The ex era begins. Special Illustration Rares replace Alt Arts. Charizard ex SIR is the new crown jewel at $200-500+. Here's every slot ranked.
Scarlet & Violet base set released March 2023 and kicked off the new ex era — replacing the V/VMAX/V Star format with a return to lowercase "ex" cards (paying homage to the original e-Reader era). The big new rarity: Special Illustration Rares (SIR), which replaced Alt Arts and come with even lower pull rates and a distinctive textured full-art finish.
Special Illustration Rare (SIR): Full-bleed artwork, textured holofoil, ~1 in 90-120 packs. The highest rarity. Examples: Charizard ex SIR, Miraidon ex SIR, Koraidon ex SIR.
Illustration Rare (IR): Full-art with scenic background, no extra texture, ~1 in 40-60 packs. Mid-tier secret rare. Multiple per set.
Hyper Rare (Gold): Gold-bordered cards, replaces Gold Secret Rares from SWSH. Items and Supporters in gold foil.
Double Rare (RR): Standard ex cards with two stars. The base rarity for ex Pokemon — roughly 1 in 8-10 packs.
| Type | Tier | Top Cards | Est. Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🔥 Fire | S | Charizard ex SIR, Charizard ex IR, Arcanine ex | $205-500+ |
| ⚡ Lightning | S | Miraidon ex SIR, Miraidon ex IR, Raichu ex | $80-200+ |
| ⚔️ Fighting | A | Koraidon ex SIR, Koraidon ex IR, Lucario ex | $60-150 |
| 🌿 Grass | A | Meowscarada ex, Sprigatito IR, Oinkologne ex | $15-40 |
| 💧 Water | A | Quaquaval ex, Vaporeon ex, Toedscruel ex | $12-30 |
| 🔮 Psychic | B | Gardevoir ex, Slowbro ex | $10-25 |
| 🌑 Darkness | B | Revavroom ex, Houndstone ex | $6-15 |
| 🔩 Metal | B | Magnezone ex, Orthworm ex | $5-12 |
| ⬜ Colorless | C | Pidgeot ex, Chansey ex | $5-12 |
| 🐉 Dragon | C | Baxcalibur ex | $4-8 |
Charizard ex Special Illustration Rare (card 234/198) is one of the most recognizable cards in the modern era. The art features Charizard in a full-bleed cinematic composition with a distinctive textured finish that photographs beautifully. Charizard perpetually commands collector premiums regardless of competitive relevance, and this particular card sits at the top of the SV1 value hierarchy.
Miraidon ex (Lightning) and Koraidon ex (Fighting) are the version mascots for Pokémon Violet and Scarlet. Both have SIR versions — Miraidon runs $80-200+, Koraidon $60-150. Lightning edges out Fighting as the stronger slot because Miraidon had more competitive play, sustaining its secondary market value longer.
Special Illustration Rares are meaningfully rarer than SWSH Alt Arts. Expect roughly 1 SIR per 2-3 booster boxes (vs 1 Alt Art per box in sets like Evolving Skies). This means break EV is lower per box — compensated by the higher individual card values when they do hit. A Charizard ex SIR in a $15/slot break returns 13x the slot cost. The variance is higher, but the ceiling is higher too.
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