Here's the price evolution of the top 3 most expensive cards: Pikachu Illustrator Price History (PSA 10) Source: Goldin Auctions, eBay Sales Data Charizard 1st Edition Shadowless Price History (PSA 10) Source: PWCC Marketplace, Goldin Auctions Key Price Drivers (2019-2025) 2020-2021 Pandemic Boom : Prices increased 200-400% across vintage cards Celebrity Purchases : Logan Paul, Logic, Post Malone drove mainstream attention Social Media Influence : YouTube/TikTok opening videos viral exposure Investment Funds : Fractional ownership platforms (Rally, Collectable) entered market Grading Backlog : PSA submission delays created artificial scarcity The market as investment TL;DR: Pokmon cards returned +3,261% over 20 years vs S&P 500's ~300%
Amped Raptor acts like a two-for-one, giving you a 2/1 body with first strike and another spell from the top of your library if you've got the energy to pay for it
Just casting this card, letting it eat a removal spell, and drawing three cards in response is just a massive advantage
Note that we dissociate this type of deceptive inking from accidental inking (the small stroke of felt-tip pen in the middle of the card, or ink on a sleeve that has rubbed off), to which we also give the Inked status, but which we note as Print lines This card has a clearly visible printline, a minor printing defect which is nevertheless quite frequent, but which will be included in the surface score
