What are the top chase cards from Pokemon TCG: Paradox Rift?

For this list, we looked through the current listing on our favorite card marketplace – TCGPlayer – in order to help show which cards from this epic set are fetching the highest prices online.

Above all, Paradox Rift is noteworthy for the sheer number of the relatively high value Illustration Rare Pokemon cards you can collect from packs. Additionally, it’s seen by many Pokemon collectors and investors as a “slept on” set. See the combination of artwork quality and price below and you might be inclined to agree.

Below, we’ll be looking at each of the most expensive Paradox Rift Pokemon cards and diving into what makes them top hits for Pokemon TCG fanatics.

#10 Morpeko – Illustration Rare

An I-Spy for Pokemon buffs

Morpeko IR — Market price: $18.32

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Morpeko is a pretty well-liked Pokemon so I was a bit surprised at first how long it took for this card to make it onto the general collectors’ radar. Who doesn’t love a cute little dark type Pokemon gorging itself on treats?

Don’t just scroll past this card though – if you look carefully you’ll see all kinds of cool Pokemon represented as cookies that Morpeko is greedily munching on in this colorful and well composed card.

#9 Minun – Illustration Rare

In the games, Minun and Plusle are often depicted as two peas in a pod. In Paradox Rift, the two share thematically similar artworks – both Pokemon cheering on a sports team with their partner. While Plusle gets the better half (their team is apparently winning), Minun here is seen in agony as its team is apparently not performing so well.

Cards that are essentially tied together in this way often do well on the secondary card market, creating something of a lure to collectors, even if the cards themselves aren’t worth an extraordinary amount.

#8 Iron Valiant ex – Special Illustration Rare

The Iron Valiant ex Special Illustration Rare card hails from the future, bringing with it new card mechanics that certainly had their time to shine in the Pokemon TCG meta. Since then, however, the card and its strategy have largely fallen out of favor. Oh well – that happens with Pokemon cards as they age all the time. However, this card still commands a respectable price tag all things considered, even if it has fallen far from where it once stood at second place in this list.

#7 Plusle – Illustration Rare

The desert chase card

This Plusle card feels like a still out of a Pixar movie – the part of the movie where we are flashing back through some kids life as he grows up. The deserts and treats in this artwork add a cute, happy feeling that perfectly matches the Pokemon, leading to creative brilliance that is enough to launch this IR towards the top of the Paradox Rift greatest hits list.

#6 Gholdengo ex – Special Illustration Rare

Beyond the artwork of the card (which, I’m not gonna lie, isn’t my favorite), it seems likely that this card has the kind of price tag it has because people are still excited about playing Gholdengo ex. Competitively viable cards tend to fetch more value than their less competitive counterparts. Apart from that, Gholdengo sort of looks like a string cheese man from an old commercial. Yet regardless of how we feel about it, this card has held up its value well overtime. Fans looking for an alterante should check out the Gholdengo ex SIR released in Prismatic Evolutions.

#5 Steelix – Illustration Rare

Stealing a top spot on this list

This impressionistic, painterly take on Steelix (complete with visible brushstrokes and all) continues Paradox Rift’s trend towards providing hyper-valuable Illustration Rare Pokemon cards.

#4 Garchomp ex –Special Illustration Rare

Garchomp is always the crowd pleaser

Garchomp Special Illustration Rare — Market price: $25.77

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As far as Pokemon go, Garchomp remains one of those much-adored ones, and that’s reflected in this card’s decent value. While a far cry from the more recent Cynthia’s Garchomp ex found in Destined Rivals, this Tera Garchomp ex could be a solid pick for budget-minded fans of the Pokemon who don’t necessarily need the Cynthia angle to make their collection feel complete.

Garchomp ex Special Illustration Rare is a card that’s been a bit of a wildcard. It’s fluctuated quite a bit since even before Paradox Rift officially released. Today, however, it seems to have stabilized in the top 10 most valuable Paradox Rift cards. And with gorgeous art like this, it’s no wonder it’s fetching a decent value on the market.

#3 Altaria ex – Special Illustration Rare

Gorgeous artwork and steady market value

One card that is holding up value well among the top 10 most valuable Paradox Rift cards list is the gorgeous Altaria ex Special Illustration Rare. Now that it’s arrived in the top three, it seems almost like a surprise that it hadn’t been here all along. Altaria is a really cool dragon Pokemon in general, mixing elegance with beauty in a way you typically don’t expect among the more combat focused dragon types Pokemon loves to depict. In this card, we see it flying high with Wingulls passing below, looking like something straight out of a Studio Ghibli film.

It’s a hopeful card that would only benefit from a greater playability from Altaria ex (as it stands, the card isn’t competitively viable). Still, from an artwork perspective, this is one of my personal favorites from the set.

#2 Roaring Moon ex – Special Illustration Rare

An alt art of a player favorite

Roaring Moon ex SIR — Market price: $38.86

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This Roaring Moon ex Special Illustration Rare has held up in beauty better than value. Today, it’s worth just $38.86. While that’s enough to land it in second place on this list, it’s a paltry sum compared to what top chases from later Scarlet & Violet era sets can fetch on the secondary card market.

After an initial surge in market value driven partly due to Roaring Moon ex’s popularity on the competitive scene, this card’s price has dropped significantly, coinciding also with Roaring Moon ex’s popularity among players. I still think this card is a great addition to your collection, however, as Roaring Moon ex is a memorable card from one of the best Pokemon packs in recent memory.

#1 Groudon – Illustration Rare

The most expensive Paradox Rift chase card of them all!

I’m not surprised to see Groudon doing so well on the singles card market. Groudon is an incredibly memorable Pokemon, and this is the most gorgeous and epic artwork I’ve seen of it. This is one of those cards that just shot up in value since initial release, as demand for it has soared. We’ve seen that quite a bit in recent sets where these illustration rare cards suddenly shoot up in value as people realize how desirable they are. Still, the fact that only an IR would end up in the number one spot ahead of so many SIRs is pretty remarkable, making it one of the most expensive Illustration Rare Pokemon cards in all of the Scarlet and Violet Pokemon TCG era!

10 Most Valuable Paradox Rift Chase Cards