Nintendo Black Star Promos

What the Nintendo Black Star Promos are

The Nintendo Black Star Promos are the 40 promotional cards distributed between October 2003 and September 2006, after Nintendo of America took over the Pokémon Trading Card Game outside Japan from Wizards of the Coast. Pokémon USA handled creation and manufacturing while Nintendo of America ran consumer marketing and distribution until the end of 2005, when Pokémon USA assumed full control, so the run spans the EX Series from its first sets to its last.

The cards are numbered 1 to 40 and carry the black star promo symbol. They opened with Kyogre ex 1 and Groudon ex 2 from the Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire Challenge of August 2003 and Nintendo Power magazine, followed the Hoenn starters through the e-League and POP tournaments of 2003 and 2004, and closed with the EX Collector's Tins Kyogre ex 37, Groudon ex 38 and Rayquaza ex 39 and the Mew 40 from the Trainer's Challenge Set value box.

Between them sit the DVD promos Latias 14 and Latios 15 and Jirachi 21, the Legendary birds Moltres ex 31, Articuno ex 32 and Zapdos ex 33 from the EX Collector's Window Tins, and the World Championships cards: Tropical Wind 26 for 2004, Tropical Tidal Wave 27 and Championship Arena 28 for 2005 and Tropical Tidal Wave 36 for 2006, each with placement and Staff stamps.

What makes the Nintendo Black Star Promos different

• The handover from Wizards These were the first English promos made after Wizards of the Coast lost the license, produced by Pokémon USA and distributed by Nintendo of America, which is why the run carries Nintendo's name rather than a series prefix.
• Rayquaza ex and Mew The EX Collector's Tins Rayquaza ex 39 and the Trainer's Challenge Set Mew 40 close the run and are its most sought after cards, with the tin Kyogre ex 37 and Groudon ex 38 alongside them.
• The World Championships cards Tropical Wind 26 from the 2004 World Championships and Tropical Tidal Wave 27 and 36 from 2005 and 2006 exist in placement stamps from Top Thirty-Two to Finalist plus Staff versions, and Championship Arena 28 came from the 2005 event.
• Legendary birds as ex Moltres ex 31, Articuno ex 32 and Zapdos ex 33 came only in the EX Collector's Window Tins, giving the Kanto birds their Pokémon-ex prints outside any expansion.
• Variants of the same number Several promos exist in more than one form: Kyogre ex 1 and Groudon ex 2 in Cosmos Holofoil, non holofoil and no e-Reader code versions, the Target snack bar starters in holofoil and non holofoil, and Pikachu 12 with a 10th Anniversary stamp from Journey Across America.

How the Nintendo Black Star Promos arrived

The run began in October 2003, two weeks after EX Sandstorm on September 18, 2003 and before EX Dragon on November 24, 2003, as Nintendo of America's first promotional program for the game. Kyogre ex 1 and Groudon ex 2 had already been handed out at the Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire Challenge in August 2003 and appeared in Nintendo Power in October 2003, and the e-League seasons of September, October and November 2003 distributed Torchic, Treecko and Mudkip with Winner cards of their evolutions.

The EX Series Collector's Tin of November 2003 carried Pikachu 12 and Meowth 13, the Pokémon Heroes DVD of January 20, 2004 brought Latias 14 and Latios 15, the Target snack bar promotion of February 2004 gave away the Hoenn starters and Whismur, and the Jirachi: Wish Maker DVD of June 1, 2004 added Jirachi 21. The e-League continued through 2004 with Beldum, Chimecho and Flygon, and the Stadium Challenge 2004 issued Metang 23.

The World Championships cards followed each summer from 2004 to 2006, the EX Collector's Window Tins and EX Collector's Tins delivered the Legendary bird ex and weather trio ex cards, and the run ended in September 2006 with Mew 40 as the Diamond & Pearl Series arrived.

Nintendo Black Star Promo products

The promos were never sold in packs. Each came from an event, a magazine, a DVD or a tin, and the sealed table above tracks the EX era tins and value packs still trading today.

Collecting and grading the Nintendo Black Star Promos

Rayquaza ex 39 and Mew 40 are the most sought after cards of the run, with the tin Kyogre ex 37 and Groudon ex 38, the Legendary bird ex trio and the launch Kyogre ex 1 and Groudon ex 2 behind them, and the World Championships cards trade as event collectibles whose value depends on the placement stamp. The live prices above track each promo individually.

EX era promos were handed out at events and packed loose in tins, so many show edge wear and scratches, and PSA 10 copies of the ex cards are scarce relative to the number printed. The e-League Winner cards and the Staff and Finalist Worlds stamps are the hardest cards in the run to find at all.

Sealed EX era tins and value packs are tracked in the sealed table above.