Obsidian Flames is the second expansion to build on top of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon Trading Card Game’s Scarlet & Violet base expansion. It brings 190 new cards to the game and is the first set to feature type-shifting tera cards with Pokemon presenting as one elemental type while dealing elemental damage of another type, reflecting the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Scarlet & Violet video games’ terastallization gimmick.
In general, Obsidian Flames is 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:not the most impressive expansion for the Pokeౠmon TCG. Many of the cards are rather lackluster, but they do feature some great art, and there are, of course, some unique cards that contribute to some fun builds. Here are some of the best cards in the set.
8 🔯 🌜 Charizard EX
Charizard is included in nearly every Pokemon TCG expansion, and it’s always the most sought-after card for its rarity, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:monetary value, and strength which outclass most other cards. Obsidian Flames is no different, with Charizard even being one of the featured Pokemon of the expansion. In Obsidian Flames, Charizard ex is a dark type-shifted tera card (meaning it can’t take damage from any attacks while on the bench). It comes with the ability “Infernal Reign,” which allows you to search your deck for three basic fire energy cards and distribute them among your Pokemoꦛn any way you like after using Charizard ex from your hand to evolve one of your Pokemon.
This card is a heavy hitter,൩ with a “Burning Darkness” attack that does 180 base damage and a further 30 damage for each prize card your opponent h🌸as taken. This means you’ll be doing a maximum of 330 damage (not including any weaknesses) when you’re pushed down to your last legs. And with an ability that lets you quickly build up energy, it’s safe to say Charizard ex will be annihilating most anything that comes its way.
7 𒉰 Glimmora EX
As a fighting type card, Glimmora ex is most noteworthy for its unique ability, “Dust Field.” Dust Field keeps your oppone𒁃nt from having more than three benched Pokemon at a time, forcing them to discard benched Pokemon if they already have four or more in play. This is a pretty severe limitation that can keep your opponent from building up a proper team.
Glimmora ex’s only attack, “Poisono🗹us Gem,” does 1🦩40 base damage with the added effect of poisoning your opponent’s active Pokemon, which adds another ten points of damage each turn. Between the decent damage output, poison, and Dust Field ability, you can use Glimmora ex to sweep your opponent’s team fairly easily.
6 Palafin
Palafin is a water-type card with two attacks: “Jet Punch” and “Justice Kick.” Jet punch isn’t anything all that sp✅ecial as a 30 base damage attack that also does 30 damage to an opponent’s benched Pokemon. But Justice🃏 Kick is where things get interesting.
Justice Kick does 210 base damage as long as Palafin moved from the bench to the active spot that same turn. It’s an odd limitation to the attack. But if you pair Palafin with another card like the Scarlet & Violet expansion&rsqu🐼o;s Cyclizar, which is a colorless card that has no retreat cost, you can easily move Palafin in and out of battle to rack up some nice damage. Also, consider pairing Palafin with Obsidian Flames’s Decidueye ex in a water/grass type deck for a fun one-two punch duo that makes use of Decidueye ex’s “Total Freedom” ability to freely move both cards between the bench and active spot. Decidueye ex doesn’t hit quite as hard as Palafin, but it can dish out some decent damage of its own with an attack that also deals extra damage to the opponent’s bench.
5 ꦚ▨ Pidgeot EX
Pidgeot ex is a colorless card with the attack “Blustery Wind,” which deals 120 base damage and has the added effect of discarding any stadium that might be in play (if you so desire). It also has the “Quick Search&rdquꦯo; ability, which will let you search ꩵyour deck for any card once a turn and put that card into your hand.
Pidgeot ex doesn’t have the highest damage output, but it can be well-used as a utility card. The Quick Search ability will allow you to find the cards you need to build up your team quickly or to find tools and support to help you turn the tides of battle. With the addition of Blustery Wind, allowing you to get rid of any stadiums that may be more hindering than help♏ful, and Pidgeot ex’s colorless🐻 typing, this card can quite nicely fill a slot in any deck.
4 🥂 T🐭yranitar EX
An electric type-shifted tera card, Tyranitar ex is a tank of a card that hits hard with the attacks “Mountain Hurl” and “Lightning Rampage.” Mountain Hurl deals 120 base damage but forces you to discard the top two cards of your deck, and Lightning Ra🃏mpage deals 150 base damage with an additional 100 damage if any of your Pokemon have damage counters on them.
The best thing about Tyranitar ex is how tanky it can be. It has the highest HP out of all cards in the entire Obsidian Flames expansion, with an HP of 340. On top of that, the oddity of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:type-shifting terastiallization means that Tyranitar ex can’t be damaged while on thౠe bench and is presented as an electric type with a fighting-type weakness despite also dealing fighting-type damage. So needless to say, Tyranitar ex can take a punch. It can give a punch, too, with Lightning Rampage dealing 250 max damage under the right conditions&🐻mdash;nothing to sneeze at.
3 Toedscruel EX ꧒
Toedscruel ex is a bit of an odd duck that uses the energy on the field to not only protec but also attac. It’s a grass-type ca🍰rd with the ability “Protective Mycelium,” which prevents all effects from your opponent’s attacks to any of your Pokemon with energy attached to them. Unfortunately, damage itself is not considered an effect. It also has an attack of its own called “Colony Ru♎sh,” which does 80 base damage and 40 more damage for each of your benched Pokemon that have any grass energy attached to them.
At its best, Toedscruel is dishing out 280 max damage (that’s quite a bit of damage!), but you’ll need at least eight energy on the field to get Toedscruel to perform. Consider shuffling in some energy-generating Po♍kemon, like the Battle Styles expansion’s Cherrim, to quickly put down all the energy you’ll need. With a little help to rise to the occasion, Toedscruel ex can be quite the beast.
2 Vespiqueen EX ಌ
Vespiqueen ex is a psychic type-shifting tera card with the attacks “Healing Pheromone” and “Phantom Quee🌱n.” Healing Pheromone doesn’t do any damage but will heal 60 damage from one of your Pokemon. Phantom Queen, meanwhile, will attack for 200 base damage and puts three damage counters on each of your opponent’s benched Pokemon that already have any damage counters on it.
This card admittedly takes some finesse to fully pull off and isn’t the most practical. Getting damage counters onto your opponent’s benched Pokemon can be tricky, especially en masse, and requires some specialized cards like the Scarlet & Violet expansion’s Hawlucha. And for three damage counters, it doesn’t really seem worth the effort. Is Vespiqueen ex a winner? Not really—but maybe? At least the he♍aling༺ is nice, even if you could just use a Super Potion for free.
1 Poppy
There aren’t a whole lot of new Supporter or I⛦tem cards in Obsidian Flames worth mentioning. Geeta, Ortega, and Letter of Encouragement are perhaps some, but if you were to take away one, make it Poppy.
Poppy allows you﷽ to move two energy from one of your Pokemon to another. This is good in certain situations where you have a Pokemon that needs a little energy boost in a pinch. Or perhaps you’re going through an energy dry spell, and you need to better allocate already existing energy on the field. Poppy isn’t doing anything ground-breaking, and she’s not adding anything new to the field, but she’s nice to have in your back pocket when your allocated energy needs a little tidying up.