Looking to find the best Pokemon packs to buy in 2024? You’re in the right place!
I’ve opened 1000’s of packs over the last year, and I’m going to share with you the best for rare artworks and valuable cards.
Let’s get into it…
The Best Pokemon Packs to Buy Right Now
- Best New Set – Surging Sparks
- Best for Nostalgia – Pokemon 151
- Best Artworks – Crown Zenith
- Best Value – Obsidian Flames
- Best Anniversary Set – Celebrations
- Most Valuable – Evolving Skies
- Catching Charizards – Brilliant Stars
- Cool Cards – Chilling Reign
- Hidden Gems – Lost Origin
- Budget Friendly – Fusion Strike
1. 2024 Surging Sparks – Best New Pokemon Booster Packs
Surging Sparks, the latest set in the Scarlet and Violet era of Pokémon cards, is a must-have for collectors and enthusiasts alike.
The Elite Trainer Box features a stunning Magneton promo card illustrated by the renowned Shinji Kanda, adding an exclusive touch, especially with the Pokémon Center stamped version. This set revitalizes underappreciated Pokémon like Castform, Braviary, and Skarmory by showcasing them with exceptional artwork—making cards like the Skarmory illustration rare highly sought after.
With Pikachu as the mascot and a strategically timed November release, the set is poised to be in high demand, and its Pikachu cards are expected to hold their value. The Special Illustration Rares, including standout cards like Lisia, Alolan Exeggutor with its Terra-type form, and Latias, offer phenomenal designs that are the highlights of the set. Additionally, Feebas finally gets its moment with an Illustration Rare that pairs beautifully with Milotic, adding a captivating storytelling element.
All these factors make Surging Sparks booster packs a valuable and exciting addition to any Pokémon card collection.
2. 2023 Pokemon 151 – The return of the Kanto region
Pokemon 151 packs top my list and for good reason! This set is the perfect blend of nostalgia factor mixed with modern artwork. It’s fantastic as it brings together both old and young Pokemon fans. I’ve opened countless 151 packs with my kids, and we’re well on the way to completing the set!
In terms of buying packs, you can of course pick up single ones on marketplaces like eBay, but they’re not sold separately in the shops. Instead there are a variety on products like Elite Trainer Boxes which contain 11 booster packs, or small Booster Bundles which contain 6 packs. My absolute favourite though is the Ultra Premium Collection box. Although it’s the most expensive, it contains 16 packs and 3 special promo cards (Mew EX, Mewtwo, Metal Mew EX).
3. 2023 Crown Zenith – What a trainer gallery!
Crown Zenith has proved itself as a really popular set. So much so, Pokemon decided to reprint it to keep up with demand. Although the main set has great cards, such as the secret rare full art Pikachu, it’s really the Galarian Gallery that makes these packs worth buying.
Each card is a work of art, and the epitome of how much Pokemon cards have come on in the last few years. My favourites are the Full Art Mew, Lumineon V and the Mewtwo VSTAR. But we’ve also got to mention the most valuable cards in this set, the incredible gold Giratina VSTAR and Arceus VSTAR.
Considering the potential pulls, and the price still around retail, Crown Zenith has some of the best Pokemon card packs to invest in.
4. 2023 Obsidian Flames – Pure fire
Obsidian Flames is another set with Pokemon booster packs still available at retail price. In fact, I often see them slightly below meaning there’s great value to be had.
The four rarest cards in the set are all Charizard EX’s, which look incredible thanks to their Tera Pokemon designs. The most valuable (233/197) sits at around £80, meaning this set won’t just be a flash in the pan.
In terms of purchasing packs, there are a variety of products on offer. To get the most bang for your buck, I like to buy Pokémon booster boxes, but there’s also an Elite Trainer Box, Booster Bundle and cool little triple blister pack with a lovely Eevee promo.
5. 2021 Celebrations – 25 Years of Pokemon!
Celerbrations holds a special place in the hearts of fans. It’s made up of a main set of 25 cards, and the ‘Classic Collection,’ a special subset of 25 reprints with the 25th anniversary logo, showcasing iconic Pokemon cards from the franchise’s past.
Similar to Pokemon 151, Celebrations boasts major nostalgic value and has some of the best Pokemon card packs for potential future value. It also has the same product setup, where there’s no booster box as such. Instead there’s an Elite Trainer Box, and a variety of collection boxes featuring different Pokemon. My favourite to open is the Pikachu V-Union Collection box, as it contains awesome promos!
If you’re after something a bit more high-end, the Celebrations Ultra Premium Collection box has a whopping 17 booster packs, and two valuable metal cards featuring Base Set Pikachu and Base Set Charizard.
6. 2021 Evolving Skies – The Highest Value Modern Set
With its remarkable alternative art VMAX cards, Evolving Skies contains some of the best Pokemon cards of the modern era. It always gives me such a buzz to open, because the potential hits are so valuable.
In fact, the most expensive card in the set currently sits at about £500, which is of course the Umbreon VMAX (fondly referred to as ‘Moonbreon’)!
In terms of buying packs, booster boxes with 36 packs cost around £350, whilst ETB’s with 8 packs go for around £70, so there’s not a great deal between them. You can get triple blister packs too, but I think these generally sell for more than they’re worth, and the promos inside aren’t that great.
Ultimately though, if you’re looking to either open packs or keep sealed, Evolving Skies is the best Pokemon booster box to buy in my opinion.
7. 2022 Brilliant Stars – Great for Charizards
The thing that I love the most when opening Brilliant Stars, is the variety of cards you can pull. It’s got full arts, alt arts, rainbow, gold cards, VMAX, VSTARS and V’s!
There are also 5 different Charizard’s you can pull, and with prices of booster boxes not far above retail, I think this set offers great value for money.
Although it doesn’t have many high value cards, the ultra rare Charizard V is a masterpiece depicting an epic battle against a Venusaur. This is the chase card for the set and makes a Brilliant Stars booster box well worth buying.
8. 2021 Chilling Reign – Some of the Coolest Pokemon Cards
Chilling Reign has some fond memories for me, having pulled the Shadow Rider and Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX from my first booster box.
And then when you consider the incredible artworks like the Galarian Moltres V, Galarian Rapidash V and the standout Blaziken VMAX, you realise just want a cool set this is!
It’s almost underappreciated in my opinion, with booster box prices staying at retail level, despite being 2 years old.
But I’m certainly not complaining, to this day I continue to buy Chilling Reign packs as I think they offer good value for money.
9. 2022 Lost Origin – Doesn’t Get The Credit it Deserves!
Lost Origin is another set I feel is wildly underrated and often overlooked. But that’s good for us right, especially with packs selling around retail price.
Not only does it have two fan favourite chase cards in the Pikachu VMAX and the Full Art Trainer Gallery Pikachu V, but it’s also got two highly valuable cards in the Aerodactyl V and the Giratina V. These two are the most expensive in the set and feature incredible artworks.
I believe Lost Origin booster packs are well worth buying, and I’ve seen booster boxes go for well below retail on eBay. Don’t sleep on this hidden gem.
10. 2021 Fusion Strike – Mew Gotta Love It!
Fusion Strike packs are probably the most budget friendly option on this list. Many go on eBay for below RRP.
The set doesn’t have particularly valuable cards, but if you love Mew there are some wonderful artworks. There’s also some great looking Gengar cards too.
The most valuable in the set is the Celebi V, which is absolutely stunning. I actually managed to pull this when it came out, and it graded a PSA 10. It sold on my eBay store recently for £80, so this should give you an idea of the set’s ceiling.
Ultimately though, if you’re looking to strike a balance between managing cost and getting cool cards, these are some of the best Pokemon packs to go for.
How I Chose The Best Pokemon Packs to Include on My List
- I wanted to provide you with recommendations that strike a good balance between price and potential pulls. Because of this, I didn’t choose any set where the price of a booster box exceeded £500.
- It was also important to me to suggest sets that are still widely available. From my experience all these packs are either still in the shops or there are plenty of places to buy them online, such as eBay.
- Finally, I spent a significant amount of time researching the values of the top 10 cards in each set. That way I could cross-reference them with the pack prices to see whether they were good value or not.
What Should I Buy – Pokemon Booster Boxes or Single Packs?
This is an interesting question; because it’s determined entirely by the set and availability.
From my experience, so long as products are still available in the shops, it doesn’t make a huge difference whether you buy single booster packs, whole booster boxes, or any of the special collection boxes on offer. Generally, the price per packs works out roughly the same.
However, when sets become out of print, and you’re relying on marketplaces like eBay, I tend to take a different approach and buy sealed boxes. This is because it protects you from purchasing single packs that have been tampered with or weighed.
The vast majority of sellers in the Pokemon card community are genuine, but like anything, when there’s money to be made, scammers get attracted to it.
You can read more about what weighing Pokemon booster packs is here.
Where’s The Best Place to Buy Booster Packs?
In the UK I tend to booster boxes and packs from Smyths Toys, Argos, Amazon, The Pokemon Center, eBay and my local newsagent.
In the US, Walmart is another good option.
What Are The Best Pokemon Booster Boxes?
In my opinion, the best Pokemon booster boxes to buy are Evolving Skies because of it’s valuable cards, Lost Origin because it offers great value for money, and I also like picking up the odd Brilliant Stars booster box when I’m in the mood to go Charizard hunting!
Which Pokemon Packs Have The Best Pull Rates?
The Pokemon packs with the best pull rates on my list are Crown Zenith, Brilliant Stars and Lost Origin. I’ve opened 100’s of packs from each of these sets and always seem to pull bangers!
How Do You Tell if Pokemon Cards Are Worth a Lot?
In terms of modern Pokemon cards, you’re looking for a combination of popular characters (like Charizard or Pikachu), amazing artworks (in particular full art cards), and scarcity.
With regard to vintage Pokemon cards, holographic 1st Edition cards are worth the most.
To find out the value of your cards, my advice would be to follow these steps:
- Find out when set it’s from using my Pokemon Card Symbols List and cross referencing it with your card.
- Next go to my Complete Pokemon Card Set List to and find the set in question.
- From here, you can either click on the entire set list to see the value of your card.
- Or you can click on the 10 Most Valuable Cards list for that set, and see if it’s in there. If it is, it may be worth a lot!
