TCGPulse

Daily · Hobby · 4 min

A $960,000 Cresselia PSA 10 leads another all-Pokémon top five, per SI. Plus: a 1st Edition Charizard PSA 10 shows a $1,385,274 sale on Alt, still listed as pending, and Secret Lair's Corn Maze Superdrop goes live today.

· 5:00 AM CT

Pokémon swept the top five TCG sales again this week, according to Sports Illustrated's Card Ladder-based countdown. A 2008 Great Encounters Cresselia PSA 10 led at $960,000 through Fanatics Weekly, and a 2019 Detective Pikachu promo PSA 10 sold for $420,000 on eBay. The five cards totaled about $2.96 million, down from the prior week, which SI reported was led by an $8.4 million Art Academy Pikachu PSA 10. Also: A 1st Edition Charizard PSA 10 shows a $1,385,274 sale on Alt, which Alt still lists as pending. Secret Lair's Corn Maze Superdrop goes on sale at 11 a.m. CT today. Riftbound's game director talks deck prices with Wargamer. And Magic players are watching for a possible Banned & Restricted update.

TCG Pulse text graphic on the week's top Pokémon card sales led by a $960,000 Cresselia PSA 10
A Great Encounters Cresselia PSA 10 led the week's top TCG sales at $960,000, per SI · Graphic: TCG Pulse

How the market was

Market check: the 30th Celebration standard Elite Trainer Box keeps cooling. TCGplayer's market price, which is based on recent sales, was about $139 early Monday, down from about $155 on Oct. 2 (per Mashable), against $49.99 retail. That's below the $150–170 range we've used since Sept. 17, and we're reviewing that reference. Our RGB Mew reference prices (Red $6–7k / Green about $8k / Blue about $5k) are unchanged for now; sales of those cards are still too sparse to update.

Day movers

  • Pokémon, 30th Celebration ETB (standard): TCGplayer market price (sales-based) about $139 early Monday, down from about $155 on Oct. 2 (per Mashable), vs $49.99 retail. Below our $150–170 reference (ICv2, Sep 17), which is under review.
  • Pokémon, RGB Mew: Red $6–7k / Green ~$8k / Blue ~$5k, unchanged (ICv2, Sep 17); sales still too sparse to update.

Hobby pulse

  1. Reported · Pokémon

    A $960,000 Cresselia leads another all-Pokémon top five

    Pokémon swept the top five TCG sales again this week, according to Sports Illustrated's Card Ladder-based countdown. A 2008 Great Encounters Cresselia PSA 10 led at $960,000 through Fanatics Weekly, and a 2019 Detective Pikachu promo PSA 10 sold for $420,000 on eBay. The five cards totaled about $2.96 million, down from the prior week, which SI reported was led by an $8.4 million Art Academy Pikachu PSA 10. Wargamer calls that "raincoat" Pikachu the second most expensive Pokémon card ever sold.

    Source (Reported): https://www.si.com/collectibles/cresselia-leads-another-pokemon-sweep-top-5-tcg-sales-of-the-week · Source (Reported): https://www.wargamer.com/pokemon-trading-card-game/raincoat-pikachu-big-sale

  2. Reported · Pokémon

    1st Edition Charizard PSA 10 shows a $1,385,274 sale on Alt

    A 1999 Base Set 1st Edition Charizard PSA 10 drew a $1,385,274 sale on Alt on Oct. 8 after 46 bids, which Alt still lists as pending. That's still below the $1.7 million sale at Heritage Auctions for a Japanese No Rarity copy. A Neo Genesis 1st Edition Typhlosion PSA 10 went for about $1.55 million, per Men's Journal.

    Source (Reported): https://www.mensjournal.com/collectibles/holo-charizard-breaks-one-pokemon-collectible-record-but-fails-to-surpass-key-1-7-million-threshold

  3. Official · Magic

    Secret Lair Corn Maze Superdrop goes live today

    Wizards of the Coast's Secret Lair Corn Maze Superdrop goes on sale today at 11 a.m. CT on MagicSecretLair.com, with a 10 a.m. CT pre-queue. The eight drops include three Jim Henson's Labyrinth sets, a KPop Demon Hunters drop and Marvel: Zombies, each at $29.99 non-foil or $39.99 foil. Buyers get a foil Maze of Ith 'The Labyrinth' promo with every $199 spent while supplies last.

    Source (Official): https://magic.wizards.com/en/news/announcements/secret-lair-corn-maze-superdrop

  4. Reported · Riftbound

    Game director targets $100–$300 competitive decks

    Riftbound game director Dave Guskin told Wargamer that Riot aims to keep the average competitive deck at roughly $100 to $300, and called too many decks above that range "unhealthy." Wargamer also reports that starting with Riftbound's January 2027 set, Legacy, Legend and Battlefield cards will move into a common slot in packs. These details come from Wargamer's interview and reporting, not a Riot announcement.

    Source (Reported): https://www.wargamer.com/riftbound-league-of-legends-trading-card-game/affordability-interview

Worth watching

  • Rumor (unconfirmed): Magic players are watching for a possible Banned & Restricted update today. MTGRocks predicted an Oct. 12 announcement, but Wizards had not posted one as of 3:45 a.m. CT.
  • Secret Lair Corn Maze Superdrop: on sale today, 11 a.m. CT (pre-queue 10 a.m. CT), per Wizards

Note

The weekly top-five sales and the Art Academy Pikachu figure come from Sports Illustrated's Card Ladder-based countdown; the "second most expensive" framing is Wargamer's. Wargamer and SI give slightly different dates for that Pikachu sale. The Charizard and Typhlosion sales come from Men's Journal. Corn Maze Superdrop details are from Wizards. Riftbound's deck-price comments come from Wargamer's interview with Dave Guskin, not a Riot announcement. The Oct. 12 ban-list date is MTGRocks' prediction and hadn't been confirmed by Wizards at press time. The standard ETB sales-based price is TCGplayer's market price; the Oct. 2 comparison is from Mashable; reference ranges are from ICv2's Sep. 17 completed-sales report.