Its kinda weird seeing a card with 20+ different reprints while Pokemon has rarely ever done that until recently
Base set I feel has been reprinted a lot
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In the last several years for sure, but outside of Base 2 and Legendary Collection, we didnt see really any significant âreprintâ until EvolutionsâŠwhich was only a partial set. Of course since then we have had Celebrations, Pokemon Classic, and a couple promos.
I know Base 2 and LC are reprints, but I have never really considered them to be âtoo muchâ since they came out 20+ years ago when Pokemon was still in its beginner stages. I feel like when people refer to too many, they are meaning modern sets, but maybe not
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Thatâs true. I really count base set 2 and LC as their own thing. So Iâm terms of reprints itâs just evolutions, celebrations and now the classic collection
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Yup, im the exact same.
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I think there is some collectability but only for certain cards. Nobody is playing old school HERO fusions for example but the ultimate rare prints go for insane money in 1st Ed NM condition. The likes of Air Neos are crazy.
Same for early ultis like Horus Lv8, Cyber End Dragon, and Armed Dragon lv7 - prices on cards like that just keep hitting new heights (that I canât justify lol).
I collected Yugioh from the beginning up until mid-GX and loved it. I much prefer the original ancient Egyptian-themed, dark monsters and genuinely disturbing, crazy creatures from the earliest sets (I have a near-complete binder set of OCG Vols 1-7 and that has a load of freaky stuff that didnât get printed in the TCG sets). New Yugioh with its archetype focus and âmonstersâ based on waifus and other super-anime styled themes isnât for me at all. IMO, itâs nothing like the OG game. I cherry pick a few nice cards from newer sets but they are mostly things based on original monsters/cards or new shiny variants of the classics.
Will have to post my Yugioh collection at some point. I donât have as much as Pokemon (because thatâs my focus) but I have some nice cards such as Retro Pack 2 Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, 1st Ed LOD Yata Garasu, MFC Dark Magician Girl, FMR Red-Eyes Metal Dragon, some nice ultis etc.
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Totally feel you on the dark, creepy theme of the original era vs this new⊠stuff. I always joke with my friends that early Yugioh was mostly some insane monster + psychedelic background lol. Todayâs art seems too generic if that makes sense.
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PokĂ©mon definitely has Yugioh beat in terms of artwork. I like a lot of the modern artwork but it definitely has a generic feel to it. I think itâs because basically every monster is doing a generic pose and either facing forward or diagonally. The spells and traps featuring those monsters have more dynamic art. Hereâs an example
Fusion Monster: Mirrorjade the Iceblade Dragon
Spell: Branded Fusion
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Yugioh will always be my number 1. These days I just collect and donât really touch anything post 2016 (unless itâs a ghost rare or ulti from an OTS pack). There is a saying in the community though, âOne never truly quits Yugiohâ.
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Can anyone who is really well versed in Yugioh help me out? I want to buy a raw mint/NM 1st ed blue eyes LOB since theyâre pretty cheap. I want to build a binder but I donât want to buy the wrong version or a fake. I know nothing about Yugioh so any help is welcomed
Might be easiest to buy a low graded copy (PSA 5-8) to crack out, especially since itâs a chase card in the set that will make it safer when buying. Youâll find a lot of Asian English and EU English compared to North American release in my experience. The NA copy seems to be highest value/demand among the LOB release.
Also, thereâs âwavyâ and âglossyâ versions of the holo type cards. Itâs a subtle manufacturing difference in the card stock, kind of like Pokemon cards that have slight differences in the print color and stamps. Some people value the âwavyâ ones more, usually by 5-10% in price from what Iâve seen due to rarity. The difference is so subtle though that personally I donât care about glossy vs wavy and will buy either one. I actually prefer the glossy for the more consistent holo effect.
Itâs also hardly noticeable unless you take it out of a sleeve and put it under good lighting, so it comes down to personal taste I feel. The main theory Iâve read is glossy is the original/1st print run, but wavy is kind of like an error and much more rare than glossy.
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Yeah that makes sense. Iâll look for a psa 6-7 North American version. I just want a binder set for nostalgia. I appreciate the help!
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Look at the set codes. The one you want is LOB-001 in 1st Edition
There are other coded versions from other regions that are still expensive but donât deserve to command the same value. So you also have LOB-E001 with the âEâ denoting European. LOB-E also comes in 1st Ed but it shouldnât be as much. There is also LOB-A001 (Australian) that has a 1st Ed printing but thatâs uncommon enough to probably be worth something, thinking about it.
There is one HUGE red herring that you want to avoid and that is the Asian-English version. It has the same LOB-001 North American code, comes in 1st Edition, and looks identical from the front in pictures. The giveaway is that the Yugioh logo on the back was different for the Asian-English territory.
Avoid this one - note the Asian-English logo
Make sure you see a picture of the back because there are unscrupulous sellers that will only show the front and charge you the price of the North American printing (the Asian English is worth a lot less).
If you can afford it then 1st Ed is definitely the way to go. As well as the higher prestige, Yugioh have reprinted the cards so often that Unlimited LOB has multiple printings (original Unlimited, EN-coded âWorldwideâ, 2010, 2014, and the latest 2023 Legendary Collection reprinting) and it is difficult to tell them apart unless you know what you are looking for with different ink shades, differences in the gold-coloured name, and details in the âEye of Anubisâ hologram.
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Cards were mostly brown, overly detailed, and a little bit too fantasy-esque. Magic was already in that category for people interested.
Pokemon was clean, bright, colorful, and just overall more kid friendly than Magic, and yugioh was too late to the table to compete with Magic⊠Kind of the middle child.
Omg thank you so much! This is exactly what I was looking for. Too many variations
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No problem! I flip in and out of Yugioh these days but have nerded out so much on the old stuff in years past that things like set codes and obscure reprints are etched on my brain lol
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I retired from YuGiOh but I will never forget 
I prefer the Yugioh anime to the Pokemon one and enjoy playing the actual card game more. I like to collect the well known cards from my childhood but donât like the idea of there being 10x reprints of the same card from a collectorâs perspective. I like how they rereleased the original few sets as reprint boxes for the 25th Anniversary though.
Yugioh is something I get back into for a while as a phase then get bored of it again.
Overall Pokemon is a much better and the games/cards are more nostalgic for me
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Great points, this is mainly how I feel as well. They re-print so many of the iconic cards in Yu-Gi-Oh. Your only real collector option is the very 1st printing or some very limited release/promo type cards. Pokemon of course milks some things like Base Set, but even those can still be more collectible than 95% of Yu-Gi-Oh re-prints due to having a unique holo or stamp (i.e. Celebrations, etc).
I also find Pokemon has done a really good job at releasing cards to satisfy old and new collectors. Some of the artworks the past while have had such a good nostalgic vibe to them and this keeps me interested in collecting old & new Pokemon cards. 25th Anniversary Yu-Gi-Oh was great, but I like you say, it gets boring pretty quick after that.
So overall, theyâre both great⊠but yeah Pokemon has the edge for me as well in many ways.
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