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

Pokémon TCG: Obsidian Flames Early Opening – Elite Trainer Box

Open up an Elite Trainer Box of the new Charizard-themed Pokémon TCG expansion, Scarlet & Violet - Obsidian Flames ahead of release.

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 be opening the booster box.

Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames Elite Trainer Box

The Scarlet & Violet era made changes to Elite Trainer Boxes that continue in here. Now, these come with nine packs and a SV Black Star Promo card. So far, these promos have all been Illustration Rares, with this specific set's showcase featuring Charmander. The presence of these exclusive promos makes this a must-buy item which, for a guy who likes booster boxes best, wasn't always the case. I consider this era a major upgrade to Elite Trainer Boxes and I highly recommend them. My only critique here is the incredibly basic box art, which seems dry compared to sealed Japanese products… and the fact that we are still getting matte sleeves that fogs the foil cards. We need a change-up there — badly.

Let's explore my hits.

And the best hit of the box was…

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

This was a solid Elite Trainer Box with four hits. The Geeta Special Illustration Rare was also pulled in the booster box, so while I'm not entirely excited to get two of the same card in so few products, this is certainly a card that many will love. Trainer cards are having quite a surge in popularity, and it can surely be partially attributed to the beautiful artwork we're seeing on them.

While the Geeta was technically the big hit of the box, I remain most excited about the Charmander Illustration Rare promo card, which will surely go down as one of the best promos from this era.

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