Pokémon TCG · 2020 Set Guide
Darkness Ablaze Set Guide
The set that introduced Charizard VMAX and Eternatus VMAX. Its regular Charizard VMAX is its most valuable card, and the whole set costs less than any other Sword & Shield main expansion.
Overview
Darkness Ablaze is the third Sword & Shield expansion: 189 cards up to the printed total and 12 secret rares above it (190 to 201).
Its Pokémon V and VMAX include Charizard VMAX, whose G-Max Wildfire does 300, Eternatus VMAX, which lets an all-Darkness side bench up to 8 Pokémon, and Crobat V, whose Dark Asset draws to 6 cards. None of its secret rares reach $20, which leaves the regular Charizard VMAX at the top.
Cards and rarities
Darkness Ablaze has 201 cards. Every card shows its number over the printed total along the bottom, as in "001/189", next to the set code DAA.
The printed total is 189, so the 12 cards from 190 to 201 are secret rares. Set completion in TurnZero HQ counts a set against its printed total and keeps the secret rares apart, so finishing the main set and chasing the cards above it read as two separate goals. How set completion works →
Headline Pokémon
A Pokémon V gives up two Prize cards when Knocked Out, and a Pokémon VMAX, which evolves from it, gives up three. Three of this set's:
Charizard VMAX
Darkness Ablaze #20
330 HP VMAX. G-Max Wildfire does 300 and discards 2 Energy from it.
Eternatus VMAX
Darkness Ablaze #117
340 HP VMAX. Eternal Zone: if all your Pokémon in play are Darkness type, you can have up to 8 Pokémon on your Bench.
Crobat V
Darkness Ablaze #104
180 HP. Dark Asset: when you play it onto your Bench, you may draw until you have 6 cards in your hand.
Trainers worth knowing
Two Supporters from the set:
The chase card: Charizard VMAX
Darkness Ablaze's chase card is Charizard VMAX, numbered 020/189, a Rare Holo VMAX, illustrated by aky CG Works, at $38.59 on October 22, 2026.
The Rare Rainbow Butterfree VMAX (190/189) was second at $17.42 and the Rare Rainbow Salamence VMAX (194/189) third at $14.66.
Charizard VMAX is printed only once in Darkness Ablaze, here.
Only the exact version is worth its price. The number at the bottom of the card and the rarity symbol beside it tell you which one you pulled. Reading the number and rarity symbol →
Chase cards and prices
The regular Charizard VMAX leads, more than double the rainbow Butterfree VMAX in second.
| Card | Rarity | Market price, October 22, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Charizard VMAX | Rare Holo VMAX | $38.59 |
| Butterfree VMAX | Rare Rainbow | $17.42 |
| Salamence VMAX | Rare Rainbow | $14.66 |
| Scizor VMAX | Rare Rainbow | $11.58 |
| Eternatus VMAX | Rare Rainbow | $9.84 |
| Rillaboom | Rare Secret | $7.40 |
| Charizard V | Rare Holo V | $7.23 |
These are each card's headline TCGplayer market price on October 22, 2026. Prices can move a long way, most of all in a set's first months, so treat them as a snapshot. Each card's page shows today's price for every variant and its 90-day chart. How Pokémon card prices work →
What a complete set costs
One copy of every card in Darkness Ablaze, bought as singles, cost $241.82 on October 22, 2026. That is the least expensive of the seventeen sets in the Sword & Shield series.
The three most valuable cards, Charizard VMAX, Butterfree VMAX and Salamence VMAX, come to $70.67, or 29% of the total. Without them the set costs $171.15. Of the 198 cards, 168 were under $2.00, together $47.24; the other 30 add up to $194.58.
Three cards had no TCGplayer price on file and aren't counted: Heat Fire Energy, Hiding Darkness Energy and Powerful Colorless Energy.
Each card is counted at its cheapest priced variant, a Normal copy rather than a Reverse Holofoil where both exist, at its TCGplayer market price. This is what it costs to buy the set as singles. It is not what opening packs returns, and not what a complete set would sell for, which after fees and the many cards worth cents would be noticeably less.
Playing it
Darkness Ablaze cards carry the D regulation mark, and Standard has allowed only H, I and J since April 10, 2026, so none is Standard-legal as printed. Every card in Darkness Ablaze is legal in Expanded, which takes every set from Black & White on.
A reprint with a legal mark makes older printings of the same card legal again, so check a card's name before you rule it out.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Darkness Ablaze release?
August 14, 2020. Its set code is DAA.
How many cards are in Darkness Ablaze?
201. The printed total is 189, and the 12 cards numbered above it are secret rares.
What is the most valuable Darkness Ablaze card?
The Rare Holo VMAX Charizard VMAX (020/189), at $38.59 on October 22, 2026, ahead of the Rare Rainbow Butterfree VMAX (190/189) at $17.42. Prices move daily, so check each card's page for the current figure.
Track your Darkness Ablaze cards.
Scan cards in by the set code and number at the bottom, see how much of the set you own, and value every copy from daily TCGplayer prices. Free to start.
Create Free AccountPokémon and Pokémon character names are trademarks of Nintendo. ©Pokémon. ©Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc. TurnZero HQ is not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, Creatures Inc., or GAME FREAK inc. Card data comes from the open PokemonTCG dataset, and prices from TCGplayer.