The Pokémon 30th Celebration Reprints vs. The OGs: Part 5
Building off the cards introduced in Part 4, a solid number of the cards featured in this list were competitively viable during their times in the Standard format, all of which came before the pandemic era that shifted the landscape of card collecting forever.
Primal Clash M Gardevoir EX
M Gardevoir EX was part of the Fairy-type line in the Pokémon TCG that was incredibly fun to play. This card, in particular, was decently strong but not dominant, and it wasn't a mainstay in the competitive scene. It did, however, feature a number of things that fans still remember fondly today.
The Mega Evolution tech, the Japanese characters almost bursting from the card itself, and the general allure that Gardevoir brings all contribute to this piece's desirability.
The 30th Celebration M Gardevoir EX is currently being priced at $11, while the original is nearly 3x as expensive at $30 as of the time of writing.
BREAKpoint Greninja BREAK
BREAK cards didn't last all that long compared to EXs (and later on, GXs), but they were still played a significant amount during their time in the Standard rotation. Greninja BREAK, in particular, is the one BREAK card that pretty much every single competitive TCG player back in 2016-17 knew about.
That being said, Greninja BREAK's claim to fame (or infamy) was an absolutely one-sided defeat in the championship series of the 2016 Pokémon World Championships. Despite that, the fact that a Greninja BREAK deck reached the biggest stage of the grandest Pokémon tournament in the entire world is a testament to just how strong it was ten years ago.
The Greninja BREAK reprint from the 30th Celebration costs $10 on the market as of writing, and the original BREAKpoint release currently sells in the $35 range.
Sun & Moon Solgaleo GX
Solgaleo GX was never a top-tier GX card; however, it was the face of the newest mechanic for quite a while. Released as part of the Sun & Moon Base Set, which ushered in a brand-new era for the competitive TCG, Solgaleo GX was mainly used early on by players keen to experiment with the once-per-game attack.
Outside of its decent usage in tournament play, there isn't really that much going for it. That being said, Solgaleo is one of Sun & Moon's Legendary Pokémon, and this was one of the first instances of a brand-new mechanic being fully implemented in the game.
Solgaleo GX is one of the few instances where the reprint is actually more valuable than the original card itself, with the 30th Celebration reprint going for $7 and the S&M Base Set printing selling under $4.
Crimson Invasion Buzzwole GX
Just like the Solgaleo GX card above, Buzzwole GX likely made its way into the 30th Celebration Classic Collection for being the poster child of an era and not exactly for competitive dominance or visual appearance.
Buzzwole GX might be the cheapest card on both this list and the Classic Collection reprints when it's all said and done. The 30th Celebration and Crimson Invasion copies are both worth around $4 today.
Team Up Pikachu & Zekrom GX
Pokémon was never the same after the Tag Team GX cards were introduced. The competitive TCG landscape completely switched, and years later, Tag Team cards became some of the most expensive modern releases money could buy.
Not only was this Pikachu & Zekrom GX card powerful (and equally risky) during its time in the Standard rotation, but the card art really doesn't need to do too much to be desirable on its own. As a matter of fact, even now, most Tag Team cards hold up well in value thanks to the unique art on each one.
The 30th Celebration Classic Collection reprint currently goes for close to $30, while the original is priced slightly above the $50 mark.
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Joaqin is a journalist with a strong passion for the Hobby. He has published work for HLTV.org, Rappler.com, and DLSU Sports. A decade-long Pokémon TCG collector, he recently shifted into sports cards to collect Lakers, Dodgers and Chargers players with growing PCs of Shohei Ohtani and Justin Herbert.