The “deal” with reverse Holos is that the Pokemon company just wants to allow for more variants in there sets. That being said, I absolutely love them. To answer some of your other questions, no not every card can be a reverse. Most commonly it is commons, in commons, rares, and holo cards. Almost all secret cards, GX, EX, Shining, etc etc don’t have reverses. There are some exceptions to the rules like some small sub sets of the Eseries, I’m forgetting which set, but I know some sets allow for their secrets to have reverses. Generally though they follow the rules above.
Yes they do have the same numbering. It’s not quite like no symbol cards from jungle if that’s what your thinking of. I personally think it’s more like first edition vs Unlimited. Before everyone yells at me, I know it’s not a perfect comparison. But they are practically two different “sets” if you will. Just like how some people collect only 1st Edition or only Unlimited or sometimes both, people do the same thing with the “normal” set and the reverse Holo sets in expansions.
You shouldn’t be too sceptical of the reverse Holos now days since most people don’t like them. Except for a few exceptions (like the eseries) most cards are under a $1 so there would be no financial benefit to making fake cards of them. I love them, some people hate them. Look them up, maybe buy a few from different eras (another hard thing is reverse Holos look different during different phases of the TCG) and if you don’t like them, you only spent a couple bucks. If you do like them, then good luck cuz finding all of them sucks sometimes… it’s a nice challenge though and it seems that’s what you are looking for!
Hope this all helps!
Hi, Thanks for a thorough answer! So I guess it’s like ten times harder to collect all reverse holos, since you only get one per pack. I can see the challenge in that.
I’m not actually worried about fakes for reverse holos, it’s just this old mindset I have that makes them feel unnatural to me. I’ll probably get used to them soon enough.
I get what you’re saying; It’s not that these are the ones that are going to be faked now, but back in the day, fake cards were easy to spot because that was exactly what fake cards looked like back then.
Getting back into the hobby after so many years also made me really dislike the looks of reverse holos because of that. But since I’ve been getting them through opening packs, I definitely turned around and really like the challenge of getting complete master sets, of which they are definitely a part. And seeing them displayed side-by-side as a complete collection is definitely a sight to behold. I don’t get why so many people dislike them. As soon as I held a few in my hands, I was hooked!
Not sure how modern you want to get, but if you like sets with good artwork, I’d say check out the HGSS series sets. There are still a lot of cheap sealed products out there, the sets are manageable in size, and there is a ton of killer artwork across the different rarities.
If you’re looking to open up a box, most of the Black and White boxes are still very affordable, and the BW full arts are really nice. I also agree with Charlie that the HGSS era has a lot of good artwork, but the booster box prices are a little higher.
If you’re just looking to complete a set, the ex-series without the gold stars is also very affordable, and that era has some of the best artwork in the hobby. Since you’re mostly a WOTC collector, you’d probably like EX Fire Red & Leaf Green, since the entire set is built on the kanto Pokemon.
Since you like Sugimori; he did some of the cards in the ex-era, especially the earliest sets like ex Ruby & Sapphire and ex Sandstorm. These sets are also the most affordable ex-sets.
Be a complete troll and collect Emerging Powers. The cheapest cards out there with the most boring art work and basically everybody hates it, so you can get even the foil rares for bulk prices.
Since side-collection idea can be getting all the Break cards. There aren’t few of them out there, but they are unique and I don’t think Pokemon will get back to those any time soon.
Just want to thank you all for all suggestions. I’ve decided to give shining legends a try (since most of you recommended it) and have ordered the elite trainer box. Hope I can get some great pulls
I’m a big fan of Generations. It was a special release so no Booster Boxes available. Mainly features Gen 1 Pokemon and was released in celebration of Pokemon’s 20th anniversary. The RC29 Pikachu, RC28 Flareon EX and RC32 Sylveon EX are some of the highlights. Also has a cool Charizard I’ve managed to pull 3 times despite rarely opening them.
Even though it was released in 2016, Elite Trainer Boxes are already $90 each.
Other notable new sets: Shining Legends, Burning Shadows
While likely to not get much Return on Investment - the Evolutions set is basically a Base Set reprint and is really fun to collect for.
I know you specifically asked for newer sets, but I just wanted to throw out that Diamond & Pearl Secret Wonders or Mysterious Treasures are amazing sets to collect if you are in it for the thrill of opening packs.
You can consistently find packs on eBay for less than $10, the artwork in both sets are beautiful, and you get the extra thrill of opening packs that are over ten years old. I’m a little bias because D&P was my favorite era of pokemon as far as the games go, but I think binder collecting either of these sets are slept on.
I personally really enjoyed Dragon Majesty and Shining Legends. The Shining Legends packs should still be very affordable, so I would highly suggest getting some of those. The new Ultra Shiny GX Japanese boxes are also a nice option, but they seem a bit too pricey at the moment - at least that’s my opinion.
Just wanted to show you the cards I pulled (and the two promos) from 14 packs (from the Elite trainer box and Darkrai box).
Quite pleased even though I did not get the shiny Mew
It took me forever to pull a shiny Mew! Good luck, don’t give up! (I bought a bazillion boosters and ended up pulling I think 6 of the shining cards, then bought the other 3 individually to complete the group)
