Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Charizard, Obsidian Flames, pokemon, pokemon cards

Pokémon TCG: Obsidian Flames Early Opening – Booster Box

Ahead of the Pokémon TCG: Obsidian Flames pre-release weekend, we have an official early opening of a Booster Box from the set.

We are just one day away from pre-release events of the next Pokémon TCG expansion, Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames. This is the third set of the Paldea-themed Scarlet & Violet era. This is the first expansion to bring Pokémon using a different Tera-type than their base types. This includes the set mascot, a Dark-type Charizard, Fire-type Eiscue, and an Electric-type (or in the Pokémon TCG, Lightning-type) Tyranitar. This expansion adapts Japan's Ruler of the Black Flame set and Japan's ex Starter Deck products into a single set. Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames also continues to feature Secret Rare cards, including Illustration Rares, Special Illustration Rares, Full Arts, and Gold Hyper Rares. The Pokémon Company International was kind enough to supply us with new Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames products so we can give you an early peek at this new expansion. These products include a Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames booster box, a Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames Elite Trainer Box, and a Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames Build & Battle kit. In this installment of our three-part early opening, we'll open the booster box.

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames Booster Box

A booster box is made up of 36 packs. This is your best bet when attempting to really dig into a new set, as it is the only product that essentially guarantees you some solid pulls due to the sheer nature of how many packs you're opening. My one critique of the box art is that the way Tera Tyranitar's Crown Jewel cuts off is very awkward. This cutoff looks fine on the packs, but for the pop-out section of the box, it looks like it's incomplete.

Let's take a look at my pulls.

Now, a closer look at the best hit of the box, the Tera Charizard ex Full Art.

• Pokémon ex: 3
• Tera ex: 1
• Full Art Pokémon ex: 2
• Full Art Tera Pokémon ex: 1
• Full Art Trainer: 0
• Illustration Rare: 2
• Special Illustration Rare: 1
• Gold Hyper Rare: 0

With Full Arts promoted to Secret Rare status in the Scarlet & Violet era sets, you are flat out getting more Secret Rares per box… but the number of hits is only truly increased by the presence of Illustration Rares and Hyper Rares in the reverse slot, which essentially makes these sets continue the heavy hit pattern of sets with Trainer Galleries. Pre-Trainer Gallery sets, this would've been a show-stopper of a box, but now I'd say it was simply a very strong box. I would've liked a few more Illustration Rare hits, but the openings I've done on other products show that the pull rate of these seems to still be pretty high. Besides, that Special Illustration Rare Geeta hit is a nice one at a time when SIR Trainers are popping off.

The crown jewel, so to speak, of the box is the Tera Charizard ex Full Art. I love the way that Tera Pokémon get a premium treatment on Full Arts, breaking from the standard green line art seen on that card type throughout this era. The extra fine textured foil on these cards makes them feel premium.

Overall, this is a strong start to an enjoyable set. When assessing this year of releases, I'm eyeing Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolves as the favorite, but this one will certainly impress as a Charizard-themed set that, unlike Sword & Shield – Darkness Ablaze and Champion's Path, has a ton of other great cards.

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