Welcome to SNKRDUNK’s brand-new “Throwback” series. In this series, we’ll take a look at a TCG set about to mark a “milestone” anniversary of its release and discuss the rarest and most expensive cards from the set, how the set impacted the metagame, and various other key points.

To kick off this series, we’re going back a decade. Having been released in Japan on 15 March 2014, Wild Blaze [XY2] was the second main expansion of the sixth Pokémon TCG generation.

Rarest/Most Expensive Wild Blaze [XY2] Cards

Of the 80 cards in Wild Blaze [XY2], four were Double Rare, seven were Super Rare, and three were Ultra Rare—the highest rarity of any card in this expansion. A total of 10 cards came in multiple rarities.

To the surprise of absolutely no one who’s well-versed in the Pokémon TCG, the most expensive card in this set is the Ultra Rare Dragon-type iteration of Mega Charizard ex. Charizards have always been among the most coveted and expensive Pokémon cards—and this Dragon-type Mega Evolution version is no different.

A Grade 9 version of this card can sell for more than US$350, while a PSA 10 version could potentially break the US$2,000 barrier! The card’s novelty as a Dragon-type—as opposed to the usual Fire-type—in addition to the general “prestige factor” among fans regarding the Dragon-type itself drove its value up. For comparison, the Fire-type version of Mega Charizard ex in this same set goes for around US$130 at Grade 9 and just over US$1,600 at PSA 10.

As for cards depicting human characters, we as usual see a female character top the chart. This time around, it’s Pokémon Center Lady. This Super Rare card’s value initially doesn’t jump off the page with a Grade 9 price of slightly less than US$90. However, as soon as this card is upgraded to a PSA 10, its price goes through the roof. A PSA 10 Pokémon Center Lady can be sold for over US$900.

Other standout non-Charizard cards from this set include Kangaskhan ex, which somewhat surprisingly is almost thrice as expensive as its Mega Evolution, and Magnezone ex. The value of these cards as PSA 10s can exceed US$500 and US$400 respectively.

Wild Blaze [XY2] and the Metagame

Like any other expansion set, Wild Blaze [XY2] introduced a number of cards that significantly impacted the Pokémon TCG metagame. Supporter card Lysandre became a staple of many decks of the era due to its much-desired gusting effect. It was often paired with Pyroar and its Intimidating Mane ability. Blocking all damage from Basic Pokémon, Pyroar was a defensive juggernaut. When combined with Lysandre’s gusting, players now had an easy way to pick off vulnerable Basic Pokémon at any time.

To the surprise of some, Druddigon was another card that emerged as a cornerstone of the metagame. At the time, two of the most powerful deck archetypes were centered around Blastoise from the Cold Flare [BW6] expansion and Emboar from the Black Collection [BW1] expansion. These powerful Stage 2 cards were usually paired with Black Kyurem ex from Freeze Bolt [BW6] and Rayquaza ex from Dragon Blade [BW5] respectively. Druddigon’s Revenge attack made it a hard counter to Black Kyurem ex and Rayquaza ex, disrupting those decks’ setup and leaving them high and dry, often unable to get going until it was too late.

Further Information About Wild Blaze [XY2]

In Japan, the release of Wild Blaze [XY2] was accompanied by that of a themed deck: the M-Charizard EX Mega Battle Deck. Featuring the Fire-type Mega Evolution of the ever-popular ‘mon, this deck almost immediately became highly coveted by collectors and players alike. Today, PSA 10 versions of every card in this deck can collectively sell for more than US$250.

When Wild Blaze [XY2] arrived in markets other than Japan, it was rebranded as Flashfire and featured 99 different cards in total. The same 10 cards from the Japanese edition that came in multiple rarities did likewise in the English version.

Two themed decks were released to accompany Flashfire’s international debut: Mystic Typhoon and Brilliant Thunder. However, neither had any cards that particularly moved the needle as far as rarity and price were concerned.

That concludes our TCG Throwback on the Pokémon TCG Wild Blaze [XY2] expansion set. Do stay with us—there’ll be more in the coming weeks and months.

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