The Most Expensive Sword & Shield Era Pokemon TCG Cards

The Pokemon TCG has seen good times and bad, with the roaring start to the TCG’s life being followed by a period of near-irrelevance until it experienced a Renaissance of sorts during the Sword & Shield era. The best booster boxes from Sword & Shield reignited interest in the Pokemon TCG like never before.

Few cards have ever generated hype like the Umbreon VMAX from Evolving Skies, with several other top-tier cards, particularly some expensive Eeveelution cards to collect from the Sword & Shield era. Prepare for a collection of the best alt arts from the Sword and Shield era.

Cards are ordered according to their
TCGPlayer
market price, which is subject to change.

Updated November 29, 2024, by Andrew Scariati: If you’re looking for the most expensive modern Pokemon cards, you’ve found them in the Sword and Shield era. Although the most valuable Sword and Shield cards are receiving stiff competition from the Scarlet & Violet era, they still command incredible values, led by the fabled Umbreon VMAX a.k.a.”Moonbreon” from Evolving Skies

12 Sylveon VMAX: Evolving Skies (Alternate Art Secret) – $200.26

The Start Of The Eevee Revolution

The Sylveon VMAX is one of the most expensive cards from Evolving Skies, and barely makes it into the top tier of the Sword & Shield era. The cotton candy pink color palette pops in this whimsical Sylveon artwork, easily one of the best depictions we’ve gotten of this Fairy-type Eeveelution.

While this card exploded (with the rest of the alt arts in Sword and Shield) to a $270 value, it has come back down to Earth as it hovers around the $200 plateau.

Price corrections are a major trend among the most expensive Sword & Shield era cards, as prices are settling down after
one of the biggest booms in recent history.

11 Espeon VMAX: Fusion Strike (Alternate Art Secret) – $204.68

A Sleeper Pick

Eeveelutions and sleeping Pokemon are popular themes when separate, but when they combine in this gorgeous Espeon alt-art, the sky is the limit when it comes to value.

This card’s price has often lagged behind its Evolving Skies peers but finally finds itself among the most expensive cards in the Sword & Shield era.

This card reached highs of $340 at its peak but plummeted almost $80 in a few short weeks to reach the mid-$200s. Given the volatility in the market, the current price might still change drastically, and the top cards still to come may swap positions.

10 Glaceon VMAX: Evolving Skies (Alternate Art Secret) – $241.55

An Incredible Ensemble

Glaceon has had a bit of a pullback since it hit its high around $300, and while Glaceon lost some ground, graded copies of the card continue to hold their value and rise in price, rather than falling like some of the other raw alt-art cards.

Glaceon has been underrated for a long time, as this card once hovered around the $125-150 range, but finally seems to be settling at the price the market believes it’s worth. This card and all Evolving Skies alt arts are likely to continue ebbing and flowing over time, but their demand will always remain high.

A Bird, A Plane, A Bidoof

The Special Delivery promo cards feature some great moments of Charizard carrying around various Pokemon and cargo to deliver, with this version commanding the highest price.

While Bidoof is usually only good for a laugh, its meme-worthy status catapults this card’s value into Sword & Shield’s upper echelon.

The Special Delivery Bidoof has seen better days, as it once eclipsed the $300 mark, but has fallen into the mid-$200 range following a steady decline. There may be a bit more ground to lose here, but Special Delivery Bidoof’s spot should be secure for now.

8 Blaziken VMAX: Chilling Reign (Alternate Art Secret) – $261.31

An Art Of Fire And Ice

As the most expensive card from Chilling Reign, the Blaziken VMAX has plenty to live up to, but this fantastic artwork easily outshines even the highest expectations.

Blaziken’s giant stature offers a sobering perspective when you view it from the Inteleon family’s point of view.

Even though Blaziken also had to endure a massive pullback from it’s high, it still maintains a solid value, barely squeaking by some Eeveelution friends to claim one of the top four spots in the Sword & Shield era.

7 Leafeon VMAX: Evolving Skies (Alternate Art Secret) – $266.88

Rolling Into The Top Spots

Leafeon VMAX’s price chart reflects a similar trajectory to Glaceon’s, though Leafeon has had a little bit of a dip in price, but not nearly as much as peers like Espeon.

Prices for all of these cards are still in flux, and these values may change overnight; however, Eeveelution cards are typically among the most expensive in the TCG and are likely to remain in demand over time.

This adorable artwork flew under the radar for a long time but is finally grabbing the spotlight as one of the most expensive cards from this era.

Stamped For Success

This fantastic Pikachu promo stands out from the rest of the cards in the Sword and Shield era, given the unique art style and background that this card boasts. It even forms a pair with a Cramorant card, which you got from the same promotional box.

This card was available from Pokemon Stamp Box sets starting in August 2021.

While Pikachu’s value has been all over the map, this card is finally settling into a home around the $350 range, making it one of the most expensive cards in the Sword and Shield era. Given its scarcity and the fact that Pikachu cards always command a premium, you’ll likely see this card sticking around for the foreseeable future, and might even move up on this list.

5 Gengar VMAX: Fusion Strike (Alternate Art Secret) – $390.06

Eating The Competition For Breakfast

Speaking of massive market movement, Gengar VMAX has seen the highest highs and lowest lows in a relatively short period, as easily one of the most valuable cards of Sword & Shield. At its height, Gengar was pushing $410 but fell over $100 to roughly $300.

However, Gengar’s staggering fall was preceded by a significant rise from about $180 to roughly $300 before riding the wave past the $400 mark to cement its place as
Fusion Strike’s most valuable card
.

While there’s no certainty where these alt-arts may settle in the long term, it’s clear that even with a big pullback from their heights, the alt-arts are here to stay as some of the most expensive cards in the SwSh era and beyond.

4 Giratina V: Lost Origin (Alternate Art Secret) – $394.07

A Majestic Mosaic

Giratina and Gengar have more in common than just their Ghost typing, as they each experienced a similarly meteoric rise before suffering a considerable drop in their values.

However, although this card fell by about $100 from its previous high of $480, Giratina still stands strong, partly due to the incredible mosaic-like artwork this card boasts. With one of the most unusual designs in this era, the Giratina V is certain to stand out from the pack.

3 Rayquaza VMAX: Evolving Skies (Alternate Art Secret) – $466.72

Emerging From The Skies

Rayquaza claims second place among the most expensive cards in the Sword & Shield era, but considering the card in the top spot, this is an incredible achievement for Rayquaza. Rayquaza is known for having some of the most expensive cards in the entire Pokemon TCG, and its popularity remains strong in modern products.

As another card that fell by over $100 from its previous high of $542, not even a huge setback can keep one of the best Pokemon in the TCG down, as Rayquaza has rebounded to soar above the competition.

Charizard Being Charizard

Another spectacularly expensive promo card captures our attention, this time with Charizard taking the reins from Pikachu, as the two most popular Pokemon ever continue to make their own rules.

While promo cards can sometimes fade into obscurity, Charizard usually doesn’t, due to its immense popularity and the variety of fantastic illustrations this Pokemon receives.

Unfortunately, this card’s scarcity makes it unpredictable, as there’s only a single NM sale currently available to view on TCGplayer, setting the market. Since that’s likely to change in the future, the value of this card is tenuous, and you should be able to find it for much cheaper if you settle for less than an NM copy.

1 Umbreon VMAX: Evolving Skies (Alternate Art Secret) – $1,366.90

The Moonbreon Rises Again

There aren’t enough superlatives in the Pokemon world to describe the Umbreon VMAX from evolving Skies, better known as Moonbreon. Arguably the most recognizable card aside from the original Charizard from the base set, the Evolving Skies Umbreon VMAX blows its fellow Sword & Shield alt-arts out of the water.

This card flirted with the $1,000 plateau for a brief period, but backed away from its $950 value, dropping to the $860 range. Despite a fairly sizable pullback from the high, the Umbreon VMAX continued to stay in demand and has since eclipsed the $1,000 mark, leaving it in the dust.