Gengar VMAX's alternate-art secret rare (#271/264) is the Fusion Strike card most worth grading, followed by the Espeon VMAX and Mew VMAX secret rares, plus a handful of lower-cost V cards that gain far more than they cost to submit. The right answer depends on the card's raw price, its PSA gem rate, and how much a PSA 10 actually sells for compared to a raw copy. Fusion Strike, a 2021 Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion, built its chase tier around three alternate-art "secret rare" versions of VMAX cards numbered above the set's printed count of 264. Those three — Gengar, Espeon, and Mew — carry most of the set's grading value, but several budget V cards and even a few commons can clear their grading fee if the raw copy is already close to flawless.
Table of Contents
- Gengar VMAX #271/264 — the set's top grading target
- Espeon VMAX and Mew VMAX — the next tier
- How gem rates change the math
- Budget V cards that are worth the gamble
- Which cards fall short of the grading fee
- Frequently Asked Questions
Gengar VMAX #271/264 — the set's top grading target
Gengar VMAX's alternate-art secret rare is Fusion Strike's single biggest grading opportunity. Card Codex's price tracker shows the raw card trading in a roughly $805–$1,032 range, while PSA 10 copies have sold for about $2,476–$2,619 — more than double the raw price even at the low end. That gap is real money, but it moves.
PokePrices.io tracked the same raw card falling 9.6% over a recent 30-day span even while bouncing between $805 and over $1,032 across different snapshots. Anyone deciding whether to submit this card should check current pricing right before sending it in, not rely on a figure from weeks earlier. The economics still favor grading for most clean copies: even near the bottom of its price swings, a raw Gengar VMAX sits well below what a PSA 10 commands. The open question is less "is it worth grading" and more "does this specific copy have a real shot at a 10," which the next section addresses.
Espeon VMAX and Mew VMAX — the next tier
Espeon VMAX's alternate-art secret rare (#270/264) ranks as Fusion Strike's second most valuable grading target. Pokeinvest.io's population report, refreshed September 4, 2026, counts 20,972 total PSA grades for the card, with 12,559 of them PSA 10s. Mew VMAX's alternate-art secret rare (#269/264) sits third in the chase tier.
Sports Card Investor's price guide recorded a tracked PSA 10 sale closing at $350 in late 2024, while individual eBay auctions for PSA 10 copies have reached $650 to $1,000. The spread between that tracked sale and the higher auction results shows how much a single buyer's demand can move price for a card outside the top two chase slots. Both cards share the same basic case for grading as Gengar VMAX: they're expensive enough raw, and valuable enough as a PSA 10, that the premium can justify a submission fee. The decision still comes down to condition and gem-rate odds, covered next.
How gem rates change the math
A gem rate is the share of submitted copies that come back a perfect PSA 10 rather than a 9 or lower. For Gengar VMAX #271, Pack Magik's population data puts that rate at roughly 49.3% to 53.2% — around 14,000 to 14,800 PSA 10s out of the total grades on file. Espeon VMAX runs higher, at 59.9% per Pokeinvest's tracker. Those numbers matter because a PSA 9 sells for a fraction of a PSA 10 on these cards.
Card Codex's population data frames the practical risk plainly: with chase alt-art gem rates clustering between about 49% and 60%, a submitter faces a 40% or greater chance of landing a 9 or lower on any given copy. That risk cuts against the raw-to-PSA-10 price gaps described above. A card that looks like a clear win on price alone — say, a raw copy trading hundreds below its PSA 10 value — is still a near coin-flip bet on outcome. Checking the card under strong light for whitening, print lines, or surface scratches before submitting is the only way to improve those odds beyond the population average.
Budget V cards that are worth the gamble
Grading isn't limited to the three secret rares. PokePrices.io tracks several regular V cards — Pikachu V (#86), Mew V (#113), Lucario V (#146), and Tynamo (#95) — selling raw for under $5, with recent PSA 10 sold listings running roughly $30 to $195.
That multiple is the appeal: a $3 raw card that returns as a PSA 10 selling for $100 has turned a small investment plus a grading fee into a meaningful profit, even accounting for the chance of a lower grade. These cards don't carry population data as detailed as the secret rares, so the safest approach is to treat the $30–$195 range as the ceiling, not a guarantee, and to only submit copies that already look gem-mint by eye.
Which cards fall short of the grading fee
Not every Fusion Strike card clears the bar. PokePrices.io lists common and uncommon cards like Goodra (#197) and Primeape (#134) selling raw for under $1, with PSA 10 sold listings around $30 to $32.
A $25 grading fee against a $30–$32 ceiling leaves almost no margin, and that ceiling only applies to a card that grades a perfect 10. A 9 or lower on either card is likely to sell for close to nothing above the raw price, turning the submission into a loss. These cards are only worth sending in when the raw copy is already flawless and the owner is grading several cards in the same batch, spreading shipping and handling costs across more submissions.
- Gengar, Espeon, and Mew VMAX secret rares: strong case for grading on price alone, but roughly a 40%–51% chance of landing below a PSA 10.
- Budget V cards (Pikachu, Mew, Lucario, Tynamo): low raw cost makes grading a reasonable bet even without full population data.
- Commons/uncommons (Goodra, Primeape): only worth grading if the raw copy is already near-perfect, since the PSA 10 ceiling barely covers the fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a Fusion Strike card worth submitting for grading?
A wide gap between the raw price and PSA 10 sale price, combined with a gem rate high enough that a 10 is a realistic outcome rather than a long shot.
Why does Gengar VMAX's price matter for a grading decision today versus last month?
Its raw price swung between roughly $805 and over $1,032 and dropped 9.6% over a recent 30-day stretch, per PokePrices.io, so a decision based on older pricing can misjudge the current payoff.
Are common and uncommon Fusion Strike cards ever worth grading?
Only if the raw copy already looks flawless — cards like Goodra and Primeape sell raw for under $1 but their PSA 10 ceiling of about $30-$32 barely covers a typical grading fee.
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