Should You Buy Ascended Heroes?

Ascended Heroes might be the best special set release in years.

This monster set will include a total of 290 cards, including 33 Illustration Rare cards, 22 Special Illustration Rare cards, and 7 of the new Attack Rare cards (similar in style to the Mega Charizard X card from the recently released Ultra Premium Collection box).

The question is: should you buy this new set at release?

I’ve spent a lot of time researching collectibles markets and helping collectors and investors get the most from their hard-earned collecting dollars. And the truth is: no matter how much experience you have, making predictions is hard.

Especially now.

We're currently experiencing a plateau in the market where prices have stabilized after a series of dramatic surges from November 2024 through September 2025. From here, the market could go either way.

It’s possible that this plateau is nothing more than a consolidation before the market surges again, fuelled by the 30th anniversary hype, and what I’m sure will continue to be a string of great set releases. But, I can just as easily see it represent the calm before the crash into a correction.

So, how should we navigate this upcoming release?

Here’s the good news: history tells us this kind of special set will perform well over the long-term.

For example: Crown Zenith.

Like Ascended Heroes, Crown Zenith included an absolutely massive collection of chase cards featuring some of the best artworks we’d seen in years. It also had great pull rates, and was extremely fun to open.

Today, sealed Crown Zenith ETBs sell for nearly $200 USD - 4 times the original MSRP price of $49.99.

Not bad for a set that’s not even 3 years old…

Crown Zenith was a great set.

And, since we expect Ascended Heroes will also be a great set, we might assume it will achieve similar high prices. Over the long-term, I agree.

But what we forget is that Crown Zenith was widely available below MSRP for much of its first two years, with prices as low as $30 on eBay a year after release. A stark contrast to today's $200 market price.

The lesson is clear: just because a set is great, doesn’t mean it will be expensive in the year after its release.

But, other sets prove this isn’t a guarantee.

Prismatic Evolutions was another special set with a ton of great hits. It was also a great set. But, unlike Crown Zenith, Prismatic Evolutions was never cheap. It was expensive at release and has stayed expensive ever since.

These were both great sets, but they followed completely different price trajectories.

The difference?

It comes down to the phase of the Collectibles Cycle the market was in when each set was released.

Crown Zenith released on January 20th, 2023, as the English market was settling into the Dormant Phase. At that time, the Pokémon company had significantly ramped up their printing volumes, and Crown Zenith was reprinted heavily, driving prices down.

Prismatic Evolutions, on the other hand, launched into the Boom Phase of January 17th, 2025. The market had already risen significantly over the prior months and, as a great set, the growing Pokémon audience, fuelled by the boom, drove prices ever higher in the months that followed.

To date, The Pokémon Company has never produced enough Prismatic Evolutions to meet the high demand of the boom, and prices have remained high.

Which brings us to the upcoming release of Ascended Heroes on January 30th, 2026.

Should you be investing in this new set when it releases?

In my opinion: no. This is a time to watch the market.

Based on the Collectibles Cycle framework: we entered the Boom Phase in November 2024. Most booms last 12-18 months, putting the Ascended Heroes’ January 2026 release at roughly the 14-month mark. Historically, this is late-stage boom territory, exactly when The Pokémon Company tends to flood the market with supply.

As a result, planning to invest in Ascended Heroes at release is a gamble. You’re betting that The Pokémon Company will continue to under-print relative to demand, despite a long history of doing the opposite.

Now, I’ll admit: The Pokémon Company printed fewer total cards in 2024 than the previous year, and appears to have shown restraint throughout 2025. Some collectors believe the lack of major reprints in 2025 represents a true strategy shift, and that we shouldn’t expect overprinting of new sets.

I'm not convinced.

We shouldn’t ignore Pokémon’s history of massive print volumes in response to booming markets. Without a clear signal from The Pokémon Company that they are limiting the supply, or without more time demonstrating their restraint, I won’t be making that bet and will instead bide my time for a better purchasing opportunity for Ascended Heroes over the coming year.

If you're a collector who wants this set, I understand you’ll probably buy some products you can enjoy opening. I’ll probably do that too. But, as an investor: I will skip building positions now.

I realize my suggestions of “patience” and “wait and see” is becoming a recurring theme in my newsletters. But the fundamentals haven't changed: we're in late-stage boom territory, and history shows this is when The Pokémon Company floods the market. When the cycle shifts and we enter the Dormant Phase again, I'll be the first to tell you it's time to buy.

What are your thoughts on Ascended Heroes? Are you sitting this one out, or do you think this time is different? Reply and let me know—I read every response.

As usual,

Thanks so much for reading the TCG Buyers Club newsletter. My name’s Grey, I buy cardboard, and I’m on a mission to make collecting and investing in Pokémon simple.

Cheers 🍻

P.S. I feel like an important caveat here is that the PC ETB products, ordered directly from the Pokémon Center for MSRP, continue to be a good buy. I was happy to have secured my 2 box pre-order for Ascended Heroes and I hope you were able to get yours as well!