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Pokémon TCG Value Watch: Darkness Ablaze In April 2022

The Pokémon TCG is an ever-changing and unpredictable market. Over the past two years, we've seen renewed interest in the hobby due to a number of factors including the 25th Anniversary, strong Sword & Shield-era sets featuring stunning Alternate Arts, influencers, box breaks, COVID-19 lockdown pushing people to find hobbies, and more. For a time, sets and cards that were readily available quickly became difficult to find. Now that the hype is settling down, let's see where modern sets stand. Every month, I will do an installment of this series, Pokémon TCG Value Watch. This series is not financial advice but is rather a way to help collectors know the trajectory of a card's availability so that Pokémon TCG completionists like myself know when to strike. Today, let's see how the cards of Sword & Shield – Darkness Ablaze, which came out in August 2020 are doing now in April 2022.

Darkness Ablaze graphic. Credit: Pokémon TCG
Darkness Ablaze graphic. Credit: Pokémon TCG

Here are the top valued cards of Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield – Darkness Ablaze with market values observed on TCGPlayer as of this writing:

  1. Charizard VMAX 020/189: $46.38
  2. Eternatus VMAX Rainbow Rare 192/189: $12.75
  3. Salamence VMAX Rainbow Rare 194/189: $12.54
  4. Shiny Rillaboom Gold Secret Rare 197/189: $12.07
  5. Butterfree VMAX Rainbow Rare 190/189: $10.73
  6. Capture Energy Gold Secret Rare 201/189: $10.48
  7. Scizor VMAX Rainbow Rare 193/189: $9.62
  8. Shiny Coalossal Gold Secret Rare 198/189: $8.19
  9. Charizard V 019/189: $6.41
  10. Centiskorch VMAX Rainbow Rare 191/189: 6.37

Other than a $9 drop on Charizard VMAX, the only major chase card of the set, this Pokémon TCG set is all under $15 when it comes to singles. Hell, I think a patient buyer could scroll eBay or TCGPlayer or go to local card shops to find the cards for all under $10. It's just the Charizard that is relatively high in value but when it comes to chase cards, it's one of the most affordable of any modern set. This is without question the easiest set to complete in the Sword & Shield era. It's so interesting to see how this set was well-received while Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike seems to be less so considering how many more major hits are actually in Fusion Strike compared to the relatively barren Darkness Ablaze.


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Theo DwyerAbout Theo Dwyer

Theo Dwyer writes about comics, film, and games.
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