Quick answer
Outside the 30 Pikachu, the 30th Celebration set is built from four things: two Futuristic Rares, a group of Special Illustration Rares headlined by Jirachi ex, a spread of Illustration Rares led by Eeveelutions, and a 30-card Classic Collection of reprints. CardSpicy (cardspicy.com) stocks the Simplified Chinese sealed boxes from this release and tracks the cards that matter individually, because the set is unusually wide — 128 numbered cards plus 30 secret rares in the English release — and unusually flat in condition terms, since every card in it is foil. The one-line version: if you are chasing value, the two Futuristic Rares and the Jirachi ex Special Illustration Rare are the cards the set is organised around.
How the set is built
Three structural facts explain almost everything about how this set behaves.
- Every card is foil, including the Basic Energy. There is no non-holo baseline, so there is no reverse-holo version of anything in the set. That makes condition the single biggest variable in what a card is worth, and it makes surface scratches the most common reason a card misses a Gem Mint grade.
- The release is wide. The English set runs to 128 numbered cards plus 30 secret rares; the Japanese set runs to 103 main-set cards, 35 secret rares, the 30 Classic Collection cards and eight Basic Energy, for 176 cards in total. The Japanese and English lists are not the same, and some Japanese cards ship as promos in English.
- There is a theme. The set and the wider anniversary programme are built on day and night, which is why the flagship Ultra-Premium Collections come in a Day version and a Night version, each with its own Pikachu ex promo.
The Pikachu subset is covered separately, card by card, in our guide to all 30. Everything below is the rest of the set.
The new rarity: Futuristic Rare
30th Celebration introduces a rarity tier that had not existed before, and it lands on exactly two cards.
| Card | Number | Illustrator | What makes it the headline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mewtwo ex | 157/128 | YOSHIROTTEN | The first Futuristic Rare, and the first card in the set’s chase order |
| Mew ex | 158/128 | YOSHIROTTEN | The second, and the highest-numbered card in the set |
Both sit in the slots at the very top of the numbering, which is where a set normally places its rarest cards. YOSHIROTTEN is a Tokyo graphic artist whose work with light and colour The Pokémon Company describes as looking towards an unknown future; he also designed the set’s Basic Energy and the day and night Pikachu ex promos in the Ultra-Premium Collections, so the rarity and the flagship products share one visual identity.
There is a third element to the tier that is not on any official list. Three Mew cards — red, green and blue, numbered R/RGB, G/RGB and B/RGB for the original Game Boy versions — were pulled from early retail packs in mid-September and appeared in the TCG Live data shortly afterwards. They are also by YOSHIROTTEN. They do not appear in the official gallery or in the set booklet, which makes them the set’s best-kept secret and a genuinely unusual thing to collect: an unlisted card from a set whose full list has been published.
The Special Illustration Rares
Ten Special Illustration Rares, all Pokémon ex. They are numbered in the secret range above 128, and they are where most of the set’s non-Futuristic money sits.
| Card | Illustrated treatment |
|---|---|
| Jirachi ex | The set’s most talked-about card, and the subject of a separate guide |
| Pikachu ex (Day, and Night) | A matched pair tied to the Day and Night Ultra-Premium Collections |
| Mewtwo ex, Mew ex | The same subjects as the Futuristic Rares, in Special Illustration Rare form |
| Greninja ex, Sylveon ex | The two ex cards that anchor the day-one Card Display Sets |
| Gengar ex, Salamence ex, Fuecoco ex | The rest of the tier |
The Illustration Rares
Illustration Rares are the set’s artwork-tier cards, and the Eevee family dominates them. Espeon, Umbreon and Eevee all appear, and the rest of the tier reaches across the generations.
| Card | Number | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Lapras | 131/128 | First of the Illustration Rares in the secret range |
| Drifloon | 136/128 | |
| Lycanroc | 138/128 | |
| Alolan Meowth | 139/128 | Released as a thematic pair with Meowth |
| Meowth | 144/128 | Released as a thematic pair with Alolan Meowth |
| Hisuian Zorua | 145/128 |
The pattern in this tier is the one that has driven the market all year: the Eeveelutions and the popular starters carry the demand, and everything else in the set is a supporting card. If you are buying one Illustration Rare from 30th Celebration, the Eeveelutions are the ones with the deepest collecting base behind them.
The Pokémon ex
Beneath the Special Illustration Rares sit the regular ex cards, the ones most likely to see play. The set adds new ex printings for fan favourites rather than inventing new characters.
| Card | Number |
|---|---|
| Greninja ex | 21/128 |
| Pikachu ex | 53/128 |
| Espeon ex | 70/128 |
| Sylveon ex | 71/128 |
| Umbreon ex | 92/128 |
| Jirachi ex | 102/128 |
Espeon ex and Umbreon ex lead the international Battle Decks and, in Japan, a Premium Deck Set; the Japanese versions of those two cards are Special Illustration Rares folded into the international set, which is why the same character appears at a different rarity level depending on which language you are buying.
The Classic Collection
A 30-card subset of reprints, one or two per era, running from Base Set to Paldea Evolved. Each keeps its original artwork, text and card number — Base Set Charizard still reads 4/102 — and each is distinguished by a gold border and an anniversary Pikachu stamp. They are not legal in the Standard format, though they can be played wherever the original printing is legal. The full list, and how to tell a reprint from an original by eye, is in our Classic Collection guide.
The products, and what each one is for
Products rolled out across five dates from 16 September to early December rather than arriving together. The table below is what each one is for; the buying decision, ranked by value, is in a separate guide.
| Product | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Booster Box — 20 packs, six foil cards each | Opening the set. Every pack guarantees one Pikachu from the 30-card subset, so a box yields 20 cards from that run of 30 |
| Elite Trainer Box, Poster Collection, booster bundles, mini tins | The entry tier. Same packs, plus dice, sleeves, a poster or a booklet, at the lowest buy-in in the line |
| Ultra-Premium Collection: Day, and Night | The only products containing a dedicated Classic Collection booster — three Classic Collection cards in one pack — plus 29 anniversary packs and a day or night Pikachu ex promo |
| Charizard Figure Collection Gift Box | A shelf display: a Charizard figure on the classic Base Set pose, a 13.3 × 18.7 cm jumbo card and 15 packs. A Simplified Chinese exclusive |
| Espeon & Umbreon Gift Box | The Eeveelution pair, both ex cards included, with a dual-card display frame, two magnets and 15 packs |
| Futuristic Box | Display and play, not opening: two Pikachu ex Futuristic Rare promos and a full accessory set, with no packs |
| Espeon ex / Umbreon ex Battle Deck | A playable 60-card deck with the featured ex card and accessories |
| Greninja ex / Sylveon ex Card Display Set | One foil ex card, a themed display holder and three packs |
| Pikachu Figure Set | One of 13 Pikachu figures with the card whose art the figure recreates, and one pack |
| Coin Set and themed accessories | Two of 30 coin designs in four finishes, plus three packs; binders, playmats and coin frames sold separately |
| Day & Night premium collection | The day and night theme taken to the accessory tier, with a Ditto Illustration Rare promo |
Three of the products in that table are the ones CardSpicy stocks in Simplified Chinese, all factory sealed and listed together under 30th Celebration sealed boxes.
One product line sits outside this list entirely, because it is not part of the 30th Celebration expansion at all: the 30th-P First Partner promos, a 27-card Simplified-Chinese-only promo series that released in three volumes from March to August 2026, ahead of the main set. If you are collecting the anniversary in Simplified Chinese, that series is where the region-exclusive material is.
Frequently asked questions
How many cards are in the 30th Celebration set?
The English release has 128 numbered cards plus 30 secret rares, for 158 in total. The Japanese release is structured differently: 103 main-set cards, 35 secret rares, 30 Classic Collection cards and eight Basic Energy, for 176. The two lists are not identical, and some Japanese cards ship in English as promos rather than as set cards.
What is a Futuristic Rare?
A new rarity tier debuting in 30th Celebration. It applies to exactly two cards in this set, Mewtwo ex at 157/128 and Mew ex at 158/128, both illustrated by YOSHIROTTEN. The cards sit at the top of the set numbering, which is where the rarest cards normally go, and the artwork is built around vivid colour, lighting and three-dimensional graphic elements rather than a conventional illustration.
What are the RGB Mew cards?
Three Mew cards — one red, one green and one blue, numbered R/RGB, G/RGB and B/RGB after the original Game Boy versions. They are illustrated by YOSHIROTTEN and are not listed in any official gallery, checklist or set booklet; collectors pulled them from early retail packs and they then appeared in the TCG Live card data. Treat them as unlisted secret rares rather than as part of the numbered set.
Are the Classic Collection cards legal to play?
Not in the Standard format. Each Classic Collection card is a reprint of an older card, and it can be used in any format where the original printing is legal. In practice they are collected rather than played, which is why they are valued on condition and print quality rather than on their game text.
Which 30th Celebration cards are hardest to pull?
The two Futuristic Rares sit at the top of the chase order, followed by the ten Special Illustration Rares and then the Classic Collection, which appears at roughly one pack in ten. The Pikachu subset is the opposite case: with one guaranteed per pack, obtaining a specific Pikachu is a matter of volume, not of luck.
Sources
Sources and further reading
- The Pokémon Company — Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration official card gallery, product announcements and the Futuristic Rare description.
- The Pokémon Company — the Day and Night Ultra-Premium Collections product listing, the source for the dedicated Classic Collection booster.
- Pokémon (Shanghai) Toys — Simplified Chinese 30th Celebration product announcements, including the Charizard Figure Collection Gift Box and the Pikachu Figure Set.
- Card faces — set numbers and illustrator credits are read from the printed cards. Where a card’s number has not been published officially it is not quoted here.
- CardSpicy catalogue — our own records for the Simplified Chinese sealed product listed in the product table.
Card numbers in this guide are the English release unless the Japanese release is named. Illustrator credits appear as printed on the card faces. The RGB Mew cards are described as unlisted because no official checklist names them; we state that rather than pretending a catalogue exists for them. Prices are not quoted on this page.
Related reading
- Thirty Pikachu, thirty illustrators: every Pikachu in 30th Celebration
- Which 30th anniversary products are worth buying
- The 30 Classic Collection reprints, explained
- The Jirachi ex card and the story behind it
- What past anniversary sets did to card prices
- The 30th-P promos: the Simplified-Chinese-only anniversary line
Where to go next
- The CardSpicy card index — every card we track, with its PSA 10 population and market history (195 cards).
- The illustrator index — every artist behind those cards, card by card (110 artists).