VMAX Climax

What VMAX Climax is

VMAX Climax is the eighth subset of the Japanese Sword & Shield era, a High Class Pack released on December 3, 2021 under the set code S8b. It has 184 cards in the numbered set plus 101 secret cards, 285 in total, and like the High Class Packs before it is built mainly from reprints of the era's Pokémon V and VMAX, several of them using artwork that had been exclusive to English expansions and merchandise. Apart from the Pokémon V and VMAX and the secret cards, its cards carry no rarity symbol.

The secret cards are why the set matters. VMAX Climax is built on Character Rare and Character Super Rare cards, full art prints that place the Pokémon alongside its Trainer: 28 Character Rares from 185 to 212, from Abomasnow to Oranguru, and 42 Character Super Rares from 213 to 254 covering the Pokémon V and VMAX, followed by 23 Supporters at 255 to 277 and 8 ultra rares at 278 to 285 including Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX, Pikachu VMAX, Mew VMAX and Shadow Rider Calyrex VMAX. These cards became the Trainer Gallery subsets of the English Brilliant Stars, Astral Radiance, Lost Origin and Silver Tempest.

Each Japanese box holds 10 packs of 11 cards, and every pack guarantees a holofoil Energy, a Character Rare or Reverse Brick Holofoil card and a Pokémon V, VMAX, V-UNION or a card of SR rarity or above. The Morpeko V-UNION at 56 to 59 is the set's four card V-UNION.

What makes VMAX Climax different

• Character Rares The 28 Character Rares and 42 Character Super Rares put Pokémon and their Trainers together in full art, an idea the English game adopted as the Trainer Gallery in Brilliant Stars, Astral Radiance, Lost Origin and Silver Tempest.
• Rayquaza and Pikachu at the top The Character Super Rare Rayquaza VMAX 252 and Pikachu V 222 and Pikachu VMAX 223, the ultra rare Pikachu VMAX 279 and Rayquaza VMAX 284 and the Character Super Rare Umbreon VMAX 245 lead the set's market.
• A guaranteed hit in every pack Every 11 card pack carries a holofoil Energy, a Character Rare or Reverse Brick Holofoil and a Pokémon V, VMAX, V-UNION or SR or better, so a 10 pack box delivers a fixed floor of chase cards.
• English art comes home Several Pokémon V and VMAX in the set use artwork that had only appeared on English cards and products, giving Japanese collectors those prints for the first time.
• Two regulation marks Because it reprints cards from across the era, VMAX Climax carries both the D and E regulation marks, 100 cards on D and 185 on E.

How VMAX Climax arrived

VMAX Climax released in Japan on December 3, 2021, six weeks after the 25th Anniversary Collection on October 22, 2021 and six weeks before Star Birth on January 14, 2022. It followed the High Class Pack pattern of the era, a large reprint set with a fixed floor of chase cards in every pack, and gave it a new identity with the Character Rare and Character Super Rare cards.

The set arrived at the height of the Sword & Shield boom, and its Character Rares were an immediate hit with collectors, which is why the English game printed Trainer Gallery subsets in Brilliant Stars, Astral Radiance, Lost Origin and Silver Tempest and drew their cards from VMAX Climax. Traditional Chinese releases used the same 10 pack box, while Thai releases used 20 packs of 5 cards.

VMAX Climax remains the reference point for the Character Rare style, and its cards are the ones English collectors know from the four Trainer Galleries.

VMAX Climax products

VMAX Climax was sold in 11 card booster packs and 10 pack booster boxes. The sealed table above tracks both.

Collecting and grading VMAX Climax

The Character Super Rare Rayquaza VMAX 252 leads the pack pulled cards, with the ultra rare Pikachu VMAX 279, the Character Super Rare Pikachu V 222 and Pikachu VMAX 223, the ultra rare Rayquaza VMAX 284 and the Character Super Rare Umbreon VMAX 245 behind it, then the ultra rare Mew VMAX 280, the Character Super Rare Mimikyu V 233, Umbreon V 244, Sylveon VMAX 232, Mimikyu VMAX 234 and Sylveon V 231 and the Character Rare Charizard 187 and Character Super Rare Gloria 276. An Incorrect Holo Error print of the regular Charizard 17 tops the live list as an error variant. The live chase list above ranks every tracked card by PSA 10 value.

Japanese print quality keeps PSA 10 rates high, so graded premiums are modest and concentrate on the Rayquaza and Pikachu prints. The 28 Character Rares and 42 Character Super Rares are collected as complete runs, and the Supporter Character Super Rares such as Gloria 276 trade above most of the Pokémon V they accompany.

Sealed VMAX Climax boxes remain available, and the sealed table above tracks what boxes and packs trade for today.