While it seems like each successive expansion in the Pokémon TCG's Mega Evolutions era is getting smaller, the price of buying these cards certainly isn't. Even if you manage to score packs at a retail price, there's no guarantee you'll get those chase cards, and they all go for eye-watering prices on the secondary market. In fact, by my calculations, if you want a full master set of all Mega Evolutions expansions so far, you'll be spending over $13,000 on Pokémon cards. For reference, that's 85 booster boxes at retail price (or 27 Destined Rivals booster boxes at current market price, yuck).
Of course, most of those megabucks don't come from the random cards you pull in every pack - that would be absurd. Instead, they come from the Pokémon TCG's most elusive singles. Mega Dragonite ex SIR, Mega Charizard X ex SIR, or the fabled (though, for me, deeply mid) Mega Hyper Rares.
Basically, anything that's an Illustration Rare or higher adds big money to your master set bill. None, on its own, makes our list of the most expensive rare Pokémon cards - but put' em all together and they'll make you weep. So, what are the exact figures, and which of these Pokémon sets is most expensive?
Ascended Heroes - $7,091
Unsurprisingly, the winner right now is Ascended Heroes, whose master set will cost you the princely sum of $7,090.94. That works out to an average of $11 per card, which sounds small, but considering there's a grand total of 575 cards to collect, it racks up fast. It's growing too; I started writing this on Friday, April 17, and over one weekend that set's overall price-to-master went up $300.
Promo cards - $2,840
In second place isn't a specific expansion: instead, it's the promo cards that have been given out during this era. It'll cost you $2,840.41 to collect all of the promos so far, and we can expect each new set to add more promos to the roster alongside their main cardlists. The current front runner is the particularly elusive Celebratory Fanfare (Ace Trainer) #028 promo. Of the ones you can get easily, if not cheaply, the most valuable is the N's Zekrom (Pokémon Center Exclusive) from Ascended Heroes ETBs, at $104.
Mega Evolution - $1,645
Next is the Mega Evolutions base set, which you can master for $1,645.15, with the major chases being the Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex Mega Hyper Rares and SIRs. These four cards alone make up $851.96, with the 184 remaining cards taking up the other half of the cost. Phantasmal Flames is $1,425.35 in total, but compared to Mega Evos, the Mega Charizard X ex SIR alone will set you back $818.13. The rest of the cards? Well, they pale in comparison under the Zard's shadow.
Perfect Order - $982
Finally, and looking quite meek compared to the rest of the era thus far, but Perfect Order is a mere $982.27 - it's not even hitting the four-figure mark. At least, not yet. The most expensive card from this expansion is the Mega Zygarde ex MHR, which is $181.32. That's a lot for a bit of cardboard, but compared to the previous sets, it looks like lunch money.
For reference, all of these figures come from the (excellent) Collectr app, which tracks the sales on platforms like eBay and TCGPlayer. It's a pretty neat way to keep track of all your cards in your collection, as well as see the prices of current cards. I remember popping Paldean Fates' Mew ex #232 on my watchlist, waiting for it to go below $90 so I could buy it - ahh, good memories. Shame it's over $800 now.
It'll certainly be interesting to see whether Mega Evolutions outpaces Scarlet & Violet for cost. Prismatic Evolutions is the major must-have set full of chases from the last era, and a master set of that will set you back $5,176.97. While Destined Rivals is a sealed collector's dream, the cards themselves only sell for $1,948.71 for a master set, while booster boxes sell for $500 or more with third-party sellers.
All this to say - damn, that's a lot of money. Considering pesky cost-of-living rises, it's shocking that this amount of hard-earned cash is being spent on Pokémon cards. If I had the extra money at hand, I'll be honest, I'd probably spend it more often, but the reality is - I don't. So, I guess I'll just have to watch as big numbers get bigger, while my collection continues to dwindle in a small pile under my desk. Don't worry, it's in a study, safe box.
Whether you're looking to get your hands on some packs at retail price or you simply want to chat with other trainers, make sure to join our Wargamer Discord to be kept in the loop. You can also share your collection and make us all jealous of your countless shadowless Charizards - we'd love to see them.