Five EX Legend Maker cards clearly justify grading fees: the three Gold Stars — Regice 90/92, Regirock 91/92 and Registeel 92/92 — plus Mew ex 88/92 and the secret-rare Delta Species Pikachu 93/92. Outside those five, most cards in the set only make sense to grade in flawless condition. EX Legend Maker is a 92-card set released February 13, 2006, near the end of the EX era. Its value is concentrated at the top of the checklist, and the gap between raw and graded prices on those top cards is unusually wide — which is exactly what makes grading worthwhile.
Table of Contents
- The three Gold Stars lead the set
- Why PSA 10 copies command such a premium
- Mew ex is the biggest multiplier — with one trap
- The secret-rare Pikachu
- What about the rest of the set?
- Frequently Asked Questions
The three Gold Stars lead the set
Gold Star cards are alternate-color holos with the Pokemon's art breaking out of the frame, pulled at roughly one or two per box in this era. Legend Maker's three — Regice 90/92, Regirock 91/92 and Registeel 92/92 — are numbered into the main set and are its undisputed chase cards. Regirock shows the strongest grading math. Per PokePrices.io pricing data, it runs roughly $678 raw against about $11,200 in PSA 10 — a 16.5× premium.
Registeel supports similar top-grade money: PSA's auction-prices archive records a PSA 10 English copy realizing $9,000 on eBay in August 2025. Regice is the entry point of the trio, with ungraded copies around $700–800 as of mid-2026 according to Bill's Archive. At those raw prices, a grading fee is a rounding error. The Gold Stars are worth grading at almost any grade — a PSA 7 Regirock has been listed at $1,999.99, so even a mid-grade result comfortably clears the cost of submission.
Why PSA 10 copies command such a premium
The premium is a population story. Pikawiz's PSA population report shows that of 1,342 PSA-graded Regice Gold Star copies, only 59 are PSA 10 — a gem rate near 4%. That low rate reflects how the cards were made.
2006 EX-era holos scratch easily on the holofoil and show edge whitening on the reverse, so most copies that look clean to the naked eye come back PSA 8 or 9. A card fighting 4% odds at the top grade means gem copies stay scarce no matter how many get submitted. For a submitter, the practical read is twofold. The upside of hitting a 10 is enormous, but you should price your expectations at 8 or 9 — which, on these particular cards, still clears the grading fee by a wide margin.
Mew ex is the biggest multiplier — with one trap
Mew ex 88/92 is the set's most iconic regular ex, and it has the widest raw-to-gem spread in the set. PokePrices.io puts it near $151 raw but about $9,800 in PSA 10 — roughly a 65× premium — with PSA 10 prices up 80.7% over the 30 days before the September 2026 snapshot. The trap: Mew ex was reprinted in 2021's Celebrations Classic Collection with identical artwork and numbering, and per TCGplayer the reprint sells for about $20 raw.
Check for the Celebrations 25th anniversary logo before you pay a grading fee — a graded reprint will never recoup the cost the way the 2006 print does. That 65× multiplier cuts both ways. A $151 raw card that grades PSA 8 is a much thinner result than a Gold Star at the same grade, so Mew ex rewards submitting only genuinely clean copies.
The secret-rare Pikachu
Delta Species Pikachu 93/92 is the set's secret rare — a Pikachu holding a wrench, numbered past the set total. Per Sports Card Investor's sales tracking, near-mint raw copies last sold around $282.
That puts it comfortably past the threshold where grading fees make sense, and it carries a second tailwind: Pikachu is its own collecting category, and this is a low-population entry in it. Pikachu specialists compete for graded copies independently of Legend Maker set collectors.
What about the rest of the set?
Outside the five cards above, the math gets thin fast. Arcanine ex 83/92 is representative: PriceCharting shows it around $138 ungraded, with graded copies only bringing roughly $120–700 depending on grade.
A PSA 8 there can sell for less than the raw card plus the grading fee. A quick checklist before submitting any Legend Maker card: For the borderline ex cards, inspect the holofoil under direct light before deciding. Surface scratches invisible at a glance are the most common reason a 2006 holo misses the grade that would have made the submission profitable.
- Is it one of the three Gold Stars? Grade it in almost any presentable condition.
- Is it Mew ex? Confirm it is the 2006 print (no Celebrations logo), then grade only clean copies.
- Is it the 93/92 Pikachu? Near-mint copies justify the fee.
- Anything else, including the other ex holos: grade only if it is flawless — pack-fresh surfaces, sharp corners, centered.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I tell the 2006 Mew ex from the Celebrations reprint?
The 2021 Celebrations Classic Collection copy carries the 25th anniversary logo on the card face; the 2006 original does not. Same art, same 88/92 number, roughly $20 versus $151 raw per TCGplayer and PokePrices.io.
Is a Gold Star still worth grading if it has visible wear?
Generally yes. Mid-grade examples hold real value — a PSA 7 Regirock has been listed at $1,999.99 — so even a worn Gold Star typically clears the grading fee.
What grade should I realistically expect on a clean Legend Maker holo?
Plan for PSA 8 or 9. Pikawiz's population data shows only about 4% of graded Regice Gold Stars reached PSA 10, because these holos scratch and whiten easily.
You Might Also Like
- Which EX Unseen Forces Pokemon Cards Are Worth Grading?
- Which EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua Pokemon Cards Are Worth Grading?
- Which EX Sandstorm Pokemon Cards Are Worth Grading?