30th Celebration Pull Rates Confirmed: Easiest SIRs Ever
We finally have real numbers. TCGplayer opened 3,000 English 30th Celebration booster packs and published the pull rates on September 23, 2026 — and the headline is that this is, by a wide margin, the friendliest Special Illustration Rare set of the modern era.
Here's what changes for anyone deciding whether to rip or buy singles.
The pull rates, by rarity
| Rarity | Pull rate | vs. Pitch Black |
|---|---|---|
| Special Illustration Rare | 1 in 21 packs | ~4x easier (Pitch Black: 1 in 80) |
| Illustration Rare | 1 in 5 packs | ~2x easier (Pitch Black: 1 in 9) |
| Classic Collection card | 1 in 10 packs | — |
| Mewtwo ex / Mew ex Futuristic Rare | 1 in 120 packs | ~1.5x rarer than a typical SIR |
| Mew (R/RGB, B/RGB, G/RGB) | Unconfirmed | At least 1 in 1,081+ packs |
TCGplayer's own read: "there has never been a set with such friendly pull rates for Special Illustration Rares." If you've been priced out of chasing SIRs in recent sets, this is the easiest one has been in a while.
Where the Mew RGB cards actually land
We flagged back in September that nobody had pull-rate numbers for the three Mew RGB secret rares, and that's still technically true — but we now know the floor. TCGplayer's 3,000-pack sample wasn't enough to pin down a rate for any of the three Mews, which puts them at gold-card rarity at minimum: for comparison, Pitch Black's Mega Darkrai ex gold card came in at 1 in 1,081 packs across a 4,000-pack sample, and that sample size was enough to measure it. Not landing a number on 3,000 packs means the Mews are rarer than that, not that they're unknowable forever — it would just take a much bigger sample to measure them precisely.
Practically: if you're chasing a specific Mew color, budget for a full case or more, or buy the card outright.
Most valuable cards, English vs. Japan
This is also the first set to release worldwide on the same day, so it's the first time anyone could compare English and Japanese secondary prices for the same cards head to head. Both markets agree on the top of the list.
| Rank | Card | English (TCGplayer) | Japan (Card Rush) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mew (Red/RGB) | ~$6,900* | ~¥648,000 (~$4,094) |
| 2 | Mew (Blue/RGB) | ~$5,499* | ~¥548,000 (~$3,462) |
| 3 | Mew (Green/RGB) | ~$3,997* | ~¥478,000 (~$3,020) |
| 4 | Lugia (Classic Collection) | ~$255 | ~¥26,800 (~$169) |
| 5 | Charizard (Classic Collection) | ~$185 | ~¥27,800 (~$176) |
*English Mew RGB prices are lowest-ask, not confirmed market sales — there isn't enough sales volume yet to call them settled prices.
Below the top five, the two markets diverge in the middle of the pack: English collectors are paying more of a premium for SIRs like Mew ex and Gengar ex, while Japan ranks the Base Set-style Pikachu and the Mewtwo Futuristic Rare relatively higher. Either way, Lugia and Charizard are the Classic Collection cards to know, and after the Mews, Pikachu and Gengar are the set's other chase pulls.
What this means if you're deciding whether to rip
Friendlier SIR and IR rates make packs a more reasonable way to chase mid-tier hits than they were in Pitch Black — 1 in 5 for an Illustration Rare is a real difference over a case. The Mew RGB cards are a different conversation entirely: they're a lottery-ticket chase, not a realistic per-box expectation, and the honest move is to treat any sealed product as pack-opening fun first and a long-shot chase second.
None of this is a reason to overpay on the secondary market for an unconfirmed-rate chase card, either. Buy sealed from a source you trust, at a fair price, and let the packs do what they do.
We carry authentic sealed 30th Celebration in both English and Japanese. See what's in stock.
Pull rates and prices above are as reported by TCGplayer and PokéBeach on September 23, 2026 and are directional — sample sizes grow and prices move, especially on cards this new.
Sources: PokéBeach — "30th Celebration" Pull Rates and Most Valuable Cards Worldwide, PokéBeach — Mew RGB Secret Rares Pulled From "30th Celebration", PokéBeach — "30th Celebration" English Set Guide.
