Rainbow rares hold a complex place in the collector community
So that players have many options for building their decks or collections, the Pokemon TCG now includes multiple versions of chase cards. Rainbow Rares are full-art Pokemon and Supporter cards that have a rainbow foil coloring across them. They have been a mainstay in the market for a few years. The market price is $10.14. Market price: $10.28. Market price: $12.68 Rainbow rares hold a complex place in the collector community.
These rare's are considered the pinnacle in collecting. They have a lower draw rate than full-art versions, and used to be more expensive. However, they can also hide the artwork and color scheme. The Rainbow Rares are now a mix of alternate and full-art versions in terms of desireability. However, they’re still very exciting to look at when browsing through a pack. Today we are counting down the 10 most valuable Rainbow Rare Pokemon cards.
#10 Pikachu & Zekrom – GX Rainbow Rares are largely collector products, so most of the Pokemon on this list are the most sought after. Pikachu is the most beloved Pokemon. The electric mouse was the first Pokemon to be featured in the international animated series. This card was a combination of everyone’s favorite electric Pokemon and the Deep Black Pokemon Zekrom. It made for an astonishingly powerful powerhouse in the competitive meta. The card is no more playable in Standard and the rainbow version is a must-have starting with the Sun & Moon era.
Charizard is the only Pokemon on this list that is more prominent than Pikachu
#9 Charizard VSTAR Charizard is the only Pokemon on this list that is more prominent than Pikachu. Each Pokemon TCG mechanic features at least one Charizard version. Brilliant Stars introduced Charizard VSTAR to be the first Pokemon VSTAR. These cards offered a new way for you to evolve your Pokemon V by using new VSTAR Powers. This allowed you to take your Pokemon’s abilities and attacks to new heights. Even though you can only use one VSTAR Power in a game at a time, these cards feature powerful attacks such as Charizard VSTAR's Star Blaze which deals a staggering 320 damage and is strong enough to knock out almost any opponent in the game with just one attack. Although other Pokemon VSTAR are competitively viable, few are as attractive as this Rainbow Charizard
#8 Charizard & Braixen – GX This Rainbow Charizard version brought with him a Braixen. These cards, known as Tag Team cards, were highly sought after by collectors and players at the end of the Sun & Moon era. They are now more difficult to find and even more in demand. The chances of getting a Cosmic Eclipse pack-fresh Charizard or Braixen GX in the wild are decreasing, so this card’s price may rise beyond the $100 mark.
#7 Mewtwo & Mew – GX Mewtwo and Mew have been the most beloved Legendary Pokemon since the beginning of Pokemon. Mew has been in many movies as the villain Mewtwo, while Mew has appeared in a variety of animated episodes, movies, and video games. These two Pokemon are a perfect example of the battle between technological adaption and natural evolution. However, when they combine their abilities they make a deck strong enough to take on any meta. While the $30 price for the standard full-art version is still applicable, the Secret Rare version will cost you more than $100.
Rayquaza was the Pokemon face for the most popular Pokemon video game
#6 Rayquaza – GX Rayquaza was the Pokemon face for the most popular Pokemon video game, Pokemon Emerald. Many Rayquaza fans became avid Rayquaza collectors after the addition of the Delta Episode in the Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. There are many high-rarity Rayquaza cards. However, this Celestial Storm version is the only one that costs more than $100 in a modern set. Celestial Storm’s set was quite lackluster and didn’t have many high-demand cards. This has made Rayquaza-GX more difficult to find in a set that has fewer players or collectors. The odds of Sun & Moon reprints decreasing as we move past Sword & Shield means that this card will likely rise in value.
#5 Pikachu VMAX This card was the most sought-after in Vivid Voltage’s early days. The set that was released during the Pandemic, which saw the collector craze peak, meant packs were shredded at incredible rates. This had the effect of driving almost every single card’s price down. However, collectors still love to open packs of Vivid Voltage today because of the lure of a rainbow Pikachu VMAX.
#4 Lugia GX Lugia is a long-standing collector of rare, high-value cards that dates back to Neo Genesis’ first printing. Lugia has been a legend ever since and has many highly collectible cards. The Lugia GX, which is found in Lost Thunder, is the most rare version of Lugia. This will change when the final set of Sword & Shield is released, Silver Tempest. It will include Lugia V, Lugia VSTAR and a possible alternate-art Lugia V. The card may see a price increase in the coming months.
The Rainbow Rare version is still the most valuable
#3 Reshiram & Charizard – GX Charizard discovered another Pokemon to team with, the legendary Pokemon Reshiram. The Tag Team Pokemon featured powerful attacks and a Standard deck that bore the moniker “ReshiZard”. Collectors will be pleased to know that the tag team was included in two premium collections. One featured a new card and the other featured an oversized card. The RainbowRare version is still the most valuable, even with several alternative versions. It sells for over $150
#2 Charizard VMAX, like Vivid Voltage and Champion’s Path, Champion’s Path was an extremely sought-after set with rare chase cards that was released during the peak of the Pokemon TCG collection craze. The set contained two chase cards: a shiny Charizard V, and the Rainbow Rare Charizard VMAX. Champion’s Path, unlike Vivid Voltage did not have a booster pack. Fans had to purchase one of the Gym Leader collection packs, or the ETB to get a few packs. The set’s other cards fell in value due to limited availability, but both Charizards are still valuable now that Champion’s Path booster pack have become scarce.
#1 Charizard-GX This list shows that Charizards are often given a Secret Rare version in order to boost the hype surrounding a set. Charizard has been given at least one Rainbow Rare card for every major mechanic of the Pokemon TCG in the past few generations. The most valuable Rainbow Rare card ever printed is Charizard-GX (Burning Shadows), which was one of the first cards to feature rainbow Charizard. Charizard-GX was one of the most powerful cards in the GX mechanic. Its Crimson Storm attack, which dealt 300 damage, has been a constant feature of Charizard’s GX mechanic. Charizard’s intimidating face is a card that many Charizard enthusiasts treasure, especially for the Secret Rare Rainbow Rares.
These rare cards are a great way to prove your mastery of Pokemon. They are often overlooked in favor of the alternate-art versions at Secret Rare. However, the Rainbow Rares look great across multiple generations. The uniform Rainbow Rare design is appealing to all types of mechanics and card designs. It also adds value to a binder with different Rainbow Rare cards. Although information regarding the mechanics, gameplay, or design of the Scarlet & Violet Pokemon TMCG sets are still a mystery, we can look forward to more amazing Rainbow Rares to be collected!
