I thought I’d start a series called the top 3. Focusing on DP to current sets.
Let me know your top 3 favorite full art cards from the Black and White era and why?
- Darkrai
- Lugia
- Raikou
Dark Explorers blew it out of the park with the Full Arts.
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First three that came to my mind:
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- Mew - Radiant Collection
Still a really unique Fullart card with a it’s color palette and holo pattern. - Lugia - Plasma Storm
Again a great choice of colors and theme matching the depicted pokemon. - Zekrom - Legendary Treasures
Until they released the new golden cards I thought this was a pretty unique idea. I still like it, especially because it’s a lot less flashy and vibrant than the newer ones.
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So many epic full arts, it’s hard to pick just three! Here are the ones I like most now, but honestly you could make an argument for so many:
- Ho-Oh
The colors, the pose, just such a clean artwork. And people say 5ban isn’t a good artist. It’s pretty hard to make Ho-Oh look bad, but man is this beautiful.
- Groudon
Another epic artwork, the gold outline on the EX FAs works super well with Groudon. Big fan of this art.
- Darkrai
Gotta agree with you that Darkrai is in the top 3. Been one of my favorites for a long time and was the first PSA 10 BW full art I got, in my first ever PSA submission! Will always have a place in my heart and my collection. Won’t post a scan as you already have, and I’ve flexed enough 10s 
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I dont think i could pick just 3
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The BW era are definitely interesting cards. Some cards like Darkrai and Lugia really don’t pop unless you have them in person. Other cards that are very colorful like Mew and Ho-oh have bright vibrant colors and stunning patterns that show well in pictures.
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1. Mewtwo-EX Next Destinies
Pretty easy decision imo. Gorgeous purples, nice combination with the blue, Mewtwo’s ready to charge up an X-Ball. On top of the fact that this card was pretty meta-defining, it’s at the top for sure.
2. Keldeo-EX Boundaries Crossed
Another meta-defining (and Worlds-winning) card that pairs exceptional artwork with a dynamic and eye-popping background. I love the accents of the feathers in Keldeo’s mane (or whatever those are called). Really solid-looking card.
3. Shaymin-EX Next Destinies
I love Skymin as a Pokémon. Big fan of the greens on the card and the touch with the leaves in the background. The card was also a ton of fun to play with alongside Cofagrigus PLF, so I have a few memories attached to the card as well.
Honorable mentions definitely go to Darkrai, Latias, and Ho-Oh. Not sure what the hype is around Lugia tbh haha
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Dark Explorers.
That’s it. They win every category for FAs.
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I definitely wouldn’t be able to choose a definitive 3 favorites so I’m just going to put a few that haven’t been mentioned yet. I will say that Darkrai is a pretty clear first place for the era for me but most of these are so good, especially in person with that texture.
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This post inspired me to switch out my display cards for the month! These are my 3 faves. Gen 3 legendaries will always hold a special place in my heart. If I had to rank them: 1. Kyogre, 2. Ray, 3. Groudon
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@mario005, that looks amazing!
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Thanks man! It’s my not-so-subtle way to get guests to ask me about my collection haha
I would say Latias and Latios EX from Plasma Freeze especially in Japanese because I just love how the textures make cards look like and combine well together:
And for the third card I would probably choose Groudon EX FA from Dark Explorers or Rayquaza EX FA from Dragons Exalted.
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Jirachi
Mew
Ray
- Black Kyurem EX FA
- Jirachi ex FA
- Rayquaza ex FA
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Oh I don’t fucking know. 
Honestly, these were a low point foundation after the ultimate legendary 2 piece HeartGoldSoulSilver chase cards. Those two dragons still hauntaunt me to this day after being just outed by price at the time of release before the ascension.
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What a great thread idea! I LOVE BW full arts. I think they have some of the most beautiful artworks ever made (aside from WOTC of course). I agree with many of the above posts. Love them all but if I had to narrow it down to 3 it would be:
Darkrai EX FA - Dark explorers
Mewtwo EX FA - Next Destinies
Mew EX FA - Dragons Exalted
Love the colors in the mewtwo and mew, and darkrai just looks like an absolute beast. I’d love to see more of these threads!
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Some of my other favourites already got some love so giving these three some shine too. Kyogre especially, you gotta hold one in your hands, I think the Dark Explorers full arts in general look much better in person than in pictures. They’re a lot darker and really fit with the set title.
The Zekrom and Reshiram I like because similar to the Kyogre I like the backgrounds. Zekrom gets lightning, Reshiram gets fire and that’s pretty neat. It’s more exciting than a random burst of colour or whatever, always appreciate a little uniqueness and the little touches make the cards pop. The texture of the Reshiram is also pretty interesting, not textured the way most full art exs are.
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