One Pokémon has three verified secret-tier prints here, each at a different rarity.
Ruler of the Black Flame, set code SV3, released in Japan on July 28, 2023 as the third core Scarlet & Violet set. It runs 141 cards and is built around a triple-print Charizard ex run — Secret Rare, Special Art Rare, and Ultra Rare versions of the same card in the same set — alongside a run of Secret Rare/Special Art Rare pairs for five other Pokémon and Trainer cards. That structure is unusual enough that it’s one of the reasons this box keeps coming up in buyer questions years after release.
This guide covers what’s actually in a Ruler of the Black Flame box, which pulls define the set, and what’s currently listed on our site — including the difference between our booster box listing and the separate Deck Build Box, which is a different product entirely. We ship Japanese sealed product out of Tokyo, so the prices below are what we carry right now.
Ruler of the Black Flame (SV3) is 141 cards — 108 base plus 33 secret-tier (12 Art Rare, 12 Secret Rare, 6 Special Art Rare, 3 Ultra Rare) — released July 28, 2023. The headline pull is Charizard ex, with three verified secret-tier prints at three rarities (125/108 SR, 134/108 SAR, 139/108 UR). Our SV3 Ruler of the Black Flame Booster Box is currently listed at ¥17,160 (~$108). The separate Ruler of the Black Flame Deck Build Box is currently listed at ¥5,400 — these are two different products, covered below.
Prices below are our current listed prices as of September 2026, converted at ¥159/USD.
What’s in a Ruler of the Black Flame Box
Ruler of the Black Flame is a 141-card Scarlet & Violet core set, split into a 108-card base set and a 33-card secret tier:
| Tier | Rarity | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Secret tier (33) | AR Art Rare | 12 |
| SR Secret Rare | 12 | |
| SAR Special Art Rare | 6 | |
| UR Ultra Rare | 3 | |
| Base set | — | 108 |
The card numbers for the secret tier run 109/108 through 141/108, sitting above the 108-card base set exactly as the rowspan above implies — 108 base cards, then 33 more numbered past the set’s nominal size.
Packs-per-box and cards-per-pack figures for this specific set aren’t confirmed from what we’ve verified this session — other same-era Scarlet & Violet core sets typically run 30 packs per box at 5 cards per pack, and Ruler of the Black Flame is very likely built the same way, but we’re flagging that structure as unverified specifically for SV3 rather than stating it as confirmed fact. We don’t cover pull rates or pull odds here — our source for this set is a card-list breakdown, not an official rate sheet, so we won’t invent numbers we can’t back up.
For the full 141-card breakdown, see our Ruler of the Black Flame SV3 card list.
Chase Cards in Ruler of the Black Flame
What makes this set stand out isn’t just one big secret rare — it’s a whole run of cards printed at two or three rarities each.
The Triple-Printed Chase: Charizard ex
Charizard ex is the set’s signature pull, and it’s printed three separate times:
Three rarity tiers of the same card, in the same set, is not the norm across Scarlet & Violet core sets — most signature Pokémon get a Secret Rare and, at most, a Special Art Rare upgrade. Ruler of the Black Flame gives Charizard ex all three: a Secret Rare at 125/108, a Special Art Rare at 134/108, and the set’s Ultra Rare slot at 139/108. This isn’t currently a live single listing on our site — if you’re after a graded or raw copy of any of the three, the Quick Order page is the fastest way to flag what you’re after.
The Secret Rare / Special Art Rare Pairs
Five other Pokémon and Trainer cards get the same two-tier treatment — a Secret Rare paired with a Special Art Rare upgrade of the same character:
| Card | Secret Rare | Special Art Rare |
|---|---|---|
| Eiscue ex | 121/108 SR | 133/108 SAR |
| Revavroom ex | 127/108 SR | 135/108 SAR |
| Pidgeot ex | 128/108 SR | 136/108 SAR |
| Geeta | 129/108 SR | 137/108 SAR |
| Poppy | 131/108 SR | 138/108 SAR |
Between the Charizard ex trio and these five pairs, six of the set’s twelve Secret Rares belong to a Pokémon or Trainer card that gets reprinted at a higher tier elsewhere in the same set — Charizard ex plus the five SR/SAR pairs above. That pattern is a structural feature of Ruler of the Black Flame, not something we’re speculating about — it’s directly visible in the card numbers above.
Single Secret Rares and the Remaining Ultra Rares
The other six Secret Rares don’t get an SAR upgrade and round out the tier as single-tier prints: Tyranitar ex (122/108), Vespiquen ex (123/108), Glimmora ex (124/108), Absol ex (126/108), Ortega (130/108), and Ryme (132/108). The set’s remaining two Ultra Rares beyond Charizard ex are Trainer and Energy cards: Artazon (140/108) and a full-art Basic Fire Energy (141/108) closing out the set at card 141.
A PSA10-graded Ortega single has appeared on our own card-list page before, but it is not part of our current listed anchors — this print is not listed on our site at the moment, and sourcing requests for it go through the Quick Order page. The same applies to any of the other secret-tier singles named above: none of them are currently listed as standalone products, only the sealed box below.
Booster Box vs Deck Build Box on Our Site
We list two Ruler of the Black Flame products, and they get confused with each other because the set name is identical — but they are not the same product, and the price gap between them reflects that.
| Listing | Price |
|---|---|
| SV3-Ruler Of The Black Flame Japanese Pokemon Booster Box | currently listed at ¥17,160 (~$108) |
| Ruler of the Black Flame Deck Build Box | currently listed at ¥5,400 |
The Booster Box is the sealed pack product covered throughout this guide — it’s where the Charizard ex triple-print run and every other card discussed above actually comes from. The Deck Build Box is a different, separately structured Scarlet & Violet product line released alongside the main set: it centres on preconstructed deck contents, but per the official product listing it also includes 10 random Ruler of the Black Flame booster packs, so it can still yield secret-tier pulls — it just isn’t built primarily as a pack-opening product the way the Booster Box is. If your goal is maximising chances at the SR/SAR/UR cards covered in this guide, the Booster Box’s full box of packs gives you more chances than the Deck Build Box’s 10 included packs; the Deck Build Box mainly serves constructed-deck players who also want a shot at some pulls.
Both products carry “Ruler of the Black Flame” in the name. Confirm you’re looking at “Booster Box” versus “Deck Build Box” in the title before checkout — the ¥11,760 gap between the Booster Box (¥17,160) and the Deck Build Box (¥5,400) reflects genuinely different contents, not a discount on the same product.
Where to Buy a Ruler of the Black Flame Booster Box from Tokyo
We ship sealed Japanese product worldwide from Tokyo with tracked delivery. The SV3-Ruler Of The Black Flame Japanese Pokemon Booster Box above is the direct route to the Charizard ex triple-print run and the rest of the secret tier; the separate Ruler of the Black Flame Deck Build Box is worth a look if constructed play, rather than pulls, is the goal.
For the wider Japanese Pokémon booster box range, browse our Pokemon booster box collection. If you’re weighing this set against its numbered sibling, our SV3 vs SV3a box comparison lines the two up directly, and our Raging Surf (SV3a) card list and pull rates guide covers the follow-up set in the same numbered pair.
For any secret-tier single not currently listed as a standalone product — Charizard ex at any of its three rarities, Ortega, or any of the other named chases above — the Quick Order page is the fastest way to build a mixed order or flag what you’re after.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SV3 Ruler of the Black Flame?
Ruler of the Black Flame is the third core Scarlet & Violet set released in Japan, on July 28, 2023. It contains 141 cards — a 108-card base set plus a 33-card secret tier — and is best known for printing Charizard ex at three separate rarities.
How many cards are in Ruler of the Black Flame?
141 total: 108 base-set cards plus 33 secret-tier cards, split into 12 Art Rare, 12 Secret Rare, 6 Special Art Rare, and 3 Ultra Rare.
Why are there three verified secret-tier Charizard ex prints?
Ruler of the Black Flame gives Charizard ex a Secret Rare (125/108), a Special Art Rare (134/108), and the set’s Ultra Rare slot (139/108) — a three-tier treatment that most other signature Pokémon in the set don’t get. Five other cards get a two-tier SR/SAR pairing, but Charizard ex is the only one printed at all three rarities.
What’s the difference between the SV3 Booster Box and the Deck Build Box on your site?
They’re different products. The Booster Box is the sealed pack product that contains the secret-tier cards covered in this guide, currently listed at ¥17,160 (~$108). The Deck Build Box is a separate, constructed-deck-oriented product from the same set, currently listed at ¥5,400 — it also includes 10 random Ruler of the Black Flame booster packs, so it can still yield secret-tier pulls, just fewer chances than the full Booster Box.
Is Ruler of the Black Flame the same as Obsidian Flames?
Ruler of the Black Flame is the Japanese printing we carry. It’s commonly identified in the wider hobby as the Japanese counterpart to the English set Obsidian Flames, though that pairing has not been independently re-confirmed this session — treat it as reported rather than fully verified.
Where can I buy a PSA10 Ortega or other Ruler of the Black Flame singles?
None of the secret-tier singles named in this guide, including Ortega, are currently listed as standalone products on our site — only the sealed Booster Box and Deck Build Box are. Sourcing requests for specific singles go through our Quick Order page.
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