What to target in Silver Tempest

The top 10 cards are 73% of the set’s $1,003.00 estimated singles cost — plan these first and the rest follows on a normal budget.

The value math here is blunt: the chase cards command the overwhelming majority of the set's total pull value, and nearly all of that sits on Lugia. Between the alternate-art Lugia V, the standard full-art Lugia V, the VSTAR, the rainbow VSTAR, and the gold secret VSTAR, the bird occupies the top of the ranking multiple times over. If you open Silver Tempest hoping to hit, you are almost always hoping to hit a Lugia — everything else is a bonus.

Collectors draw a clear line between cards they love and cards that simply cost money. The alternate-art Lugia V and Serena's Trainer Gallery art are the two that people genuinely chase for the illustration — those are display-piece cards that would be wanted regardless of price. The rainbow and gold Lugia VSTARs, by contrast, are the "expensive because they're rare" tier: fine cards, but their prices lean on scarcity and the Lugia name rather than universal love. The secondary V cards — Unown, Regidrago, the plain Lugia V — are affordable pickups that fill a binder without denting the wallet, which makes this a friendlier set to chase than its headline card suggests.

#	Card	Number	Rarity	Market	PSA 10
1	Lugia V	#186	Rare Ultra	$519.04	$1,343.68
2	Lugia VSTAR	#202	Rare Rainbow	$41.85	$184.18
3	Unown V	#177	Rare Ultra	$30.67	$113.75
4	Regidrago V	#184	Rare Ultra	$29.15	$109.99
5	Alolan Vulpix VSTAR	#197	Rare Rainbow	$27.09	$84.23
6	Lugia VSTAR	#211	Rare Secret	$26.45	$158.75
7	Lugia V	#185	Rare Ultra	$17.55	$164.50
8	Serena	#207	Rare Rainbow	$15.00	$84.16
9	Serena	#193	Rare Ultra	$14.37	$94.10
10	Lugia V	#138	Rare Holo V	$13.99	$233.75

How Silver Tempest is built

The smart way to complete Silver Tempest

The smart approach to Silver Tempest is to decide early whether you're a Lugia collector or a master-set collector, because the two paths look very different. A Lugia-focused run is a handful of targeted singles purchases and you're done. The full 215-card master set is a real project, but a manageable one — the bulk commons, uncommons, and holos come cheap, so your budget and your patience go almost entirely toward the secret-rare tail and the Trainer Gallery subset.

1. Build the 195-card base set first — commons, uncommons, and regular holos are inexpensive and often best bought as a bulk lot rather than one at a time.
2. Complete the Trainer Gallery subset next; the character art (Serena especially) is the section collectors care about most and prices climb once demand notices.
3. Pick up the affordable V and VSTAR ultra rares — Unown V, Regidrago V, Alolan Vulpix VSTAR — while they're cheap filler for the checklist.
4. Target the alternate-art Lugia V, the display centerpiece of the set, in the condition you actually want to keep.
5. Close out the secret-rare tail: the rainbow VSTARs, gold secrets, and gold trainers that make up the 20 cards beyond the printed 195.
6. Save the rainbow and gold Lugia VSTARs for last — they're the priciest slots and worth buying only when the rest of the set is locked in.

Collecting challenges

The difficulty here is lopsided rather than uniform. The base set and most ultra rares are easy and cheap, so the first eighty percent of the master set comes together fast. The pain is concentrated in the same place the value is — the Lugia secrets and Serena's Trainer Gallery card, which together can cost more than everything else combined. That makes Silver Tempest a set you can get most of the way through affordably, only to stall at the finish line if the Lugia tax stretches your budget.

Singles or sealed?

Silver Tempest is a set where the value is famously concentrated in a few Lugia cards, which is exactly the profile where ripping packs for a specific hit gets expensive fast. If you want the alternate-art Lugia V or a rainbow VSTAR, buying the single is the rational move nearly every time — you skip the variance entirely. Sealed makes sense if you enjoy the opening experience, want a mix of chase cards and playables to build decks, or believe the still-printed product is worth holding sealed for the long run. The page shows the live cost-to-complete-via-packs math beside the singles totals so you can see the gap for yourself.

Sealed product comparison

Silver Tempest pull-rate estimates

Community-estimated era averages from large pack-opening aggregates — not official Pokémon data. “Specific card” is the expected packs for ONE particular card of that rarity.

Silver Tempest promo cards

Black Star promos tied to Silver Tempest — from its ETBs, collection boxes and prerelease events. They live in the SWSH Black Star Promos set, so a true master-set run includes them separately.

Dragonite V#SWSH235 · Collection box promo$6.34Deoxys V#SWSH266 · Collection box promo$2.25Deoxys VMAX#SWSH267 · Collection box promo$6.00Deoxys VSTAR#SWSH268 · Collection box promo$6.44Hisuian Electrode V#SWSH294 · Collection box promo$1.11Virizion V#SWSH295 · Collection box promo$0.77Hisuian Zoroark V#SWSH297 · Collection box promo$1.86Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR#SWSH298 · Collection box promo$1.35Rillaboom#SWSH277 · Prerelease promo$0.54Cinderace#SWSH278 · Prerelease promo$0.58Inteleon#SWSH279 · Prerelease promo$0.54Regieleki V#SWSH280 · Collection box promo$0.64Regidrago V#SWSH281 · Collection box promo$0.77

Which Silver Tempest cards are worth grading?

Grading in Silver Tempest follows the value: it's the Lugia cards that justify the fee. The alternate-art Lugia V and both VSTAR printings are the cards where a high grade meaningfully multiplies the return, because there's genuine collector demand chasing gem-mint copies. The plain Lugia V and the rest of the ultra-rare field are borderline — grading them rarely clears the cost unless you pulled a flawless copy and grading is essentially free upside for you.

The practical catch is condition out of the pack. Silver Tempest's full-art and rainbow cards carry the same era-typical vulnerabilities — edge whitening and surface scratching on the holo texture — so genuinely gradeable copies are scarcer than raw supply suggests. If you're buying to grade, inspect centering and surface hard before you submit, and reserve the fee for the Lugia tier where the numbers actually work; the live EV figures on this page will tell you which specific printings currently clear the bar.

Tier 1 — grade theseWorth grading

Positive expected value after ~$25 fees at live PSA prices and this set's real gem rates.

Lugia V #186raw $519.04 → PSA 10 $1,343.68 2.6×EV +$431.60Lugia VSTAR #202raw $41.85 → PSA 10 $184.18 4.4×EV +$48.57Regidrago V #184raw $29.15 → PSA 10 $109.99 3.8×EV +$30.22Lugia VSTAR #211raw $26.45 → PSA 10 $158.75 6×EV +$66.10Lugia V #185raw $17.55 → PSA 10 $164.50 9.4×EV +$60.68Serena #193raw $14.37 → PSA 10 $94.10 6.5×EV +$25.96

Tier 2 — grade clean copiesClean copies only

Strong PSA 10 premium — the math works only on gem-worthy copies.

Unown V #177raw $30.67 → PSA 10 $113.75 3.7×EV +$22.69Alolan Vulpix VSTAR #197raw $27.09 → PSA 10 $84.23 3.1×EV +$6.09

Tier 3 — personal collectionCollection only

Fees eat most of the margin. Grade to preserve a pristine pull, not for profit.

Serena #207raw $15.00 → PSA 10 $84.16 5.6×EV +$10.76Alolan Vulpix V #173raw $12.48 → PSA 10 $83.11 6.7×EV +$17.63Skuntank V #181raw $11.95 → PSA 10 $62.25 5.2×EV +$11.80Unown VSTAR #199raw $10.78 → PSA 10 $65.89 6.1×EV +$12.87

Premiums and EV use tonight’s PSA prices and this set’s real gem rates — not projections.

What collectors say about Silver Tempest

Collectors broadly like Silver Tempest, and the affection is almost entirely about Lugia. The consensus take is that it's a strong, focused set carried by one iconic Pokémon with both a gorgeous alternate art and real competitive relevance — a rare combination that gives the set staying power. The common praise is for the Trainer Gallery subset and the alt-art Lugia V, which people call one of the better-looking cards of the whole Sword & Shield era.

Creators on Silver Tempest

▶The LAST Sword & Shield Set Ever Made (Silver Tempest)PokeRev▶Should I Open it? Or Should I Keep it Sealed? - Episode 461 - Silver Tempest Booster BundleShortPocketMonster▶Silver Tempest Booster Box Pack Opening! (Day 30) Silver Tempest Saturday #pokemontcgPokedge▶Opening NEW Silver Tempest Pokemon Cards! (First Look)PokeRev

Synthesized from widely-reported collector consensus — see a take that’s off? Use the report link on any card page.

Protect your Silver Tempest cards

This set has 1 cards worth $100+ — sleeve-and-toploader territory at minimum, and the chase cards deserve double-sleeving.

Affiliate links — purchases support CardPrice at no extra cost. Full guide: how to build & store a master set.

Where Silver Tempest goes from here

The honest supply read on Silver Tempest is that it was printed in large quantities as a late-era Sword & Shield set and sealed product remained widely available, so scarcity is not the story here — demand is. What sustains long-term interest is Lugia itself: it's a top-tier legendary with an alternate art collectors genuinely want and a competitive pedigree that keeps its name in circulation. That single-Pokémon gravity is the whole thesis, and it's a durable one, because Lugia demand doesn't depend on this set staying relevant.

The ceiling is the flip side of the same coin. Because value concentrates so heavily on a handful of Lugia printings, the rest of the set offers little independent upside, and healthy sealed supply caps how tight the market can get. Expect the alt-art Lugia V and top secrets to hold collector attention while the broader checklist stays affordable filler. As always, treat this as a collector's read rather than financial advice — buy the Lugia because you want it on your shelf, not because you're counting on it.

Not financial advice — live prices and trends are above, collect what you love.

Related Sword & Shield sets

Silver Tempest Trainer Gallery2022 · 30 cardsLost Origin2022 · 217 cardsLost Origin Trainer Gallery2022 · 30 cardsCrown Zenith Galarian Gallery2023 · 70 cards

Silver Tempest — frequently asked questions