Key Takeaways
- TCGplayer’s November 4 report put Mega Gengar ex from Ascended Heroes at an all-time low of $710, about 49% below its peak of nearly $1,400.
- Reprints in Costco boxes, tins, ETBs and mini tins have flooded the market with Ascended Heroes packs at or below MSRP.
- 30th Celebration’s Gengar ex #154 fell to $59, its first time under $60 since the set came out on September 16, 2026.
- Blaine’s Charizard from Gym Challenge rose from $530 to $590 on TCGplayer, though only a few sales drove the jump.
- At $674 raw plus $79.99 PSA Priority, grading Mega Gengar ex only pays if it gets a PSA 10; a PSA 9 roughly breaks even.
Modern chase cards keep falling and vintage keeps climbing. TCGplayer’s weekly price-drop report, published November 4, says Mega Gengar ex from Ascended Heroes fell to an all-time low of $710. N’s Zoroark ex slid from $120 to under $100, and 30th Celebration’s Gengar ex #154 dropped below $60 for the first time since the set came out in mid-September.
In the same week, Blaine’s Charizard from Gym Challenge rose from $530 to $590 on TCGplayer. That split matters if you are choosing between buying modern dips and holding vintage. I have not made a call yet. Below is where prices stand, what is behind the drop, and what the raw vs. graded numbers say.
What TCGplayer Reported
TCGplayer’s report says Ascended Heroes “has plummeted in price as reprints have flooded the market.” The headline moves:
- Mega Gengar ex (Ascended Heroes): down to $710, an all-time low
- N’s Zoroark ex (Ascended Heroes): $120 to under $100
- Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex (Ascended Heroes): under $200
- Gengar ex #154 (30th Celebration): $59 market price, its first time under $60 since release
- Mew ex (30th Celebration): $65, its lowest yet, down from a $100 high in the first weeks after release
- Blaine’s Charizard (Gym Challenge): up from $530 to $590
TCGplayer’s own caveat on Blaine’s Charizard: the jump reflects only a few individual sales. It still called the card a good stand-in for the vintage chase market as a whole.
Where Prices Stand Now
Here are current prices from PriceCharting as of November 5, 2026. These are sold-price averages, so they won’t match TCGplayer’s market price exactly.
PriceCharting’s raw Mega Gengar ($674) is already below TCGplayer’s $710 low. Its raw Gengar ex #154 ($71) sits above TCGplayer’s $59, which suggests older, higher sales are still pulling up the average. The biggest gap is Blaine’s Charizard: PriceCharting has it ungraded at $474, compared with $590 on TCGplayer. Raw vintage averages mix in played copies, so condition drives a lot of that difference.
Ascended Heroes: Reprints Doing What Reprints Do
Ascended Heroes came out on January 30, 2026. According to Bulbapedia, it has 295 cards (217 plus 78 secret rares), which TCGplayer called the largest English Pokémon set ever. Demand was huge at launch, and TCGplayer notes the set produced several cards worth more than $1,000 as collectors chased Mega Gengar ex.
The drop has been steady since then. In its July 22 report, TCGplayer had Mega Gengar ex down from a peak of nearly $1,400 to $1,275. At $710, the card has lost about 49% from that peak and about 44% since late July.
The supply side explains why. The set has been reprinted for months in different products:
- Costco Mega ex Box 3-pack: $57.99 for 12 booster packs, announced in spring, per Pokemon TCG Restocks
- Ascended Heroes Tins: three tins released August 28 at $21.99 each with four packs, per TCGDropRadar
- Costco Elite Trainer Boxes: $42.99 each with a limit of 2, below MSRP, reported by PokeNotify in early September
- Costco Mini Tin 2-Pack: $76.49 for 10 mini tins (about 20 packs), per CostcoFan
Every one of those packs is another chance to pull a Mega Gengar ex or N’s Zoroark ex. Once packs sell at or below MSRP through a warehouse club, the chase singles usually reset to a level that reflects real supply, not launch-week scarcity. What I don’t know is how much more product is still coming.
30th Celebration: Two Months In
30th Celebration came out on September 16, 2026. PokeBeach’s set guide lists the Elite Trainer Box at $49.99. TCGplayer calls it “the most popular set of all time.” Popularity hasn’t protected the singles, though, because a set this popular also gets printed in huge numbers.
Gengar ex #154 at $59 and Mew ex at $65 are both at their lowest so far. TCGplayer also reports Night Pikachu down from $60 to $53 and Future Mew down from $60 to $45 in a month. The exception is Sylveon ex, which held at about $39 for three weeks and passed Future Mewtwo in the set’s pecking order. TCGplayer flagged it as a possible sleeper.
The pattern looks familiar: a heavily printed modern set opens high and then drifts down as boxes get opened. Ascended Heroes is about nine months further along the same path.
Vintage Keeps Rising
Blaine’s Charizard is the counterpoint. Gym Challenge came out in 2000 and nothing new is being printed, so the supply only shrinks as copies get damaged or locked in slabs. A $60 weekly gain on a few sales is not a trend on its own, but it fits with modern prices falling on new supply.
The graded numbers on Blaine’s Charizard are steep. PriceCharting shows PSA 9 at $1,437.50, about 3x raw, and PSA 10 at $17,814.35, about 37.5x raw. PSA 10 sales for this card are rare, so one or two sales can move that average a lot. I’d treat the PSA 10 figure with caution.
Raw vs. Graded: Does Grading the Dip Pay?
PSA reopened its Value tier on October 29 at $39.99 per card, according to CardGrade.io. Standard costs $59.99 and Priority $79.99. Each tier caps the declared value. CardGrade.io lists $500 for Value, and The Card Shop Finder lists $1,000 for Standard and $1,500 for Priority. So a card that would be worth $1,300 in a PSA 10 needs at least Priority.
Here is how that works out on the three modern cards, before shipping:
- Mega Gengar ex: $674 raw plus $79.99 Priority comes to about $754 in. A PSA 10 ($1,327.50) roughly adds $570. A PSA 9 ($817) roughly breaks even, and a PSA 8 ($743) loses money. Grading only makes sense for a copy with clean centering and surfaces.
- Gengar ex #154: $71 raw plus $59.99 Standard (the PSA 10 value is above the Value tier’s cap) comes to about $131. A PSA 10 ($763.50) pays big, but a PSA 9 ($150.50) barely covers costs. It all depends on the gem rate.
- N’s Zoroark ex: $95 raw plus $39.99 Value comes to about $135. A PSA 10 ($189.99) leaves about $55 before shipping, and a PSA 9 ($106) loses money. That’s a thin edge.
The 10.7x PSA 10 premium on Gengar ex #154 stands out. That number usually means few PSA 10s exist yet because the set is two months old and early submissions are still in PSA’s queue. As those slabs come back, the PSA 10 premium on new sets has historically come down.
The Risks
- More supply. If Ascended Heroes or 30th Celebration get more reprints, today’s low may not be the bottom.
- Graded premiums shrinking. The PSA 10 premium on 30th Celebration cards could fall as population counts rise.
- Thin vintage data. Blaine’s Charizard’s weekly gain rests on only a few sales, and its PSA 10 price trades rarely.
- Data mismatches. TCGplayer and PriceCharting disagree by $35 to $115 on these cards. Check recent sold listings before you pay.
What I Am Doing
The facts are clear: reprints are pushing Ascended Heroes chase cards down, 30th Celebration is following the usual new-set slide, and vintage keeps rising. The realistic options:
- Buy the modern dip: Mega Gengar ex is about half its peak. The risk is that reprints keep coming and the floor isn’t in yet.
- Wait: let reprint supply run out and watch whether the $700 level holds on Mega Gengar ex and $60 holds on Gengar ex #154.
- Hold or add vintage: Blaine’s Charizard’s supply can’t grow, but raw prices depend heavily on condition and PSA 10 data is thin.
- Sell: for anyone still holding modern chase cards bought near launch, compare today’s price with the risk of more reprints.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is Mega Gengar ex from Ascended Heroes worth now?
TCGplayer’s November 4 report put Mega Gengar ex at an all-time low of $710. PriceCharting’s raw sold average was $674 as of November 5, 2026. PSA 10 copies averaged $1,327.50 and PSA 9s about $817.
Why is Mega Gengar ex dropping in price?
Ascended Heroes has been reprinted for months in Costco Mega ex Box 3-packs, tins, Elite Trainer Boxes and mini tin 2-packs, often at or below MSRP. Every extra pack is another chance to pull the card, so the price is moving toward a level that reflects real supply. It has fallen about 49% from its peak of nearly $1,400.
Is it worth grading Mega Gengar ex?
Only for a copy with clean centering and surfaces. A $674 raw card plus $79.99 PSA Priority comes to about $754 before shipping. A PSA 10 adds roughly $570, a PSA 9 about breaks even and a PSA 8 loses money.
How many cards are in Ascended Heroes?
According to Bulbapedia, Ascended Heroes has 295 cards: 217 plus 78 secret rares. TCGplayer called it the largest English Pokémon set ever. It was released on January 30, 2026.
Why is Blaine’s Charizard going up while modern cards fall?
Gym Challenge came out in 2000 and nothing new is being printed, so supply only shrinks as copies get damaged or locked in slabs. Blaine’s Charizard rose from $530 to $590 on TCGplayer. That move rests on only a few sales, so it isn’t a trend on its own.
What did you think?
