The best Pokémon packs to buy, ranked
None of the 18 sets we can price return their pack price on an average pack today. Pitch Black gives the most back: an average pack holds $3.26 of cards for a $5.87 pack, or 56% of what you paid. Paldean Fates gives the least, at 30%.
| Set | Pack costs | Average pack holds | Value back | Top chase card | Cards $100+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitch Black2026 · Most back per dollar | $5.87 | $3.26 | 56% | Mega Darkrai ex $160 | 2 |
| Ascended Heroes2026 · Most back per dollar | $10.11 | $5.25 | 52% | Mega Gengar ex $675 | 9 |
| Journey Together2025 · Most back per dollar | $5.79 | $2.85 | 49% | Lillie's Clefairy ex $84.00 | 0 |
| Chaos Rising2026 | $5.69 | $2.75 | 48% | Mega Greninja ex $125 | 2 |
| Perfect Order2026 | $5.94 | $2.78 | 47% | Mega Zygarde ex $100 | 1 |
| Temporal Forces2024 | $10.37 | $4.82 | 46% | Gastly $83.40 | 0 |
| Destined Rivals2025 | $8.55 | $3.83 | 45% | Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex $350 | 3 |
| Paradox Rift2023 | $8.38 | $3.70 | 44% | Groudon $95.70 | 0 |
| Twilight Masquerade2024 | $9.21 | $4.01 | 44% | Greninja ex $231 | 2 |
| Mega Evolution2025 | $8.97 | $3.89 | 43% | Mega Lucario ex $202 | 5 |
| Scarlet & Violet2023 | $8.60 | $3.64 | 42% | Gardevoir ex $62.00 | 0 |
| 1512023 | $26.56 | $10.61 | 40% | Charizard ex $310 | 2 |
| Surging Sparks2024 | $8.41 | $3.24 | 39% | Pikachu ex $244 | 3 |
| Stellar Crown2024 | $10.71 | $4.06 | 38% | Squirtle $92.80 | 0 |
| Phantasmal Flames2025 · Biggest chase | $12.00 | $4.25 | 35% | Mega Charizard X ex $605 | 2 |
| Paldea Evolved2023 · Buy the singles | $16.07 | $5.13 | 32% | Magikarp $290 | 1 |
| Obsidian Flames2023 · Buy the singles | $12.20 | $3.86 | 32% | Charizard ex $95.00 | 0 |
| Paldean Fates2024 · Biggest chase | $22.97 | $6.81 | 30% | Mew ex $740 | 3 |
Pack cost is the cheapest single booster pack we price, or the set’s booster box or bundle split across the packs inside. “Average pack holds” is every card’s ungraded price weighted by how often it turns up, using pull rates TCGplayer measured by opening 1,500 to 8,500 packs of each set. Value back is what an average pack holds as a share of what it costs. Prices in US dollars, read daily.
A few things stand out once you look past the top row. The sets that give the most back per pack are rarely the ones with the most expensive chase card. A set with a deep run of $20 to $60 illustration rares pays back more on average than a set with one $800 card and nothing else. If you open for the binder, back the deep set. If you open for one card, read the next section first.
Sets worth opening for the chase
These are the sets people open for one card in particular. Prices are today's ungraded values.
- Ascended Heroes. Mega Gengar ex (Ascended Heroes) (about $675) and Pikachu ex (Ascended Heroes) (about $602) are two of the best-looking Special Illustration Rares of the Mega Evolution era, and the set runs deeper than most at the top. The packs cost more than a main-series set's, which pulls its value back down.
- Paldean Fates. Mew ex (Paldean Fates) is the card here, at about $740. The set is packed with shiny Pokémon, which makes it a lovely open even when you miss. Its packs are among the priciest on this list, though.
- 151. The original 151 Pokémon, and the set most collectors remember from the counter. Charizard ex (151) leads at about $310, with Blastoise ex (151) behind it and a run of starter illustration rares under them.
- Phantasmal Flames. If you want a modern Charizard from a pack, Mega Charizard X ex (Phantasmal Flames) at about $605 is the one. Below it the set thins out fast, so it's a one-card chase.
- Destined Rivals. Team Rocket came back for this one, and Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex (Destined Rivals) (about $350) is the card everyone hoped to see.
- Surging Sparks. Pikachu ex (Surging Sparks) is a Pikachu ex Special Illustration Rare at about $244.
Every set in the table links to its full list of chase cards, with the odds of pulling each one where the set's rates allow.
When to buy the single instead
If one card is the reason you're buying packs, price it before you open anything. Take Pikachu ex (Surging Sparks). By TCGplayer's measured rates about 1 Surging Sparks pack in 960 holds it, so on average you'd open more than 26 booster boxes to pull one. The card itself sells for about $244. The pack odds on each chase-card page show you the same arithmetic for any set.
Open packs because you enjoy opening packs. Buy singles when you want a particular card. Most collectors end up doing both, and that's fine.
Packs, bundles or a booster box?
Loose packs are the most expensive way to buy cards per pack. A booster bundle holds 6 packs and a booster box holds 36, and both usually work out cheaper each. The pack cost in the table already uses whichever is cheapest for that set. A box also keeps the chase cards in sealed packs that no one has weighed or searched, which matters more than it used to.
If you open a box, keep a list of what you pull. How Lucky Were You values a real opening at today's prices and tells you where it sits against simulated ones. The Pack Simulator lets you open a set for free first, which is a good way to find out what a box of it tends to hold.
