Unveiling Top-Rated Pokémon Booster Boxes: Enhance Your Collection in 2023

Pokémon booster boxes are the best way to kick start your collection. Each booster box contains 36 packs and if you can afford to buy a booster box, it generally works out cheaper per pack than if you bought single packs. They are fantastic for players and are a great way to get many of the staple cards from each set. 36 packs, each containing 10 cards (we aren’t including the energy cards here) is 360 cards. Chances are, you’re going to get some good stuff amongst that!

It’s not just players that love booster boxes. Collectors can find great value in them as well, including some people who ‘invest’ in booster boxes, hoping that their value will increase over time and they will be able to sell them for a profit in the future. Other people just enjoy having a collection of cards and sealed products and like being able to display them for their own pleasure.

Unfortunately, not all sets are made equal. Holiday sets or special sets don’t have booster boxes. They have special collection boxes, elite trainer boxes and blister packs. So you won’t see any Crown Zenith, Champion’s Path or Hidden Fates Booster Boxes on this list. Only main sets in each era have booster boxes.  

Today we are going to take a look at some of the best booster boxes for players, collectors and displayers and what makes them great. We will focus on mainly the modern era of the last few years as these boxes are still somewhat available and affordable!

Scarlet & Violet Base Set Booster Box

The most recent booster box is always going to be a hit amongst players. The most recent set at the time of writing is the Scarlet and Violet Base Set, which was released on March 31st 2023. This booster box is also popular amongst collectors as it is the first booster box of the new era. That’s right, Sword and Shield is officially over and Scarlet and Violet has stepped up to take over the mantle. Along with the new set comes a vast array of new game mechanics and card styles, another thing that is popular with collectors. There are plenty of chase cards in the set as well which also adds to its collectability. Will it be a set that is worth a small fortune in years to come? Who knows, but what I do know is that it will look amazing in anyone's collection.

Brilliant Stars Booster Box

In my opinion, Brilliant Stars was the best set to come from the whole of the Sword and Shield era. It featured the extremely playable Arceus VSTAR, some superb support Pokémon in Bibarel and Lumineon V and some staple trainers including Ultra Ball. Brilliant Stars brought back the Trainer Gallery subset of cards, something which we hadn’t seen since Sun and Moon Cosmic Eclipse. This is a fantastic set for both players and collectors, although the price has been steadily creeping up over the last few months. It’s no surprise when you consider that there is the gold Arceus VSTAR and the gold Galarian Birds Trio in the set, not to mention the Charizard VSTAR which was available in rainbow rare and the alternate art Charizard V. I think that this may become one of the most sought after booster boxes of the modern era in years to come.

Fusion Strike Booster Box

Another box from the Sword and Shield era which introduced a new style of Pokémon card, Fusion Strike, has become popular in recent months. It features some very powerful VMAX Pokémon, including Gengar VMAX and Mew VMAX. Mew VMAX has turned out to be one of the most powerful cards in the current standard format and is often seen at the top tables of major tournaments. Not only does Fusion Strike give us some very playable cards, it also produced some extremely valuable and sought after alternative art cards, including those big two mentioned earlier, the alt art Mew V and some beautiful full art supporters. Perhaps the Fusion Strike Booster Box will fall out of favour once the cards rotate out of standard or perhaps the desirability of the alternate arts will keep the price buoyant for years to come.

Battle Styles Booster Box

Battle Styles was released just before Fusion Strike and was the first time that we had seen Rapid Strike and Single Strike Pokémon. It featured Urshifu, the powerful fighting bear Pokémon from the Sword and Shield games and was an instant hit in the game. The focus on Rapid and Single Strike made for some interesting combinations and interactions and brought another level to the card game. Aside from this, the set has become known as one of the more disappointing of recent times, with a couple of gold cards and some alt arts being valuable, the playable cards in the set can be bought for only a few pounds each. If you are looking to collect all of the booster boxes, then this one can be picked up pretty cheap compared to most others.

Vivid Voltage Booster Box

When Vivid Voltage came around, we got our first look at the new Amazing Rare cards. These were powerful single prize cards with devastating attacks, strong abilities and beautiful artwork set on a fantastic new holo pattern. Sadly, these cards were not hugely playable until recently with the re-introduction of the lost zone engine which meant they could be powered up quickly and easily, unlike previously. The biggest draw of the Vivid Voltage set is the Pikachu VMAX rainbow rare. This card has single handedly dragged Vivid Voltage from the bottom of many people’s lists and up into the higher tiers of collectability.

Evolving Skies Booster Box

Our list would not be complete without talking about Evolving Skies. Evolving Skies was, and still is, one of the hottest sets around thanks to the Eeveelutions contained within. On release, the set was tipped as being hugely playable with some very hyped cards, including Rayquaza VMAX, however, it did not live up to the expectations there. It has, however, found a loving place in the hearts of collectors as they try to collect all of the Eevee evolutions, including an array of alternate arts, for which the price has been skyrocketing recently. If you can find one, an Evolving Skies Booster Box is going to set you back A LOT of money, at least compared to the other sets of modern times. I do think that the price is only going to continue increasing as the market is there for the collectable cards within it.

Team Up Booster Box

We are jumping back a little further and heading into the Sun and Moon era, a simpler time where Tag Team Pokémon ruled the world, and Team Up was our first look at them. Being the set with the first ever type of a new Pokémon mechanic is always a positive for a set and Team Up is no exception. We got to see cards like Pikachu and Zekrom GX, Latias and Latios GX and Eevee and Snorlax GX. Cards like PikaRom dominated the format for a long time and were absolute juggernauts in the game. Others have become more well known for their collectability and rarity, including the alternate arts of Latias & Latios GX which has shot up in value recently. Team Up was a fantastic set for both players and collectors and it is now very hard to find, hence why the value has increased so much. If you can find a booster box of Team Up for sale then I would suggest buying it, if you can afford it. It is a set which is only going to continue rising in price.

Unbroken Bonds Booster Box

Sticking with the Tag Team era, we have Unbroken Bonds, which brought us powerhouses of the format including Reshiram & Charizard GX and Sylveon & Gardevoir GX as well as fantastic support Pokémon in Dedenne GX and staple supporters such as Greens Exploration and Welder. It was easy to see why Unbroken Bonds was one of the most hyped sets for a long time and why it helped to shape the format as much as it did. Unbroken Bonds followed in the footsteps of Team Up and has become extremely expensive to buy, if you can even find any. For collectors and displayers, the Unbroken Bonds Booster Box is certainly one to get your hands on as the box art features the ever popular Charizard.

Unified Minds Booster Box

The Tag Team era featured so many high level playable and collectable cards that we have to stick with it for one more Booster Box! Unified Minds brought with it a wave of powerful cards, including Mewtwo & Mew GX and Espeon & Deoxys GX. Mewtwo & Mew GX went on to win the World Championships in 2019 and cemented its place in history as one of the best cards of all time. Alongside the ultra competitive cards were some gorgeous alternate arts and some wonderful full art supporters. Like most sets from Sun and Moon, the Unified Minds Booster Box has become very expensive. But like most sets from Sun and Moon, I think it will continue to rise in value as the cards become more sought after. I think people missed out on the beauty of a lot of the cards from these sets and they are now becoming much more recognised.

Sun and Moon Base Set Booster Box

The Sun and Moon Base Set introduced GX Pokémon with their powerful, once per game, GX attacks. This mechanic continued into the Sword and Shield era with VSTAR Powers and was a popular mechanic which added another layer of complexity and thought process to the game. We got our first look at cards like Lunala GX and Umbreon GX and, like with the first set of each new era, we were spoiled with choices of deck building possibilities. Nowadays, the set is more remembered for some of its stunning rainbow rares and collectable cards. People like to have the first set of each era as something of a reminder of how the card game has developed over time and Sun and Moon Base is no exception. Booster boxes are hard to come by and when you do find one, they will likely cost you an arm and a leg but I think it has long term value potential, particularly if you want to display it as part of a larger collection.

XY Evolutions

Our final mention here goes to the ever popular XY Evolutions, the final set of the XY era and a reprint of the original Base Set. Evolutions featured lots of iconic artwork which many of us grew up collecting and so was an instant hit. Although the set will not be remembered by many as a game changing set, it may be remembered by some as an era defining set, featuring the crossover of EX cards alongside those original Base Set holos. It was printed as a commemoration of 20 years of Pokémon Trading Cards. It has recently become one of the most sought after sets amongst collectors as they try to pull one of the Base Set Charizard artworks for a fraction of the price of the original Base Set. If you are lucky enough to have an Evolutions Booster Box already then congratulations! If you are looking to pick one up then I’m afraid you will need to be prepared to shell out a significant amount for one now. For nostalgia purposes alone though I say it’s worth it!

So there we have some of the finest booster boxes of modern times. We could keep going all the way back through Black and White, E-Series and onto the original Base Set, but the prices of those are incredible and well out of reach for many collectors. I’m sure they are top of the list of desires for nearly everyone out there but some of these boxes push into the hundreds of thousands of pounds. What’s to say that your Evolutions booster box won’t hit those numbers some day?

Of course this is not all of the booster boxes available. We haven’t even mentioned Astral Radiance, the first set to feature radiant Pokémon; Silver Tempest, with its incredible Lugia V alternate art; and Darkness Ablaze, with its Rainbow Rare Charizard VMAX. Every set’s booster box has something for everyone, it just depends what you like that most!

Whichever booster box is your favourite and for whatever reason it may be, enjoy the hobby and take pleasure in collecting and playing, after all, the cards are made to be enjoyed. Purchase various Pokémon Booster Boxes from Magic Madhouse today! Contact us today for all of your Pokémon needs.