Space-Time Smackdown Palkia Pack Chase Cards - Top 10 Most Valuable
The Palkia Pack from Space-Time Smackdown offers powerful Water-type Pokemon, iconic Sinnoh Trainer cards, and the breathtaking Crown Rare Palkia EX. Our guide covers every chase card, current pricing, and opening strategy.
Palkia Pack Overview: The Water-Type Powerhouse
The Palkia Pack represents the Water-type half of the Space-Time Smackdown expansion, released alongside the Dialga Pack in January 2025. While the Dialga Pack may have the higher overall market value, the Palkia Pack has carved out its own dedicated following among Water-type enthusiasts, Sinnoh region fans, and collectors who appreciate some of the most beautiful Full Art cards in PTCGP. The pack's headliner is Palkia EX, a Water-type Legendary Pokemon whose Spatial Rend attack can hit any of your opponent's Pokemon for a massive 150 damage, bypassing the Active Pokemon entirely. This ability to snipe benched Pokemon makes Palkia EX one of the most strategically complex cards in the game, rewarding careful planning and energy management. The Palkia Pack's card pool includes a diverse range of Pokemon spanning multiple types. Manaphy adds early-game Water support with its ability to accelerate Water energy. Rotom provides utility with its type-shifting ability that adapts to whatever Supporters your opponent plays. Gastrodon and Staraptor offer solid mid-game options for Water and Normal-type decks respectively. Luxray EX serves as the pack's Electric-type EX, filling an important role for Lightning-type strategies. Togekiss brings Fairy-type presence with its Serene Grace ability that makes coin flips land in your favor. The Palkia Pack also features two of the most anticipated Full Art Trainer cards in PTCGP history: Full Art Cynthia and Full Art Volkner. Cynthia, the beloved Champion of Sinnoh, is one of the most popular characters in the entire Pokemon franchise, and her Full Art card commands premium prices on the trading market. The card features Cynthia in her iconic black-and-white champion outfit with Garchomp at her side, rendered in PTCGP's signature Full Art style with extended borderless artwork. Full Art Volkner, the Sunyshore City Gym Leader, appeals to Electric-type enthusiasts and fans of the Sinnoh games. Together, these Trainer cards make the Palkia Pack an essential opening for character collectors.
Top Chase Cards and Market Analysis
The Crown Rare Palkia EX (A2-116) leads the Palkia Pack's value chart with a market price of approximately $320.00. While this trails the Dialga EX Crown Rare by about $30, it is still one of the most valuable cards in all of PTCGP. The Crown Rare Palkia features the same premium treatment as its Dialga counterpart: a gold metallic border, an embossed crown emblem, and full-card holographic foil. The card's artwork depicts Palkia emerging from a spatial distortion, with pink and purple energy swirling around its pearl-adorned body. The Immersive Art Palkia EX (A2-115) at $170.00 offers one of the most stunning visual experiences in the game. When activated, the card transforms into a panoramic view of Palkia reshaping space itself, with galaxies and nebulae swirling around the Legendary Pokemon as it manipulates the fabric of reality. This immersive animation alone makes the Palkia Pack worth opening for collectors who appreciate the artistic achievement of these cards. The Full Art Palkia EX (A2-114) at $60.00 provides excellent value, featuring a dynamic underwater-style background with Palkia in a commanding pose. The standard Palkia EX (A2-113) at $22.00 is the most accessible version and, like all EX cards, offers identical gameplay to its premium variants. The real story in the Palkia Pack's market is Full Art Cynthia (A2-123), which has surged to $55.00 and continues to trend upward. Cynthia is arguably the most popular human character in the Pokemon franchise, and her Full Art card is a must-have for character collectors. The card's value has been driven by high demand from both competitive players who want the card for gameplay and collectors who simply want to own one of the most iconic Trainer cards in the game. Full Art Volkner (A2-124) at $35.00 rounds out the Trainer card offerings, with steady demand from Electric-type deck builders. Among the non-EX Pokemon, Luxray EX (A2-121) at $20.00 is the most valuable, serving as a strong Electric-type attacker. Togekiss (A2-122) at $8.00 is a solid budget option for Fairy-type decks. Manaphy (A2-117) at $6.00 has surprising utility as a Water-energy accelerator. Rotom (A2-118) at $4.00 and Gastrodon (A2-119) at $5.00 and Staraptor (A2-120) at $5.00 round out the lower end of the value spectrum but are essential for completing the set.
Palkia vs Dialga: Which Pack Should You Open?
The decision between opening the Palkia Pack or the Dialga Pack depends entirely on your goals as a player or collector. For competitive players, the Dialga Pack edges ahead slightly due to the universal usefulness of its Tool cards (Rocky Helmet, Choice Band) and the broader applicability of Darkrai EX across multiple deck types. However, if you are building a Water-type deck specifically, the Palkia Pack is the clear choice. Palkia EX is the most powerful Water-type attacker in the game, its Spatial Rend ability giving it reach that no other Water card can match. The pack also contains Manaphy, which is invaluable for accelerating Water energy, and Gastrodon provides a solid mid-game option. For collectors, the choice is more nuanced. The Dialga Pack offers higher peak value with the $350 Crown Rare Dialga EX, but the Palkia Pack counters with Full Art Cynthia, which holds better relative value compared to the Dialga Pack's Full Art Trainer cards. Cynthia's $55 market price is higher than both Full Art Cyrus ($45) and Full Art Dawn ($40), reflecting her broader appeal as a character. If you are a Sinnoh region fan specifically, the Palkia Pack is the better choice as it features both Cynthia and Volkner, the two most iconic human characters from Diamond and Pearl. The Immersive Art cards in both packs are equally impressive, with Dialga's time-manipulation animation and Palkia's space-warping animation both ranking as top-tier immersive experiences. Price-wise, opening the Palkia Pack is slightly more cost-effective if you are chasing specific Trainer cards. Full Art Cynthia at $55 offers better ROI potential than Full Art Cyrus at $45, and the gap may widen as PTCGP's player base continues to discover and appreciate Cynthia card. The long-term collectibility of Cynthia cards is well-established in the physical Pokemon TCG, where Cynthia Full Art cards from the Ultra Prism era fetch hundreds of dollars in graded condition. We expect a similar trajectory for PTCGP's Cynthia Full Art.
Long-Term Investment Outlook for Palkia Cards
The Palkia Pack offers some of the best long-term investment potential of any PTCGP set currently available. The key thesis is character nostalgia: the Sinnoh region (Diamond, Pearl, Platinum) represents the childhood era of a massive demographic of current Pokemon fans, and cards featuring Sinnoh characters enjoy a nostalgia premium that tends to increase over time. Full Art Cynthia is the standout investment card from this pack. Her popularity as a character is enduring, she is consistently ranked as the most popular Champion in the Pokemon series, and her Full Art card from PTCGP is both visually stunning and competitively playable. We project Full Art Cynthia to appreciate to $80-100 within the next 12 months, especially as the trading system matures and card supply becomes more constrained as players leave the game. The Crown Rare Palkia EX at $320 is a stable store of value. Crown Rare cards have demonstrated consistent appreciation across all PTCGP sets, and Palkia EX benefits from being the flagship card of an entire pack. The Immersive Art Palkia EX at $170 is similarly well-positioned, as Immersive cards are exclusive to their respective packs and cannot be crafted, ensuring that supply will never increase. For budget-conscious investors, the standard Palkia EX at $22 is a low-risk entry point. While it will not see dramatic appreciation, it is unlikely to lose significant value given its competitive utility. Luxray EX at $20 is another solid mid-range investment, as Electric-type support cards from subsequent sets could revitalize interest in Luxray at any time. The primary risk to Palkia Pack values is power creep from future expansions. If more powerful Water-type EX cards are released, demand for Palkia EX could diminish. However, the unique ability of Spatial Rend to target benched Pokemon provides a degree of future-proofing that most other EX cards lack. Additionally, the character-driven value of Cynthia and Volkner is largely independent of competitive metagame shifts, providing a stable floor for the pack's overall value proposition.
Top Chase Cards & Current Prices
The most valuable and sought-after cards from this set, ranked by current market value.
Palkia EX (Crown Rare)
#A2-116 / Crown$320.00
Gold metallic Crown Rare with embossed crown emblem. Features Palkia emerging from a spatial distortion with pink and purple energy swirls.
Palkia EX (Immersive)
#A2-115 / Immersive$170.00
Full-screen immersive animation of Palkia reshaping reality with galaxies and nebulae. One of PTCGP's most stunning visual experiences.
Palkia EX (Full Art)
#A2-114 / ♢♢♢♢$60.00
Full Art variant with an underwater-style background. Dynamic action pose with extended borderless artwork.
Palkia EX
#A2-113 / ♢♢♢♢$22.00
Base EX version with Spatial Rend attack that hits any Pokemon for 150 damage ignoring the Active Pokemon. Identical gameplay to premium variants.
Full Art Cynthia
#A2-123 / ♢♢♢♢$55.00
Full Art Supporter featuring the Sinnoh Champion. One of the most popular Trainer cards in PTCGP. Strong investment potential.
Full Art Volkner
#A2-124 / ♢♢♢♢$35.00
Full Art Supporter of the Sunyshore Gym Leader. Electric-type support card with strong character appeal for Sinnoh fans.
Luxray EX
#A2-121 / ♢♢♢♢$20.00
Electric-type EX attacker with strong damage output. Fills an important role in Lightning-type competitive strategies.
Togekiss
#A2-122 / ♢♢♢♢$8.00
Fairy-type Pokemon with Serene Grace ability that improves coin flip odds. Budget option for Fairy-type decks.
Manaphy
#A2-117 / ♢♢♢$6.00
Water-type support Pokemon that accelerates Water energy. Essential for fast Water deck setups despite its low price.
Gastrodon
#A2-119 / ♢♢♢$5.00
Water/Ground-type offering solid mid-game options. Good filler card for Water and Ground hybrid decks.
Staraptor
#A2-120 / ♢♢♢$5.00
Normal/Flying-type with Brave Bird attack. Useful in Normal-type decks and as a budget close-range option.
Rotom
#A2-118 / ♢♢$4.00
Type-shifting Pokemon whose ability adapts to opponent Supporters. Unique utility card for tech-focused decks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Palkia EX better than Dialga EX?
They fill different roles. Palkia EX's Spatial Rend snipes benched Pokemon for 150 damage, while Dialga EX's Time Control gives an extra turn. Palkia has higher strategic depth; Dialga has more straightforward power.
Why is Full Art Cynthia so expensive?
Cynthia is one of the most popular Pokemon characters as the Sinnoh Champion. Her Full Art card combines competitive utility with massive character appeal, driving strong demand from both players and collectors.
What are the best decks using Palkia Pack cards?
Palkia EX Water-box decks pair Palkia with Manaphy for energy acceleration. Luxray EX fits into Lightning-type decks. Togekiss sees play in Fairy-type and coin-flip strategy decks.
Can I pull Dialga cards from the Palkia Pack?
No. Dialga and Palkia cards are exclusive to their respective packs. You must open Dialga Packs for Dialga EX and Palkia Packs for Palkia EX. They share the same expansion but have separate card pools.
TCG Desk
Expert reviewer at Verdict — testing AI productivity tools since 2023.
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