If Mr. Burns decided he wanted to start collecting Pokemon cards what would you nominate as the most difficult “set” for him to complete? This can be any meaning of the word “set” from Base Set to Masaki vending etc. To complete the set condition does not count and price is not a factor as Mr. Burns sold the Springfield Power Plant so he is swimming in dosh. So basically cards that RARELY if ever show up for sale
I would nominate the CoroCoro Snap Promo set, consists of 5 cards
Are there any sets that would take Mr. Burns more than 1 year to complete?
Japanese Base Set Test Prints/Prototypes. Most likely completely destroyed after they weren’t needed anymore, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were locked up in a drawer in Gamefreak HQ somewhere.
With only one complete set known, Korean unlimited base set seems to be especially tough to complete. May have been due to a lost freight ship that contained preorders that turned out to be unwanted anyway due to lack of interest after the 1st ed run faired poorly.
I think this is a really interesting thread. A lot of people think an item’s rarity and how hard it is to find are the same. Definitely not.
Take the Illustrator and trophy Khan for example. Extremely low numbers printed (i.e. very rare), but I can rattle off 5-10 people off the top of my head who own them. If I had the money, probably wouldn’t take me more than a couple weeks to secure them both.
Other cards like the Art Academy ones, and even set-based stuff like old Japanese ex cards (gem mint ones) aren’t exactly rare but are very hard to find.
I’m sure there are better examples for this, but a lot of people often seem to think that price/print numbers are the sole determinant of how hard an item is to find.
Dis is exactly why The NO raritans, Shining Cards, OLD school ex Cards japanese are basically so much more than trophies, because you just cant secure them with money, its not a money thing. And those SNAP cards with the gyarados and pikachu and stuff, they are just what in the hell… Noone has them, wouldnt be able to secure them with monrae.
Trophy cards are objectively and quantifiably much more difficult to find, let alone complete a “set”. Some sets are so rare that PSA 10 is not even an option.
Also, it is unfair to compare one card, such as a trophy khan or other high end item, to an entire set of 102 cards. Of course 1 is less than 102.
I love trophies and i want them all. Like all of them. But in my opinion the 16 holo no rarities are better, because there such bad condition when you find them, and because there base set, and first cards ever printed. Maybe I will say that some trophies are much more easy to obtain then others, and that makes them not as cool in my opinion, but thats just me. The snap cards must be considered trophies? Thing is with trophies… IS there usually found in absolutely perfect condition, or sealed which makes them easy to get 10’s or 9’s on. SOmething that just doesnt happen with old school ex, no rarity, or shining cards… But good point, you can’t really compare set cards to trophies because of the numbers… Well you can, but its a more personal preference thingy. I consider pokemon a competition for me now, and one day I’m going to beat you smpratte. 8D I am a truly competitive person, I make everything this way. It was like that with music too. I must say will see how i feel about trophies compared to no rarities once I own them, and I will own the pikachus.
This is sort of what I am getting at by posting the thread. Theoretically if $1,000,000 was offered by a Mr. Burns figure which cards would be hardest to locate, also remember CONDITION and as well as PRICE does not consider into the equitation most of the sets mentioned including the snap set would be obtainable I think “easier” if a large sum was offered.
So far I think @milhouse answer would take Mr. Burns the longest
The most difficult cards to find would be the older (pre 2003) japanese Trophy cards. As a general standard, most japanese winners do not sell their cards. The 2002 tournaments which featured the winners actual faces on the cards are some of the most difficult to find on the open market.
There are a few individuals who have the resources, quite literally Mr. Burnsesque resources to flush out the cards, but they simply are not available.
Never seen those before pretty awesome to have your face on a Pokemon card lol, so maybe a “Trainer” trophy set? All trophy cards that have Trainer in the title that would be quite a feat as low numbers plus Mr. Burns will have to navigate communication through multiple languages to try and locate each one
