Paradox Rift, the fall set of Pokémon TCG cards, contains more full-art, top-quality, collectible cards than any set previously, and they’re tough to pull. As such, it’s no surprise to learn the rarest and prettiest of these are fetching some hefty prices. Here are the top 10 most valuable cards in the set.
This year, since the grey-bordered refresh of the Pokémon TCG franchise, prices for new cards have taken a hefty nosedive. With the collapse of interest in gold cards (potentially gone in next year’s Paldean Fates set, replaced with hyper rares “featuring a new and unique raised foil effect”), and the relative international uninterest in so-called “waifu” cards outside of Japan, we’ve seen a big drop in fees for the resale market.
However, Paradox Rift has found a sweet spot: it’s stacked with so many stunning cards, but crucially many of them are enormously playable too. Cards like Roaring Moon ex and Iron Valiant ex are the foundation of many decks, with the Ancient and Future themes shifting the meta (as a wise man once predicted it would.) Hence their special illustration rare incarnations are desperately sought, for maximum brag value and dominance in the live game.
The result is a top five cards that are all currently fetching over $30 each, and the first $100+ non-Charizard in forever. In fact, the whole top ten doesn’t dip below $20, in comparison to other recent sets where the chart-toppers have struggled to reach $15.
As ever, the joy of the Pokémon TCG is that no one needs to be spending that sort of money if they want to keep up with competitive play. There are more basic, cheaper versions of all of these cards. The only eye-watering issue is Roaring Moon, a card so dominant in the meta that even its most basic incarnation, the standard ex “double rare” version, is fetching $13. Ouch. Tell you what though—pull one, and they’re eminently pullable—and you can make triple the pack price from anyone hovering at your local card shop.
With all that said, let’s get to looking at the pretty, shiny cardboard.
