The Pokémon Company has revealed more than half of the 30 Pikachu cards coming as a special subset within its 30th Celebration set, and one of them has the potential to be unusually pricey.
This new Pikachu has art by Shinji Kanda, and if you’ve been following the TCG at all over the last five years, you’re probably well aware of Kanda’s effect on card prices. This Japanese artist has a track record of boosting the value of the cardboard he lends his pen too.
Kanda has been commissioned for some big chase cards before like Roaring Moon ex in Prismatic Evolutions and Giratina V back in Lost Origin. While it’s not that unexpected that these SIR cards would be pricey, what’s even more impressive is that Kanda’s Illustration Rares draw an equally large crowd.
The illustrator’s IRs for Magikarp and Seismitoad are worth far more than their rarity would suggest, outranking some SIR cards in their respective sets. Pokémon fans go doolally for this artist’s unique style, bursting with color and texture.
While this is likely to be one of the most desirable cards from 30th Celebration, it’s definitely not guaranteed to be expensive. There are some big question marks hovering over it. For starters, it isn’t a full art. That could be a killer, honestly, as Shinji Kanda has plenty of regular cards that, at least going by their secondary market value, aren’t anything special.
This Pikachu isn’t a regular card, however. Like the other 30th Celebration Pikachu’s it has the 30th anniversary logo, and a really cool foil effect, which could raise its stock.
But then again, if we’re guaranteed a Pikachu in every pack, there are only 30 total, and the cards are evenly distributed, that means there could be a boatload of these in circulation. That’s better odds than pulling any particular Illustration Rare in a pack, and way, way better than your chances of pulling your preferred SIR.
While it’s neat to have a Kanda card in the mix, perhaps it won’t be that hard to get one after all. (In before it blows up and I have to eat my words). Or maybe everyone will prefer the Sugimori one instead!
Source: Wargamer
