Staraptor Alternate Art vs Full Art: Which to Chase?

In TCG ·

Staraptor card art from Darkness Ablaze (SWSh3-147)

Image courtesy of TCGdex.net

Staraptor in Darkness Ablaze: A Study of Alternate Art and Full Art Collecting

In the evolving world of the Pokémon TCG, two variants capture the eye of collectors and the hearts of players alike: alternate art and full art. Staraptor from Darkness Ablaze (swsh3-147) sits at an interesting crossroads for both worlds. With its native rarity listed as Rare and a sturdy 150 HP, this Colorless Pokémon stands as a mid-to-late-game powerhouse in Expanded formats. Evolving from Staravia, Staraptor weathered a lot of attention for its bold silhouette and dynamic personality—traits that artists and collectors prize in equal measure. The card’s illustration is credited to AKIRA EGAWA, whose expressive lines and motion-packed composition give Staraptor a sense of speed and ferocity that resonates with fans of the bird’s legendary flight.

Alternate art cards typically replace the standard illustration with a new, sometimes dramatic, depiction—oftentimes created by a different artist to capture a fresh vibe. Full art variants, on the other hand, push the artwork to the edges of the card, sometimes harmonizing with holo foils to create a complete visual feast. Staraptor’s standard listing in Darkness Ablaze side-steps a few of those extremes by existing as a robust, visually striking piece in the normal and reverse-holo realms, while the broader Collectors’ market keeps a close eye on how these variants perform in value and playability. ⚡🔥

From a gameplay perspective, Staraptor’s kit is as much about energy choreography as it is about raw strength. The two attacks—Hurricane Blender and Brave Bird—offer a compelling trade-off. Hurricane Blender, a one-colorless-cost move, lets you move any amount of Energy from your Pokémon to your other Pokémon in any way you like, providing a flexible engine for power allocation. This can enable late-game finisher plans where you shift resources to a key attacker or pull lingering energy out of the wings of a slower partner. Brave Bird, demanding three Colorless energies, lands a punishing 170 damage while mandating you accept 30 damage to Staraptor itself. That recoil demands careful timing: you want Staraptor to connect when you can weather the recoil or have protective mechanics backing it up. In Expanded play, this energy pivot and the heavy-hitting Brave Bird can swing matchups against bulky rivals—especially when you’ve staged Staraptor to avoid the worst of its weaknesses. Weakness to Lightning ×2 and a -30 resistance to Fighting shape the kind of metas where Staraptor shines or stumbles.

Why the Variant Debate Helps Your Collection

For collectors, the allure of alternate art versus full art isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about rarity, nostalgia, and future value. Staraptor’s identity as a Rare card in Darkness Ablaze, with a strong, action-packed illustration by AKIRA EGAWA, makes it a very tangible candidate for both playability and display. The normal (non-holo) variant sits alongside a reverse-holo option; the holo versions—where they exist in the broader market—carry a premium that reflects their eye-catching foil and scarcity in the wild. In this case, pricing data from Card Market and TCGPlayer shows a quiet but meaningful spread: typical non-holo values hovering around €0.20–€0.30 with occasional spikes, while holo or reverse-holo versions pull higher, often approaching the mid-range of a few tenths to half a dozen euros depending on the market and region. The market isn’t just about a single price tag, though—the dynamic nature of card supply and demand means the best-known variants can swing with new printings, reprints, and rotating formats. Trade-focused players may also see a spike when Staraptor fits into a deck that returns energy flow into the right place at the right moment. 💎🎴

Value Trends and Practical Buying Advice

  • Standard vs Expanded: Staraptor swsh3-147 is marked non-Standard but Expanded legal, so if you’re building modern collections or decks, keep that format distinction in mind. The card’s power ceiling benefits from the extended card pool in Expanded, where energy manipulation strategies frequently surface.
  • Variant pricing: CardMarket shows an average around €0.22 for base variants, with holo variants attracting higher ranges (roughly €0.5–€0.6 in many listings). On TCGPlayer, normal copies sit around a low of ~0.08–0.25 USD with occasional highs near $4.99 for particularly sought-after printings or near-mint copies; reverse-holo copies trend higher still. These figures reflect broader market volatility and the ongoing appeal of Staraptor’s dynamic art and punchy attacks.
  • Playability meets collectibility: The synergy between Hurricane Blender’s energy shuffling and Brave Bird’s raw power makes Staraptor a reasonable pick for players who enjoy flexible energy management. For collectors, the draw of a rare card illustrated by AKIRA EGAWA—especially in a desirable holo or reverse-holo format—often outpaces simple play value over time as examples of the set’s art direction come into sharper focus.

When deciding which version to chase, consider your goals: if you prize pristine display pieces and the drama of a full-bleed art style, a holo full-art presentation will typically feel more cinematic on a shelf. If you’re prioritizing budget-conscious collecting with a fitting display, the normal or reverse-holo variants maintain strong appeal while offering a friendlier entry point. Either way, Staraptor’s flavor—its aerial swagger, its energy-bending trick, and its bold 150 HP frame—remains a memorable emblem from Darkness Ablaze. 🎨🎮

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