Right now, the Pokémon TCG is in a hype bubble that rivals the exciting (see: stressful) time around 2020 and 2021. After the successful launch of Pokémon Pocket, plenty of people are getting back into collecting real cards, and Pokémon Prismatic Evolutions is now the must-have set for players and collectors. But that also means older cards are similarly getting hype – and this one will now you back over $1000.
As far as it goes, this doesn’t top the most expensive rare Pokémon cards on the market – their values run into seven figures, but they’re extraordinarily hard to get. But if you’ve just returned to collecting Pokémon cards, many sets are unavailable to buy now, causing huge price rises on the biggest chase cards of even recent expansions. That’s no different for the Umbreon VMAX Alt Art from Evolving Skies, which has climbed to a staggeringly high new average selling price.
Sometimes called ‘Moonbreon‘ by the community (and myself, admittedly), Umbreon VMAX Alt Art was one of the most beautiful chase cards for Evolving Skies when released in late 2021. However, despite being one of the main chases, it sat at a respectable $200-300 until late 2022, where it stayed at roughly $500 for quite some time.
That is, until now. The newest Pokémon set to launch is going to be Prismatic Evolutions, a special set focusing on Eevee and its evolutions. That means many of the Illustration Rares are beautiful-looking Eeveelutions, including the beloved Umbreon – which is, unsurprisingly, the most likely to be the top chase card of the new set. All of this means that Umbreon VMAX Alt Art has recently hit roughly $1500 on TCGPlayer – triple its previous highest price.
We can already see a pattern returning based on the release of Prismatic Evolutions in Japan – or Terastal Festival, as it’s known. While the Terastal Festival pulls have been spectacular, we didn’t get our hands on the stunning Umbreon SAR. However, it’s already sitting around $300 for the Japanese version, which is typically cheaper than its English counterpart.
If you opt to buy one of these pricey cards, you’ll be paying even higher figures for a PSA-graded card. PSA 10s of Umbreon VMAX Alt Art go for around $3000. If you’re looking for the perfect Umbreon VMAX Alt Art with a BGS 10 grade (the most difficult grade to get), you’re looking at almost $14,000, according to a recently sold listing on eBay.
Before you go onto eBay or TCGPlayer and purchase your very own Umbreon VMAX Alt Art (or perhaps the Japanese Terastal Festival Umbreon SAR), we’ve got some advice so you aren’t tricked by listings for fake Pokemon cards:
- If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is. While some people may not have updated their listings on marketplaces, we’d side with caution, as they may be fake cards.
- If you’re going for a PSA-graded card, we recommend checking the certification number via PSA’s website in order to check the card matches up with the PSA-certified one.
- The texture matters. Umbreon VMAX Alt Art has an interesting mosaic-style texturing that many fakes can’t replicate. If the card seems flat, boring, and bland or doesn’t match similarly textured cards, we’d avoid it.
You can always opt to buy some Evolving Skies Booster Boxes and try your luck, but eBay listings are getting equally expensive for those – even if they’re some of the best Pokémon packs to buy, we’d suggest buying singles over trying your luck at ripping packs.
In any case, Umbreon VMAX Alt Art is a very expensive card right now, and considering its enchanting beauty, that’s unsurprising. However, you’re missing out on plenty of underrated cards from the Pokémon sets from eras past, so we’d have a look for other Illustration Rares you can get for much, much cheaper.
We’d also keep an eye out on your last chance to get Pokémon 151 packs at retail price, as Blooming Waters is one of the last collections coming for the expansion.
If you’re more interested in dominating tabletop matches, you should also read our guide to the best Pokémon cards in the game.
And make sure to follow Wargamer on Google News, so you can keep up-to-date with the latest Pokémon TCG news, including deals you won’t want to miss.