Recently I completed my Generations master set, this being the first time I complete a master set as I generally only collect sealed or singles. But I found it very interesting and enjoyable to look around trying to find cheap cards etc.
I would love to complete Skyridge, but I want to do it all in NM condition or maybe close to NM for the expensive bits. But wondering if it is actually realistic to complete it for a reasonable price, first focusing on the “cheap” cards and once I complete that moving into the big ones, selling some slabs to buy those etc.
Wondering if anyone here completed a Skyridge master set “Recently” ? Also looking for some advice or similar era sets that would be a bit easier?
It’s expensive but yeah, definitely still in the “realistic” side. If you’re willing to compromise a little when it comes to holos & crystals condition (aiming for a psa 5-7 range?), and being laser-focused on your goal, it’s doable.
You might want to plan a strategy for the chase cards though, mainly Charizord, Gengar and Umbreon: considering that we’re still in a boom, starting with the cheap, non-stonking cards could be a good idea.
A similar set, but way more affordable, would be Expedition; otherwise you can always look into Japanese versions of eng sets. VS is a jp exclusive set, which is very approachable, same for early ex era ones
I like your idea about the VS set, I normally don’t collect Japanese unless is an exclusive set/promo, also I’m going to Japan again next Jan so it might help a lot. Thank you for the idea! I’m definitely going to consider it
This was one of my long-term stretch goals, but it’s a tough one. It all comes down to money of course. The regular set is small and easy to complete, but those Crystals and some of the holo’s will eat your wallet alive if you opt for NM. If you get the Charizard, Ho-Oh and Celebi in like a PSA 5-6 it can make for a good binder copy and save a lot (this is what I’d consider, depending on your goals). True NM will run you quite a bit more of course.
One of the positives of the E-Reader sets is at this point in time they don’t have the same demand as earlier WOTC or Neo era sets, mainly because they aren’t as nostalgic for a lot of people. They are overall more niche still. But over time this could change, as the cards do have a lot of fantastic art and it’s the last of the WOTC era as well. Not to mention sealed product appears to be very scarce overall, so very little new cards will ever hit the market. So it does have a lot of compelling features from a collector perspective.
Anyway, it’s definitely realistic. I feel like it’s got a similar challenge to completing a 1st Ed Base Set complete set or Neo Destiny 1st Ed complete set overall.
For the crystals def I would need to sell some slabs to get some decent condition. I was more worried about the rest of the cards, as seems very hard to find clean versions of the “bulk” set cards, I guess that the best way to start is finding someone that sells a bundle with part of the set.
I’d say that’s still a fairly obtainable goal in NM condition if you’re smart with your money.
In my opinion, you should gun down the pricier items first though. It’s definitely been helpful in my collecting journey. During boom periods, it’s far more disheartening to see a card go from $2K > $4K as opposed to $200 > $400. Even if the percentage jump is the same…
You can sometimes find ‘complete’ sets for sale in NM or LP or so, or you can play the long game and collect the singles slowly from various sellers and sites. A lot of times they’ll be scattered around, so it may take some effort for certain cards. If possible I’d focus on the most expensive/demand cards sooner than later, as these will typically grow in price quickest and also be hardest to find on average. Also you can consider buying and cracking slabs, a lot of times you can save money this way as various auctions will fly under the radar for cheap prices at times.
Jokes aside, I had been attempting to complete Skyridge in a PSA 10 for the past while. I got about 2/3 of the way through the set before the current boom hit, so I’ve paused this goal for the foreseeable future.
I personally feel this is either the first or second most difficult Wotc set to complete normally (the Neo sets would be more challenging to complete in a 10). The reason being the abundance of top-tier desirable cards such as Crystal Charizard, Gengar, Umbreon, Crystal Ho-oh, Crystal Celebi, Gyarados, Crystal Crobat in roughly that order. While the 10s are actually quite a bit cheaper than other Wotc sets because of the relative ease of grading them, 9s and NM tend to be more expensive than the majority of Neo or Gen 1 cards (with the exception of Base 1st Ed, Neo Destiny Shinings, Neo Genesis Lugia, T17 etc).
A lot of the less popular mons could probably still be obtained sub 500 in NM raw. But be prepared to shell out upper hundreds for the desirable, but not quite top tier cards such as Arcanine, Alakazam, Articuno, Moltres, Flareon, Houndoom, Raikou, Vaporeon, around 1k - 2k for Crystal Golem, Kabutops, Crobat, and Gyarados maybe 2k - 3k for Celebi, Ho-oh and Umbreon. Gengar is likely 5k+ and Crystal Zard would likely be close to 10k.
Skyridge is a huge undertaking but it’s in my opinion the greatest set of all time with incredible artwork, cohesive theming and an excellent selection of species. Best of luck if you do decide to pursue it…because let’s be real, you’ll need it.
General guidance, buying and cracking nice looking PSA/CGC/BGS 6s, 7, or 8s may be a good avenue. If you buy raw NM, you’re going to be competing with those looking to grade.
If you buy a nice looking CGC 7 gengar, it’s already been determined to be unstonkable worthless doody so you’ll likely have less competition.
I would not recommend starting a Skyridge set in 2025. Many normal holos are hitting all time highs during this boom in ‘conventional trophy card’ range, which is unprecedented.
While these cards may not come down completely to post-boom 2022-2023 prices, they may come down some. And when that ceiling starts to fall (i.e., PSA 10s and 9s start selling for less), the lower condition binder copies will move even further.
Or, save up. Money is the biggest barrier to completing this set as the cards are not all that difficult to find.
Skyridge is an amazing expansion … lots of interesting cards, but it can be very expensive to complete (especially for Holo, Reverse Holo & the Secret Rares of the expansion) …
Your goal is “realistic”, but requires a lot of strategy such as making “establish hierarchy” in order to determine the priority order … Skyridge Master Set is something that might take you some years to complete (is not something you can complete overnight unless you have a lot of money) …
The heaviest past of Skyridge regarding money are:
Holo subset (from H1/H32 to H32/H32)
Reverse Holo
Secret Rares (the 6 Crystal monsters)
In my opinion, it’s more “realistic” if you focus only on Non-Holos … (especially if you want the cards for e-Reader purposes (English cards are the only ones compatible with western e-Reader) or just want to collect 1 per artwork)
Skyridge was released in English, German and Italian. That being said, if you want to collect the cards that are usually expensive in English, you can take in consideration German or Italian … Both languages are generally cheaper …
Thank you to everyone who shared some advise or past experiences!
I like the hunting experience instead of just going on eBay buying everything that I need at any price, as I want to enjoy it a the same time that I save as much money as possible, I think that the best option for me would be to wait until I find someone selling a decent bundle of Skyridge cards, at least maybe the commons, this seems to be the best way to start instead of just starting from 0, buying every single card. From that focusing on what I’m missing and making some moves to acquire the most expensive ones. This might be a project for a few years!
Meanwhile I think I’m going to start collecting the VS cards or some English EX set which seems to be way easier.
What about completing the non-holos first and then see if you want to level up to holos at all? I feel like the enjoyment vs. price from looking at non-holos is unbeatable and the set can be a standalone goal too since it contains all the artworks apart from crystals.
