Does anyone have any experience opening early EX Series theme decks? If so, what is the typical condition of the holo rare? The reason why I ask is that I’m considering opening one for the purpose of getting a CGC 9.5 or PSA 10 copy of the holo for my set. But I know that the holo is typically the last card in the theme decks, which might negatively impact the condition? And I know that WotC theme deck holos often have condition issues, but I’m unaware of if this is also true for EX Series theme decks
Basically, what I’m asking is: How does the condition of a holo from an early EX Series theme deck compare to that of a booster pack-pulled copy of that same holo?Is there a reasonable chance of getting a gem mint condition holo out of a theme deck, or does the packaging make this unlikely?
No problem haha. Yeah, the theme decks are relatively inexpensive so if they can yield gem mint holos then it’s a relatively cost-effective way to acquire one!
Holos are (afaik) always the first card in the deck and are somewhat at risk in the packaging, but most of the risk comes from standard print quality issues (centering, silvering, print dots on the back corners, whitening from the cutter, etc). In general the sets with better print quality have fared better in my experience but I have only cracked 2 card that I feel have a *shot* at a 10 from 6 EX era decks.
There are some eras post EX that have the coin strapped to the front of the deck which is a nightmare and causes dents but EX is spared from what I’ve seen.
Basically if you need a theme deck exclusive it’s risky but might be your best shot at a 10. If you’re just looking to crack some easy 10’s steer clear
Helpful info; thank you!! So I may have to pass on doing it then. Would be a shame to open a $250 theme deck only to get a $20 PSA 9 holo (these are non-exclusive holos). The holos do come at the back for Sandstorm, at least; not sure about the others.
@explorer , I opened both jessie and james this month, and I’ve seen some other opened decks and all I’ll say is you need balls of steel to open TRR sealed product of any kind
Let me start off by saying I hardly know anything about the English ex era and its market. I just looked into it real quick because this thread peeked my interest.
I found that some theme decks seem irrationally cheap compared to booster packs.
Would you say it makes sense when you can buy 3 theme decks of a certain ex set for the price of 1 booster of the same set? Or is that an imbalance waiting for a correction and therefore an opportunity for stonks?
Totally depends on the set. For Ruby Sapphire, theme decks should be much more valuable than booster packs. This is because they contain a random holo (there’s no set holo like there is for later sets). But I never see Ruby Sapphire theme decks come up for sale. If they did come up for sale for <$250, I’d buy as many as were available.
For the other sets, it totally depends on whether you think non-holo PSA 10 prices will hold. If they do hold, then theme decks are insanely undervalued. You’re getting at least 20-30+ PSA 10 non-holos per theme deck, easily. The reason why I don’t think theme decks are insanely undervalued is because I don’t believe those prices will hold.
Assuming the non-holo PSA 10 prices don’t hold, then I don’t believe EX Series theme decks are undervalued. Unlike booster packs, they don’t give you a chance to get chase cards or reverse holos. And reverse holos and the chance at a chase card are largely why EX booster packs are so expensive.
@zorloth that’s a great and thorough answer, thank you! I specifically had TRR in mind with my question. I see packs at 600-800 usd and theme decks around 200.
I see, the gambling factor in a booster pack is a great contributor to its price. It’d be quite hard to break even on a loose TRR pack though, wouldn’t it haha?
The gambling factor is even larger for TRR because of gold stars. But the theme decks could still be good value depending on how easy the holos are to grade (you get a Dark Tyranitar holo or a Dark Dragonite holo, depending on which theme deck). My guess, looking at the pop reports, is that they’re pretty damn difficult to grade. So that means they might not be amazing value at $200. But still not a bad price by any stretch!
Unweighable, I believe. exs weigh the same as regular holos (or basically the same), and I would be surprised if gold stars were any different. But gold stars are so tough to pull that there’s no data on it lol
I must say, I am much more optimistic on the ex decks than others. I think they offer very very good value. I’ve recently bought 8 EX TRR decks (4 Jessie and 4 James). I bought them mostly at $200ish each and have opened 2. The 2 I opened will grade either 9s or 10s. The PSA 9 dragonite sells for 300 usd on its own. The 10 is probably 1000. The ttar is a bit less bit still amazing value when you consider the nostalgia and all the other items.
I think the same goes for nearly all the decks. Most holos from the decks are worth 1.5x+ the deck cost in PSA 9 quality. My experience is you will get a 9/10 from most decks you open.
I have also bought the 2 unseen forces decks, 2 hidden legend decks and the ruby and saphire decks. These will be for my collection so won’t be opening those ones up.