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  • Most expensive Pokémon TCG Black Bolt and White Flare cards

    Most expensive Pokémon TCG Black Bolt and White Flare cards


    Pokémon TCG Black Bolt and White Flare both dropped on July 18, 2025, introducing a plethora of beautiful new cards for collectors to sink their teeth into. Featuring a brand new rarity and artwork by legendary Pokémon artists, it’s a dual set worth watching.

    To help you plan which chase cards to go after, I’ve hunted down the most expensive cards in Pokémon TCG Black Bolt and White Flare, using data from a multitude of sites to pick out the most valuable pieces at the time of writing. 


    The Escapist recaps

    • Pokémon TCG Black Bolt and White Flare released as a dual special set on July 18, 2025, with 172 and 173 cards apiece.
    • A new rarity was introduced with this release, called a BWR, or Black White Rare.
    • Due to the popularity of the Unova Pokémon and the beautiful artwork, the prices for this set have been high since launch day, although some are settling down.
    • The most expensive cards in Black Bolt and White Flare include all three of the Black White Rares, as well as the Special Illustration Rares for the box Legendaries.

    Seismitoad (BLK 105)

    A Pokémon card featuring Seismitoad with 170 HP, showcasing attacks "Round" and "Hyper Voice," with colorful artwork
    Shinji Kanda has an utterly iconic art style. Image credit: The Pokémon Company
    Card Seismitoad
    Card Number 105/086
    Set Black Bolt
    Card Type Illustration Rare
    Selling For $70-$200

    Is anyone surprised to see this card on the list? I honestly thought it’d be higher up – Shinji Kanda is an absolute icon in the Pokémon TCG community, with a following of dedicated fans that adore his mind-melting art style.

    Seismitoad isn’t a hugely popular Pokémon by any means, but it looks powerful and otherworldly thanks to the psychedelic artwork on this card.

    I spotted auction prices ranging from $70 all the way to $200 while digging around for data on this card, so if you’re keen on getting it, I’d suggest watching the prices and seeing if they settle down in the coming weeks. 

    Reshiram ex (WHT 166)

    A Pokémon card featuring Reshiram-EX with 230 HP, showcasing attacks "Slash" and "Blazing Burst," with vibrant artwork
    This piece accurately captures the strength of Reshiram in the lore. Image credit: The Pokémon Company
    Card Reshiram ex 
    Card Number 166/086
    Set White Flare
    Card Type Special Illustration Rare
    Selling For $120-$215

    This card manages to make Reshiram look poised and powerful, which pairs with the Pokémon perfectly. It’s an elegant yet destructive Special Illustration Rare, with spectacular artwork by kawayoo.

    It’s one of the most expensive Special Illustration Rare cards in the White Flare list, giving fan-favorites Keldeo and Hydreigon a run for their money.

    While researching, I found that the majority of the auction prices for this card sat in the range of $120 to $190, with a few higher prices based on quality. Graded copies, particularly PSA 10 slabs, went for even larger sums. 

    Zekrom ex (BLK 166) 

    A Pokémon card featuring Zekrom-EX with 230 HP, showcasing attacks "Slash" and "Voltage Burst," with striking lightning artwork
    This card has an electrifying aesthetic. Image credit: The Pokémon Company
    Card Zekrom ex 
    Card Number 166/086
    Set Black Bolt
    Card Type Special Illustration Rare
    Selling For $100-$220

    While it’s not selling for quite as much as its Black White Rare counterpart, this iteration of Zekrom ex is still a worthy chase card to pick up for your collection.

    With artwork by danciao, Zekrom feels as if it’s ripping out of the card, shredding the sky apart with lightning bolts. It’s a visually stunning piece, so I wasn’t surprised to see prices ranging from $100 to $220, with even higher prices popping up for graded copies. 

    Reshiram ex (WHT 173)

    A Pokémon card featuring Reshiram-EX with 230 HP, showcasing attacks "Slash" and "Blazing Burst," with minimalistic white artwork
    Much like the next card in the list, Reshiram ex is strong. Image credit: The Pokémon Company
    Card Reshiram ex
    Card Number 173/086
    Set White Flare
    Card Type Black White Rare
    Selling For $310-$440

    Reshiram ex is a magnificent card, topping the charts as one of the most expensive pieces in White Flare. It’s the most affordable Black White Rare currently on the market, but that’s not saying too much as the prices are still decently hefty.

    Most auctions that I found for the BWR copy of Reshiram ex placed it between $300 and $380, with a few exceptional prices at either end of that spectrum. There were a few copies up for auction on eBay in the realm of $180, but I can’t see that lasting too long as it’s an immensely popular card right now.

    As with any high-value Pokémon card, it’s crucial to make sure that you buy from verified sellers and always do a price check before making a purchase. Despite the set dropping a few weeks ago at the time of writing, prices are still likely to change somewhat. 

    Zekrom ex (BLK 172)

    A Pokémon card featuring Zekrom-EX with 230 HP, showcasing attacks "Slash" and "Voltage Burst," with sleek black artwork
    This card has some competitive potential. Image credit: The Pokémon Company
    Card Zekrom ex
    Card Number 172/086
    Set Black Bolt
    Card Type Black White Rare
    Selling For $300-$450

    There isn’t much of a difference between the BWR cards for Zekrom ex and Reshiram ex, but the Black Bolt card comes out ever-so-slightly on top.

    In my opinion, it’s the best looking card out of the bunch – it’s dynamic and polished, with the lighting on Zekrom still managing to make the creature pop despite the overall aesthetic theme being incredibly dark.

    The majority of the prices I found while digging into this card ranged from $300 to $400, with a few higher-quality pieces taking the auction price well over the $400 mark.

    Graded copies are selling for higher prices, so if you pull this and don’t want to keep it, it could be worth getting it graded before choosing a platform to sell it on. 

    Victini (BLK 171/WHT 172)

    A Pokémon card featuring Victini with 80 HP, showcasing the attack "V-Force," with bold red artwork
    It’s not a powerful card, but it’s exceptionally valuable. Image credit: The Pokémon Company
    Card Victini
    Card Number BLK 171/086 or WHT 172/086
    Set Black Bolt/White Flare
    Card Type Black White Rare
    Selling For $300-$600

    At the time of writing, Victini is one of the most expensive cards you can pick up from both Black Bolt and White Flare. Unlike most of the cards in this list, it pops up in both sets, featuring slightly different card numbers. 

    While searching for live auction data, I found prices in the range of $300 to $600 for good quality copies of the card, but also spotted some PSA 10 copies that were starting to creep into the thousands. It’s a card that’s got the community talking and the current prices reflect this. 

    Victini is one of the first Black White Rare cards in existence and it has a striking aesthetic, with a vivid red color theme and dynamic design.

    I’m predicting that the hype for some cards from Black Bolt and White Flare will start to die down, but I think Victini will continue to be a hugely popular card in the collector’s scene, at least for the next few months. 

    Pokémon TCG Black Bolt and White Flare both have an impressive roster of cards up for grabs, and they’re worth picking up if you’re a collector looking to stock up on valuable pieces. The prices in this list are sure to fluctuate after publication, so always double check prices on other sites before making a purchase, especially for higher value cards. 

    Ask The Escapist

    Does Black Bolt or White Flare have the most valuable Pokémon cards?

    While they both offer plenty of artistic and monetary value, Black Bolt stands out as a slightly better option for avid Pokémon TCG collectors who are looking to invest in top-tier cards.

    Where do you find out how valuable a Pokémon card is?

    I’d recommend shopping around and using a range of sources – for example, I referenced Cardmarket, Price Charting, TCGPlayer, Collectr, and eBay for this article. If you’re investing in an expensive card, research is crucial. 

    What’s the difference between Pokémon Black Bolt and White Flare?

    Despite being part of the same release, it’s best to think of Pokémon TCGBlack Bolt and White Flare as separate special sets. They have individual card lists and rare hits, with a variety of art styles contained in each pack.


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  • Everything We Know About Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 So Far

    Everything We Know About Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 So Far


    At the end of the Xbox Games Showcase, Microsoft surprised gamers with the debut teaser for the latest Call of Duty. While official information is still scarce, here’s everything we know about Black Ops 7.

    Setting and Story

    While the last several Call of Duty games have elected to stick to historical or modern settings, Black Ops 7 is heading back to the future. Despite being numbered to follow 2024’s Black Ops 6, the latest CoD actually has way more in common with the classic Black Ops 2.

    Like Black Ops 2, 7 will take players a decade ahead of the game’s release and predict a near future full of technology which revolutionizes the way wars are fought. Black Ops 7 takes place in 2035, with characters from Black Ops 2 returning in the form of David Mason, Menendez, and Harper. The announcement blog further teases the setting as a “world on the brink of chaos, ravaged by violent conflict and psychological warfare”.

    While story details are still being kept classified, the cryptic teaser does give fans a taste of what to expect. That trailer is filled with surreal, mind bending environments which confirm the spirit of Black Ops as a trippy espionage thriller is still alive and well. Several of these aforementioned locales allude back to classic characters and missions from early Black Ops campaigns. Most notably, David Mason confronts Raul Menendez in a recreation of the room has father was interrogated in over the course of the original Black Ops story.

    Multiplayer, Zombies, and More

    As exciting as a new Black Ops Campaign can be, Call of Duty’s suite of multiplayer modes is what keeps players hooked all year. That being said, the Campaign does actually fit in here, too. Perhaps whats most exciting about Black Ops 7’s story is that fans will be able to experience it with others. In a rare move for the franchise, this year’s campaign is confirmed to be playable co-op or solo, allowing fans to play the narrative out together for the first time in a decade.

    For fans of Call of Duty’s PvP offerings, Black Ops 7 is expected to have the classic Multiplayer modes, as well as some new ones. Black Ops 7 will continue the trend of a direct sequel to a previous Call of Duty entry in an odd numbered year; just as Modern Warfare III followed up II the year before it. However, unlike MWIII, Black Ops 7 is confirmed to have several brand-new Multiplayer maps at launch, rather than just a collection of remasters.

    The seasons of Warzone content to follow the Black Ops 7 launch seem to feature a new large-scale map called Avalon. Several prominent CoD content leakers have claimed Avalon was originally set to release with Black Ops 6, but was delayed too make room for the re-introduction of Verdansk. Several of the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer maps take place in or around Avalon, and the surrounding area matches up with some brief looks at gameplay in the first Black Ops 7 teaser.

    A brief look at this year’s Zombies offering was also shown. Black Ops 7 will once again feature the classic Round Based Zombies mode. Our first look at the horde mode this year shows a group of zombies being alerted by the turning on of headlights in a rural environment. Many fans believe this could be some sort of remake or reimagining of Tranzit, the launch map for Black Ops 2 Zombies, as the teaser images seem to include that map’s Farm locale and bus. Fans have long wanted a reinvention of the controversial map on new hardware, and with Black Ops 7 being a direct sequel to 2, the time may finally be right.

    A full reveal of Black Ops 7 is promised for this summer. In the meantime, you can play Black Ops 6 & Warzone on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Black Ops 7 will be available on all those platforms as well. It is unknown if and when the game will come to the Nintendo Switch 2.


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  • League of Legends hits pause on new skins to rework disappointing Black Rose set

    League of Legends hits pause on new skins to rework disappointing Black Rose set


    It’s update day in League of Legends, and while patch 25.10 is now live and the patch notes are out in the wild, it’s actually news about 25.11 that’s caught my attention. With 25.11 heading to the PBE, Riot has revealed that for the first time in a long while, there will be no new skins on the test server to uncover, and thus no new skins when the update drops later this month. The reason? Riot’s put most of its energy into reworking its underwhelming and controversial Masque of the Black Rose skin series.

    The start of the year was a rough one for League of Legends, and one of several contributing factors was the fact that premium, high-cost skins were just not hitting the quality mark. One of the very first skin lines to drop in 2025, the Masque of the Black Rose set suffered from this mediocrity as well despite featuring in the battle pass, and Riot is now trying to make good with some extensive overhauls. Featuring Elise, Ezreal, Renata Glasc, Samira, Vladimir, and a Prestige Katarina, the splash arts for this set looked stunning. It also explored a really cool theme, with the Black Rose being a shady secret society in LoL’s universe.

    However, when fans of the MOBA actually saw these skins on the Rift, it was a different story. There were criticisms of bland and basic designs that felt underwhelming given the money needed to acquire some of them and the expectations the splashes had set.

    In 25.11, reworks for the skin line will arrive, and with the update now on the PBE you can check out the transformations for yourself. Masque of the Black Rose Elise, Renata, Samira, and Vladimir are the champion skins benefitting from enhanced visuals. The video below from SkinSpotlights is a brilliant before and after comparison.

    YouTube Thumbnail

    However, the work needed to overhaul the Black Rose skins has come at a cost. “We hit pause on skins that would’ve normally dropped in this upcoming window so we could go back and give the Black Rose skins a little extra love; a mix of updates across models, textures, and VFX,” Riot reveals in the patch notes for today’s 25.10 update. So, that means that 25.11 will have no new skins to speak of. Wild.

    It’s unclear from Riot’s use of the phrase “upcoming window” whether we may actually see more than one patch without new skins, but I’m assuming it’s just referring to 25.11 – we couldn’t see back-to-back skinless updates, could we? Getting just one is pretty unheard of.

    LoL patch 25.11 should roll out on Wednesday, May 28 according to Riot’s update schedule.

    For more, check out what’s in the LoL Mythic Shop right now, or consult our LoL tier list to find out which champions are dominating the meta right now.

    You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.



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  • Black Ops 7 leak claims limited-time events will be paywalled

    Black Ops 7 leak claims limited-time events will be paywalled


    07/05/25 A representative working on behalf of Activision has contacted PCGamesN directly to confirm that this leak is not true.

    Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is rumored to lock limited-time events, and the associated rewards, behind a battle pass paywall. That’s according to one recent leak and fans are, unsurprisingly, not happy about the possibility of having to pay to access these game modes.

    It’s long been rumored that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is getting a sequel, one which picks up the story of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. However, one leak suggests this as-yet-unannounced FPS game’s multiplayer mode could feature an unwelcome change.

    Posting on X/Twitter, leaker The Ghost of Hope stated that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will feature more limited time events and game modes. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s events are a fun way of shaking things up, and they also offer exclusive player rewards. From Activision’s perspective, they help raise engagement with the game.

    But, according to the leaker, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s limited time events and modes won’t be free. “The only way to play the LTMs will be to have the battle pass unlike how it’s currently free for everyone.” So, most if not all of these modes will allegedly be exclusive to battle pass purchasers.

    A leak about Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

    The Ghost of Hope has been on the money before and, if true, this could lose Activision a lot of goodwill. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has mixed reviews on Steam, and fans have a lot to say about this alleged move.

    Responses to the tweet range from skepticism through to boiling rage, some drawing comparisons between this alleged move and a recent Black Mirror episode. Your average Call of Duty player might not spend a fortune on battle passes and cosmetics, but if player numbers dwindle to such a point that the big spenders move away, Activision could have a problem.

    Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has yet to be officially announced, but if you’re playing the current entry, we’ve got the best BO6 weapons and the best BO6 loadouts.

    You can follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides. We’ve also got a vibrant community Discord server, where you can chat about this story with members of the team and fellow readers.



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