The Best-Selling, Most Expensive Cards In Pokémon TCG Paradox Rift Set

OK, I said there was a “relative uninterest” in waifu cards outside of Japan, but clearly something like this SIR for Mela isn’t fetching $21 because it’s so invaluable to any deck. The difference is, the Japanese version of this card is currently going for $104. Yeah.

However, it’s not unplayable either; it’s useful in a Fire deck, not only able to get Energy back out of your discard pile, but also topping your hand up from your deck.

And it’s crucial to recognize that the art by Rika is fantastic, too. New to the TCG since Obsidian Flames, the artist has stormed in with not only this Mela, but also Paradox Rift’s wonderful Mantyke full-art, and my favorite card from 151, the full-art Dragonair. Who they are, however, remains a mystery, and one certainly not helped by having the same name as another enormously popular trainer in this set, making them impossible to search for on Google. (The SIR for Rika is selling for a more modest $11.)

A very pretty card, certainly, but one that might surprise you ranking this highly given its artistic competition. However, this is a case of a card that people are desperate to get into decks right now, and that’s why it’s fetching almost $26 in its most fancy form.

This Stage 2 ex is a machine, dealing out 160 damage for just one Energy, and at the same time able to rescue another three Energies from the discard pile to power up your bench. If that bench contains other Garchomp exes, its a great chance to get them ready to switch in and deal out Sonic Dive, which has you re-discard two Energies to do 120 damage to any of your opponent’s Pokémon, whether benched or active. You can see the loop.

My local card shop (LCS) usually plays it so cool about any cards it might want to buy, so it can offer as low a price as possible, but even they fell over themselves to buy all our Garchomp ex cards before we’d even offered.

If there’s one thing Pokémon TCG collectors love, it’s a vista. Any card that shows a flying Pokémon over a gorgeously detailed landscape is guaranteed to sell well, and it turns out that holds true even when that Pokémon is an Altaria.

The Dragon-type Stage 1 card uses Water and Metal Energy, with a modest 140 attack, and the ability to prevent effects from opponents. Meh. That Humming Heal ability, letting you take 20 damage off any other card, every turn, is neat, but really, this is a card that’s selling for $27 on looks alone. (For reference, the Ultra Rare full-art version is under $2, and the functionally identical regular ex is... 38 cents.)

Presumed to be the chase card from the set, not least because the Japanese version of this poor, unnamed woman is still going for $120, Parasol Lady has ended up performing rather modestly.

Which is a bummer, because I pulled it, and fancied cashing in. There’s still some money to be made, at $28, but it’s important not to lose sight of what a beautiful piece of art this is by En Morikura. It’s hard to convey entirely with the image above, because this is such a well-textured card, the borders sparkling, and the rainbow glistening in the sky. And in a brilliant touch, her pupils have the same reflective texturing of the background, meaning her eyes really shine.

Just, you know, give the poor girl a name.

A real surprise entry here. Groudon’s IR card is unquestionably amazing to look at, but is theoretically far more common than all the other SIRs in this top 10.

And yes, it’s a fantastically playable card, monstrously OP given it’s a Basic with a whopping 130 HP, that dishes out 60x damage for discarded Energies across all your Pokémon, and it does all this without a rulebox. However, this card does it in exactly the same way as the regular bulk version of the card that you could pick up for literally 2 cents. Even its reverse holo is only 25c. This IR? $29.

This is—to the best of my understanding—because if there’s anything the players like more than a pretty view, it’s a giant dinosaur. Kudos to artist Nurikabe, who is already known for Lost Origin’s previously astonishingly expensive Aerodactyl V (formerly $150, and still now over $80), which managed both a giant dinosaur and flying over a vista.

Usually the Professor cards are a great way to identify the waifu tax, two exactly equivalent cards, one featuring a man, the other a woman. But things are a little more complicated with Paradox Rift, because of its introduction of the Ancient and Future twist. And given Ancient decks are currently dominating, it’s perhaps no surprise that this key support card would be outselling its male/Future equivalent.

Each is entirely different in function, too. Sada here lets us get two Energies out of the discard pile and attached to up to two Ancient Pokémon, and draw three cards. It’s stunning. Professor Turo’s Scenario, meanwhile, only allows you to take a Pokémon out of play and back into your hand, losing all attached cards. Which is...less good. That card as an SIR goes for $13, while Sada’s fancy SIR version here is a massive $31, and often a lot higher.

The Ultra Rare version of the card is around $11, while the regular bulk card shouldn’t cost you more than 25 cents.

Here’s another card that’s impacted the TCG’s meta, with what The Pokémon Company itself calls “one of the most exciting attacks of any Pokémon in [the expansion]”. Though perhaps that’s TPC slightly over-egging things, there’s no doubt it’s a powerful card, reminiscent of Arceus, Dialga and Palkia GX cards. For a large four Energies, Amp You Very Much will allow this metallic Hariyama to do 120 damage, and if that takes out your opponent, gains you an extra prize card.

That’s pretty huge, given Iron Hands ex is a Basic card, playable from the start, and capable of a hefty 160 damage for three Energy. If you design a deck around getting a lot of Energy into play as fast as possible, you could be taking two prize cards just for knocking out an opponent’s warm-up cards, which is very dangerous. Paired up with Miraidon ex, which can get two Energy out of the deck each turn without even being in play, and this is a monster.

It’s also undeniably a lot more fun to have in your deck when it looks like it’s in the middle of playing The Talos Principle, as in this adorable card from legendary Pokémon artist, Toshinao Aoki.

Boy is that one sassy cheese string.

This striking art by Akira Komayama, veteran of Pokémon card design, is another card that people are cramming into decks. Not only letting you double up your card draw each turn if its benched (or triple up if it’s in the active spot), it also features Let It Rain, a 50x attack for every Energy card discard from your hand. Team that up with Lady, for instance, which lets you put four Energies from your deck into your hand, and you’re delivering 200 damage minimum.

And being a Metal-type, it’s also a perfect foil against those bloody Chien-Pao decks.

This version of the card, however, costs about as much as the amount of money depicted on it. It’s going for a blistering $40. Fortunately, the regular version is a slightly less obnoxious $4.50.

This stunner is a great example of form and function. Showing off a bunch of the Future Pokémon, but with the attention on Iron Valiant, artist Kantaro is frankly showing off.

Where Roaring Moon is dominating Ancient decks, Iron Valiant is taking the lead for the Future, and given its a Paradox Pokémon, Robo-Gallade doesn’t need to evolve from Ralts or Kirlia.

Just putting it into play does 20 damage to any of your opponent’s Pokémon; the expectation is that players will get as many in play as possible, and then keep switching them out for one another with Escape Rope, Jet Energy or Prof Turo’s Scenario. There’s also the new Future Booster Energy Capsule tool card that removes the retreat cost from a Pokémon, doesn’t get discarded when used, and also adds an extra 20 damage to attacks. So then, when you’re ready, let one of them biff a huge 220 damage.

All of which is slightly stymied by learning this version of the card will cost you $55. Even the god-awful gold version is getting $12, the Ultra Rare over $13, but the basic ex a somewhat more reasonable $6.

And here it is. The big time. A non-Charizard that’s fetching crazy money for a small piece of mass-printed cardboard. To buy the SIR version of Roaring Moon ex today, you’re going to need to spend at least $108.

Why? Because capitalism. In all its glory, frankly. False scarcity combined with memetic desire, attached to just the tiniest soupcon of actual usefulness. Oh, and it’s so damned pretty that surely—surely—this’ll be the card that finally sees TPCi realizing the vast fortunes to be made by selling large-scale posters of the very best card art. Which Pokémon-loving kid wouldn’t want this on their bedroom wall?

Roaring Moon is also at the beating heart of the TCG’s meta. The Ancient Paradox Pokémon can knock out your opponent’s active Pokémon in one hit, for just three Energy, at the cost of doing 200 damage to its own HP. As a suicide attack, it’s perfect. But spot a weak opponent unable to attack back next turn, and with some Sweet Honey and Cooks on hand, you can have this healed back up to continue dishing out its Calamity Storm 100+ attack, reaching 220 if there’s a Stadium to discard. What better way to wipe the smug smile off a Lost Zone player’s face?

So yes, welcome back Dark Patch (and all the required accompanying wet-yourself jokes). And thank you, Ryota Murayama, for one of the prettiest cards in over a thousandty-million years.

If this does cut into the meta as expected, don’t expect this to get much cheaper any time soon. Unfortunately, the ridiculous price on this SIR has a cascading effect, meaning the hideous gold card is $19, the full-art Ultra Rare the same, and the basic ex a whopping $13. It’s a disappointing premium that comes with any V/ex that dominates the game, meaning a deck built around it is either going to require some fortuitous pulls, or an outlay of $52 just to get the four cards to start you off. Hopefully TPCi will see their way to nerfing these prices with a Roaring Moon Battle Deck release in the near future.