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The base set of Black Bolt is 86 cards. The numbering runs to 172, and those 86 extra cards are the special prints people open packs for.
This is the full list, split by rarity, with collector number, artwork and price. If you are after the ranking sorted by value instead, it is in the article on the most expensive Black Bolt cards.
In short. The signature card of Black Bolt is Zekrom EX Special Illustration Rare (#172) at 557.32 €; the print that closes the numbering, meaning the hardest one to find, is Victini Secret Rare (#171). The value is spread out: the top three cards make up only 47% of the total, and below them the drop is gradual. Prices for English-language singles in Near Mint condition, 28 August 2026.
What is the rarest card in Black Bolt?
It depends what you mean, and here the two answers do not coincide.
If you mean the signature card, the one everybody calls the rarest in the set, it is Zekrom EX Special Illustration Rare (#172): it is worth 557.32 € and it is the most expensive card in Black Bolt.
If you mean the hardest print to find, it is Victini (#171), the only Secret Rare in the set. It closes the numbering, the slot conventionally reserved for the prints that come out of packs least often, and it costs 390.64 €.
Pull rates are never published, so there is no official answer on which card is genuinely the rarest. The only measurable indicator is the price, which is where the few copies in circulation meet the people looking for them: and the price says Zekrom EX #172 sits 166.68 € above the closing print.
Black Bolt is the twin of White Flare and shares its odd shape: the prints beyond the base set are as many as the base set itself, eighty-six against eighty-six. And as in its twin, most of the value does not sit in the top tier but in the Illustration Rares, sixty-nine of them here, worth more than every Special Illustration Rare put together.
Zekrom EX appears two times, and the prices are nothing alike
The same Pokémon shows up two times among the special prints, at wildly different prices:
- #172, Special Illustration Rare: 557.32 €
- #166, Special Illustration Rare: 240.64 €
Its versions together are worth 797.96 €, which is 32% of every special print in the set, and between the dearest and the cheapest there is a 2x gap. It is the most common mistake when valuing a collection from memory: the Pokémon does not decide the price, the print does. The number at the bottom decides everything.
Sign up to DarkDex for free and record the exact number of yours: every variant carries its own value and updates itself.
The eight Special Illustration Rares (#164-172)
These eight cards are worth 1,115.28 € together, from 26.41 € up to 557.32 € for Zekrom EX (#172). The internal spread is enormous, and below the first card it drops away fast: this tier is almost entirely completable for a few euros.
The 20 most expensive Illustration Rares (#087-153)
The tier holds 69 cards in all: these are the 20 dearest, and the other 49 all sit below 28.00 €. These are worth 985.45 € together, from 28.13 € up to 118.43 € for Seismitoad (#105).
The only Secret Rare (#171)
It is a single card, worth 390.64 €.
The six Full Arts (#156-161)
These six cards are worth 9.74 € together, from 1.09 € up to 3.04 € for Zekrom ex (#158). The whole tier costs less than ten euros: completing it is the part of the job that takes no decisions at all.
The two Ultra Rares (#162-163)
These two cards are worth 6.56 € together, from 1.33 € up to 5.23 € for N's Plan (#163). The whole tier costs less than ten euros: completing it is the part of the job that takes no decisions at all.
What it costs to complete the Black Bolt special prints
Bought one by one as singles, the 37 cards listed above cost 2,507.67 €. The other 49 left out of the lists all sit below 28.00 € each. The distribution matters more than the total:
- the top three cards are worth 47% of it
- the eight Special Illustration Rares are worth 1,115.28 €
- the 20 most expensive Illustration Rares are worth 985.45 €
- the only Secret Rare is worth 390.64 €
Put practically: without Zekrom EX #172 and Victini #171, the rest costs around 1560 €. No single card blocks the bill: this is a set you complete one piece at a time.
Frequently asked questions about Black Bolt chase cards
How many chase cards does Black Bolt have?
The base set is 86 cards and the numbering runs to 172, so the special prints are 86, across eight Special Illustration Rares, twenty Illustration Rares, one Secret Rare, six Full Arts and two Ultra Rares.
What is the rarest card in Black Bolt?
It depends what you mean. The signature card, the one the market pays most for, is Zekrom EX (#172) at 557.32 €. The print that closes the numbering, so the hardest to find, is Victini Secret Rare (#171). Pull rates are never published, so there is no official answer.
What is the most expensive card in Black Bolt?
Zekrom EX Special Illustration Rare (#172), at 557.32 €.
Are Black Bolt chase cards printed in other languages?
Yes, the set is printed in several European languages. The prices on this page are for English copies in Near Mint condition, and other languages trade at their own prices.
How to follow their value without redoing the maths
The prices above are a snapshot taken on 28 August 2026 and they move. Add your cards to your DarkDex collection: each one with its number, its rarity and its language, and a value that updates itself. It is free and runs in the browser, with nothing to install.
