[Update 2 Jul 2024] This card has now emerged as a key part of the metagame heading into the World Championships in August. Its addition to the Lugia VSTAR deck has greatly elevated that deck by serving as a key draw engine and helped the deck remain a powerhouse even as other decks have since fallen off.

Arriving just in time for Golden Week, Mask of Change [SV6], a Pokémon TCG set themed around the content from the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet video games’ DLC The Teal Mask, has brought a fresh set of majorly-coveted cards. Undoubtedly, one of the biggest pulls of this set is the Special Art Rare (SAR) version of the Carmine card.

A student of the Kitakami region’s Blueberry Academy, Carmine played a key role throughout the entire Ogerpon story arc, assisting the player character on multiple occasions. It soon became clear that she had become one of the breakout fan favorites of the DLC and was subsequently brought back for The Indigo Disk, the second DLC of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

The card’s Full Art illustration depicts Carmine enjoying herself at the Festival of Masks, a critical juncture in the Teal Mask storyline. In addition, Carmine herself embodies a certain character archetype that appeals to many fans—and this goes beyond the usual “female character value boost” that applies to cards featuring one. Her slightly narrowed eyes may also play up this aspect to an extent.

Like the other cards in Mask of Change [SV6], this card isn’t out in English yet.

One copy of the SAR version of a Carmine (Mask of Change [SV6] 130/101) card sells for 15,000 JPY (~US$95).

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