The Best and Most Expensive Full Art Pokémon Cards

Full Art Pokémon cards are some of the most sought after cards from modern sets and rightly so. They often feature some beautiful artwork of the most popular Pokémon and Trainers and are usually pretty rare as well. This is the perfect recipe for creating an expensive Pokémon card and today we are going to look at my top 10 Full Art Pokémon cards.

What is a Full Art Pokémon Card?

I’m sure that you have all seen a Full Art card before. It is one where the artwork covers the full front of the card and has a lovely texture to it. We are not talking about the Trainer Gallery cards here which we have seen in recent sets, this is purely the traditional Full Art cards. They are quite rare and you are only likely to pull 2 - 3 out of a full booster box. This helps to keep them quite valuable, as we’ve seen before, rarity often correlates with price. A lot of the cards on this list are very valuable but have only been trending up in recent years. This may be a good time to pick up 1 or 2 of these for investment purposes if that is your thing, or perhaps you just want them for your collection (I wouldn’t blame you)!

So let’s start at number 10 on our list and run down to number 1, the best Full Art card in existence!

The Top 10 Full Art Pokémon Cards

#10 - Gardevoir ex Special Illustration Rare - Scarlet & Violet Base Set

We are starting with a pretty modern card here, but it is one with such beautiful artwork that it’s hard to ignore. While the prices for this Gardevoir have stayed relatively low, it is a very playable card and one which is the ending to a nice little story. There are Full Art Special Illustration Rare versions of the Ralts and the Kirlia from this set as well and it follows the Pokémon’s evolutions with their family and shows the kids growing up and the parents getting old. If you really want to go all out here you could pick up all 3 for a nice display. These ‘story’ cards are not ones we see too often and I think that Gardevoir ex will only go one way in the future. You can pick up a copy now for less than £30, which is a bargain for such an amazing card!

#9 - Origin Forme Palkia V Alternate Full Art - Astral Radiance

This Palkia is a fantastic card, both for its incredible artwork and playability since its release in Sword and Shield Astral Radiance. Palkia’s ability to distort space is evident in this card’s artwork which pays homage to MC Escher’s ‘Relativity’. You will probably all know this piece of famous art as ‘the one with the staircases’ and it is superb to see it referenced in a Pokémon card. This card is going to be a great one for the future and has come down in value quite a bit since its release. You can pick it up now for less than £40 and I think it is a steal at that.

#8 - Celebi V Alternate Full Art - Fusion Strike

Once again we have chosen an extremely popular Pokémon to occupy our Number 8 spot in Celebi. While this card has not seen as much competitive play as the other 2, it contains some of the most gorgeous artwork that we will feature on this list. These alternate art cards from the Sword and Shield era really stepped up the game in terms of design and gave Scarlet and Violet a lot to live up to! In the card we can see snow on the ground and Celebi breathing life into the dead trees and helping them sprout new leaves. It is a wonderfully enchanting card that looks great in every display.

#7 - Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno Full Art - Sun and Moon Promo

Our first and only Promo card to make this list and possibly the finest Promo card ever made, the Moltres & Zapdos & Articuno GX is affectionately known as the ‘stained glass birds’ and it’s easy to see why. This Promo was only available in the Sun and Moon Hidden Fates Elite Trainer Box and came sealed inside. It is reasonably rare to get hold of nowadays and the prices for raw copies are not too high just yet. You can also pick up a PSA graded copy for not as much as you might expect and I can see this being a massive card in the future. Whilst this one may not be the most expensive card on our list, it is definitely one of the best looking and most recognisable and one that really recommend picking up before the prices head out of reach.

#6 - Flareon EX Full Art - Generations Radiant Collection

We are heading back to the XY era for our Flareon EX from the Generations Radiant Collection. While the main attraction here is Flareon, this card also features Vaporeon and Jolteon, so you basically get all 3 original Eeveelutions for the price of 1! This card is stunning and is a fantastic collectors piece. The only difficulty now is finding one and even more difficult is finding one in good condition. This card was released all the way back in 2016 and so is heading towards the realms of being classed as a vintage card before too much longer! It is a beautiful card and one I would recommend grabbing if you manage to find a nice copy.

#5 - Gengar & Mimikyu GX Alternate Full Art - Team Up

Things are really starting to heat up as we make our way into the top 5 and we start it off with Gengar & Mimikyu GX from the Sun and Moon set, Team Up. This was not only a pretty playable card at the time but also the most incredible Full Art from the set. People are finally starting to see the beauty in some of the Tag Team GX cards and the prices have begun to reflect that. This card is now likely to set you back a pretty penny and if you can find one in a PSA 10 then you will be looking at £500 +, if you’re lucky, although it’s more likely to be closer to £700. Gengar is a real fan favourite and always makes for a brilliant card.

#4 - Solgaleo & Lunala GX Full Art - Cosmic Eclipse

Following the trend of the Tag Team GX’s, next up we have Solgaleo & Lunala GX from Cosmic Eclipse. This is a really beautiful artwork with some fantastic colours that really showcase the Pokémon nicely. It also features Lillie which makes the card even more popular. Just like the rest of the Tag Team GX Full arts and alternate arts, this card has seen a recent spike in value and it’s not hard to see why. If you can find one then pick it up, the prices have only gone one way recently and should continue on that trend.

#3 - Lugia V Alternate Full Art - Silver Tempest

We jump back to the more recent sets to begin our top 3 and I’m sure it’s a card that you are all familiar with. Lugia V from Silver Tempest is a beautiful and extremely sought after card. Lugia’s Pokedex entry from Pokémon Silver, the game in which it was the featured Pokémon, reads; ‘It is said to be the guardian of the seas. It is rumoured to have been seen on the night of a storm.’ This card harkens back to that Pokedex entry and shows Lugia flying above a fisherman out at sea with a storm raging around them. It is a beautiful throwback and an amazing card which has held its value well since its release and I think is one that will see a massive increase in the next few years.

#2 - Umbreon VMAX Alternate Full Art - Evolving Skies

This next card takes no introduction and is one that I am sure you either own or dream of owning! Affectionately nicknamed ‘Moonbreon’, it features a giant Umbreon on top of a building trying to grab the moon. It is a beautiful card that features one of the most popular Pokémon ever created, it was destined for success from the moment it was released. On top of that, Umbreon VMAX has been a very playable card since its release in Evolving Skies, although I think it’s unlikely you will see too many of this version in people’s decks! If you have the spare cash sitting around, definitely pick up a Moonbreon while you can and if you can snag a PSA graded one for not too much then I would think about that too.

#1 - Giratina V Alternate Full Art - Lost Origin

Our top spot on the list goes to Giratina V from Lost Origin. This alternate art card features Giratina floating around a distorted space, with lots of indistinguishable items floating around it. It is a pretty wacky card, but one which is extremely popular, not least because it features Giratina, but also because it is visually stunning. Despite the background being somewhat of a tastefully jumbled mess, Giratina still stands out on the card and is bright and bold at the fore. This card is the best from the Sword and Shield era and beat some incredible cards to reach the pinnacle of our Top 10 Full Art cards.

So there we have it, all of our favourite Full Art cards. There is a real mix of cards there and a varying level of price but we feel there is certainly something for everyone. The Stained Glass Birds Promo is going to be a great one for the future so grab those now while they are cheap! As for any of the top 5, well you can’t go wrong with any of them so grab them while they’re hot and enjoy these beautiful cards for years to come. Head over to our store at Magic Madhouse to pick up all your favourite Full Art cards today.