Crushing Hammer
Quick take
- Full art secret rare (105/084) of a disruption Item played since 2011
- Illustrated by Ayaka Yoshida, first printed in Japan's Abyss Eye set
- Mid-pack among Pitch Black secrets, far below the Mega Darkrai ex chase cards
- Demand comes from both players wanting a bling copy and master set completionists
Collector's readWhat it means for your master set
Set landscapeWhere this card sits in Pitch Black
VariantsCard variants
Holofoil 105/84 · $4.55 — the only variant this card was printed in (no reverse holo or special pattern), so a master set needs just this one copy.
The storyThe game's most famous coin flip gets a secret rare
Crushing Hammer has been discarding your opponent's Energy on a heads since 2011, when it debuted in Emerging Powers. It keeps getting reprinted because the effect never stops mattering: flip a coin, and if heads, one Energy comes off an opposing Pokemon. In Pitch Black it returns as card 105/084, a full art Ultra Rare in the secret slot above the base set, brought over from Japan's Abyss Eye set where it sits in the secret block as card 104.
“Full art secret rare (105/084) of a disruption Item played since 2011”
Nobody chases this card for the character. There is no character. Players want one shiny copy of a card they actually shuffle up, and completionists need it for the 085-120 secret run. Ayaka Yoshida's art does a lot of the lifting: the hammer is mid-swing through a plane of amber glass, and the whole frame is motion.
Within Pitch Black it sits in the middle of the secret rare pack, well behind the Mega Darkrai ex hyper rare and the six Special Illustration Rares that headline the set. Sensible target, not a trophy.
By the numbersMarket analysis
Sits in the middle tier of Pitch Black's secret rares. It costs a fraction of the set's Special Illustration Rares and nowhere near the Mega Darkrai ex hyper rare at the top. Among the full art Trainer run (096-113) it lands around the middle, lifted a bit by the card's name recognition.
The set released on July 17, 2026, so every price is a launch price. Expect the usual pattern: secret rare singles drift down over the first four to eight weeks as sealed product gets cracked, then stabilize. Full art staples like this one tend to settle rather than spike.
Modest. Full art Trainer reprints of common staples rarely appreciate, because supply is deep and there is no character attachment. If it rotates out of print and stays a played card, the bling copy holds value better than most, but treat this as a collection piece, not an investment.
Thin at this tier. A top grade adds something, but grading fees eat most of it. The math only works on a flawless raw copy you pulled yourself, or if you are building a graded secret rare run of the set.
Pitch Black's secret rares run from 085 to 120, with the full art Ultra Rares occupying 096-113. Published pull rate data for this set is still early since it released on July 17, 2026. In recent English sets an Ultra Rare of some kind shows up roughly once in every fifteen or so packs, but the odds of hitting this specific full art Trainer run much longer, since it competes with the other seventeen Ultra Rares in the set for that slot. If you want this exact card, buying the single is far cheaper than chasing it in packs.
Within Pitch Black it ranks around the middle of the secret rares, sixteenth or so by market value. The Mega Darkrai ex hyper rare and the six Special Illustration Rares, led by the SIR Mega Darkrai ex, sit well above it. Against full art Trainer staples from earlier eras, it is a typical mid-tier entry: wanted, findable, not scarce.
ArtworkWhy the art matters
Credited right on the card, and the same illustration carries over from the Japanese Abyss Eye print. Yoshida is a newer name among the modern illustrator pool, and this piece shows a knack for making an object card feel kinetic.
An oversized mallet, red head and black grip, caught mid-swing as it smashes through a plane of amber, glass-like material. Shards explode outward across the whole frame in gold and orange. The metal collar at the base of the hammer head is engraved with Energy type symbols, a quiet nod to what the card actually does: knock Energy off things.
Full art secret rare treatment with the textured holofoil finish used on modern Ultra Rare Trainers. Numbered 105/084, above the base set count. The shattered-glass background is where the foil works hardest; it catches light across the entire surface rather than in one spot.
Item full arts live or die on whether the artist finds drama in an object. Yoshida does. The Energy symbols on the collar tie the art to the effect, and the shatter composition gives a coin-flip Item genuine impact. For a card most people know as a plain uncommon, this is the version worth keeping.
BackgroundAbout Crushing Hammer
There is no Pokemon here, just a hammer with a long resume. Crushing Hammer first printed in Emerging Powers in 2011 and has been reprinted across eras ever since. The effect has never changed: flip a coin, and on heads discard an Energy from one of your opponent's Pokemon. Its sibling Enhanced Hammer handles Special Energy without a flip, and the pair defined energy-denial strategies for over a decade. The Pitch Black print, via Japan's Abyss Eye, keeps the card current in the Mega Evolution era.
- ›One of the most recognizable Item cards ever printed, fifteen years of table time
- ›Energy denial frustrates opponents, and players remember the cards that beat them
- ›Budget-deck staple, so newer players know it early
- ›First-time buyers of Pitch Black singles recognize the name instantly
- ›Emerging Powers (2011), the original uncommon print
- ›Multiple reprints across the following eras, keeping it in Standard for long stretches
- ›Japanese Abyss Eye (2026), the origin of this full art treatment
Energy removal at Item speed is always at least fringe playable, and this reprint keeps Crushing Hammer legal in the current Standard format. Whether it sees heavy play depends on how slow the Mega Evolution era metagame runs, which is still shaking out in the set's first weeks. Historically it spikes whenever decks lean on manual Energy attachment.
Own it wellCollector guide
Textured full arts show edge and corner whitening easily against the dark border areas, and modern print runs throw the occasional print line through the foil. Check the amber shatter area under angled light, since scratches hide in the busy pattern until they catch a reflection.
Skip it for most copies. The raw-to-graded spread at this tier rarely covers fees. Grade only a pack-fresh copy with clean centering, or as part of a full graded secret rare set of Pitch Black. Read the grading guide →
Penny sleeve plus a binder with side-loading pages is fine for this card. If you play it, double-sleeve. Keep it away from direct light like any foil, but this is not a card that needs a vault. See the storage guide →
The early easing has mostly happened — secret rare prices across the set came down from launch levels within the first two weeks. Buy the single rather than chasing packs for it, and check both the English print and the Japanese Abyss Eye version, since the Japanese copy is sometimes the cheaper route to the same art. See the singles buying guide →
Counterfeit risk is low for a mid-tier modern secret, but the basics apply: real copies have the etched texture you can feel, crisp text edges, and the standard modern back. If a listing price looks too good next to the market, assume a reason.
Protect your card
High Chase Score — protect and consider grading. · Amazon affiliate links · Storage guideWord on the streetCommunity sentiment
Full art versions of played staples usually land well, and this one fits the pattern: players like having a premium copy of a card they actually shuffle up, and set collectors treat it as a checklist item rather than a grail. No controversy, no fireworks.
Pitch Black discussion centers on Mega Darkrai ex and the Special Illustration Rares, as it has since launch. The full art Trainer run, this card included, mostly comes up in pull posts and set review rankings rather than dedicated threads.
Good to knowFrequently asked questions
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