OBSIDIAN FLAMES CHARIZARD EX IS RISING AND THE OBSIDIAN FLAMES BOOSTER BOX IS THE BETTER BUY
TL;DR: The Obsidian Flames Charizard ex gold card jumped to $35.45 on TCGplayer in the week of October 19, 2026, up 11.2 percent in a week. My call: BUY the Obsidian Flames booster box at $380 or less ($377.13 on October 28, 2026) and WAIT on the single. Prices observed October 28, 2026.
The Numbers Behind This Call
- Charizard ex, Obsidian Flames 228/197, Hyper Rare (gold), raw Near Mint: $35.45 TCGplayer Market Price in the week of October 19, 2026 (72 sales), up from $31.87 the week before. Live Market $33.38 on October 28, 2026. Peak $47.42 in the week of June 1, 2026.
- Obsidian Flames booster box, sealed, English, 36 packs: $377.13 TCGplayer Market Price on October 28, 2026. $369.45 in the week of October 19. $308.31 in the week of October 27, 2025.
- Obsidian Flames booster pack, loose: $12.20 TCGplayer Market Price on October 28, 2026, up from $7.92 in the week of October 27, 2025. 36 packs at $12.20 come to $439.20.
- Obsidian Flames Elite Trainer Box, standard, sealed, 9 packs: $270.34 TCGplayer Market Price in the week of October 19, 2026. Peak $328.80 in the week of May 4, 2026.
- Our own rising page, October 28, 2026: the gold Charizard ex at $35.77, up 7.6 percent in 7 days and 5.3 percent in 30 days, third on the list.
The Obsidian Flames Charizard ex price is moving again. The gold Charizard ex from Obsidian Flames, card 228/197, had a raw Near Mint Market Price of $35.45 on TCGplayer in the week of October 19, 2026. The week before it was $31.87. That is up 11.2 percent in seven days, on 72 sales, so this is real buying and not one lucky listing.
Our own rising page caught it too. On October 28, 2026 it had the gold Charizard at $35.77, up 7.6 percent in 7 days and 5.3 percent in 30, third on the whole list. A 2023 Charizard climbing while the new 2026 sets slide is a pattern I know well. When I see it, I do not chase the card. I buy the box.
My call is BUY on the sealed Obsidian Flames booster box at $380 or less, and WAIT on the gold single.
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Sitting on Obsidian Flames sealed and wondering whether to add? Write to the editor with what you paid and I will tell you how I would play it.
The Gold Charizard Did Move
Here is the run on the Obsidian Flames Charizard ex single. The gold card read $26.61 on TCGplayer in the week of October 27, 2025. It climbed to a peak of $47.42 in the week of June 1, 2026, then bled down to $31.59 in the week of October 5. The jump to $35.45 is the first real up week since the summer.
It is already cooling. TCGplayer’s live Market for the card read $33.38 on October 28, 2026, below last week’s close. And the card is still 25.2 percent under its June peak. One good week does not make a trend, and that is exactly why I would rather own the thing that holds every Charizard in the set.
The other Charizards in the set are not running with it. The Charizard ex 215/197 Ultra Rare read $21.29 on TCGplayer in the week of October 19, 2026, against $21.38 in the week of September 28. Flat. The demand is on one card, and one card can cool off in a week.
The Booster Box Has Not Budged
Now look at the box. The sealed Obsidian Flames Booster Box had a TCGplayer Market Price of $377.13 on October 28, 2026. Its weekly closes since the week of August 10 have all landed between $365.85 and $374.92. Eleven weeks, a band about $9 wide.
A year ago the same box was $308.31, in the week of October 27, 2025. It bottomed at $289.54 in the week of November 17, 2025 and topped out at $398.30 in the week of June 29, 2026. So it is up 19.8 percent in a year and only 7.2 percent off its high. Boring. I LOVE boring in sealed product.
Then there is the pack math. A loose Obsidian Flames booster pack sold for $12.20 on TCGplayer on October 28, 2026, up from $7.92 a year earlier. The box holds 36 of them, which is $439.20 in loose packs. The box sells for $377.13. You are getting every pack for about 86 cents on the dollar, and every pull of the gold Charizard ex comes with it.
Is Obsidian Flames sealed a good buy right now?
Yes. The Obsidian Flames Charizard ex jump is the tell, and the booster box is the buy at $380 or less. Obsidian Flames came out on August 11, 2023. Its cards carry the G regulation mark, which left Standard play on April 10, 2026, and I have found no new print run since. The Pokemon Company International does not publish out of print dates, but a set rotated out of play with no reprint is out of print to me.
Here is the piece nobody else is printing. The gold Charizard ex swung 11.2 percent in one week. The box that holds it moved less than 3 percent across eleven. When a 2023 Charizard starts climbing again and the box is still sitting in a tight band under the value of its own packs, the box has not caught up yet. That is the gap I am buying.
The new sets are going the other way. Mega Darkrai ex, Pitch Black 116/084, Special Illustration Rare, was down 45.2 percent from its release week to $161.39 on TCGplayer as of October 6, 2026. Money is leaving the 2026 product and finding older Charizard cards, which is why I said sealed beats singles two weeks ago.
The ETB Is the Pricier Way In
The standard Obsidian Flames Elite Trainer Box had a TCGplayer Market Price of $270.34 in the week of October 19, 2026. That is 9 packs, or about $30.04 a pack. The booster box works out to about $10.26 a pack on its $369.45 weekly close. The ETB is the collector piece. The booster box is the value buy.
The ETB also shows the risk. It spiked to $328.80 in the week of May 4, 2026 and is down 17.8 percent since. Obsidian Flames sealed can fall. If you already own ETBs, hold them, since they are still up 67.0 percent from $161.88 a year ago. Do not confuse the standard box with the Pokemon Center Elite Trainer Box either, which had a $620.51 TCGplayer Market Price on October 28, 2026 and is a different product.
What Could Break This Buy
The box has gone sideways since August, so this is a time trade, not a momentum trade. The Obsidian Flames Charizard ex pop could also fade fast, and the live $33.38 says it already is. That is why I am buying half now and half lower.
A weekly TCGplayer close under $350 on the booster box would put it below every weekly close since the week of March 30, 2026. That is my pause level. Any official reprint news would end the buy outright.
Are you buying the box, chasing the gold Charizard, or holding what you already have? Tell me where you stand in the comments.
More calls like this one live in our Investment Guides coverage.
The Obsidian Flames Booster Box Is a BUY at $380 or Less
My position on the sealed Obsidian Flames booster box is BUY at $380 or less. It sold for $377.13 on TCGplayer on October 28, 2026, under the $439.20 its 36 packs bring loose. I am buying half now and the second half under $360. I expect it to work its way back above the $398.30 June high over the next couple of years as the set stays out of print.
On the gold Charizard ex 228/197, I WAIT. A raw Near Mint copy at $31 or less, where it traded October 9 to 11, is fine. Two straight weekly TCGplayer closes above $38 end the wait early. A weekly close under $350 on the box pauses my buying. Bring your dated comps to our Facebook page and I will run them.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the gold Charizard ex from Obsidian Flames worth?
Charizard ex 228/197, the gold Hyper Rare from Obsidian Flames, had a raw Near Mint TCGplayer Market Price of $35.45 in the week of October 19, 2026, on 72 sales. TCGplayer’s live Market read $33.38 on October 28, 2026. Its 52 week high was $47.42, in the week of June 1, 2026.
How much is an Obsidian Flames booster box right now?
A sealed English Obsidian Flames booster box of 36 packs had a TCGplayer Market Price of $377.13 on October 28, 2026, and a weekly Market of $369.45 in the week of October 19. A year earlier, in the week of October 27, 2025, it was $308.31.
