Roaring Moon ex Special Illustration Rare #251

And here it is. The big time. A non-Charizard that’s fetching crazy money for a small piece of mass-printed cardboard. To buy the SIR version of Roaring Moon ex today, you’re going to need to spend at least $108

Why? Because capitalism. In all its glory, frankly. False scarcity combined with memetic desire, attached to just the tiniest soupcon of actual usefulness. Oh, and it’s so damned pretty that surely—surely—this’ll be the card that finally sees TPCi realizing the vast fortunes to be made by selling large-scale posters of the very best card art. Which Pokémon-loving kid wouldn’t want this on their bedroom wall?

Roaring Moon is also at the beating heart of the TCG’s meta. The Ancient Paradox Pokémon can knock out your opponent’s active Pokémon in one hit, for just three Energy, at the cost of doing 200 damage to its own HP. As a suicide attack, it’s perfect. But spot a weak opponent unable to attack back next turn, and with some Sweet Honey and Cooks on hand, you can have this healed back up to continue dishing out its Calamity Storm 100+ attack, reaching 220 if there’s a Stadium to discard. What better way to wipe the smug smile off a Lost Zone player’s face?

So yes, welcome back Dark Patch (and all the required accompanying wet-yourself jokes). And thank you, Ryota Murayama, for one of the prettiest cards in over a thousandty-million years.

If this does cut into the meta as expected, don’t expect this to get much cheaper any time soon. Unfortunately, the ridiculous price on this SIR has a cascading effect, meaning the hideous gold card is $19, the full-art Ultra Rare the same, and the basic ex a whopping $13. It’s a disappointing premium that comes with any V/ex that dominates the game, meaning a deck built around it is either going to require some fortuitous pulls, or an outlay of $52 just to get the four cards to start you off. Hopefully TPCi will see their way to nerfing these prices with a Roaring Moon Battle Deck release in the near future.