Whether you opened your first Pokémon TCG booster in 1998, or you’ve only just started collecting, there will be some iconic cards from the history of the game that you would love to own but simply can’t get your hands on. The upcoming Pokémon 30th Celebration set may just give you a shot at opening one of these exceptionally rare Pokémon cards, thanks to the Classic Collection; reprints of 30 cards from throughout the history of the game. These are the five most iconic cards you need to look out for!
These cards are all secret rares. They’re going to be almost identical to their original versions, including their original card numbers, but a smiling 30th Celebration Pikachu stamp will mark them out as reprints.
Base set Charizard
Charizard, first printed in the 1998 base set, was the very first Pokémon chase card – the biggest, coolest, most intimidating monster in the game! 120HP! An attack that dealt 100 damage in a single hit! He might seem tragically underpowered compared to today’s many, many multi prize card monsters, but when Charizard debuted he was the undisputed king, and the card players and collectors alike most wanted to open in a booster pack.
N
When N debuted in 2011’s Noble Victories, he was the first Supporter to receive a full art card. He might not look like much by today’s standards, but Ken Sugimori’s clean line art laid the groundwork for a whole class of extremely popular cards. N is also a very effective come-back Supporter, making both players put their hands under their decks and draw cards equal to the prize cards they have left.
Pikachu and Zekrom GX
The Tag Team of Pikachu and Zekrom GX struck the game like a bolt of lightning when it arrived in 2019’s Sun & Moon Team Up It’s a real high risk high reward card, since it’s incredibly powerful but also worth three prize cards when it’s finally knocked out.
The dynamic art by Mitsuhiro Arita really captures how fast this card is. Once you’ve attached three electric energy to use Full Blitz, that attack will then pull out the next three energy you need to activate the overpowered version of Tag Bolt GX. That deals a crazy 200 damage to your opponent’s active Pokémon and 170 damage to one of their benched Pokémon – explosive!
Arceus V Star
As befits the god of all Pokémon, Arceus V Star is one of the most powerful Pokémon cards ever printed! Debuting in 2022’s Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars, its deck has since racked up the eighth most tournament wins of any deck, ever!
Its once-per-game V Star ability lets you grab any two cards you want from your deck. There’s so much you can do with that, but the simplest is to get the energy to empower its Trinity Nova attack. Every time you use this 200 damage attack you also get to pull three basic energy from your deck and attach them to a Pokémon V. It’s relentless!
Magikarp
Illustration Rares are among the most sought-after cards for most collectors, and yet they’ve only been part of the game since 2023’s Scarlet and Violet. This Magikarp, illustrated by Shinji Kanda in a distinctive scratch-art style, appeared in Scarlet and Violet: Paldean Fates, and it’s a real stunner.
Do you have any of the original versions of these cards? We’d love to see your collection in the Wargamer Discord community!
Source: Wargamer
