Pokémon TCG Is Only Making 1,510 Of This Super-Rare Mew Card, But There's a Catch
The Pokémon Trading Card Game is making a new Mew card with an extremely limited print run, but you'll have to be in China for a chance to find it. Since Pokémon Sun & Moon, The Pokémon Company has made headway into growing the Pokémon franchise in mainland China. Largely, this has come by publishing various Pokémon materials in simplified Chinese, the official character set recognized by the Chinese government. In 2022, The Pokémon Company started to publish Pokémon trading cards in simplified Chinese, although Chinese cards have still not caught up to current sets.
Earlier this month, The Pokémon Company released the first of four sets containing cards from Scarlet & Violet - 151. To promote the new sets, The Pokémon Company is giving away 1,510 copies of Mew ex featuring original artwork. As explained by PokeBeach, to claim one of the cards, players must complete 15 activities at a minimum of three different tournament venues in China. Once they've completed the activities, they can enter a lottery to win one of the cards. In total, 151 cards are being given away every month between March and December.
Will The Chinese Mew Ex Card Become One Of The Rarest Of All Time?
Card Will Likely Sell For Thousands Of Dollars Due To Limited Print Run
Most of the "rarest" Pokémon TCG cards are prizes that were given away during the earliest days of the card game. The Pikachu Illustrator card, which has sold for over $200,000, only had 39 cards ever distributed. However, that card is commemorative and has no current game mechanics. Similarly, the rare Prototype Blastoise has only 4 cards ever printed, but that card was (as its name suggests) a prototype made by Wizards of the Coast before the actual game was released.
Because Pokémon doesn't commonly discuss print run numbers openly, it's hard to tell where this card will rank on the all-time rarity list of Pokémon cards. However, it's not very often that a country outside of Japan or the US gets an exclusive variant card. Also, the fact that players have to complete multiple activities just to earn a lottery ticket means that players can't try to beat the system somehow. A lot of time is going to be put into getting one of these new Mew ex cards, which will likely help to drive the price up even more. 151 already has some expensive cards, even before these exclusive variants.
Our Take: China Is Getting A Lot Of Great Pokémon Card Variants
Where's The Cool US-Exclusive Pokémon Cards At?
While the push into the Chinese market is understandable, it's surprising how many Pokémon card variants are unique to the country. In the 151 sets alone, there appear to be at least four variant Pikachu cards that have never appeared anywhere else.
I'm not only expecting the new Mew ex card to sell for thousands of dollars when it eventually makes its way onto the secondary market, but I'm also guessing that these other Chinese variant Pokémon Trading Card Game cards will start selling at a high price to collectors as well.
Source: PokeBeach
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