The Best Charizard Pokémon Cards

Well that’s quite the title don’t you think?! I’m sure you read that and thought, “Surely you can’t rate them all? How will you choose the best one with so many iconic and playable cards to choose from?”

Well, fear not! Today we are going to take a journey through Pokémon history and look at some of my favourite Charizard cards and what makes them so special. But first, we need to understand why Charizard deserves to have a whole article dedicated to it.

The Rise of Charizard: Why It’s a Fan Favourite

Charizard burst onto the scene in the late 1990’s with the release of the original Pokémon games. Alongside Venusaur and Blastoise, Charizard was one of the first, and in my opinion best, starter evolution trios. You could pick up your Charmander from Professor Oak’s Lab and journey through Kanto, training and battling your way through the gyms and eventually evolving your Charmander into a Charmeleon and finally a Charizard. At that point, 9 year old you probably felt unstoppable on your rise to the top and eventual defeat of the Elite Four!

For many people, this is where their love of Charizard began. It was a powerhouse in the game, helping to take down any foe that stood before it. It’s also a giant, orange dragon that breathes fire and can fly you around on its back! What’s not to love? When the Pokémon Trading Card game was released in English in 1999, fans were delighted to find a Charizard card in the set. This card has achieved an iconic status within the game and is now one of the most sought after and valuable cards of all time.

Charizard’s popularity only grew even more as he was one of Ash’s main Pokémon in the anime, alongside his trusty Pikachu. As you can see, Charizard has been front and centre in the video game, the trading card game and the anime. Even if we didn’t want it to be popular, it was its destiny.

Throughout the years, Charizard has only continued to grow in popularity. Recently, this may have had something to do with collectability and value, rather than how much people actually like the Pokémon. Charizard cards from recent sets have instantly become the chase cards and have driven prices through the roof. I think people are looking for that next Base Set Charizard and hoping that their cards will be worth what one of those is in a few years time. Aside from Pikachu, I’m sure there are lots of non Pokémon fans who could tell you who Charizard is. Its reach extends well beyond the borders of our game and it has exploded into popular culture across the world.

Classic Charizard Cards: An Overview of the Originals

As we mentioned, the first Charizard cards released in the Base Set have achieved legendary status and pushed the boundaries of card collecting due to their rarity and value. It is also probably the most iconic artwork ever produced and is easily recognisable. That same artwork has been recreated multiple times, even in the first few years of the Pokemon Trading Card Game. You don’t have to look too far into the following sets to find it again in Base Set 2 and even in Legendary Collection. They may be essentially the same card, but they are not that First Edition Shadowless Charizard from the 1999 Base Set. These cards have been popularised even more in recent times by ‘celebrities’ who have probably helped to inflate prices significantly.

As the years moved on, the Charizard cards kept coming and they kept building their reputation and popularity. There are some real hidden gems through the ex era of Pokémon in the early 2000’s right through to the Diamond and Pearl series. The game was nowhere near as popular then as it is today and a lot of the cards are extremely rare.

The Crystal Charizard from Skyridge is a fantastic card and is extremely valuable. It was from the last set produced by Wizards Of The Coast and is super rare. Not only that, but trying to find one of these cards in good condition is like finding gold dust, most have been lost or damaged over the last 20 years. Another hidden gem from the earlier years is the secret rare Charizard from Stormfront. Again, this was a special reprint of that original Base Set artwork, illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita and it was released as part of the set alongside the Charmander and Charmeleon, all as secret rares.

If we were to rank Charizard cards by value, then most, if not all, of the the top 10 would come from this vintage era of Pokémon. If you are lucky enough to own any of them then make sure you keep them well protected and stored or displayed properly.

Modern Editions: Charizard’s From Recent Years

How far back we go to class sets as being modern is a topic of debate and it’s hard to believe that Pokémon X and Y is already 10 years old! But these more modern sets have provided us with some fantastic cards and it is where we begin to find some of the stunning full art cards. We only need to go a little way back to Sun and Moon Hidden Fates to find ourselves that beautiful shiny Charizard GX, which was a shiny reprint of the rainbow rare Charizard GX from Sun & Moon Burning Shadows. Both of these cards are highly collectable and sought after. We could even pick out the incredible full art Charizard from XY Flashfire or even the secret rare Mega Charizard from that same set. I’m sure modern collectors will remember these fondly.

We even saw Charizard teaming up with other Pokémon during the Tag Team era and this provided us with the Reshiram & Chariard GX, which was a fantastic card, both visually and playability wise. Charizard even received its own version of the Ultra Premium Collection Box, an incredible box packed with goodies, including 3 different promo cards, all featuring brand new Charizard artwork. These deserve a special mention here as that is the only way to acquire those 3 cards, you can’t get them from packs.

Even as we head through to the most recent sets and the release of the Scarlet and Violet expansion, the Charizard cards keep coming. Take the Obsidian Flames set for example, that was basically a Charizard set. It featured 4 different versions of the Charizard ex, each one extremely collectable and extremely playable. This has driven their prices up to surprising levels. Even with the most recent release of Pokemon 151, we have seen even more incredibly sought after Charizard cards that will be ones to look out for in a few years. Make sure you’ve got them well protected if you were lucky enough to pull one!

Charizard Cards As Valuable Collectibles

Thanks to its popularity as a Pokémon and the iconic history of its cards, you are likely to find that if there is a Charizard card in a set then it is pretty likely to be the most valuable card. That’s just the way it is these days but at least that makes it easy for you to spot potential value! I’m sure you have seen the value that a lot of these Charizard cards can hold and it tends to be as the cards become older and are no longer printed that we will see the largest increases in value.

If you decide to grab some Charizard cards to hide away for the future in the hope of making a profit, make sure you select ones which have something that makes them standout. That could be full art cards or alternate art cards, perhaps a reprint of an iconic card or maybe the first Charizard card printed in a new era of Pokémon. As we have seen before, Charizard cards generally tend to increase in price over the years, but selecting individual cards to use as an ‘investment’ is risky, as there is no way to accurately predict what a card is going to do in future.

As with all of your collectable cards, you need to make sure that what you are investing in is genuine and so make sure you buy from reputable sellers. You may end up paying a few pounds more from a shop than you would on ebay, but at least you can guarantee its authenticity. When you have your dream card in your possession, make sure that you keep it well protected and safe from damage. Sleeves and toploaders are a must for any of your most valuable cards. You can find everything you need over on our website.

Charizard is one of the most popular Pokemon and often translates into the most valuable cards. If you have some in your collection then make sure you look after them because if history has told us anything, it’s that all Charizard cards become valuable when given enough time. It’s nice to see some recent Charizard cards being extremely playable as well and it has become a staple of this format following its release in Obsidian Flames.

Head over to our website to check out a selection of amazing Charizard cards and grab some for your winning deck!