Future Value of Ultra Prism?

With the rumors swirling about Ultra Prism being out of print and the fact that it is such a good set for the competitive Pokemon TCG, I have been getting lots of questions about what I think will happen to this set in the future. What will happen to individual cards in this set, as well as sealed products, and what is the recommended route to complete the set.

First off, I still haven't seen anything official about this set being out of print, most on social media agree that there may be a lull in printing to fix Cyrus Prism Star, but there is no way the set is just plain out of print, plus, even if it is out of print, lots of retailers online are selling booster boxes and cards for very reasonable prices. Just today on YouTube I did post a video on how much each individual secret rare and ultra rare from this set is worth, this gives a good outline of the more valuable cards in the set and which cards are more desirable for the TCG at this point in time.

Prices for cards in a new set usually follow the same pattern, prices are very high any time before the official release date, shortly after release date, all cards drop in price, then a couple of weeks after, cards that are good in the TCG and in high demand go back up in value, and those not good in the TCG, continue to drop. If you're looking to complete a set as soon as possible, never buy sealed products, just buy the cards individually. I personally like to purchase 2 booster boxes of the set then purchase individual cards. If you're tight on money, or just want to collect a set the cheapest way possible, wait until a set is out of the Standard Format, that is usually 2 to 3 years after a set is released, at that point, the cards will lose their demand, supply will increase, and prices will drop. I personally have put $1,000 into Ultra Prism to complete the set. With so many secret rares, this set will always be expensive to complete, but I could see it costing $200 to complete instead of $500 if you're just buying singles, a couple of years down the road compared to now.

While this set is new, booster boxes should remain around $90 to $100, for the next 2 or 3 years boxes should stay around this price range, about 5 years from now is when the price will jump to several hundred. I would compare this set to Guardians Rising, there are lots of good Trainer cards in this set as well as Pokemon GX. Similar to N and Professor Sycamore, I am sure Cynthia will be reprinted in future sets, meaning Cynthia from this set will remain playable after Ultra Prism is rotated out, so it is always a good idea obtaining sealed products of Ultra Prism, as Cynthia will always be worth $4+.

Long term, I think this is a set worth investing in. Most sets that are worth more down the road, I'm talking sealed products, contain either lots of Legendary Pokemon or starters from a specific Generation of Pokemon. Ultra Prism features both of these things, Legendary Pokemon including Ultra Beasts, plus lots of 4th Generation Pokemon, which is when I think lots of collectors, like myself, starting collecting again, so this Generation of Pokemon holds a special place in people's hearts, therefore increasing demand because of the nostalgia of the set.

If you are looking to buy cards from this set for building a deck, always purchase the regular GX form of a Pokemon, it is always cheapest. Most times, if you wait a couple of months, the Full Art and Rainbow Rare forms of the cards drop a little. Also, remember that Solgaleo GX and Lunala GX are reprinted from Sun & Moon Base Set, so there is no reason to go out and buy the gold-colored ones in this set. For the time being, Glaceon, Dusk Mane Necrozma, and Leafeon would be the best GX cards in this set and the most expensive Pokemon to buy. Overall, Cynthia is easily the best card in the set, but if you're deck building, the uncommon Cynthia does exactly the same as the Full Art, just with less style.

So to end this article, if you're just getting into the Pokemon TCG, I would highly recommend this set, if you want to complete this set, wait a couple of years until prices go down, and if you are a sealed product collector, this is one to collect, no reason to think this set won't be worth it in the future!