©Lyn Lomasi; Owner|Ordained Shaman atIntent-sive Nature &Brand Shamans Content Community LLC

Conclusion: Your Destiny Awaits

From pro gaming to content creation, the avenues for making easy money while playing PlayStation games are vast and exciting. Embrace these opportunities with confidence, and you'll not only fuel your passion for gaming but also manifest an abundant life beyond your wildest dreams. The power to control your future is in your hands, so grab that controller, take action, and let the magic of PlayStation gaming lead you to financial prosperity!

*Disclaimer: Author is not affiliated with Sony Playstation. This is not legal advice and is informational purposes only. We are not responsible for any negative effects as a result of your misunderstanding, failure to research, use or misuse of this information. Be safe and be wise.

byLyn Lomasi; Owner & Ordained Shaman atIntent-sive Nature &Brand Shamans Content Community LLC

Gaming has become an integral part of modern culture, captivating millions of people around the world. It offers entertainment, challenges, and a sense of accomplishment. However, the impact of gaming on households can vary greatly, and it has the potential to either strengthen family bonds or create conflicts. In this blog post, we will explore how gaming can either make or break a household and discuss strategies for fostering a healthy balance between gaming and family life.

Longtime readers, friends, and family will know that gaming has always been a part of my life. But there was a certain window when I stopped playing abruptly and just got back into it fairly recently, thanks to a more supportive partner. Some chalked it up to me being a busy mom. But I’ve been a busy mom since I was 19. The realms of gaming can either shape your household into a utopia of joy and harmony or unleash chaos and despair. 

The Fellowship of Connection 

The true treasure of gaming lies not in the virtual spoils but in the bonds forged within our households. One of the most positive aspects of gaming is its ability to bring family members together by providing a common interest. Unite under a shared purpose and witness the incredible transformation that unfolds. 

The power of gaming is amplified when it becomes a catalyst for connection, collaboration, and shared memories. Cooperative games that require teamwork and collaboration can be particularly beneficial, as they encourage family members to work together towards a common goal. This shared interest can strengthen relationships, foster mutual understanding, and create lasting, adventurous memories.

The Power Within Can Cause Chaos Or Unbreakable Bonds

Gaming possesses an otherworldly power that can either elevate a household to new heights of togetherness or drive it to the brink of collapse. The key lies in recognizing the potential hidden within these virtual realms. Games hold the ability to foster creativity, sharpen problem-solving skills, and ignite the flames of passion and determination. But beware, for this power can consume us if left unchecked.

During the time period where I fell off gaming, I had a partner that was so consumed with it, he neglected the family we created. This person didn’t even know I liked gaming because he made me hate it. Prior to it getting that bad, he never gave me the time to share my interest because his took up so much time that any other time was working or taking care of kids. It got so bad in the end that I was the only one running the business we shared, taking care of the house, and caring for the kids. Gaming consumed every second he didn’t pass out from mental exhaustion. That partnership ended, as it grew exceedingly obvious that it was no longer a partnership. 

Fast forward to now, where gaming is something everyone in our household does. We play together, as well as separately. We each have our own gaming systems. The difference this time is that none of us gets so consumed by it that we fail to notice anyone else. My current partner and I have time together with and without gaming. We communicate during both times. The kids get involved in the fun as well. No one feels left out and we use the gaming to bond during times when someone is away, such as when we game with our adult kids. Before we were in the same household, gaming was one way we spent time. 

Look Within And Take Charge

To transform gaming into a force of positivity, we must embrace the magic that lies within. Take charge of your destiny by setting boundaries and establishing healthy gaming habits. Just as a skilled sorcerer in Diablo 4 masters their powers, you too can tame the game's influence over your household. Encourage balanced gameplay, prioritize real-world interactions, and ensure that the realms of gaming exist harmoniously alongside daily responsibilities.

While gaming can offer numerous benefits, excessive or uncontrolled gaming can strain relationships and disrupt household harmony. Encouraging open communication within the household about expectations, setting limits on gaming time if necessary, and promoting alternative activities can help prevent gaming from becoming a detrimental force within the family.

Battling the Shadows Of Gaming Addiction

Beware the shadows that lurk within the gaming realm, for they can undermine the harmony of your household. As with any power, moderation is key. Beware of addictive tendencies that can erode relationships and hinder personal growth. Develop a vigilant eye, ever watchful for the signs of imbalance. By standing united against these dark forces, you can protect the sanctity of your home and ensure a future filled with joy and success.

In some cases, excessive gaming or addictive behaviors can lead to conflicts within a household. It is essential to address these concerns promptly and with empathy. Engaging in open dialogue, expressing concerns without judgment, and seeking professional help if necessary can assist in resolving conflicts and supporting individuals struggling with gaming-related issues.

Harnessing Valuable Skills

Contrary to popular belief, gaming can be educational and promote the development of valuable skills. Many games require problem-solving, strategic thinking, and quick decision-making, which can translate into improved cognitive abilities. Additionally, certain games can enhance creativity, hand-eye coordination, and even teach historical or cultural lessons. By encouraging responsible gaming habits, households can harness the educational potential of gaming and turn it into a positive force for personal growth. We use gaming as part of homeschooling and it makes a real difference in quality, lasting lessons. 

Forging a Legendary Legacy 

Your actions today will shape the legacy you leave behind. Gaming holds the potential to create memories that will be cherished for generations to come. It can be a catalyst for personal growth, a tool for education, and a source of endless entertainment. Embrace the magic, wield the power responsibly, and craft a legendary legacy for your household.

Conclusion

Seize control of your own destiny and shape the path of your household. Gaming can be a double-edged sword within a household, capable of either fostering positive connections or driving a wedge between family members. You and your family determine this fate together. By recognizing the potential benefits of gaming, promoting responsible gaming habits, and maintaining a healthy balance between gaming and other aspects of life, households can harness the power of gaming to strengthen relationships, enhance social skills, and facilitate personal growth. 

May your family gaming journey be bold, powerful, and utterly magical!

byLyn Lomasi; Owner & Ordained Shaman atIntent-sive Nature &Brand Shamans Content Community LLC

The Sorceress class has always been synonymous with destructive elemental magic in the Diablo series. In Diablo 4, players once again have the opportunity to harness the power of the elements as they battle hordes of demons. You can choose a male Sorcerer or a female Sorceress. But for the sake of simplicity, we’re going to refer to either as one, the Sorceress, since this is the most known reference in the franchise. 

One of the most exhilarating build options for the Sorceress is the combination of frozen and fire spells. This dynamic build allows players to control the battlefield with icy cold and unleash devastating firestorms upon their foes. In this article, we will delve into the details of the frozen and fire combo build and explore why it stands out as the best choice for Sorceress players in Diablo 4.

Icy Control Helps Deliver Devastating Fire Attacks

The frozen aspect of this build focuses on crowd control and freezing enemies in their tracks. By freezing enemies, the Sorceress gains the upper hand, immobilizing her foes and exploiting their vulnerability to deliver devastating blows. This turns out to be the perfect setup for devastating fire attacks.Abilities such as "Frost Nova" and "Blizzard" become essential tools in the Sorceress's arsenal.

Frost Nova instantly freezes enemies within a certain radius, leaving them vulnerable to follow-up attacks. Blizzard, on the other hand, blankets an area with a relentless snowstorm, chilling and slowing enemies over time. These spells are excellent for controlling large groups of enemies and keeping them at bay while preparing for the impending inferno.

Igniting Inferno

The fire component of this build is all about unleashing hellish flames upon your enemies. Fire spells are known for their raw damage output and their ability to burn enemies over time. The Sorceress's arsenal includes spells like "Fireball," "Meteor," and "Inferno." Fireball is a versatile projectile spell that can be cast rapidly, engulfing enemies in flames. 

Meteor, on the other hand, summons a massive fiery rock from the heavens, obliterating anything in its impact zone. Inferno creates a swirling vortex of fire, damaging enemies caught within its fiery embrace. These spells offer high damage potential and are particularly effective against enemies vulnerable to fire.

Synergy and Combos

What makes the frozen and fire combination build truly exceptional is the synergy between the two elemental aspects. By freezing enemies, the Sorceress gains valuable time to set up devastating fire spells, ensuring maximum damage potential. For example, freezing a group of enemies with Frost Nova and then following up with a well-placed Meteor can decimate the battlefield. 

Additionally, the chill effect caused by cold spells increases the damage inflicted by fire spells, amplifying the already potent flames. The combination of crowd control and fiery devastation creates a truly explosive playstyle that keeps players engaged and enemies in a constant state of panic.

My Favorite Combination

Now, of course with Diablo 4, the skill tree gets even deeper and you can choose various things to enhance each ability. Then, you have use of the paragon tree once reaching level 50. But here, we are focusing simply on your main skill set, your ultimate skill, and the enchantment slots. I use Frost Nova, Meteor, Frozen Orb, Ice Bolt (put this skill on x), and Flame Shield as the main skills. 

My Ultimate Skill is set as Inferno. Meteor and Frost Nova are set as my enchantment skills. This is so that there’s a chance of either of them being dealt to an enemy in between what I’m already throwing at them. Now, I may change my combination later, but so far it’s gotten me to Nightmare/Tier 3. 

Adaptability and Versatility

A big advantage of the frozen and fire build is its adaptability to various situations. While some enemy types may be more resistant to cold or fire individually, the combination of the two elements ensures that no foe remains impervious for long. By alternating between cold and fire spells, the Sorceress can exploit enemy weaknesses and maintain a constant assault. 

Additionally, the crowd control provided by the frozen spells allows the Sorceress to handle multiple threats simultaneously, buying time to unleash a torrent of fire upon her foes. This versatility ensures that the build remains effective against a wide range of enemies and challenges.

Gear and Attributes

To optimize this build, players should focus on acquiring gear that enhances cold and fire spell damage. Look for items that boost spell damage, critical strike chance, and spell cooldown reduction. Additionally, seek out equipment that provides increased elemental resistance to ensure survivability in the heat of battle. As for skill mastery, invest in talents that improve cold and fire spells, such as "Vyr’s Mastery" and “Esu’s Ferocity." These talents will augment the power and efficiency of your spells, making your character a force to be reckoned with.

Equipment

• Weapon: Seek a staff or wand that enhances cold damage or provides bonuses to skills like Ice Nova or Frozen Orb.
• Armor: Focus on armor that increases cold damage, spellcasting speed, and offers additional resistances to bolster survivability.
• Accessories: Look for accessories that boost cold damage, spell power, critical strike chance, and reduce cooldowns to maximize your frozen devastation.

2. Attributes

• Intelligence: Prioritize intelligence to increase your spell damage and mana pool, allowing you to cast your freezing spells more frequently and with greater potency.
• Vitality: Allocate points into vitality to boost your health pool and enhance survivability in the face of relentless foes.
• Dexterity and Strength: Allocate a minimal amount of points to meet equipment requirements, but prioritize intelligence and vitality.

Playstyle and Tactics

To excel with the frozen build, it is crucial to employ the right tactics on the battlefield:

1. Freeze and Burn: Engage enemies by casting Ice Bolt, Blizzard, or Frozen Orb to create a chilling field, freezing foes in place. Follow up with Meteor to exploit their frozen vulnerability and burn them quickly.
2. Kite and Control: Utilize your Frost Nova to control the battlefield, kiting enemies while maintaining a safe distance. Once they’re immobilized, hit them from a distance with a Meteor or Inferno. This allows you to freeze and damage multiple foes simultaneously without risking close-quarter combat.
3. Positioning: Strategic positioning is vital for survival. Stay behind obstacles, use environmental hazards to your advantage, and create barriers of ice or fire with your spells to impede enemy advances.
4. Timing is Everything: Master the timing of your spells and abilities to maximize the frozen and fire build's potential. Coordinate your freezing spells for maximum crowd control and unleash devastating combos when the enemy is at its most vulnerable.

Conclusion

In Diablo 4, the frozen and fire combination build for the Sorceress stands out as the epitome of elemental devastation. By freezing enemies in their tracks and then unleashing a storm of fire, players can dominate the battlefield with unparalleled destructive power. The synergy between cold and fire spells, along with the adaptability and versatility of this build, make it the top choice for Sorceress players who seek both control and annihilation. So, gear up, embrace the elements, and watch as your enemies succumb to the icy grip of your power and the fiery wrath of your spells.

by Lyn Lomasi; Owner of Intent-sive Nature & Brand Shamans Content Community

Since the launch of Ladder Season 1 on April 29, 2022, Diablo II: Resurrected fans have been wondering just how long we have to play this season. The funniest thing about this is the answer is super easy to find. Despite this, so much speculation is out there on an end date. No, it is not August 25, 2022. Read on to find out the answer.

by Lyn Lomasi; Owner of Intent-sive Nature & Brand Shamans Content Community

MORE NOTEWORTHY D2R Merch:

by Phoenix Desertsong, Trading Card Enthusiast

How to Know What Your Pokemon and YuGiOh Cards Are Worth

As a successful reseller of Pokemon and YuGiOh cards on EBay, Amazon, and ComC, I can tell you that it takes a lot of hard work. How do you know which cards will sell VS the cards that won't sell. Here are some tips on how to successfully sell Pokemon and YuGiOh cards on eBay.


How to Check  Current Prices for Yu-Gi-Oh Cards

For Yu-Gi-Oh cards, I tend to use the values that are listed on the TCGPlayer.com website. When you look up a card on TCGPlayer.com, it gives you a low value, a medium value, and a high value. TCGPlayer also has a Market Price, which tracks the last few average actual sales for that card. If the Market Price is close, equal to, or higher than the Mid price, it's usually a sign that the market is strong for that card. If it's significantly lower, then you'll have to price that card lower to help sell it more quickly.

The low value is the lowest "near-mint" price that a seller on the TCGPlayer seller network is currently listing that card for (near-mint being a card that has no noticeable defects or play-wear). The low price is the absolute minimum that I would list a card for sale. But, the Market price is a safe price to use if you don't mind waiting for cheaper listed copies to sell.

There's also another great price guide resource for Yu-Gi-Oh called Yu-Gi-Oh Prices. This site not only shows you various recent price listings from TCGPlayer, Amazon, and EBay, but also shows you price trends. This way you can see cards that are falling in price or rising in price.

How to Check  Current Prices for Pokemon Cards

For Pokemon cards, you'd likely want to use Troll and Toad. While Troll and Toad is mostly known for Magic the Gathering cards, they also sell a great many Pokemon cards, as well. TCGPlayer does sell some Pokemon cards, but not to the degree that Troll and Toad does. The list price on Troll And Toad is generally around the price you'll see cards listed for on EBay anyway. You will find that a large number of holographic cards in Pokemon tend to only sell for about $0.50 to $1 USD. However, if you go onto EBay and find that card is actually selling for around 2-3 dollars, then it's perhaps worth a shot to sell it.

On the other hand, 50 cent holos are usually better off being sold in groups of 5 or 10 as a lot, as bidding wars can ensue and end up netting you more than the lot is actually worth. If the lot sells for less than the individual Troll and Toad prices overall, as long as you make profit after fees and shipping, then you've still made out. This is simply because those holos are considered "bulk" to most people and moving them at all is a plus. All in all, Troll and Toad is the best and easiest way to see if you have a card worth $5 or more.


Check eBay Completed Listings and Lowest Buy-It-Now Prices

Once you've identified which cards are worth selling, you'll want to double check the completed listings on EBay to see what previous users have purchased that particular card for. Don't be too discouraged if the price is much lower than you'd expect. Sometimes buy-it-now is not used, and cards can be won at auction for far lower prices than they typically retail for. This is useful information, though, because it will tell you what the market will currently bear for that particular card.

Next, check what the current lowest buy-it-now prices are (price + shipping) and see how they stack up with the completed listings. Card values can fluctuate wildly at times, but generally they stay within a range. The greatest part of looking at the completed listings is identifying what cards simply don't sell. If you see far more auctions that end without a sale than those with a sale, chances are that card isn't in particularly high demand. You may want to hold onto it and list the ones first that have the highest percentage of successful sales.

It's usually pretty easy see at a glance what's selling and what isn't. Just be sure to check the auction end dates, as some cards completed listings' results will have end dates from several months ago. Chances are, if that card hasn't sold in months, it's better to hold onto it, or put it as part of a lot (more on that later!)

Now that you know a card should have a good chance of being sold, the easiest way to actually sell a card on EBay is to simply list it for the lowest price. However, that is not always the best option. By checking the completed listings, you may find that people are willing to pay a bit more for a card than the lowest price currently sits at. All you have to do is wait for the cheaper copies to sell. Also, check the feedback of the seller with the lowest price. If they have little or no feedback, or have a rating below 97%, you can feel safe listing your card for perhaps a bit more than they have it for.


What Cards Actually Sell?

This is now the toughest part of selling cards. It's easy to find a card price and list it for around that number. However, what actually sells versus what doesn't? Believe it or not, Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon are somewhat similar in this regard, due to both collectible value and play-ability in competitive environments.

Collectible Value & "Rotations"

In both Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, the cards from the first few sets of each Trading Card Game tend to have a fairly high collectible value. Even Yu-Gi-Oh cards that are banned in competitive tournaments, such as Heavy Storm or Change of Heart, or older Pokemon holos from Base Set like Charizard and Blastoise, still see lots of sales occur on EBay and other sites. It's players' particular fondness for certain cards that they used to play with or collect that drives up the value of older cards.

The other cards that tend to have a lot of collectible value are what are referred to as "staples" which are cards that most competitive players in either game use in the majority of their decks. In Yu-Gi-Oh these include cards like Raigeki and Mystical Space Typhoon, which see play in most decks. Even though these cards are today heavily printed at common rarity, their original printings were not common, and as they are shiny holographic versions, they are highly sought after.

In Pokemon, however, besides cards like "Pokemon Catcher" and some Supporter cards in recent years, there are not nearly as many staples as there are in Yu-Gi-Oh. This also lends itself to the fact that in Yu-Gi-Oh, besides what is on the official tournament ban list, you can use any card ever printed in the game. However, in Pokemon, outside of casual league play, only the sets from the past couple of years are considered legal. For example, cards of the Heart Gold Soul Silver series are no longer recognized as usable cards in competitive decks. While there are many advantages to this "rotation" strategy for both competitive and sales reasons, it can leave you with a LOT of worthless cardboard.

Playability

The one major similarity in selling Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon "staples" is that when they are being played in pretty much every deck at that time, even common and uncommon cards (Trainers and Supporters in Pokemon, Spell and Trap cards in Yu-Gi-Oh) can fetch $2-3 a piece, if not more. Some staple uncommons in Pokemon can list for over $10 USD! The important thing is to recognize their value to players and collect them to sell if you're not playing to play with them and move them quickly!

The major difference in selling Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon "staples" however, is the fact that once those trainers and supporters rotate out of the Pokemon competitive scene, they become just like your Caterpie and Nidoran: bulk commons.

In Yu-Gi-Oh, however, even though Lightsworn decks don't see nearly the play that they once did, staple monsters, even in common printings like Lyla and Ryko, still sell for $2-$3 a copy because of their utility in other decks. Dark World Dealings is a hot card for the Dark World deck, but because of their usefulness in other decks, such as Chaos Blackwings and Zombies, they also go for about $3 a piece. Yu-Gi-Oh "staples" retain their value far longer than Pokemon's. So if you have Pokemon staples that you're not using, it's a good idea to move them ASAP.

The Liquidity of Cardboard

At this moment, you may be asking yourself, what can I do with all of these older cards that I'm apparently stuck with? There are always bulk lots to consider, but first let's take a look at the most important concept in selling cardboard, liquidity.

There are advantages and disadvantages to dealing in either card game. The liquidity of Yu-Gi-Oh cards tends to be higher than that of Pokemon's, merely because Yu-Gi-Oh is a highly competitive game. Many players are just looking for one or two cards to finish their deck or to take it to the next level. In Pokemon, even the more competitive players are more collectors by nature. Even if you have some of the nicest looking holos from the newest set that aren't necessarily tournament playable, they likely will sell for more than you'd expect at auction.

For older sets, this is where using sites like TCGPlayer and Troll and Toad come in handy. They do the price research mostly for you. While you still need to check completed listings on Ebay to confirm that a card listed at $20 on those sites will actually sell for that when you go to list it, generally they set prices that high due to having the demand for that particular card.

The major difference between Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh from a liquidity aspect is that Yu-Gi-Oh reprints cards like crazy. Pokemon does not. In fact, usually all Pokemon does is create promo versions of certain cards (and these do have some value). With Yu-Gi-Oh, a card previously only available as ultra rare, becomes super rare, then rare, then common, especially if it's a card that sees tons of play.

One thing Konami clearly does a lot of is see what cards actually get played. Many times, if they see certain ultra rare or secret rare cards from older sets no longer seeing much competitive play, they get them reprinted as common in their structure decks or reprint sets! From a collector's standpoint, this is immensely frustrating, because they see their once very rare cards go from valuable to valueless. The good news, though, is that even as common (cards such as Dark Armed Dragon, for example) still sell, but at highly deflated prices.

Pokemon, on the other hand, has its rarer cards keep their value quite well. They don't usually reprint cards, except as promotional cards in collector's tins. They have, however, reprinted very powerful cards as Mewtwo EX as promotional cards, but they announce these reprints very soon after the set that they are released in comes out. Reprints in Yu-Gi-Oh just sort of happen at will based on whatever cards they think will see play in tandem with upcoming releases. While there are actually very good reasons as to why Konami decided to reprint certain cards for accessibility reasons, it makes selling the older cards very, very difficult.

Older Pokemon holos, though, like even a Zapdos or Blastoise, can fetch between $5-$10 easily. Holos from the increasingly rare Skyridge and Aquapolis sets can fetch between $10-$20. Simply being out of circulation for awhile increases their value, especially if you're looking for near-mint to mint copies!

This is to say, Pokemon card selling requires more patience, but the card values are far more stable, and the liquidity of selling cards of certain popular Pokemon (Charizard, for example) or ultra rare card types (EX, level X, shiny, gold star, etc) remain fairly constant. While certain EX cards currently in Black and White will see a drop in value after "rotating" out of competitive play, they will still be sought after by many collectors.

Many Yu-Gi-Oh cards have been reprinted to death, however. Look at cards like Dark Necrofear that used to be extremely high-dollar cards. While Dark Necrofear has not yet hit bottom as a mere common reprint quite yet, the number of promotional printings it has had is astounding, and because it doesn't see much competitive play anymore (despite still being a pretty useful card!) older copies can sell for as low as $1! If you're lucky to have a 1st edition copy, you may eek out $3-5. However, holographic cards simply aren't worth what they used to be in Yu-Gi-Oh. They also don't sell all too well if they're not in top-tier decks.

Selling in Playsets, Bulk, and Lots

One of the most common ways to get rid of low-dollar cards is to sell them in playsets. In Yu-Gi-Oh, you can have three of any given card in a deck (unless it is restricted, limited or semi-limited on the official tournament ban list from Konami). In Pokemon, you can have a maximum four of any given card outside of basic energy cards. Granted, you can also sell playsets of high-value cards, as well, to get the most out of one sale. Listings with multiple cards in them always sell better than single cards.

I have personally found, though, that listing two or three of a card, even those that you can only legally play one of in a deck, is still a good strategy. Yes, you may not get exactly what those cards are "worth" when you consider list prices, but they are far more likely to sell. Money is always more valuable overall than pieces of cardboard, so as long as you're profiting on less liquid assets, you're ahead of the game. This is the easiest way to put lots together, and has proven profitable for myself and thousands of other sellers again and again.

There is, of course, the chance that play-set lots will sell for far lower than they would sell individually, but this is a risk you'll have to take. The best way to protect yourself from this is to NEVER start an auction at $0.99 with free shipping. I only ever use the buy-it-now option, and choose a price that's 5 to 10 percent lower than the lowest current available price (calculating for both price + shipping) and offer free shipping, If I do my research correctly, 9 times out of 10 that item will sell for either market value or about 10 to 15 percent below, a reasonable loss at which to make a sale.

There are also the bulk lots you can do, by grouping together random lots of holos, commons, and uncommons. I have personally NEVER been a fan of these "random" auctions as most of the time people just get ripped off. Some sellers that provide lots, however, will always give you your money's worth, if not more. They're not all bad, certainly, but there are plenty of shady ones out there. If you're going to do a lot, my advice is to actually list the cards in said lot, even if it's random, so that at least the buyer has an idea which cards they have a chance of receiving. Honesty is the best policy, as it is in everything. Whenever I have put up lots, I simply name the cards the winner will receive. These sell better than any other lots, and provide a way to get rid of bulk holos and rares as a value-added bonus.

There is of course, nothing wrong with selling off bulk commons and uncommons with a random rare thrown in. As long as you don't put in too many duplicates (excluding duplicates of common cards you know see play) you should get generally positive feedback. Bulk lots are the cheapest way for players to build up a collection. Just make sure they're getting a good value. If you know you've given them a good value while still leaving room for a healthy profit margin, you're all set.


Pokemon vs Yu-Gi-Oh: Which Will Sell Better?

Overall, if you know your card prices, and you know what sells, both Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh sell about the same. Pokemon you may find yourself selling in lots more often than in Yu-Gi-Oh, but there's plenty of market out there for both trading card games in singles and playsets. Just keep in mind a couple of major points.

Novelty is Money

Whenever a set is first released, cards that get super-hyped tend to sell for far higher values than they will after the set has been out for a bit and supply of singles has increased. This is one reason that a lot of card players and dealers alike attend pre-release events, to get their hands on cards that the general public can't go out and buy yet. These are your cash cow cards, and if you feel that card won't be highly sought after when the release date hits, sell high. Knowing what cards are really needed in the current competitive scene, though, is very, very important. Those are the ones that sell the most, bar none.

Top-Tier Deck Lists

One easy way to know what cards will quickly sell is by looking at winning deck lists in their respective games. Top Yu-Gi-Oh lists are everywhere, and top Pokemon lists are as well. Just by Googling top decks for Yu-Gi-Oh or Pokemon, you can tell what cards are seeing lots of play. Take special note of any holographic cards that see a lot of play, those are the ones that will sell the best!

Selling off a Collection

For many of you reading this, you may be looking to liquidate your collection or know someone who would like to sell off the bulk of a collection. I personally do not like the idea of selling off a collection all at once. While it's certainly doable, and plenty of people buy collections all of the time, if you do it right, selling off the more valuable singles, then selling off the bulk is probably the better way to go.

There's nothing wrong with having a bidding war over a collection (happens all the time!) but bear in mind that sorting through a collection properly enough as to get the highest sale price can take just as long as selling off singles and bulk lots. If you have binders and binders of cards that you know aren't going to sell singly for more than $2-$3 and you have only a couple of big money cards, then it's probably OK to go this way. Just remember you have to include shipping costs, as well, which can get hefty when selling a collection! Best practice is, though, to sell off the bigger cards first, then sell the rest in one big lot.

While you can always sell to gaming vendors, keep in mind that they need to turn a profit off of what they buy. Buy lists are definitely worth looking at, because if a vendor has a high buy price for something, chances are you could sell it for more on EBay! So while selling to a game store or vendor is OK, if you're selling off a whole collection, you're better off selling it yourself.

Here's one thing, however, that you need to consider in Yu-Gi-Oh VS Pokemon. In Yu-Gi-Oh, there are a lot of "junk" cards that no one wants, whereas in Pokemon, holos of even the less popular Pokemon are wanted just for collection purposes. When you're selling a collection, keep that in mind, because Yu-Gi-Oh players buy collections to boost their trade binders, whereas Pokemon players and collections buy collections to either resell or just to boost their own collections. So if you're trying to sell a whole collection in Pokemon, it may be worth just bulking the whole thing together as long as you list all of the valuable stuff in it. In Yu-Gi-Oh, players are looking to win as cheap as possible, so getting all of the value you can out of singles is the better way to go, and perhaps keep a few bait cards to sell the rest off! Just be honest, and you'll be fine.


Flipping Cards for Profit vs Liquidation

This entire article has been based on the assumption that you are looking to flip cards for profit. If you are simply looking to get rid of the "money cards" or even a whole collection, everything said here still applies. However, if you're willing to take a bit lower of a profit margin, or really just want some fair value, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Selling the entire collection in bulk is OK if you really need the money now and you don't want to be in it for the long haul. It's also OK if you're helping a friend out so they can get money for something else. Just bear in mind to research the prices of the bigger stuff so you KNOW you'll get a fair price, rather than just stick some arbitrary number up there (25 cents a card or something). But that's just what I suggest.

2. People can make a nice little profit as a hobby buying singles on the cheap and reselling them for a premium. Bargain hunters are all over EBay, and if you're desperate to move things, put them about 2/3 of what they usually go for, and they'll snap them right up. Keep in mind that the most liquid parts of your collection (the things every one is looking for) are what you should always look to move first. The rest of it is what collection buyers will buy up, simply to restock their binders, or simply out of looking to get a lot of cards quickly and cheap.

3. If you do decide to sell off a collection, bear in mind that people going to buy them rarely will want to pay market value for it. Yes, cards are only worth what people are willing to pay for them, but there are ways to squeeze extra dollars out of them. Bear in mind that most collections won't be full of $50-100 gems or even $20 hot sellers. If you know that your collection is full of binder filler, you can afford to take below market value for it. Just keep that in mind.

The reason that I have made this article so profit-oriented is that I simply see people selling off their cards all of the time by simply not doing their homework and using the excuse "I just want to get rid of them!" Flipping cards for profit is a great way to sustain the trading card collection hobby and there's a nice little economy built around it. Just be sure that you're get a fair deal, and keep in mind you can take a loss if you'd like, but more often than not, your cards are more valuable than you think!

Do you have any more tips on how to sell trading card games like Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon on eBay? Let us know in the comments!

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

by Phoenix Desertsong, Old School Duelist

Yu-Gi-Oh. I used to play this trading card game with about the same frequency as breathing. Then, the game became all about one or two top archetypes at a time. Each would have a shelf life of about a month. After that, everything got reprinted... except some random common from like 2005 that was never reprinted and became like 10 bucks a pop. The rest of the decks could be had for a week worth of lunch money. 

OK, perhaps that's a slight exaggeration. But, due to the extremely erratic nature of Yu-Gi-Oh’s metagame, investing in Yu-Gi-Oh cards long-term has often not been a smart play. That is, unless you wheel and deal like a Dark Magician… (That was lame, I'm sorry.)

So, why in the holy name of Dark Magician Girl would I be returning to write about the duel monsters?

Toon Kingdom.

Nostalgia does strange things to our recollections of intrinsically worthless things. Toons were my introduction to Yu-Gi-Oh with the Pegasus starter deck. As much as I loved the concept of them, they cost you most of your life points just to play them.

In the early days of the game their sheer power level was enough to win your local tournament by accident on occasion. But as the game grew and the power level of many other cards went berserk, Toons became a fond memory, a deck you built "Just For Fun."

But, Toon Kingdom...is certainly a game changer in making Toons competitive!

First introduced in the Yu-Gi-Oh GX anime, Toon Kingdom teased duel monsters fans with a potentially dangerous new way to play Toons. But they never printed it into the actual card game, until Dragons of Legends 2. They would reprint it as a rare in 2018, too, in the Legendary Duelists: Ancient Millenium set. The reprint gets you a crappier-looking version of the card for about half the price of a secret rare Dragons of Legends version when going by 2020 prices.


What's particularly nuts about this version of Toon Kingdom is that it's actually better than the anime version.

Compare:

When you activate this card, remove from play the top 5 cards of your Deck. This face-up card's name is treated as "Toon World". If a "Toon" monster you control would be destroyed by battle, you can banish the top card of your Deck instead.

With this:

When this card is activated: Banish 3 cards from the top of your Deck, face-down. This card's name becomes "Toon World" while in the Field Zone. Your opponent cannot target Toon monsters you control with card effects. If a Toon monster(s) you control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, you can banish 1 card from the top of your Deck, face-down, for each of those monster(s) instead.

Oh my.

The original Toon World?

Activate this card by paying 1000 LP.

How exciting. But, to play the lovely Toon Dark Magician Girl or Toon Blue-Eyes White Dragon, you had to have this Toon World continuous spell card on the board. But now, Toon Kingdom makes them almost indestructible.

There is an important distinction between the anime and “real world” versions of Toon Kingdom. The original Kingdom banishes the top 5 cards of your deck, BUT they are face-up. The new version only banishes 3, but they are face-down. Because they are face-down, you can’t do anything with them. No Different Dimension shenanigans. Once they’re banished face-down, they’re gone forever.

I think the trade-off is worth it, though, just because you have Toons that basically can’t be destroyed by battle or by card effects. They can’t even be targeted by card effects. Even the classic Raigeki doesn’t kill them, as long as you banish one card for each one that would otherwise be destroyed.

Another major distinction is that Toon Kingdom is a Field Spell in “real life” whereas the original was a Continuous Spell Card. This means you can use Terraforming to search it out, not just Toon Table of Contents. Since you’ll be banishing cards from your deck left and right, redundancy is important.

So now the question is, are Toons now suddenly tournament-playable after so many years? Let’s see what other Toon support Dragons of Legends 2 has unleashed.

Toon Ancient Gear Golem? This is a cute card. Ancient Gear Golem was a really powerful monster back in the day. Is it going to see play? Probably not.

Toon Rollback lets you attack a second time! Sounds good enough, but no one’s taking anything out to make room for it in their 40.

Shadow Toon sounds pretty awesome. You can inflict damage equal to the ATK points of an opponent’s creature right to your opponent’s face. But it's a bit too situational.

Toon Mask? It's a free Special Summon, even out of the deck! But like Shadow Toon, it's totally dependent is what your opponent is playing.

Toon Briefcase?  The Briefcase is pretty sweet, though, as it’s sort of a Trap Hole that returns the monster to the deck. Comic Hand is a Snatch Steal if you have Toon World/Toon Kingdom.

Mimicat, though? We have a winner!

If you control "Toon World" and a Toon monster: Target 1 card in your opponent's Graveyard; if it is a monster, Special Summon it to your side of the field, or if it is a Spell/Trap Card, Set it to your side of the field. You can only activate 1 "Mimicat" per turn.

A Monster Reborn that can bring back spell or trap cards!? WHAT!? Give me a playset right now!

Dragons of Legend 2 isn't the only newer set to provide good Toon cards, though. With the Shining Victories set, in came a powerful new Toon monster:  Red-Eyes Toon Dragon. Yu-Gi-Oh players know how busted Red-Eyes Black Metal Dragon became. This is a pretty strong Red-Eyes Dragon, too, letting you Special Summon any Toon monster other than another "Red-Eyes Toon Dragon" from your hand once per turn.

With the Dark Illusion set, Toons keep getting better. Toon Dark Magician may be the best of the Toon monsters printed so far! The best part about this Dark Magician is that he can summon a Toon monster directly from your deck!  He also has the ability to search out a Toon Spell or Trap card from your deck, including Toon Kingdom! It also doesn't hurt that he can attack your opponent directly for 2500 !

In particular, you're going to want to get a Red-Eyes Toon Dragon. You can then use the Toon Dragon's ability to summon yet another Toon Dark Magician from your hand and repeat the process! In effect, you can combo off a bunch of summons in one turn just like the classic Six Samurai decks and many other competitive decks today.

We’ve established that Toon Kingdom and Mimicat are the main draws here. Red-Eyes Toon Dragon and Toon Dark Magician make for a great top-end boss monsters to build around. Most of the other cards are cute and sound good on paper, but don’t quite make the cut if we're going for consistency and overall power.

So, what’s a cool new competitive Toon deck going to look like? Tons of people brew Toon decks constantly. But there are so many permutations, and there doesn’t seem to be an optimized, competitive Toon build out there quite yet.

You’d want to start with a deck list  like this:

Monsters (16)

3x Toon Cannon Soldier
3x Toon Gemini Elf
3x Toon Masked Sorcerer
2x Toon Mermaid
2x Toon Cyber Dragon
3x Toon Dark Magician
3x Red-Eyes Toon Dragon

Spells (17)

2x Comic Hand
3x Mimicat
3x Pot of Duality
3x Toon Kingdom
3x Toon Table of Contents

Traps (7)

1x Bottomless Trap Hole
2x Call of the Haunted
2x Dimensional Prison
2x Toon Briefcase

Toon Summoned Skull is a classic Toon monster that usually sees play in Toons, but Toon Cyber Dragon is a newer option you can play instead. The Cyber Dragon is probably better, though, since you can Special Summon it in the same way you could a regular Cyber Dragon.

The monster line-up doesn’t look overwhelming, but since they can all attack directly if your opponent doesn’t control a Toon, they don’t have to be overwhelming on power. Also, remember that you can just banish a card face-down if they would be destroyed. There’s enough defensive cards in the deck to deal with any major offensive threats from your opponent.

Answering Great Reader Feedback About Building a Toon Kingdom Deck

Over time, I’ve received some great reader comments about building their own Toon Kingdom decks. One reader suggestion is to use the continuous Spell card Field Barrier to protect your Toon Kingdoms. I feel this would be a good card to consider for the sideboard, especially against decks with enough firepower to continuously blow away cards in your Spell & Trap Zones.

Another reader suggestion is to use a different draw card in place of Pot of Duality. This is because you can’t Special Summon monsters in the same turn as playing Pot of Duality. However, this wouldn’t be the first Special Summon happy deck to play Duality. This is because Duality lets you choose one card from among the next three.

You could use Upstart Goblin instead of Pot of Duality, which gifts your opponent 1000 LP to draw you a card. This isn’t my favorite option, but Upstart Goblin has been used for years with much success. There are other options, such as Jar of Greed. But since you can unleash some powerful direct attacks with Toon monsters, the life gain for your opponent may be a moot point.


Will a Toon Kingdom Deck Be Able to Win at Local Tournaments?

Frankly, I don't see Toons winning anything serious anytime soon. But, they have a chance in being a lot of fun and winning on the pure strength of Toon Kingdom on occasion. I just can't see them being consistent enough to be worth sleeving up for an actual Advanced-level tournament.

While this isn’t a competitively optimized list, it is a place to start your Toon Kingdom deck. You can substitute whatever Toon monsters you find most useful. Also, keep in mind you have your XYZ monsters and Link Monsters at your disposal, something that Toons never had before. As an archetype, Toons are continuing to look a lot scarier with each new set release that includes them.

Will Toons ever again become consistent enough to actually win tournaments as they could in the early days of Yu-Gi-Oh? That’s quite hard to say, considering you could end up banishing all of your Toon Kingdoms by accident. That is unlikely, though, with how many ways you have to tutor them out. Also, there's enough copies of your monsters and support cards to keep from burning through all of them.

While I don’t plan on just building Toons myself and playing Yu-Gi-Oh again, it’s been a lot of fun to watch Konami continue to give one of the original Yu-Gi-Oh deck archetypes new life. You never know what they’ll reprint or support next.

Of course, you can always play a Toon deck on Duel Links. But, that's a whole different article!

Updated 4/22/2020

Here are some other Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game articles you may enjoy:

-Yu-Gi-Oh Blackwings Deck Profile
-Can a Gladiator Beast Deck Still Be Competitive?
-GOAT FORMAT! - Intro to the Format
-Fire Princess Burn - Old School Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Profile!
-The Legendary Fisherman - Old School Yu-Gi-Oh Deck Profile

by   Phoenix Desertsong; Pokemon Master!

As we delve into the many sets of the Pokemon Trading Card Game in our Pokemon TCG Investing series, we will often notice a trend of popularity surrounding a certain Pokemon. Whenever he appears in a set, collectors seem to flock to him. That Pokemon, of course, is one of the original Pokemon, Charizard. 

To better understand this phenomenon, let’s backtrack a little bit and take a look at the most popular Charizard card ever from a set known as Base Set. We will focus on the 1st Edition version of the card. We’re not even going to talk about the rarer Shadowless and the more common, yet still valuable, Unlimited Edition printing. Those are some great investments, right? Yes, but to best understand why Charizard is such a big deal, let’s look at the Charizard card most serious collectors can afford if they budget right.


Base Set Charizard is the Most Iconic Pokemon Trading Card of All Time

Obviously, the Charizard #4 Base Set holo is the MOST ICONIC of all Pokemon cards. Of course, it should be, as it was the primary chase card in the 1999 Base Set, when Pokemon was at its height of popularity. At the time, Charizard was one of the most popular and feared Pokemon. In the original Red and Blue Game Boy video games, his original form of Charmander was the hardest of the original three starting Pokemon to raise. But, if you stuck with him, and evolved him to Charmeleon, then Charizard, you had a powerhouse of a Pokemon that could ride you all the way through the Pokemon League.

Back in 1999, Charizard was the one card every kid wanted. His card was one of the most powerful at the time in the Trading Card Game. So, of course, many kids played with the cards and didn’t take proper care of them. That includes the beloved Charizard. So, because of this, as copies have been snapped up by collectors, many of them are in less than your ordinarily desired condition. There aren’t nearly as many near-mint condition Charizard #4 cards out there as you may think. 

As collectors looked to standardize the conditions of their cards in order for future resale, PSA has received a glut of Charizard cards over the years. So, the range of graded copies from 1 to 10 is immense. In 2020, the submissions haven’t slowed down.

Even since I began my research for this series back in June 2019, about a thousand more copies were sent in for grading by just a few months later. Now in early 2020, even more copies across all conditions have been sent in. I've revised the population count for this article twice now.

Look at this population report for 1st Edition 1999 Base Set Charizard Holos from Pokemon Price:

• 420 PSA 10
  
• 4334 PSA 9
  
• 2899 PSA 8
  
• 1550 PSA 7
  
• 107 PSA 6
  
• 589 PSA 5
  
• 329 PSA 4
  
• 194 PSA 3
  
• 103 PSA 2
  
• 187 PSA 1
  

(Population Counts as of 4/3/2020)

Talk about a range! Still, a lot of people early on knew that the first Pokemon cards were going to be a fairly good investment. As many serious collectors did with baseball cards, a few collectors did well to grade pack-fresh or near-mint raw copies to preserve their value. That’s why there are so many in high grade.

What is My Charizard Card Worth?

Of course, as kids become adults and wonder what their cards were worth, some people send them in just to see what those cards may get. That’s why you see so many poor conditioned Charizards graded. Many of the Charizard holos sent in for grading now are simply in order to establish a professional grade. The card is so popular that the cost of grading only adds to the value of the card, regardless of the eventual grade.  

While this isn’t the case for more than 99.9 percent of trading cards out there, the Base Set Charizard card (first edition or not) is so iconic that even poor condition PSA 1 through good and excellent condition PSA 5 cards can still fetch $40! PSA 6 can fetch $60 or more. PSA 7’s fetch $80 to $100 or even more on a good day. So, if you have a base set Charizard laying around already, it’s going to be worth getting graded.

However, buying them raw to get them graded is very risky. Not only are you taking a risk of getting a grade of 7 or less, but there are a TON of fakes out there. This makes the grading process even more important, as it weeds out fakes. But, if you have genuine copies laying around, they are certainly worth grading, even if you have no plans to sell them.

Of course, when it comes to long-term investments, you are looking towards the already graded higher grade options. While a PSA 7 is probably fine just to have, the return on investment from appreciation really begins at PSA 8. There is a wide range of sales on these, anywhere from $90 to $150 to even north of $200! That’s partly due to the high population (2411). But, if you buy on the lower end and wait to post it for a Best Offer on the higher end of the sales range, there is room for substantial profit.


What Makes an Investment-Grade Charizard Card?

PSA 9 - or graded Mint condition - is where the investment game gets the most interesting. With Charizard #4, it is the grade with by far the highest population (3975), but also the biggest market. This is where the market value becomes around $200, but if you watch the auctions, you can score copies in the $150 range. So, the game here becomes buying the PSA 9s as low as possible to sell as high as possible. There’s a nice potential return on investment here if you are looking to buy and flip.

Of course, PSA 10 is for the long-term hold. $1300 to $1350 has been the fair market value in mid-2019. But, when the market is slow, you can grab copies for $1000 or less. In late 2017 and early 2018, they were going for as much as $2100! The population is also one-tenth of the PSA 9 population, so scarcity is a big factor in making this card the best investment.

Because of this card, Pokemon collectors consider Charizard cards among their top targets in top condition. That’s why whenever you are looking to collect Pokemon cards, the Charizard cards will often be the hardest to obtain. Whenever a new set is released, the Charizard cards are going to often be highly sought after targets. 

Of course, you should collect the Pokemon that you like the most. But, if you are most interested in getting the most popular and best long-term investment, Charizard happens to be your best bet when it comes to Pokemon trading cards.

You can learn about four of the most wanted Charizard trading cards here.

by    Phoenix Desertsong; Old School Duelist

One of the key cards in Yu-Gi-Oh’s second North American set, Metal Raiders, Thousand Dragon is a secret rare still highly sought after by collectors because of its nostalgic value. It has been reprinted at common several  times, including Starter Deck Joey, Dark Beginnings 2, Legendary Collection 4, and the Speed Duel Starter Deck: Duelists of Tomorrow, and once at rare in Millenium Pack 1. Still, as one of Joey’s favorite cards from the early Yu-Gi-Oh anime and one of the more powerful cards in the first couple of sets, Thousand Dragon gets a ton of collector love.

Thousand Dragon is a basic Fusion monster, who lists Time Wizard and Baby Dragon as his fusion materials. He has 2400 ATK and 2000 DEF, solid numbers for a fusion monster from those materials. Having these two monsters and a Polymerization could mean big trouble for opponents in the early days of casual Yu-Gi-Oh play. Of course, someone could answer him with a Dark Magician, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, or Serpent Night Dragon. But, removal was at a premium in those days, with Fissure and Dark Hole the most common answers, and Raigeki tough to come by. He was never a very competitive card, but he was fun and quite rare to pull.

Even unlimited edition copies can still fetch a few dollars if they are graded and authenticated by PSA. The PSA SMR report lists PSA 8 copies for $20 and PSA 9 copies for $30. On eBay, the PSA 9 copies can fetch even $40. If you happen to have one graded a Gem Mint PSA 10, you may expect $100 - although completed listings fall closer to $75. These aren’t bad numbers, but 1st edition is where the long-term value of this card lies. First edition PSA 8 examples have an SMR price of $75, PSA 9 examples around $150, and PSA 10 can command a whopping $450. One sold in September 2019 for over $650.

As of 10/25/2019, here is where the population of these graded cards stands:

Unlimited - 14 PSA 8, 36 PSA 9, 32 PSA 10
First Edition - 12 PSA 8, 33 PSA 9, 62 PSA 10

Interestingly, there are many more 1st edition PSA 10 examples in existence, but it’s easily the more desirable card. If you’re purely a collector, a PSA 9 or PSA 10 unlimited edition example is fine. If you’re looking for ROI, definitely hunt for the 1st edition PSA 10. It’s a nice card to own just to have a piece of Yu-Gi-Oh history in your possession.

by  Phoenix Desertsong; Pokemon Master!

Pheromosa and Buzzwole Tag Team GX is the #1 card in the Unbroken Bonds set for the Pokemon Trading Card Game (TCG). It also has a Full Art version, an alternate art Full Art, and a Rainbow Foil version. This Ultra Rare GX card is powerful in many ways, but its GX attack is particularly potent. Let’s break down just how good this GX Pokemon is in the game, as well as this card’s collectability.

Because this GX Pokemon card is a Tag Team, if it’s knocked out, your opponent takes 3 Prize cards, rather than the typical two prizes for a regular GX Pokemon. But, because it’s a Tag Team between Pheromosa and Buzzwole, its power level is much higher than an ordinary GX Pokemon card. This Tag Team features two decent attacks, plus a particularly nasty GX attack.

This Tag Team GX Pokemon is Grass-type and two times weak to Fire attacks with no Resistance.  It has 260 HP, which is pretty good, although low mid-end for Tag Team GX cards. The retreat cost is just two colorless Energy.

Breaking Down Pheromosa & Buzzwole Tag Team GX’s Attacks 

First, we’ll talk about the first two attacks. The first of Pheromosa & Buzzwole GX’s attacks is Jet Punch. It costs a mere Grass Energy to use and deals 30 damage to the opposing Pokemon. But, it also deals 30 damage to a benched Pokemon. It's a nice simple attack. The second attack packs a wallop for just two Grass Energy and one Colorless Energy. It deals 190 damage. While that sounds incredible, the drawback is that during your next then, it only deals 60 damage. This means to get it back to 190, you can't use it for a turn.

The GX attack is what really makes.this card shine. Keep in mind you can only use one GX attack per game. So, especially with this one, you need to make it count. This Tag Team Pokemon's GX attack is called Beast Game GX. While it only does 50 base damage, the other effects are incredible. If this attack knocks out an opposing Pokemon, you get to take an extra Prize card. Then, if you have seven more energy than this attack requires, which is only a single Grass energy, then you instead take three extra Prize cards. Properly timed, this attack can win you the game.

Is There a Good Pheromosa and Buzzwole Tag Team GX Deck in Competitive Play?

Understandably, Pheromosa and Buzzwole Tag Team GX is a powerful card in competitive TCG play. The fact that it can theoretically take all six prize cards at once is a huge deal. There are various decks built almost entirely around Pheromosa & Buzzwole Tag Team GX. Not surprisingly, they are quite good. The Pheromosa and Buzzwole deck dominated Champions League Chiba in Japan and not surprisingly also was the tournament's winning deck.

In the Pokemon games themselves, Pheromosa is an Uber-tier Bug & Fighting type Pokemon. So, competitive players of the Pokemon Sun and Moon games can tell you he was a great choice for this Team Up. Buzzwole is also a fine competitive Pokemon with the same typing, also playable in the Uber competitive tier of the video game. although it’s relatively under-used. Fans of these Pokemon are probably happy to see this tag team

How Collectible is Pheromosa and Buzzwole Tag Team GX?

From a collector's standpoint, you may think that Pheromosa and Buzzwole Tag Team GX is a valuable card. In the early going, it's actually very inexpensive. But, collectors clearly see that this card has a future, as 61 have been submitted to PSA for grading, 46 of which have returned a Gem Mint 10. For any modern Pokemon card, that's the only grade that brings any sort of price premium. 

The Full Art versions of Pheromosa and Buzzwole Tag Team GX have fared better. The regular Full Art version numbered 191/214 has 18 PSA 10 graded copies which currently exist. The alternate art Full Art version numbered 192/214 has done better, with 29 PSA 10 graded examples in existence. 

Interestingly, the Rainbow Foil secret rare of  Pheromosa and Buzzwole Tag Team GX - numbered 215/214 - is not more expensive than the alternate art 192/214. With 33 PSA 10 examples (out of 56 total PSA submissions), it’s likely to hold the most long-term value. That’s because it’s more condition-sensitive. So, despite currently having a fair amount of PSA 10 copies already, it's the rarest version of this card.

Of course, Pheromosa and Buzzwole are hardly iconic Pokemon. Despite its incredible game-winning power, you can own a copy of the GX card for a very reasonable price. As is always the best advice with modern graded cards, if you are looking at investing in Pokemon cards as an investment, you’ll want to go with the rarest version (in this case the Rainbow foil) in PSA 10. If you just want to collect, however, a PSA 9 Mint graded copy of any of these cards will suffice.

Long ago, my brother and I were very much into collecting YuGiOh. His favorite cards were the Elemental Heroes, as he was a big fan of the YuGiOh GX anime series. Interestingly enough, the Elemental Heroes have actually aged quite well, as have their counterparts, the Neo-Spacian cards. While Elemental Heroes have gone in and out of the competitive scene (here’s to you Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin!) the cards have actually remained quite relevant in YuGiOh Finance!

YuGiOh Prices is perhaps the greatest YuGiOh Finance resource there currently is. They track the Top 100 Most Expensive Cards that are metagame-relevant. As of February 2019, the top card is Ultimate Rare Cyber Dragon, which is probably not a surprise to anyone. Not only is Cyber Dragon a great deck archetype, but it’s an iconic YuGiOh card - which also happens to be from the YuGiOh GX era.

Despite its many reprints, Cyber Dragon has three printings that have appreciated over time, the original Ultimate Rare printing in Cybernetic Revolution, the secret rare Collectible Tin printing, and the Dark Revelation 4 Ultra Rare printing. In just the past year (feb 18 to Feb 19) both the DR4 Ultra Rare and CRV Ultimate Rare have risen in average price by 140 percent!

But, among the Top 100 Meta-Relevant cards are a number of Elemental HERO cards:

Elemental HERO Air Neos
Elemental HERO Bladedge
Elemental HERO Bubbleman
Elemental HERO Neos Knight
Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman
Elemental HERO Shining Phoenix Enforcer
Elemental HERO Flame Wingman

Outside of Bubbleman, seeing seven Elemental HERO monsters in the Top 100 Most Expensive Cards is actually pretty surprising, isn’t it? Well, like Magic the Gathering and Pokemon, YuGiOh is a Trading Card Game with a HUGE casual player base. Beyond being iconic to fans of the YuGiOh GX anime, the Elemental HERO cards, especially the Fusion Monsters, are just nice to look at.

(Elemental HERO Thunder Giant was also on this list, but recently fell off. We'll still look a look at him in this article, though, as he's an interesting card.)

So, let’s take a look at the finance implications of each of these Elemental HERO cards and figure out which printings are the best investments for your YuGiOh binder.


Elemental HERO Air Neos - Strike of Neos

Printed only in Strike of Neos, this Elemental HERO fusion has both ultra rare and ultimate rare printings. While ultimate rare cards are typically far more valuable than their ultra rare counterparts, this is not the case with Air Neos. Whereas the Ultra Rare version is up 123% over the past year, the ultimate rare is only up 98% in the same time. Both versions have an average price around $65, with 1st edition copies going for a bit more. Ultimate rare YuGiOh cards are notoriously condition sensitive, so Near-Mint ultimate rare copies of this card will be more valuable in the long run.

From a playability standpoint, Air Neos does have a good ability. He has a base 2500 ATK, but when your Life Points are lower than your opponent’s, Air Neos gains ATK equal to the difference. That’s pretty bonkers! Unfortunately, he returns to the Extra Deck at the end of the turn. It’s still a VERY powerful ability, nonetheless, so it makes sense that players want this card around to play in their casual HERO decks.

Still, Air Neos is difficult to summon since it requires specific monsters to be Fusion Summoned. Fortuantely, a card from Savage Strike called Neos Fusion allows you to get around not only his summoning restrictions, but also having to shuffle him back into the deck that turn! So, if you can get him onto the field, Air Neos is extremely deadly in the right situation.


Elemental Hero Bladedge - Elemental Energy

A casual fan favorite, Elemental HERO Bladedge is a key to one of the original boss Fusion Monsters, Elemental HERO Wildedge. On its own, it's a 2600 ATK monster with the ability to inflict piercing battle damage to monsters in defense position. It's also an EARTH-type Warrior monster, which is useful in certain deck builds. Really, it's the collectible appeal of this card that's putting it into the $20 range.


Elemental Hero Bubbleman - Elemental Hero Collection

Bubbleman is easily the most competitive of the six HEROs we’re looking at here. He’s seen top deck play as recently as October 2018. Not only is he a Level 4 monster, but he’s the only card in your hand, you can Special Summon him from your hand. If you control no cards and have no cards in your hand when he’s summoned, you can draw 2 cards. That ability is actually pretty relevant, not to mention all of the Fusion monsters Bubbleman facilitates Summoning.

Being a competitively relevant card, even common printings of Elemental Hero Bubbleman have appreciated in price between 2018 and 2019. His original rare printing in Cybernetic Revolution is still relevant, as well - up 47% in a year! His ultimate rare printing hasn’t fared nearly as well, though.

What puts Bubbleman on this Top 100 cards list, though, is his secret rare printing from the Elemental Hero Collection. It’s up 80% in the last year and keeps appreciating.With an average price of $27, they’ll dry up fast when players decide they want a full playset (three copies) of this particular card!



Elemental HERO Neos Knight - Extreme Victory

Like Air Neos, Elemental HERO Neos Knight is considerably more valuable in Ultra Rare than in Ultimate Rare! Up 87% year-over-year, Neos Knight has an affordable average price of $13. The ultimate rare averages $11, despite being considerably rarer, and is only up 30% over the past year.

Unlike Air Neos, Neos Knight doesn’t have to return to the Extra Deck at the end of the turn. Here’s what he does:

“This card gains ATK equal to half the ATK of the Warrior-Type Fusion Material Monster used to Fusion Summon this card, other than "Elemental HERO Neos". This card can attack twice during each Battle Phase. If this card attacks or is attacked, your opponent takes no Battle Damage.”

Not only can Neos Knight be an extremely powerful beat-stick, but he can attack TWICE in the same battle phase. The downside is that he inflicts no Battle Damage. But with 2500 original ATK, you’re really just using this guy to clear the path for your other monsters to do the rest of the work. The other downside is you need to fusion summon him, although you don’t require a Elemental Hero Neos (or a Gemini-summoned Neos Alius) to summon him.

Neos Knight has popped up in competitive decks in the past, particularly Qliphorts in mid-2016. But it sees the most play in the online game YuGiOh Duel Links. Still, with Neos Fusion making this guy a lot easier to summon in a pinch, Neos Knight is much more viable than it was before!


Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman - Elemental Energy

One of the original big boss Fusion Monsters of the Elemental Heroes deck, Shining Flare Wingman is the Fusion between Elemental HERO Flame Wingman and Elemental HERO Sparkman. He gains 300 ATK for each "Elemental Hero" card in your graveyard. Also, when he desteroys a monster by battle and sends it to the graveyard, you inflict damage equal to that monster's ATK in the graveyard to your opponent. Ouch. No wonder that the Ultimate Rare printing of this card was pushing $60 in March 2019. The Ultra rare original printing is also moving up.


Elemental HERO Shining Phoenix Enforcer - Enemy of Justice

Shining Phoenix Enforcer is an extremely powerful Elemental HERO fusion monster. Just read this:

“Must be Fusion Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. This card gains 300 ATK for each "Elemental HERO" card in your Graveyard. This card cannot be destroyed by battle.”

Unlike some of the other Elemental HERO cards we’ve mentioned, Phoenix Enforcer’s ultimate rare printing is actually by far his most valuable, followed by his ultra rare printing in the same set. The ultimate rare is up an insane 983% in the last six months to an average price of $58! The ultra rare is “only” up 188% to an average of $14

While Shining Phoenix Enforcer is difficult to summon in a competitive environment, casual HERO players love this guy because he is easily a finisher for the deck. He’s also an important card in the YuGiOh GX anime. There’s a lot to like about this card.



Elemental HERO Flame Wingman - The Lost Millenium

Jaden Yuki’s signature card from the GX anime, Flame Wingman has been a favorite of YuGiOh collectors since the day he was released in The Lost Millenium. But, his original ultra rare printing has actually bottomed out recently. Collectors seem to be favoring two other printings. Interestingly, it’s not Flame Wingman’s rarest printing - the Elemental Hero Collection secret rare that put it on this list - that’s seeing the most action. Rather, it’s the Legendary Collection 2 Mega Pack Secret Rare (up 58% to $9.50) and the Lost Millenium Ultimate Rare (up nearly 100% to $24). For this card to double in a year, with a lot of that movement in the past month, this should be an important target for any Elemental HERO collector.


Honorable Mention:

Elemental HERO Thunder Giant - Dark Revelation 3

Thunder Giant is actually a pretty good fusion monster. He’s easier to summon and doesn’t leave the field like the Neos fusions. Even though he has to be Fusion Summoned, it’s not required to have “Elemental Hero Sparkman” and “Elemental Hero Clayman.” Thunder Giant has 2400 ATK and is a Level 6 monster. He also has a fairly good ability:

“Once per turn: You can discard 1 card to target 1 face-up monster on the field with original ATK less than the ATK of this card; destroy that target.”

So, this is a pretty sweet card for a HERO player. But, there are a lot of printings of this guy - being a popular card from the YuGiOh GX anime. Which is the best? In the case of Thunder Giant, the Dark Revelation 3 Ultra Rare is the most valuable. It has an average price of about $80 and is up 43% in just the last three months. It’s a great investment for the serious HERO collector.


Like with Pokemon, YuGiOh is a game with a huge casual player base but also a strong collection base. By identifying the printings of each card that are appreciating on a regular basis, you can make smart decisions that will make your YuGiOh card collection a good investment. While YuGiOh Finance hasn’t taken off the way that MTG Finance has, it may get there eventually. So, don’t worry about reprints of your favorite cards, as long as you know the key printings for each popular card.


Any YuGiOh finance questions? Comment below, and we’ll do our best to answer them!

What’s the Next Most Expensive Yu-Gi-Oh Card?

The runner up for the most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh card is another Shonen Jump Championship Prize Card. This is the 2017 Shonen Jump Championship prize card, a Link monster called Iron Knight of Revolution. Like Grandopolis, it also cannot be used in a Duel.

Iron Knight of Revolution requires 3 Machine-Type effect monsters to successfully Link Summon. When this Extra Linked card attacks your opponent directly and reduces their life points to 0, you win the Match. In many ways, this is probably the superior monster. In any case, a copy of Iron Knight of Revolution was listed on eBay for $11,999 in January 2019.


What’s the Most Expensive Playable Yu-Gi-Oh Card?

For a long time, the most expensive playable Yu-Gi-Oh card was Crush Card Virus. This is actually still the case in 2019. Two copies of the Shonen Jump Championship 2007 ultra rare printing were listed on eBay for about $3,000 - one of which was in lightly played condition and the other in near-mint condition. Another two copies of the Shonen Jump Crush Card Virus were listed on eBay for $4,995 each. Of course, if you really want to own a Crush Card Virus, a Gold Series 2008 copy sells for a little over $35.


But in February 2019, the surprise unbanning of Cyber-Stein in a late January 2019 Forbidden & Limited update caused the Shonen Jump prize card to be listed for about $10,500 on eBay. Of course, Cyber-Stein has a rare printing in Dark Beginning 2 which sells for as low as $13, plus with the Extra Deck limited these days to 15 cards and no one really playing that many fusion monsters, Cyber-Stein was no longer broken enough to worry about. It’s still fun to summon a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, though - even at the cost of 5000 Life Points.



What’s the Most Expensive Card in Yu-Gi-Oh History?

There are many other expensive Yu-Gi-Oh cards out there, but reportedly a one-of-a-kind Black Luster Soldier printed on stainless steel is the #1 most expensive card in the game’s history. It was the prize given to the winner of the first-ever Yu-Gi-Oh tournament ever held in Japan back in 1999. According to Gemr.com, in 2016, the stainless steel Black Luster Card was valued at around $10 million and reportedly sold at one point for $2 million!

The most expensive Black Luster Soldier that you can buy otherwise is the Duel Terminal 7 rare printing which you can buy for roughly $5 in 2019.

In January 2019, the most expensive Yu-Gi-Oh card in competitive play was the Ultimate Rare printing of Cyber Dragon from Cybernetic Revolution, a card that was selling at the time for around $100 USD.

Once one of the most popular decks in Yu-Gi-Oh, Destiny Heroes returned to modern Yu-Gi-Oh in 2018 with the Legendary Hero Decks. Because it was included in the decks, it was decided to return Destiny Hero - Disk Commander from the Banned and Restricted List to Unlimited status. This means you can now play three copies of one of the most powerful Destiny Hero cards of all time in your deck… But, wait, there’s an errata?

That’s right. There was no way that a monster that could draw you two cards every time it returns from the graveyard to the battlefield could be brought back into play without some serious limitation on its effect. So, Konami continues their rather frustrating trend of nerfing old cards just to make them legitimate cards that can be played in tournament decks without severely warping the competitive game.

The “new” Destiny Hero - Disk Commander after errata is extremely different from the original version. This little Level 1 Warrior monster originally read like this:

“When this card is Special Summoned from the Graveyard, draw 2 cards.”

Wow, that sounds pretty busted… It was. There’s a reason why Destiny Hero decks dominated Yu-GI-Oh for a long time. That is some nuts card advantage. So, how can they make it fair enough for it to return from the banned list?

Here is the Disk Commander Errata:

“Cannot be Special Summoned from the GY the turn this card was sent to the GY. If this card is Special Summoned from the GY: You can draw 2 cards. You can only use this effect of "Destiny HERO - Disk Commander" once per Duel.”

Wow, that’s a lot of deck. Let’s break this down.

Cannot be Special Summoned from the GY the turn this card was sent to the GY.

OK, this bit is understandable. This makes the effect a bit more fair, right? You can draw 2 cards if you Monster Reborn this guy, but you can’t do it until next turn, OK?

If this card is Special Summoned from the GY: You can draw 2 cards.

That sounds awfully familiar. So, if that’s all, that’s not too bad of an errata. Let’s all run three copies of Disk Commander!

Oh, wait, there’s more…

You can only use this effect of “Destiny HERO - DIsk Commander” once per Duel.

Ick. You mean we can only draw two cards ONCE? Hmm… well, that makes playing three copies rather pointless, doesn’t it?

You can see why this errata was made. It’s a double-whammy, but there are many reasons why this is necessary. First of all, it’s easier to Special Summon monsters from the GY more often than ever. Drawing two cards is still obviously quite good, and being a Level 1, there are plenty of reasons to want to play this card just as material to summon a Synchro, XYZ, or Link monster. But if its effect is only good once per turn, is it still worth playing?

I say yes. If you are playing a dedicated Destiny Hero deck, it’s totally worth playing one copy of Disk Commander, pitching it to Destiny Draw to draw two cards. Then, there are a myriad of ways to take advantage of him being there and Special Summoning him. Also, Elemental Hero Stratos was returned to one copy per deck in September of 2018, so he’s an obvious monster to choose with Stratos’ ability.

Destiny Hero - Disk Commander is still worth playing even with this double-edged errata craziness. There is pretty much zero reason to play more than one copy in my opinion. It’s easy to hate the errata, but there’s good reasoning for adding both of those restrictions on his effect. While he hasn’t seen competitive play since the initial return of Destiny Heroes in 2018, he’s still a fun card.

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