Most Expensive Cards in Pokémon Destined Rivals

Although we had some time to “prepare for trouble”, the Pokémon Destined Rivals brought us more than double of what everyone was expecting from the 10th set of the Scarlet and Violet era. Released on the 30th of May, Destined Rivals includes cards from the Japanese sets Heat Wave Arena and The Glory of Team Rocket. The set not only marks the first appearance of Team Rocket since 2004 but it also features Pokémons belonging to super-loved and iconic trainers like Cynthia, Ethan, Arven, Misty and, of course, Giovanni.

Destined Rivals contains 182 cards in the main set plus 62 additional rare cards and it continues to feature the “Trainer’s Pokémon” cards re-introduced in the previous set, Journey Together. The set was expected to be super on demand and we definitely saw this reflected on how crazy the prices have been on the secondary market right after release. After giving a few weeks to settle, the values of some of the cards from Destined Rivals are still quite high although the trends have been much more stable thus we thought it may be a good time to have a look to which cards are the most valuable in this set.

Top High-Value Cards from Pokémon Destined Rivals

As usual, the value of a card is a combination of multiple factors and it is based on its collectible and gameplay values. The collectible value is determined first by the rarity of the card as the highest the rarity, the more difficult is to find it. On top of this it is important to consider the artwork and how popular the character depicted on the card is. Umbreon for example is a fan-favourite character but not all of the cards featuring this Eeveelution are as valuable as the one from Evolving Skies.

Disregarding how much sought after by collectors a card is, its value can also increase significantly if it is very playable with those that are staples in Meta-relevant decks being the most expensive ones.

In a few cases, both players and collectors may be after the same cards, usually driving their prices over the roof. This is the case for example for the most valuable card of Destined rivals, Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex (Special Illustration Rare; DRI 231). This card captures perfectly the dark themes of the set and the villainous ambition of Team Rocket. Both Giovanni and Mewtwo are nicely represented in this artwork and the aura they emanate is as terrifying as the stats of this card. Not only Mewtwo ex has an impressive HP of 280, that is the highest value ever used for Basic non-Tag team Pokémon but it also has an attack capable of dealing 280 damages. The only limit to this ability is the need for at least other three Team Rocket Pokémons in play in order for Mewtwo to attack but that should be easy to sort in a deck themed around these cards. In fact, Destined Rival not only offers a lot of Team Rocket's Pokémons to pick but it also provides a few Support cards that can help players to bring out Mewtwo ex's full potential.

As a testament to the playability and collectible value of this card, the Hyper rare Gold etched version of Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex also takes the eighth spot of this list.

Not surprisingly, the second most valuable card of the set is Cynthia's Garchomp ex (Special Illustration Rare; DRI 232). While Mewtwo and Giovanni are the most iconic duo of opponents in the animated series, Cynthia and her signature Pokémon are the most notable (and stronger) opponents you can face in the video games series. The artwork on this card pays tribute to this aspect by showing this duo in a very cinematic battle scene, where you can really feel the intimidating power of Garchomp ex. This card is also quite solid and it will easily to find a good spot in some specific deck due to its good mix of powerful attacks and card draw ability.

The third most valuable card in Destined Rivals is Team Rocket's Moltres ex (Special Illustration Rare; DRI 229) illustrated by Akira Egawa. The artwork of this card is once again a stunning work of beauty with Moltres ex literally filling the card frame with its fiery presence. Moreover, Archer and his Pokémon stare straight into the viewers' eyes ready to challenge any opponent brave enough to face the Team Rocket's plans. From a gameplay point of view, Moltres is not an easy Pokémon to add to a deck considering the relatively low HP and the amount of energy required to setup its attacks, Flame Screen and Evil Incineration. On the other hand, Evil Incineration can easily wipe out any opponent’s Active Pokémon thus it is very possible Moltres may just be waiting for the right deck to show its competitive value.

A second Legendary bird, Ethan's Ho-Oh ex (Special Illustration Rare; DRI 230), competes very closely with Moltres for the third most valuable card of the set. As seen for Moltres, the rarity and the artwork of Ho-Oh are also the biggest reasons this card is so valuable at the moment. However, the artwork chosen for Ethan's signature Pokémon is bursting with colour and emotions where Moltres tones are darker and fiery. The contrast between these two legendary birds is quite impressive although in both cases they both have a lower playability with respect of Mewtwo ex and Garchomp ex.  

The next two cards in our list are two evolution Pokémon that combine both Competitive value and narrative nostalgia: Team Rocket's Nidoking ex (Special Illustration Rare; DRI 233) and Team Rocket's Crobat ex (Special Illustration Rare; DRI 234). In both cases, the artist chose a very cartoonish style representation with a dark palette that actually emphasises these Pokémons. From a gameplay point of view, Nidoking is the incarnation of the super-resistant, hard hitter Pokémon you expect him to be with a staggering 330 HP and a 100-damage attack that can poison the opponent active Pokémon so badly they take 8 damage counters instead of one. Crobat's attack strategy is also interesting as he can deal 2 damage counters to two different opponent’s Pokémons when it is played and it can come back to the Player's hand after attacking for 120 damage using “Assassin's return”. This strategy can be quite fun to play and it can prove quite effective in the right circumstances.

The last of our top-8 cards from Destined Rivals is not actually a Pokémon but a Supporter card, Ethan's Adventure (Special Illustration Rare; DRI 236). Ethan’s Adventure artwork is a nice selling point for this card as it features our loved trainer paired with Pichu, Slugma and Cyndaquil in a nice adventure setting. However, the biggest reason this card is so valuable is because it plays a central role in the super popular “Ethan’s Typhlosion single-prize deck”. In this deck, Ethan's Adventure can be searched for by Ethan’s Quilava and, when used, allows the Player to get up to three Ethan's Pokémons and/or Basic energies from the Deck. At the same time, the damage dealt by Ethan’s Typhlosion increases by 60 for each copy of Ethan's Adventure in the discard. In essence, the aim of the deck is to get and play as many Ethan's Adventure as possible to power-up Typhlosion, making this Stage2 card an impressive foe to face for any Opponent. And it is only worth only one prize card!

Filling your binder with Destined Rivals

As mentioned initially, Destined Rivals definitely takes the crown of one of the best set of Scarlet and Violet considering how much it is filled with valuable and playable cards. Looking to the trends in the market, it is also likely this set will hold its value over time considering its nostalgia and gameplay value thus it is very understandable that both players and collectors are trying to fill their binders with Destined Rivals cards.

Unfortunately, even if you have have pre-ordered the products from this set taking advantage of the great prices and free shipment always available at Magic Madhouse, you will likely have to look for singles to fill any gaps in your collections. In this case, Magic Madhouse not only can come to your help with a large selection of cards at very competitive prices but you can also take advantage of the free shipment for orders over £30. Most important, every card on Magic Madhouse is guaranteed to be genuine avoiding the risk of buying from not-trusted vendors. Considering the value of some of the cards from this set, this is not a small risk in particular if you really really want that Mewtwo ex!