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

The Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Obsidian Flames Part 4: Victini Ex

Victini ex features in Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet - Obsidian Flames, but will it get an Illustration Rare in the Paldea era?

With Sword & Shield officially concluded, the Scarlet & Violet era of the Pokémon TCG kicked off in March 2023 with a focus on the ninth generation of Pokémon games and the new region: Paldea. It all began with the Scarlet & Violet base set, which introduced major, lasting changes to the hobby. Now, the borders of the cards have become silver, matching the Japanese releases. Another major change is that now, each pack culminates in at least a holo-rare and two reverse holos. The major mechanic of this era is the lowercase ex, which features a double holographic pattern of a horizontal shine and a starry sparkle. Full Art exs now use a green, foil outline around the Pokémon. The Secret Rare section of expansions going forward features Full Arts, Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rare exs, Full Art Trainers, Special Illustration Rare Trainers, and Gold Hyper Rares. On August 11, 2023, the Pokémon TCG released the third set of this era, Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames, which introduced Tera Pokémon with a Tera type differing from their base type. The chase card is a Dark-type Tera Charizard ex. In today's installment of this Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames art spotlight, we continue with the Fire-types.

I'm always excited for the Mythicals to get their major features in new eras. Victini had some solid cards during the Sword & Shield era, with a major feature in Sword & Shield – Battle Styles. This Fire/Psychic-type Mythical featured on multiple Ultra Rares though, including a Pokémon V from Sword & Shield base, a SWSH Black Star Promo V, and both a standard and Full Art V from Sword & Shield – Battle Styles. Sword & Shield – Battle Styles also saw the Pokémon get its best card from that era, the Victini VMAX. However, one thing that we didn't see Victini get during that Galar-themed era was an artwork-driven card. Other Mythicals got the full treatment, with Mew in particular getting two Alternate Arts, a Shiny Gold Secret Rare, and an Illustration Rare. Celebi got an Alternate Art as well, and Jirachi got a Radiant Pokémon card. I hope that this ex isn't the only major feature we get from Victini during the Scarlet & Violet era, because it is adapted from Japan's ex Starter Decks. That product only featured this standard version, so we have yet to see any special version of Victini in this era.

Also included in this spotlight are two more Fire-types, Darumaka and Litwick. Artist Miki Tanaka uses their unique style to deliver a mischievous Darumaka. Litwick has a vibrant and cartoony style, as it leaps for joy outside of what appears to be a haunted house with gorgeous, colorful artwork by Nagomi Nijo.

Stay tuned for the journey through this special set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames. Next time, the spotlight continues with the standard section of the set. You can read more about this iconic trading card game right here at Bleeding Cool.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!