It’s amazing how quickly the Pokémon TCG collectors market changes. We’re seeing a ridiculous rise in value for three X and Y era promo cards, which is valid because they’ve always looked amazing. The thing is, Venusaur EX, Blastoise EX, and Charizard EX box promos have never been a highly-priced card. Looking at TCG Player, the market is flooded with lightly played and damaged condition cards, so perhaps the rarer near mint copies of these cards are worth the higher price tag?
In last week’s Crashers and Climbers, we saw signs of Prismatic Evolutions chase cards crashing hard, and for the most part, I was spot on. We’re seeing massive drops on Glaceon ex and Sylveon ex by 28% over the last few days, which is insane. Let’s get into it:
Pokémon Card Crashers
Eevee ex SIR has dropped by 36% since mid-April, which would also mark around the time Prismatic Evolutions reprints started rolling onto store shelves. This alongside the community refusing to pay astronomical prices on Scarlet and Violet chase cards seems to be driving down prices across the board.
Glaceon ex SIR has always been one of the cheaper eeveelutions in Prismatic Evolutions, but seeing a cool 28% drop from $338.69 to $240.98 feels like a half decent plateau, although I would personally put my money on this becoming a sub-$200 card before the year is out.
Sylveon ex SIR is in a more popular-yet similar boat, going down from 28% to just shy of $400 from $562.60. Sylveon isn’t one of my favorites, but the artwork on this card is incredibly detailed. Pair that with Sylveons dedcated fan base and you’re looking at a stable $400 card in my opinion.
Espeon ex SIR is suprisingly cheaper than Sylveon. In my mind, the top two eeveelutions is Espeon and Umbreon. Whilst the latter half of that statement is ridiculously true, it’s a good time to start looking at adding this card to your collection. It’s only dropped by 5%, but 5% off a card that’s pretty much floated around the $350 – $400 mark since launch (after the hype) is pretty good.
If you don’t think Ceruledge is a cool Pokémon, then we can’t be friends. That dark knight energy and purple flames is just epic, and the artwork on Ceruledge ex SIR reflects everything i’ve just said. A Pokémon that can still look this ruthless with a crown of jewels floating on it’s head is worth shelling out $151 for. Expecially once you consider the 27% price drop from $206.71 from the start of May.
Pokémon Card Climbers
Venusaur EX promo was a peak card for me in the X and Y era. My first ever starter was Bulbasaur in Pokémon Blue, and this is the best artwork I’ve seen for its final evolution. Apparantrly i’m not alone, seeing as this card has seen a massive climb of 263% in the space of a week. A near mint conditioned version of this card has climbed from $49.53 to $180 in a matter of days.
Blastoise EX promo is doing the same, although it’s quite a bit cheaper. It’s up 88% in the past week, that’s from $68.94 and currently has listings for $130. That’s currently the cheapest price for it.
In a rare occorance for Charizard collectors, Charizard EX Promo is cheaper than a Venusaur equivalent. It’s a wonderful time to be alive and a fan of grass-types. Zard is still flying high like the other Kanto starters though, a 183% climb in a week. That’s a jump to $129 from $45.58.
Another favorite deck inclusion for me in the X and Y days was Shaymin EX. I bloody love this card. Providing you had double colorless energies to hand, you could use it’s Set Up ability in tandem with it’s Sky Return attack to draw 6 cards from your deck, do 30 damage and heal it by returning Shaymin EX to your hand. Oh, and it’s also raised in value by 44% in a week.
Another card to rise by 41% is Togepi & Cleffa & Igglybuff GX from Pokémon TCG’s Sun and Moon era. The Team Up cards were such a good gimmick and would love to see it come back. It’s also had a crazy climb in the last week, springing from $127.61 to a lofty $180.
Pokémon TCG Stock Update
Long story short; things are looking bleak at retail for Pokémon TCG right now. Almost everything is way above MSRP and seems to becoming the new normal for big box retailers. I could write a whole article and why this is and what should be done to stop this practice, but here we are. If you have your heart set on opening booster packs, have at it, but you might want to check out the sections below to save money.
TCG Player Has The Same Products For Less
TCG Player and the Pokémon TCG secondary collectors market is significantly cheaper than big box retailers at the time of writing. This will likely be the case unless you can secure preorders on new sets such as Destined Rivals, Black Bolt and White Flare. Make no mistake products are still over MSRP, but If small businesses can undercut large retailers on TCG Player, there’s something fundamentally broken in the supplier-distributor-retail chain.
Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of “Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior”. Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.
