #202raw $35.18 → PSA 10 $423.67 12×EV +$87.33Ninetales #199raw $33.89 → PSA 10 $340.17 10×EV +$59.07Charizard ex #228raw $33.87 → PSA 10 $272.18 8×EV +$57.82Charizard ex #215raw $21.49 → PSA 10 $190.57 8.9×EV +$53.36Gloom #198raw $20.85 → PSA 10 $265.97 12.8×EV +$41.35

Tier 3 — personal collectionCollection only

Fees eat most of the margin. Grade to preserve a pristine pull, not for profit.

Pidgeot ex #225raw $18.90 → PSA 10 $162.50 8.6×EV +$24.87Houndour #204raw $10.88 → PSA 10 $140.00 12.9×EV +$17.29

Premiums and EV use tonight’s PSA prices and this set’s real gem rates — not projections.

What collectors say about Obsidian Flames

Creators on Obsidian Flames

▶Most Expensive Pokemon Cards in Obsidian Flames!SneakerTalk TCG▶NOT STOPPING Until I Pull EVERY Obsidian Flames Pokemon Card!PokeRev▶Obsidian Flames Elite Boxes Are Ridiculously Good!PokeRev▶Opening an OBSIDIAN FLAMES Booster Box (Charizard Hunt!)Randolph Pokemon

Synthesized from widely-reported collector consensus — see a take that’s off? Use the report link on any card page.

Protect your Obsidian Flames cards

Even a modest set deserves basic protection — condition is most of a card’s value.

Affiliate links — purchases support CardPrice at no extra cost. Full guide: how to build & store a master set.

Where Obsidian Flames goes from here

Supply and demand here point in opposite directions in a way that keeps the set interesting. On supply, Obsidian Flames was a heavily printed modern release with broad distribution, so raw sealed and singles remain readily available — there's no scarcity story propping up the base cards. On demand, the Charizard name does the heavy lifting: Charizard chases have historically held collector interest better than almost any other Pokémon, which gives the SIR and Hyper Rare a durable floor even in a well-printed set.

The honest read is that this is a Charizard-driven set, and its long-term interest tracks that one card's enduring appeal more than the set as a whole. The Illustration Rares offer quieter, art-driven upside that could firm up as the set exits print and set-builders compete for clean copies. Reprint risk for the specific SIR art is low, but sealed product will stay plentiful for a while — so patience, not urgency, is the collector's friend here. As always, collect the cards you actually love; the Charizard is a joy to own regardless of what it does.

Not financial advice — live prices and trends are above, collect what you love.

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