Charizard ex
Quick take
- The full-art Charizard ex most collectors picture when they hear Obsidian Flames
- Dark Tera Type Charizard in 5ban Graphics' crystalline Tera style
- Sits below the Special Illustration Rare and gold Hyper Rare, but is the most-chased full art
- Several Charizard ex prints exist in the set, so confirm the 215/197 before buying
Collector's readWhat it means for your master set
Set landscapeWhere this card sits in Obsidian Flames
VariantsCard variants
Holofoil 215/197 · $20.76 — 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 full-art Charizard that anchors the Obsidian Flames master set
Obsidian Flames put Charizard back on the cover, and the full-art Ultra Rare at 215/197 is the version most collectors picture when they hear the set name. It's a Stage 2 Darkness type with the Dark Tera Type, 330 HP, illustrated by 5ban Graphics in the crystalline Tera style that runs through the early Scarlet & Violet era.
“The full-art Charizard ex most collectors picture when they hear Obsidian Flames”
For master-set builders this card sits in a useful spot. It is not the rarest Charizard in the set. The Special Illustration Rare and the gold Hyper Rare both sit above it. But it is the full-art that most people actually chase, and it carries the Charizard name without the price of the higher tiers. That combination keeps demand steady long after the set left print.
There are several other Charizard ex prints in Obsidian Flames, including a Double Rare, the Special Illustration Rare, and the gold. Confirm you're buying the 215/197 full art specifically before you pay up, because the names and art styles get mixed up constantly in listings.
By the numbersMarket analysis
This is a mid-tier chase within Obsidian Flames. It trades well above the set's commons and Double Rares, and well below the Special Illustration Rare and the gold Hyper Rare. Call it a strong recurring secondary-market card rather than a grail. The Charizard name keeps a floor under it that most other SV full arts never get.
Prices ran hot at release in 2023 when Obsidian Flames was the new Charizard set, then cooled as packs flooded the market. It has settled into a steadier range since. Raw copies are easy to find. Clean graded gems are where the demand concentrates.
Treat it as a hold-for-love card more than a flip. The large original print run caps the upside, so don't expect vintage-style appreciation. The Charizard name protects the downside, which makes a graded gem a reasonable long-term keep. If you want a Charizard that climbs, the SIR and the gold are the speculative plays, not this one.
A PSA 10 carries a clear premium over raw, but the gap is narrower than on scarcer SV chases because so many clean copies exist. A PSA 9 sits much closer to raw. The grading math only works on genuinely flawless copies.
In Scarlet & Violet sets, any Double Rare lands around 1 in 5 packs, any Illustration Rare around 1 in 12, and any Ultra Rare around 1 in 15. By comparison, any Special Illustration Rare runs roughly 1 in 90, and a Hyper Rare anywhere from about 1 in 300 to 1 in 700. Those numbers are for hitting any card of that rarity. Pulling this specific Charizard runs much longer, because every SV set packs many Ultra Rares, so a single named UR can stretch well past the per-tier odds.
As Ultra Rares go, this is on the easier side to pull, and the original print run was large. The scarcity that matters for this card is condition scarcity, not pull rarity. Clean, well-centered copies that grade gem are the genuinely hard part.
ArtworkWhy the art matters
5ban Graphics is a Japanese design studio rather than a single illustrator, and it handles a lot of the digital full-art and texture work across modern Pokemon TCG sets. The style leans on rendered 3D models, sharp lighting, and the faceted holo patterns that became the signature look of the Scarlet & Violet Tera cards. When you see a clean, glassy, mosaic-style full art from this era, there's a good chance 5ban touched it.
Charizard is mid-roar, wings spread, body angled across the frame. The Dark Tera Type wraps it in the crystalline, stained-glass facets that mark a Terastallized Pokemon, and the background breaks into a shimmering geometric mosaic instead of a painted scene. It reads instantly as Charizard at full volume.
Full-art Ultra Rare layout with edge-to-edge art and a holo treatment that catches light across the faceted background. The Tera mosaic shows fine print lines and surface texture, which makes centering and surface scratches easy to spot under angled light.
It's the clean, dramatic, instantly readable Charizard full art from a set that already had Charizard on the brain. The Dark Tera angle gives it a different mood than the usual fire-type Charizard art, and that's part of why it stuck with collectors.
BackgroundAbout Charizard ex
Charizard has been the hobby's flagship card since Base Set in 1999. Every era gets its defining Charizard, and within the early Scarlet & Violet run the Obsidian Flames full art is one of the ones people point to. The Terastal mechanic gave Charizard a new visual identity here, the Dark Tera Type, which is a twist on the usual fire imagery.
- ›Charizard is the default answer when anyone asks which Pokemon card to want
- ›Obsidian Flames was a heavily opened, widely available set, so a lot of collectors have a personal connection to it
- ›The Dark Tera variant stands out from standard fire Charizard art
- ›The full-art format makes it a display-friendly binder centerpiece
- ›Headline full-art Charizard of the Scarlet & Violet Obsidian Flames set (2023)
Dark Tera Charizard ex saw real competitive play in the Scarlet & Violet Standard format, often paired with Pidgeot ex. The Infernal Reign ability loads energy fast and Burning Darkness scales with prizes taken. That tournament presence drove demand for play copies on top of the collector pull, which is part of why the card moved so heavily early on. Note that the playable copy people actually ran was usually the cheaper Double Rare, not this full art.
Own it wellCollector guide
Full-art SV cards are centering-sensitive, and the holo surface shows edge whitening fast. Check the four corners, then run the card under angled light for surface scratches across the faceted background. Factory edge nicks are common on this print, so inspect before paying a graded-quality premium.
Only grade copies that look flawless raw. Centering and clean edges are the usual fail points here, and because so many copies exist, a PSA 9 returns little over raw. Submit for the 10, or keep it raw in a sleeve and toploader. Read the grading guide →
Penny sleeve plus toploader for a single copy, or a side-loading binder with no PVC for set display. Keep it out of direct light to protect the holo, and avoid binders that press on the card edges. See the storage guide →
Raw copies are easy to source, so you can be picky. Buy the best-centered raw copy you can find rather than overpaying for a borderline graded slab. For a long-term keeper, a PSA or CGC 10 from a reputable seller is the safer buy. Confirm you're getting the Obsidian Flames 215/197 full art and not one of the other Charizard ex prints in the set. See the singles buying guide →
Modern SV cards are faked far less than vintage, but Charizard always attracts counterfeits. Verify the 215/197 set number and the Obsidian Flames set symbol, check that the holo behaves like a genuine Tera full art under light, and confirm crisp print texture rather than a flat, washed-out surface. For any serious money, buy it already graded by PSA, CGC, or BGS.
Protect your card
High Chase Score — protect and consider grading. · Amazon affiliate links · Storage guideWord on the streetCommunity sentiment
Collectors generally like this one as the approachable full-art Charizard of the set. It's widely seen as a solid binder centerpiece and a must-have slot for an Obsidian Flames master set, without the price gatekeeping of the SIR or the gold. The Dark Tera art gets credit for looking different from the usual fire Charizard.
Discussion tends to focus on which Obsidian Flames Charizard to chase first, and this full art often gets recommended as the best-value entry before stepping up to the rarer prints.
Good to knowFrequently asked questions
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