Is Paldean Fates Worth Collecting? A Comprehensive Buyers Guide

Introduction and Key Features Of Paldean Fates

Scarlet & Violet Paldean Fates is the 6th set in the Scarlet and Violet era and the 2nd special set. Much like Hidden Fates and Shining Fates before it, Paldean Fates focuses on the shiny Pokemon that inhabit the region of Paldea. It was released on 26th January 2024 and there was a lot of hype coming into this set as it featured many fan favourites as shiny Pokemon, including Charizard and Pikachu, and there are some incredible Special Illustration Rare cards, including Iono and Clive. We have also been treated to a new type of Hyper Rare card, which are gold with a raised foil effect, which look awesome and are pretty rare too! The shiny Pokemon in this set also got a slightly different design, with a different holo pattern featuring stars in the background. It looks great and really gives them that shiny feel!

Paldean Fates follows the trend of other special expansions before it, in that there are no booster boxes for this set. You can only get booster packs from set related products, such as Elite Trainer Boxes, Collection Boxes and Tins. The set features loads of Full Art shiny Pokemon as well as heaps of ‘baby shinies’ for you to collect and today we are going to take a look at the best of those and which ones you should be collecting.

Shiny Pokemon have always had a special place in the Trading Card Game and now get fairly regular sets of their own. The first set to focus mainly on shiny Pokemon was Hidden Fates, back in the Sun and Moon era. This set was hugely popular and paved the way for the success of future sets. Shining Fates followed in the Sword and Shield era and again was a massive success. Now we have reached the shiny set for the Scarlet and Violet era. Pokemon really understand the collecting community out there and have featured a Charizard chase card in each set. They know what’s going to sell cards! The set is also crammed full of other favourites as well, including Pikachu, Charmander and Starmie. Not only is it full of favourites, it also contains some extremely playable cards in the meta right now. There are reprints of some top cards, including Electric Generator and Iono, and some brand new cards, like Moonlit Hill, which are going to drop into every Gardevoir deck around!

Top Cards In Paldean Fates

We’ve already touched on some of our top picks for this set and of course there are some highly sought after cards available. There are 8 Special Illustration Rares and these will be top picks for many people. 5 of them feature top trainers, including Arven, Clive, Iono, Nemona and Penny and the other 3 feature some incredible Pokemon in Mew, Gardevoir and Charizard. All of these cards contain some of the best artwork we have seen in the Pokemon TCG ever, and that’s saying something as the art from the Scarlet & Violet era has been top notch!

We also have the 6 new Hyper Rare cards, which are the gold ones we mentioned earlier. These are super hard to pull and look awesome. All of them are new Pokemon discovered in Paldea, including Chi-Yu ex, Chien-Pao ex, Miraidon ex, Wo-Chien ex, Ting-Lu ex and Koraidon ex. There have been a few doubters of the Hyper Rare cards but I think it’s just because they are so different to anything we have had before. Give them a chance and they will grow on you I promise.

As well as this, we have about 132 shiny Pokemon, including baby shinies and Pokemon ex, to choose from and there really is something for everyone here. Loads of the brand new Pokemon get shiny forms for the first time, including Clodsire ex and Lechonk. There are also loads of favourites from previous generations, including Pikachu, Mew ex and Pidgeot ex. Plenty of these are seeing a lot of play in the competitive scene and will really make your deck stand out on the tabletop.

Market Analysis and Pricing

As with most new sets, the market has taken a little while to settle and decide the prices of some of the best cards. Before the set was released, the Special Illustration Rare cards were being talked about as the ones people wanted the most. When the set was released, they didn’t fail to disappoint, as the Mew ex, Gardevoir ex, Charizard ex, Iono and Penny were all the most expensive cards in the set. Prices have come down a long way from where they were. The Charizard ex SIR has settled on top of the pack and you can currently pick this up for about £200, probably less in some places. I’m sure you are getting bored of reading about a set where Charizard is the top dog (or should that be top Dragon), but Pokemon knows how popular it is and will continue to take advantage of that.

The next Pokemon on our list is Mew ex, affectionately known as the ‘Bubble Mew’. This is possibly the best artwork we have seen from Pokemon in years and on top of that, it is a super popular Pokemon on a really playable card. That’s a winning combination if ever I have seen one. If you haven’t had a chance to grab this card, I would definitely recommend doing so as it is going to be a hugely popular one for the future and has now dropped under £100.

Full Art Trainers have proved popular once again and the Iono SIR is next up on the most valuable cards list. Iono has always been one of the most popular trainers since release and continues to be to this day. Gardevoir ex is around the similar price bracket as Iono and has the same qualities as the ‘Bubble Mew’. It’s a popular Pokemon, on a playable card with superb artwork. Damn Pokemon, you’ve got it figured out this time!

 Outside of these big cards, there is not a huge amount of value. Most of the other Special Illustration Rares can be picked up for £30 or less and there is not much value to be had in the baby shinies either. Even popular Gen 1 Pokemon like Pikachu, Snorlax and Charmander have seen their prices plummet recently and all of these can be picked up for £10 - £25. I think it is worth grabbing these while the prices are so low as they are rare cards and have excellent collectability for the future.

The Pros and Cons of Collecting Paldean Fates and Comparing It To Other Sets

 There are not many drawbacks to collecting Pokemon sets and everyone collects for their own reasons. Perhaps you want to complete a Master Set or maybe you just love opening packs. Whatever your reasons, do it because it brings you enjoyment and a rush getting that card you’ve wanted. Whilst the cons are few, the pros are many! Pokemon is a fantastic hobby and is constantly growing all over the world. Paldean Fates is the newest set and can really enhance your collection, especially if you have collected other shiny sets in the past. It also features some of the most playable cards in the game right now, many in alternate artworks to their standard forms. It can be a great way to get the newest cards for your deck and even pick up some spares for your binder.

Many people were a bit disappointed when the set was first revealed and thought it would add very little to the game. There have been some cards that have seen a lot of play and also a lot of reprinted cards, which has helped to bring prices down a bit and make these more accessible for everyone. As is often the case with these reprint and shiny sets, they are mainly for collectors and people who want to display these incredible artworks. Paldean Fates may not have had so many innovations and brand new decks off the back of it as some other main expansion sets, but it has certainly got the prettiest artwork of them all! 

How To Buy Paldean Fates

As we said earlier, Paldean Fates is a special expansion set and so you cannot buy loose booster packs or booster boxes. They can only be purchased in special products released with the set, including ETB’s, special collection boxes and even the new tech sticker collection blisters. These are a cool new product which you get 3 booster packs, a promo card and a giant sticker, which you can stick on your laptop and school books!

As always, make sure you purchase from well known and reliable sellers to ensure that you are buying genuine Pokemon products. Unfortunately, there are more and more fakes out there and the quality of them is improving all the time. Shop from reputable sellers which you know to be genuine and you will have a fun and exciting Pokemon journey!

You can find all the latest Paldean Fates releases on our website at Magic Madhouse.