# What's the best binder size for Darkness Ablaze?

> The best binder for Darkness Ablaze is a 9-pocket; the 189-card set fills about 21 pages, or 40 for a master set.
>
> Source: https://www.nomekop.app/faqs/best-binder-size-for-darkness-ablaze — NOMEKOP, an independent Pokémon TCG binder tool
> (not affiliated with Nintendo / The Pokémon Company). Figures as of June 2026.

**The best binder for Darkness Ablaze is a 9-pocket; the 189-card set fills about 21 pages, or 40 for a master set.**

## Why 9-pocket suits Darkness Ablaze

A 9-pocket binder shows a full 3×3 spread and sleeves Darkness Ablaze's 189 base cards in numbered order with no wasted slots. A 4-pocket is nice for a slim display of just the chase cards like Charizard VMAX, Butterfree VMAX, Salamence VMAX and Scizor VMAX; a 12-pocket fits more per page but is bulkier to flip. For a full set, 9-pocket is the sweet spot.

## Darkness Ablaze pages per binder size

**Base set (189 cards):**
| Binder | Pages |
| --- | --- |
| 4-pocket | 48 |
| 9-pocket | 21 |
| 12-pocket | 16 |
| 16-pocket | 12 |

**Master set (356 cards):**
| Binder | Pages |
| --- | --- |
| 4-pocket | 89 |
| 9-pocket | 40 |
| 12-pocket | 30 |
| 16-pocket | 23 |

## Displaying the Darkness Ablaze chase cards

If you'd rather build a one-page showcase than a full binder, these are the cards worth front-and-center:

- [Charizard VMAX (#20)](/card/swsh3-20) — Rare Holo VMAX (~$54.31)
- [Butterfree VMAX (#190)](/card/swsh3-190) — Rare Rainbow (~$24.05)
- [Salamence VMAX (#194)](/card/swsh3-194) — Rare Rainbow (~$15.88)
- [Scizor VMAX (#193)](/card/swsh3-193) — Rare Rainbow (~$13.33)

## What that means for Darkness Ablaze

In a 9-pocket binder the base set fills 21 pages. Going for the full master set — all 356 cards including 155 reverse holos — pushes that to 40 pages, so budget a binder (or two) and the sleeves to match. Star Pokémon like Butterfree, Salamence and Scizor are worth a dedicated spread of their own.

A common setup for Darkness Ablaze: one 9-pocket binder of about 21 pages for the base 189 cards, kept in number order, and a second binder for the 155 reverse holos and 12 secret rares. Premium side-loading sleeves are worth it for the 0 full-art chase cards.

Figures from the pokemontcg.io dataset, as of June 2026.