• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Pokémon Trading Card Game |OT| Gotta Collect them all!

johnsmith

remember me
After playing a lot of Lurantis GX on ptcgo have to say it's not that good. At least I didn't have a good experience with it. I only built a 3-3 line, though not sure if 4-4 would be any better. Tried both Garbordor and Vileplume and I like Garb better. I guess I'll wait to see if anybody plays it at Anaheim and how it performs there.
 
I bought a random pack today. Yooooooo!
HuVAQjA.jpg


I think this is a missprint though.
As you can see, all of the texturing is completely off and results in the card having an awkward look to it. Is anyone else's full arts, specifically Team Skull Grunt, misaligned like this. I'm sure this is an error because there is no way TPC would be happy with this.
 

johnsmith

remember me
Quality control on this set is trash. The full art in my box was cut totally off center. Didn't notice the texturing to be off though.
 

teeny

Member
I bought a random pack today. Yooooooo!



I think this is a missprint though.


As you can see, all of the texturing is completely off and results in the card having an awkward look to it. Is anyone else's full arts, specifically Team Skull Grunt, misaligned like this. I'm sure this is an error because there is no way TPC would be happy with this.

Ouch. Is it possible to get replacement cards from TPC if they're that badly misprinted/cut?
 

N.Domixis

Banned
Quality control on this set is trash. The full art in my box was cut totally off center. Didn't notice the texturing to be off though.

Pokemon cards seem so low quality these days. All the corners are always fucked up for me. They are never as rounded as they were back in the day. Also the off center image and damaged surfaces scratches, scrapes, bends etc.


Also just got another espeon gx, maybe I'll trade it.
 

RoadDogg

Member
Hi I sent you a PM regarding some bulk energy/common/uncommon cards if you're interested.

Thanks again for the help! Can't wait to see his face! Can't wait to see my wife's face either when she sees his collection grow exponentially. I'm going to have to invest in more books to hold them all.
 
I kinda want to just collect every card in the sun and moon set. What do i buy?
1) Buy a booster box.
2) If the cost of the remaining cards in the set is significantly more than buying another box, buy another box.
3) Buy the rest of the cards individually.
4) Sell your extras in a lot, sell the rarer ones individually.

I understand the S/M sets are oversaturating the secret rares (at least, in Japan) so you might have to spend quite a lot to get everything.
 

N.Domixis

Banned
1) Buy a booster box.
2) If the cost of the remaining cards in the set is significantly more than buying another box, buy another box.
3) Buy the rest of the cards individually.
4) Sell your extras in a lot, sell the rarer ones individually.

I understand the S/M sets are oversaturating the secret rares (at least, in Japan) so you might have to spend quite a lot to get everything.

Yep I realized this when going after the evolution set. I spent like 200 dollars. Should have just bought 2 boosters. Will be doing this for moon and buy the remaining.
 
Ouch. Is it possible to get replacement cards from TPC if they're that badly misprinted/cut?
Gonna find out. I haven't seen anyone else with this issue?


It begins

It ends



Yep I realized this when going after the evolution set. I spent like 200 dollars. Should have just bought 2 boosters. Will be doing this for moon and buy the remaining.

Pretty much. But there is 159 cards(including the secret/hype rares) so it is much more to collect.
 
It has been years since I had Yugioh cards in my Hand, maybe thats why I see them so small

What élite trained box is better, Evolutions or Steamsiege?

Steamsiege is pretty good.

Evolutions really doesn't have much going for it:
Brocks Grit (+ Full art)
Misty's Determination (+ Full art)
Dragonite EX (+ Full art)
Ratatta
Starmie

and the nostalgia redesigns of old cards that are in rotation such as:
Energy Retrieval and Switch.

SteamSiege has a good set of cards:
Yanmega
Talonflame
Talonflame Break
Volcanion
Volcanion EX
Amoongus
Yvetal
Gardevoir
Mega Gardevoir
Cobalion
Klefki
Xerneas
Hawlucha

The trainers:
Professor Sycamore (+ Full art)
Pokemon Ranger
Ninja Boy

It's a damn good set.

I've almost finished building my Donald Trump deck.
Look at these walls!

It has no energy and since the sun and moon set came out, I've put this into my Wailord deck and now it's just a tanking arsehole deck. I love it. It has no energy and is all about discording your cards and screwing over the opponent. Even when I do get hit it's just endless healing. The reason why I put Gumshoos GX in it, is because I can now search the opponents deck for what cards they have and then use Team Skull Grunt from the same set to discard the opponents energy. It's funny as hell.
 

johnsmith

remember me
It has been years since I had Yugioh cards in my Hand, maybe thats why I see them so small

What élite trained box is better, Evolutions or Steamsiege?

I agree with BumblebeeCody. Steam siege is much better for playable cards. Evolutions is a collectors set.

I've almost finished building my Donald Trump deck.

Look at these walls!

It has no energy and since the sun and moon set came out, I've put this into my Wailord deck and now it's just a tanking arsehole deck. I love it. It has no energy and is all about discording your cards and screwing over the opponent. Even when I do get hit it's just endless healing. The reason why I put Gumshoos GX in it, is because I can now search the opponents deck for what cards they have and then use Team Skull Grunt from the same set to discard the opponents energy. It's funny as hell.

My Sun Moon box had all 3 Gumshoos GX in it. Regular, full art, and rainbow rare. I wasn't happy.
 
My Sun Moon box had all 3 Gumshoos GX in it. Regular, full art, and rainbow rare. I wasn't happy.

Derium made a good summary in his latest video.

Copied from reddit pkmntcg:
Vast majority of boxes have exactly 4 RA GX and 1 FA GX. Very few exceptions.
A box can have 1-3 "wild cards", ie SR, FA Trainer, or RR GX
6012 pack video implies ~1.33 wild cards per box average
6012 pack video implies ~20% of wild cards are gold border SR, ~40% are FA trainers, and ~40% are RR GX

Derium thinks each half of a case should have a gold border SR. But he only gets 48 gold border SRs in the 167 booster boxes video, which is less than 2 per case.
Stats
1 RA GX per 9 packs
1 FA GX per 36 packs
1 RR GX per 68 packs
1 FA Trainer per 68 packs
1 SR per 136 packs
1 Ultra Rare per 5.66 packs

Based on your pulls and my pulls, this seems about right. So we can pretty much guarantee that the stats seem about right in that the boxes are set in a certain way.

Also, if you want some background noise while you're doing work or playing games, Derium has an 8 hour video opening 6000 packs ($24000 worth) of Pokemon Sun and Moon boxes.
 

RoadDogg

Member
So what is the point of opening that many packs? Is there a garunteed roi in buy cases? I have to assume that buying a complete set is way cheaper.
 

johnsmith

remember me
So what is the point of opening that many packs? Is there a garunteed roi in buy cases? I have to assume that buying a complete set is way cheaper.

Maybe if you can get wholesale prices for the cases and sell the singles at retail it's worth it, but for your average person buying booster boxes is a waste, and buying at retail of $4 a pack is really really bad.

The only retail product worth buying is the $10 Black Friday tins with competitively useful cards.

Opening packs is fun and addictive though, so people still do it. Myself included.
 

RoadDogg

Member
Good to know. The place by my work that I found sells packs for $3 so I will have to remeber that when my son gets into that phase. Our walmart is like $4.15 a pack, I was wondering if that was a rip off or not. Guess it is.
 

johnsmith

remember me
Good to know. The place by my work that I found sells packs for $3 so I will have to remeber that when my son gets into that phase. Our walmart is like $4.15 a pack, I was wondering if that was a rip off or not. Guess it is.

About $2.50 a pack if you buy a booster box is pretty average, it's not hard to find boxes for $90 so $3 a pack isn't bad. Occasionally you can get better deals, like when ebay has those $15 off flash sales. I was able to buy a booster box for $78 which is $2.17 a pack.
 

SaviourMK2

Member
After opening 2 boster boxes and 2 Elite trainer boxes, here is my ultra rare count

- Espeon-GX (Rainbow)
- Nest Ball (Gold)
- Lillie (Full)
- Professor Kukui (Full)
- Lurantis-GX (Full)
- Tauros-GX (Full)
- Solgaleo-GX
- Incineroar-GX
- Incineroar-GX
- Decidueye-GX
- Lurantis-GX
- Gumshoos-GX
- Umbreon-GX
- Espeon-GX
- Lapras-GX

I should note, that only Lapras-GX came from the Elite Trainer boxes. All in all, pretty above average boxes
 

johnsmith

remember me
They seriously feel like opening a YouTube video and getting rickrolled. That's the only way I can describe it.

This time I'm really done buying booster boxes. I could have bought another 2 shaymins, 4 decidueyes, so much stuff, instead of wasting money on cards I'l never use.
 

teeny

Member
How does the pricing fluctuations of singles work? I expect that the cards start off relatively expensive as people are looking to complete sets as close to release as possible. If a card is competitively useful it then retains or even increases in price while the cost for other singles decreases. Then, prices rise on the whole the older the set gets.

Would that be correct? I'm trying to work out the best time to buy the last few EX cards (and one BREAK) as singles.
 
Thinking about getting a box or two of Pokémon cards. Not in any capacity for competitive play but for random opening videos. Already do it for a few sets but want to try pokemon.

Are there any sets released in the last 6 or so months that are to be avoided? Reading the amazon reviews here on the sun/moon stuff has people complaining about the RR rates whatever those are lol.
 
So what is the point of opening that many packs? Is there a garunteed roi in buy cases? I have to assume that buying a complete set is way cheaper.
That's almost always the case. I dunno why but I have extremely good pull rates (Or luck for those that use that term) so I got fortunate but I still could've used that money to buy the card itself. I could've spent another £3.50 on an XY Evolution pack and "gambled" getting that final Nidoking but said "screw it" and bought it online for £2.

Opening packs is fun and addictive though, so people still do it. Myself included.
Yep same. Was really addicted in October through November when I got into the TCG. Spent several hundred alone on the cards.

After opening 2 boster boxes and 2 Elite trainer boxes, here is my ultra rare count

- Espeon-GX (Rainbow)
- Nest Ball (Gold)
- Lillie (Full)
- Professor Kukui (Full)
- Lurantis-GX (Full)
- Tauros-GX (Full)
- Solgaleo-GX
- Incineroar-GX
- Incineroar-GX
- Decidueye-GX
- Lurantis-GX
- Gumshoos-GX
- Umbreon-GX
- Espeon-GX
- Lapras-GX

I should note, that only Lapras-GX came from the Elite Trainer boxes. All in all, pretty above average boxes
Sounds about right for a set. I think it's safe to the say the pull rates are easily predicted from that Reddit post.

Got these today. Bought 10 packs.

Edit: Tauros was from the box with 8 card packs and dice and stuff.
Good pulls!

Another Gumshoos GX and Goomshoos full art from my 2nd box. FML.
Bruv. I know that feels.

How does the pricing fluctuations of singles work? I expect that the cards start off relatively expensive as people are looking to complete sets as close to release as possible. If a card is competitively useful it then retains or even increases in price while the cost for other singles decreases. Then, prices rise on the whole the older the set gets.

Would that be correct? I'm trying to work out the best time to buy the last few EX cards (and one BREAK) as singles.
Many points to factor in the value of a card. The easiest one being the rarity but the second being competitive use.

Rarity:
Obviously when it comes to rairty people would rather get the best of the best.
You get can get:
Gumshoos GX 110/149 (AKA Half Art)
Gumshoos GX Full Art 145/149
Gumshoos GX Full Art Rainbow/Hyper Rare 157/149
So obviously the Gumshoos GX Full Art Rainbow/Hyper Rare is much harder to get since it's only 1 potential Hyper Rare per booster box (or 36 packs).

What makes it worth even more is if it is has a competitive edge to it. So at the moment, you wanna get grabbing Decideye GX (I would rate as the best GX) since that has an amazing game play at the moment. It's a really strong card.

Some cards can become even more valuable if they are still in rotation after many years but their set has been discontinued/out of print for a long time. One card that easily comes to mind is Full Art N.
This is a card from Noble Victories (Black and White era) but has since been rotated out since the XY games came out. However, N was then reprinted in Fates Collide (which is a set in standard format) it means you can use any version of N (as long as the text and rules are the same) which means you can use N from the Nobile Victories set despite that set being rotated out. This results in the packs alone being incredibly high with Full Art N going for a near £100/$100. It's a card that every single person should have in their deck as it's incredibly powerful. It is probably one of the most expensive cards out at the moment. Some others are Shaymin EX and Shaymin EX Full Art which are cards which fit in any deck as it has amazing synergy and Roaring Skies has been out for several months but, is the very first Pokemon set ever to be reprinted. But the card can still go for around £50/$60.

If you are interested in any cards you wanna collect/rare ones/what's in and out of rotation then I can help out there. There's still plenty to be grabbing like Shaymin EX +Full Art(Roaring Skies), Hoopa EX +Full Art(Ancient origins(You have to now since it's out of print), Greninja Break (Break Point), Full Art Sycamore (Steam Siege).

The latest card that everyone is after is the full art Ultra Ball from Sun and Moon current set.
mig

This beauty is a card that should be in everyones deck and is currently going for around £90.

Thinking about getting a box or two of Pokémon cards. Not in any capacity for competitive play but for random opening videos. Already do it for a few sets but want to try pokemon.

Are there any sets released in the last 6 or so months that are to be avoided? Reading the amazon reviews here on the sun/moon stuff has people complaining about the RR rates whatever those are lol.

Primal Clash, Double Crisis. Primal Clash has the awesome Secret Rare Diveball but that's about it. Double Crisis has a really nice Kyogre and Groudon as well as Team Magmas secret base but aren't really anything special out of set.

XY Evolutions is more of a nostalgia set but does some really nice Secret Rares and Full Arts.

Everything else from the last few months such as Fates Collide, Ancient Origins (now out of print as of 2 weeks ago), Roaring Skies(probably the hypest set), Break Through, Break Point, Steam Siege have all got some good cards. They all contain good pulls such as Full Arts Pokemon, Full Art Trainers, Secret Rare Pokemon, Secret Rare Items, Stadium, EXs, Breaks, Origin Traits and Holo/Holo Reverse.

RR is Rainbow Rare which is actually classed a Hyper Rare. See todd360's Rainbow/Hyper Sogaleo GX. It seems TCPI has changed how the naming works since the XY set. But you can at the bottom left of todd360s Sogaleo GX card that is 155/149. The card goes over the limit as it's supposed to be a secret collection within the set. You don't even know they exist until people start to pull the. The set goes up to 163/149.
 

Whizkid7

Member
Bought four packs last night; first one opened had full art Lunala-GX. Pretty pleased as that was the one card I really wanted from the set.

I think I've bought 12 packs by now, and out of them gotten the aforementioned Lunala-GX, Gumshoos-GX, Primarina-GX and full art Lillie. Doesn't seem too bad in that regard.
 

teeny

Member

Wow, thanks a lot for all that information - your whole post is awesome!

There are so many facets of this TCG to consider in terms of collecting and playing, so your post is much appreciated.

Taking your Gumshoos GX Full Art Rainbow/Hyper Rare example, is there an observable trend on the price of the card over time? Or is it essentially random, dictated by the desirability/competitiveness of the card alongside it's inherent rarity? On Magic Madhouse, the card is currently £20 - can we expect the price to decrease in the next three months as the rush for set completion subsides and then inflate slightly after Sun & Moon Base Set has finished it's run, then inflate slightly more as time goes on until it reaches stability?

I understand the reason why the Shaymin EX cards have a relatively high price (being essentially a staple in competitive decks at the same time as being a rare pull AND being out of print until recently), but why does the Ultra Ball secret rare command a £100 price tag when lesser versions can be used in competitive decks and the set is the newest released? Is it literally because it's a nice looking/rare version of a staple Trainer card and competitive players like to "bling out" their decks?

From a collector's point of view (as I am mainly focused on that and playing on PTCGO which has it's own head spinning trading economy), I'm trying to judge when best to buy singles to round out a set. I'm not overly interested in the Full Art/Rainbow variants (I'm treating them as a nice to have as I cannot afford to spend the asking price for each card), but just to get the normal rare EX/GX cards. If a trend like I have described above exists, it would suggest the best time to pick up cards might be towards the end of the 3 month period, just before the new set is released and when the cards can still be found in shops relatively easily. I just don't know enough about the PTCG economy to be sure :p
 
Thanks for the info. I live in Japan but I assume it will be mostly the same. I'll get crackin on seeing which recent sets have my favorite pokemon and grabbing a new set/recommended one as well.
 
Taking your Gumshoos GX Full Art Rainbow/Hyper Rare example, is there an observable trend on the price of the card over time? Or is it essentially random, dictated by the desirability/competitiveness of the card alongside it's inherent rarity? On Magic Madhouse, the card is currently £20 - can we expect the price to decrease in the next three months as the rush for set completion subsides and then inflate slightly after Sun & Moon Base Set has finished it's run, then inflate slightly more as time goes on until it reaches stability?
Yeah I expect the card will decrease. It's because it's in a whole new set of Pokemon generation, is the first of the set and is one of the very few GXs out. In about a years time it will most likely drop but it does have some decent competitive used as you can look at your opponents entire hand. A pretty decent ability. I suspect it will decrease to about £10 but it's hype season for Sun and Moon at the moment.

I understand the reason why the Shaymin EX cards have a relatively high price (being essentially a staple in competitive decks at the same time as being a rare pull AND being out of print until recently), but why does the Ultra Ball secret rare command a £100 price tag when lesser versions can be used in competitive decks and the set is the newest released? Is it literally because it's a nice looking/rare version of a staple Trainer card and competitive players like to "bling out" their decks?
Pretty much all of what you said. But it's also due to how absurdly rare it is to get a Full Art Secret Rare in Sun and Moon. The next Sun and Moon set isn't out until another 3 months. Even thought Ultra Ball is easy to find, incredibly nice looking in design. It's also the very first Secret Rare Item cards we've gotten. Just to add to that, Ultra Ball is in so many sets so this has been a long time coming. I don't think it's worth £80 but it is a very damn good that I would even consider at £50.
Out last Secret Rare item cards looked like this,
1027280.jpg

Just a gold version of the standard card.
But now they're:
mig

It's a huge step up.

Keep an eye on this listing to see how much it's actually worth.


From a collector's point of view (as I am mainly focused on that and playing on PTCGO which has it's own head spinning trading economy), I'm trying to judge when best to buy singles to round out a set. I'm not overly interested in the Full Art/Rainbow variants (I'm treating them as a nice to have as I cannot afford to spend the asking price for each card), but just to get the normal rare EX/GX cards. If a trend like I have described above exists, it would suggest the best time to pick up cards might be towards the end of the 3 month period, just before the new set is released and when the cards can still be found in shops relatively easily. I just don't know enough about the PTCG economy to be sure :p
Well it does honestly depend on what you want. It's worth noting that some sets have higher pull rate than others Generations has a very high pull rate of EXs and are generally very pretty and nice looking cards. If you check on Bulbapedia and find the EXs, Full Arts, Breaks and such, you'll be able to see what you want to be purchasing. Full Arts are the real hype cards, especially if they have competitive use.




Thanks for the info. I live in Japan but I assume it will be mostly the same. I'll get crackin on seeing which recent sets have my favorite pokemon and grabbing a new set/recommended one as well.

Oh OK. What I stated only applies to the West. While the sets are the same, the cards are slightly different.
I recommend checking out this list:
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sun_&_Moon_(TCG)
In Japan they have 2 sets for Sun and Moon. Set Sun and Set Moon. Like the games, only certain cards appear in each set, compared to the Sun AND Moon set we have here which has everything. So don't buy loads of Moon packs hoping for the Full Art Ultra Ball since that only appears in the Sun set.
There are other differences as well such as the numbering. Both sets go up to 60 but 13 secret rares per set 73/60. In the west we just have 14 select secret rare. These types of changes also apply to the XY set. In the case of Steam Siege 116/114 for the west, this was divided into Fever Burst Fighter and Cruel Traitor.

Just be a bit careful when specifically looking for cards and set. Bulbapedia shows all of the West/Japan sets. That being said, all the XY sets I listed off are still worth picking up.

Edit: I forgot to mention, you should also look into the Generations set. They are really nice and still common to find.

Edit edit: Coincidentally PTCGO just uploaded a video showcasing Primal Clash which is the earliest standard legal set. He does go over card values and why Primal Clash is good set. I don't think it's worth getting it though. Nothing is really that special in it our side of Secret Rare Dive Ball, which*cough* I managed to get.
 
I have 10 regular Hoopa-EX's, and 1 FA currently listed on eBay. Is it worth removing them and holding onto them for a few months to see if the prices goes up now that Ancient Origins has been discontinued?

(Whenever I see tins at my nearby Tesco for £13, I buy them up and then sell the EX and tin, and open up the boosters)
 
So I opened my first Sun/Moon booster box today with my daughter and we noticed something interesting.

There are 36 packs in a box (2 stacks of 18). Each stack was sorted exactly the same meaning anytime I got a white online code card she would as well. Not only that, but it also correlated for GXs and normal holo rares. So, if I got a normal holo rare so would she and if I got a GX she would as well. The only deviation was that the GX could be of any variety (normal, Full Art, Rainbow Rare).

Don't know if anyone else had noticed this or if this was just a one off coincidence, but we have 1 more box coming and will check if same pattern is there. I'm wondering if they even put the rare packs in same order too. Our first packs were both GXs (1 full art/1 regular). This could be interesting because some comic/card stores sell singles from booster boxes so in theory you would be able to know exactly which packs to buy if this holds true.
 
Oh OK. What I stated only applies to the West. While the sets are the same, the cards are slightly different.
I recommend checking out this list:
http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sun_&_Moon_(TCG)
In Japan they have 2 sets for Sun and Moon. Set Sun and Set Moon. Like the games, only certain cards appear in each set, compared to the Sun AND Moon set we have here which has everything. So don't buy loads of Moon packs hoping for the Full Art Ultra Ball since that only appears in the Sun set.
There are other differences as well such as the numbering. Both sets go up to 60 but 13 secret rares per set 73/60. In the west we just have 14 select secret rare. These types of changes also apply to the XY set. In the case of Steam Siege 116/114 for the west, this was divided into Fever Burst Fighter and Cruel Traitor.

Just be a bit careful when specifically looking for cards and set. Bulbapedia shows all of the West/Japan sets. That being said, all the XY sets I listed off are still worth picking up.

Edit: I forgot to mention, you should also look into the Generations set. They are really nice and still common to find.

Edit edit: Coincidentally PTCGO just uploaded a video showcasing Primal Clash which is the earliest standard legal set. He does go over card values and why Primal Clash is good set. I don't think it's worth getting it though. Nothing is really that special in it our side of Secret Rare Dive Ball, which*cough* I managed to get.


Yup, I noticed that when looking a bit at the most recent sets.

Think I'll do a Box of Sun, Moon, Cruel Traitor (for Steelix I believe?), and Generations maybe if I can grab one easy enough. The boxes are sold here at the pokemon stores as well as individual packs.

What about Vespiquen, Yanmega and Volcarona, what sets are they in/best looking versions of them IE holo/good stats. My favorite three pokemon so might consider getting a set including them if its recent enough. Amazon sells sets from a good while ago not upmarked here.
 

RoadDogg

Member
So CarolinaMike reached out when he heard my call for help in the search for bulk pokemon for my 5 year old. He went way above and beyond amd gave me a massive deal on a huge amount of energy and pokemon from various sets. I cant give them to my son yet since it is a lot to give just because but I will justify them as a vday gift somehow. My daughter is only 2 so she wont realize she is getting short changed yet when she just gets candy right?
 

fenners

Member
So CarolinaMike reached out when he heard my call for help in the search for bulk pokemon for my 5 year old. He went way above and beyond amd gave me a massive deal on a huge amount of energy and pokemon from various sets. I cant give them to my son yet since it is a lot to give just because but I will justify them as a vday gift somehow. My daughter is only 2 so she wont realize she is getting short changed yet when she just gets candy right?

Awesome!!
 

teeny

Member

Thanks very much for clarifying :) I guess I'll just keep an eye on the trends and learn from any mistakes!

My local Asda had a few tins out, the Hoopa, Latios and Rayquaza Power Beyond ones from 2015, I think? Anyway, picked up the Hoopa one on a whim and pulled this beauty:


There is something immensely satisfying about pulling these textured cards. I guess that's why collecting is so addictive.

Thats two full arts pulled from two tins - is there a higher chance of getting these cards in a tin?
 

teeny

Member
Can you explain it? I cant make out what you are explaining in the video.

I've heard there is an order to where Holo Rares and Ultra Rares are placed in a fresh box.

BumblebeeCody, how did you figure it out? From what I have read, the sequence starts randomly so you will need to buy at least one booster pack to figure out where you are in the sequence and, at most, will get two normal non-holo rare cards before you can determine which packs have the Ultra/Holo rare cards. Even then, if you don't have access to a freshly opened box, you cant be sure that:

a) People haven't picked randomly from the box before you.
b) The shop hasn't reshuffled it.

It's a bit annoying as people could theoretically buy booster boxes, pick out all the ultra rare/holo cards and sell the sealed packs knowing they're duds.
 
I decided to test the trick today. It definitely works.

To sum it up, in a booster box, there are two rows of cards. Each of those rows will follow this sequence:

Regular Rare
Regular Rare
Holo Rare
Regular Rare
Regular Rare
Ultra Rare
*Repeat from start*

To clarify, a Regular Rare is a rare with no holograph whatsoever, a Holo Rare is a rare with a holographic background, and an Ultra Rare is a GX, full art trainer card, etc.

Each row will start at a random place in that sequence, but will adhere to it. So if you can identify where in the sequence the packs are, you can pick out all the ones containing Ultra Rares. At most, you need to open three packs in a row to identify the sequence, but you could get it in one or two (basically, as soon as you open a Holo Rare or Ultra Rare, you can identify the sequence).

I have a feeling the value of S/M cards could plummet soon.
 

RoadDogg

Member
So the price of unopened walmart packs in card board are going to be more valuable since they wouldnt follow this pattern?
 
So the price of unopened walmart packs in card board are going to be more valuable since they wouldnt follow this pattern?

If anything, they'd go down in value. Fewer people will want to buy random boosters when they have a way of ensuring they get some Ultra Rares.
 
Top Bottom