Mega Chandelure ex
Quick take
- Full art Ultra Rare print of one of Pitch Black's six headline Mega Evolution ex Pokemon
- Binding Flame ability and Phantom Maze attack combine into a retreat-tax damage engine
- Ranks inside the set's top dozen by value, strong for an Ultra Rare slot
- One of three Mega Chandelure ex prints in the set, alongside the regular and the SIR
Collector's readWhat it means for your master set
Set landscapeWhere this card sits in Pitch Black
VariantsCard variants
Holofoil 99/84 · $5.67 — 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 mid-tier Mega that outperforms its rarity slot
Pitch Black runs on six Mega Evolution ex Pokemon, and Mega Chandelure ex is one of them. Card 99 is the full art Ultra Rare version, sitting in the secret block above the set's 84-card base numbering. Most Ultra Rare full arts in modern sets settle into the cheap middle of the market. This one holds a spot inside the set's top dozen cards by value, which tells you something about how much collectors like Chandelure.
“Full art Ultra Rare print of one of Pitch Black's six headline Mega Evolution ex Pokemon”
The card itself is a 350 HP Psychic-type Stage 2 with a clean design. Its Binding Flame ability makes the opponent's Active Pokemon's Retreat Cost one Colorless higher, and Phantom Maze does 130 damage plus 50 more for each energy in that Retreat Cost. The ability feeds the attack. As a Mega Evolution ex it gives up three prizes when knocked out, the signature risk of this era's Mega mechanic.
For master set builders, this is one of three Mega Chandelure ex prints to chase in Pitch Black: the regular Double Rare at 38, this full art at 99, and the REND-illustrated Special Illustration Rare at 115. The full art is the middle child, cheaper than the SIR but harder to pull than the regular. Early break data has full arts landing only once or twice per booster box, so do not assume a box hands you one.
By the numbersMarket analysis
This full art sits inside Pitch Black's top dozen cards by market value, which is high ground for an Ultra Rare. The set's ceiling belongs to the Mega Darkrai ex chase cards, the Special Illustration Rares and the lone gold Hyper Rare. Within the Chandelure prints, this copy costs a clear step more than the regular at 38 and a step less than the REND SIR at 115.
Pitch Black released on July 17, 2026, so every price in the set is a launch-window price. Fresh-set premiums usually fade over the first four to eight weeks as supply catches up with sealed product openings. Expect movement in both directions before this card finds a floor, and treat any number you see this month as provisional.
Cautious. Ultra Rare full arts from heavily printed modern sets rarely appreciate; supply keeps arriving as long as product ships. The case for this card is Chandelure's fanbase and its unusually strong opening position within the set, but the sensible move is buying for the binder, not the portfolio. If you want a Chandelure with upside, the SIR is where speculation concentrates.
Too early for meaningful graded population data — two weeks in, populations barely exist. Modern full arts straight from packs grade well, so gem rates should be high and the graded premium correspondingly modest. Grading only makes sense here if you pull a flawless copy yourself and want the case, not as a value play.
Pitch Black adds 36 secret-block cards above its 84-card base set: 11 Illustration Rares, 18 Ultra Rares, six Special Illustration Rares, and one gold Hyper Rare. TCGPlayer's count of just over 4,000 packs puts full art Ultra Rares at 1 in 12 packs — a measured ME05 number that replaced the small early break samples. With 18 different Ultra Rares sharing that slot, pulling this specific card works out to roughly 1 in 215 packs. Buying the single is far cheaper than chasing it.
Within Pitch Black, Ultra Rares are a rarer hit than Illustration Rares, which land several times per box. The six Special Illustration Rares are far scarcer, showing up around once every five or six boxes in early breaks, and the lone gold Hyper Rare is a lottery ticket. Against other sets in the Mega Evolution era, the rarity slot is the same familiar full-art tier; what stands out is this particular card holding a top-dozen value position from inside it.
ArtworkWhy the art matters
5ban Graphics is the CG studio behind a huge share of modern Pokemon TCG card renders, especially the ex, V, and GX battle cards of the last decade and a half. Their work is polished and consistent, the house style for mechanic-focused cards rather than the painterly one-offs that win art contests.
A full art CG render of Mega Chandelure ex, the Mega-evolved form of the ghost chandelier Pokemon making its TCG debut in this era. The full art treatment extends the render across the entire card face in the standard Ultra Rare frame, giving the new Mega design far more room than the regular print at 38.
Standard modern Ultra Rare full art treatment: edge-to-edge artwork, textured foil surface, secret-block numbering at 099/084. Illustrated by 5ban Graphics, the same studio credited on the regular print. The Special Illustration Rare at 115 is a separate piece by REND.
This is the biggest canvas the 5ban render of Mega Chandelure gets. If you want the new Mega form itself as the focus, rather than the SIR's separate interpretation, this is the print to own. Full art battle cards also photograph well in binder pages, where the textured foil catches light in a way the regular print cannot.
BackgroundAbout Mega Chandelure ex
Chandelure debuted in Pokemon Black and White in 2010 as the final stage of the Litwick line, a Ghost and Fire type chandelier with lore about its flames burning the spirits of the departed. It became one of Generation V's most popular designs almost immediately. The Mega Evolution TCG era finally gave it a Mega form, and Pitch Black's darkness theme is a natural home for it.
- ›One of the most beloved Ghost-type designs in the franchise, and it reads instantly even at binder distance
- ›The Litwick evolution line's eerie lore gives it staying power with fans of the spookier side of Pokemon
- ›A brand-new Mega form means first-print appeal that older Chandelure cards cannot offer
- ›Ghost-type collectors are a well-established niche who chase the line across every set it appears in
- ›Debuted in Pokemon Black and White (Generation V, 2010) as the evolution of Litwick and Lampent
- ›Playable fighter in Pokken Tournament, one of a handful of Pokemon chosen for the roster
- ›Mega Chandelure ex debuted in Japan's Abyss Eye expansion, then internationally in the 2026 Pitch Black expansion with three prints
The design has genuine play potential. Binding Flame makes the opponent's Active Pokemon's Retreat Cost one higher, and Phantom Maze does 130 plus 50 for each energy in that Retreat Cost, so the ability directly raises the attack's damage while making it harder to escape. The three-prize Mega ex penalty is the tax. Two weeks in there are still no tournament results to point to; treat it as a deck-building curiosity until events say otherwise.
Own it wellCollector guide
Full art foils show edge silvering easily, especially on the bottom corners where pack friction hits first. Check the textured surface under angled light for print lines, which modern foils from fresh sets sometimes carry straight out of the pack. Centering on modern Pokemon is generally good but not guaranteed; check the back border.
Only grade a pack-fresh copy that passes a hard look at edges, surface, and centering. Gem rates on modern full arts are high, which caps the graded premium. There is no rush; graded populations and price gaps will not be readable for months on a set this new, and grading fees can exceed the raw-versus-slabbed spread on an Ultra Rare. Read the grading guide →
Penny sleeve into a semi-rigid or a snug toploader if it is a keeper, or a side-loading binder page if it is going into the master set. Keep it away from humidity swings; textured foils can develop curl. Nothing exotic needed, just the standard care you would give any modern chase-adjacent card. See the storage guide →
Patience pays on launch-window singles. Supply grows every week as sealed product gets opened, and Ultra Rare full arts usually drift down from release pricing before stabilizing. If you are building the Pitch Black master set anyway, watch the price for four to six weeks unless a deal appears. Buy the exact copy from photos, not a stock image listing. See the singles buying guide →
Counterfeiting pressure on a days-old Ultra Rare is low, but the basics still apply: real modern full arts have distinct surface texturing you can feel, correct foil behavior under tilted light, and the standard card stock with a black core layer visible on edge under strong light. Buy from established sellers while the set is this fresh.
Protect your card
High Chase Score — protect and consider grading. · Amazon affiliate links · Storage guideWord on the streetCommunity sentiment
Chandelure getting a Mega form was one of the friendlier surprises of the Mega Evolution era, and Pitch Black's darkness theme suits it. The community conversation around the set centers on the Mega Darkrai ex chase cards at the top, but Chandelure holds its own as the Ghost-type pick of the six Megas. The full art holding top-dozen value inside the set backs that up.
Most of the chatter is still pack openings and pull-rate complaints. At 1 in 12 packs, full arts land only a few times per box, which keeps singles demand warm. Chandelure content skews toward the SIR for showpiece posts, with the full art appearing in master set checklists and budget-chase discussions.
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