Psyduck (Neo Destiny) has become a card to watch. In the last month, the price of a lightly played version of this card has increased from about $6 to $10. Card prices for vintage have generally been increasing, but this Psyduck is unique. As a common card, many people pulled it when Neo Destiny premiered. As a kid, I pulled ten or twenty of these cards. Now, these cards are helping me get illustration rares and other interesting cards that I want for my collection through trading.
In Pokémon, it’s not too hard to see which cards will become expensive. Usually, a card is expensive for any combination of reasons. Let’s see how this Psyduck fairs against the more common reasons.
The Pokemon is popular: Psyduck is very popular. It’s a Pokémon from the first Generation that was heavily feature in the anime as a comic relief character. Psyduck also had a very popular trainer in Misty, which lead to Psyduck getting a lot of air time in the first seasons of the anime.
The illustrator is popular: Yuka Morii is a highly sought after illustrator. She creates clay figurines of the subject Pokémon and snaps a picture in a setting that fits the Pokémon or set. Cards illustrated with clay figures are very unique in a trading card game where the vast majority of illustrators create a setting either drawing by hand or digitally. There are only three artists that have created clay cards and two of them have a very low card count, while Morii is one of the most prevalent artists in the Pokémon TCG. I’ve come across many people hunting cards illustrated by Morii. The popularity of this art has helped increase this Psyduck card’s value.
Rarity: This card is a common card.
Era: This card is from the second generation of Pokémon and is around 25 years old. As a vintage card from one of the earliest eras of the TCG, this card is becoming harder to find, increasing it’s value.
This Psyduck card will continue to become more expensive as time marches forward and our hair grays with age. Investors may want to check this card out if they want a good long term play. Vintage Psyducks will likely continue to accumulate value as the cards age and considering Psyduck’s popularity, it’s far more likely to retain its value than less popular Pokémon. I recommend collectors to grab this card the first chance they get before it gets too expensive like the Psyduck from Aquapolis (the second English e-reader set), which I’ve seen surpass the $50 mark. Paying anything more than a few dollars for a common card is disgusting, making this card quite mean for collectors. I consider myself lucky that I pulled so many of these cards.
