This Week in the TCG World: October 6, 2026

Welcome back to This Week in the TCG World, our weekly roundup of the stories that matter to collectors. Each edition covers the biggest moves across Pokemon, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, sports cards and the grading industry. Last edition we covered a PSA 10 Art Academy Mudkip promo selling for US$3.72 million; this week a Pikachu from the same 2015 Art Academy promo family more than doubled it. A PSA 10 copy of the Japanese Art Academy Fujishima Pikachu, known to collectors as Raincoat Pikachu, sold for US$8.4 million including buyer's premium on September 28 through Fanatics Collect, per Yahoo. The auction drew 64 bids, per Kotaku, and the result is the second highest publicly reported price for a Pokemon card, behind only the US$16.49 million PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator sold in February.

The card was the winning entry in the "Dress-Up Pikachu" category of a Pokemon Art Academy competition, and the winners received 100 officially printed copies that were never sold publicly, per Yahoo. Rarity alone does not explain the price: PSA lists 57 copies at PSA 10, per Kotaku, and a PSA 10 sold for US$19,200 in 2025, per Yahoo. For Australian collectors, the takeaway is that one auction sets a price for one copy on one day, not a value for every copy in existence. What does hold its value across every sale is the condition that earned the grade in the first place.

We reported Beckett reopening its Base and Standard grading tiers on September 15 after a six-week pause; that reopening has already ended. Beckett Grading Services has stopped accepting new Base and Standard submissions again, less than two weeks after bringing both back, per Heavy.com on September 26. Express, at US$79.95 a card with a 15-business-day turnaround estimate, is the only tier still taking new orders.

There is no announced date for Base or Standard to return; instead Beckett is directing collectors to a waitlist that will notify them when those tiers reopen, per Heavy.com. Beckett.com and the Beckett mobile app also remain offline while the company completes what it describes as digital infrastructure improvements. For Australian collectors weighing a Beckett submission, the practical choice right now is Express or waiting, and with turnaround uncertain everywhere, it pays to send only cards whose condition you are already confident in.

Wizards of the Coast announced on October 5 that boosters will change starting with Nauctis: The Sunken Realm, the first Magic set of 2027, and continuing with each Magic Multiverse set after it, per the official Magic site. Play Boosters are now just called Booster Packs, and 1 in every 1,000 Booster Packs will contain 14 rare or mythic rare cards plus a God Pack celebration card. Collector Boosters get their own God Pack at 1 in every 300 packs, with a celebration card, a foil land and 11 rare or mythic rare cards across foil and Booster Fun treatments.

To make room, Wizards is removing foil common and uncommon cards from Booster Packs, and Collector Boosters lose two commons and one uncommon from their foil slots. "None of these changes come with any adjustments to prices," Wizards wrote, and Universes Beyond sets are expected to follow in 2028. A pack with 14 rares in it is the kind of opening that gets photographed, graded and sold quickly, and every one of those cards will be worth more if it goes straight from the pack into a sleeve.

Upper Deck launched Upper Deck Moments on October 1, a print-on-demand program that turns significant sports and entertainment events into cards available shortly after they happen, per the company's announcement. The first Moment marks Evan Bouchard becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to score five or more points in a season opener, and the first defenseman in 46 years to record a hat trick in a season-opening game. Cards start at US$6.99 on e-Pack, with a Gold Parallel delivered as a bonus at pack opening and serial-numbered Red (25), Blue (10) and Black (one-of-one) parallels, plus autograph parallels numbered to five and a one-of-one Black Autograph.

Collectors can open packs straight away, manage and trade the cards digitally, ship physical cards home or sell them through connected retailer The Authority. "One of our most important goals in creating products is turning memorable moments into keepsake collectibles," Upper Deck President Jason Masherah said. A card printed to order still has to survive the trip from the printer to your collection, and anything numbered to 10 or fewer is worth checking the moment it arrives.

We first flagged Mega Evolution: Delta Reign's November date back in August; the new detail this week is what prerelease players will walk away with. Prerelease events start October 24 at select Play! Pokemon stores, with players building 40-card decks from Build and Battle Boxes, with four foil promos, Masquerain, Magmortar, Enamorus and Kommo-o, one to a box, per ICv2 and Screen Rant. The set itself releases November 6 with more than 135 cards, including over 20 Trainer cards and more than 35 cards with special illustrations, led by Mega Rayquaza ex alongside Mega Golurk ex, Mega Malamar ex and Mega Golisopod ex, per the official Pokemon site.

The set also introduces Legendary Stadium cards, Stadium cards played as a pair that form one extended artwork when placed side by side, with booster packs including both halves, per PokeGuardian. ICv2 reports the initial preorder wave at Pokemon Center sold out as fast as it opened. Australian players can find participating stores through the official Play! Pokemon event locator. A two-part artwork is only as good as its weaker half, so if you are planning to keep a Legendary Stadium pair together, keep both cards in equally good shape.

Five stories, one theme: what you actually get when you open or order. A Pikachu printed 100 times sold for US$8.4 million, Beckett narrowed its grading menu back to Express, Magic rebuilt what goes inside a booster, Upper Deck started printing cards to order, and Delta Reign's prerelease promos were revealed. Whatever your collection is heading towards next, a submission, a sale or just a shelf, the state a card is in when it gets there is the part you control. If a card in your collection needs professional attention before it faces a grader or a buyer, that is exactly what the Lab is for.