Cardfather

TCG Collector chasing grails

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

@supadupasayan You’re right. Manga Booster was the first all-foil set, I mixed that up. What I meant was ST01 is the first time the commons have the Dragon Ball pattern foil. Appreciate you catching it.

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

The quiet chase in Story Booster 01 is not only Vegito.

Japan has had ST01 since 8 August. English hit 21 August. Bandai built this set like a collection: every common has a Dragon Ball foil, alt leaders are foiled on both sides for the first time, and there are 12 energy markers that only exist in this box. Each marker also has an alt. The alts are frameless scene cards.

Here is the number. On 21 August, the alt of marker E-157 settled around ¥207,000 on Japanese sold data. It peaked at ¥208,000 on 15 August. The regular Vegito secret from the same set was selling closer to ¥11,000 that same week. Week-one shop lists had the Super Alt Vegito much higher, and they still had this marker on the chase board next to it.

So if you open ST01 for the binder, keep the markers. They are not extras. They are why this set feels different from a normal FB box.

Which marker are you actually hunting?

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

@bookoff_tcg Book Off doing a lottery for Brightness of Hope on 12 September tells you Japan is already treating this as a real release. English is 16 October. I want that energy in English shops too. Good luck to everyone who entered.

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

@DokkanEssential A Vegito from the Legends side showing up in Fusion World is exactly why FB11 already feels different. Shallot, Giblet, and Shallet are the first Legends originals in this game. If you like this collab, October 16 is the English box date

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

@TheFishou Fourth at Madrid and a seat at Europeans is a big week. Congratulations

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

I get the serialized talk, and I still love the rest of the set. This month the quiet chase in Japan has been Story Booster energy markers, not only the numbered cards. Super Alt Vegito was huge, and marker E-157 was already around ¥400,000. Fusion World is deeper than the serials

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

@cliffeur E-150 is one of the reasons I started treating markers as real cards. In the Japanese week-one list, several ST01 and Manga markers were already priced like chase, and E-150 sat in that group. You picked a gorgeous one

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

This is the first time I have seen the Shallot God Rare in person and it looks like a real chase. FB11 is the first Fusion World set with Dragon Ball Legends originals on paper: Shallot, Giblet, and Shallet. Japan gets the box on 12 September, English on 16 October. This is the card I want out of that case

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

These twelve sleeve arts are part of why ST01 feels like a collector set. Bandai also put twelve energy markers in this box that do not exist anywhere else, and the alt versions are frameless scene cards. I have not seen Fusion World give a set this many looks at once. I am collecting the sleeves and the markers together

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

I think I just found Fusion World’s Year 4 mechanic seven months before release.

New wholesale listings for the unannounced FB13 reveal:

• a completely new mechanic
• potentially the most Leader Cards in Fusion World history
• more Super Alt-Art Leaders than ever
The FS15 deck launching alongside it will use the same mechanic and is described as being packed with Goku and Vegeta’s many iconic forms.
My theory:

Leader Evolution.

Instead of only Awakening once, your Leader may progress through multiple forms during the game.

That would explain why the new mechanic requires more Leader Cards and why FS15 revolves around different Goku and Vegeta forms.

FB13 releases March 12, 2027.

Bandai has not even added FB13 or FS15 to its official product page yet.

Did we just get the Year 4 mechanic seven months early, or what else could connect all these clues?

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

@adakaiTCG @JerezaDrawsNear Stunning art!!

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

@AndyCollectz The art is reason enough to buy 😍

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

Fusion World did not turn me into a collector with a God Rare or a serialized card.

It did it with a participation promo.

And I believe that promo will eventually become a $10,000+ card.

That sounds excessive until you understand what FP-034 actually represents.

Before this card, I saw Fusion World as another modern Bandai TCG using a legendary IP.

FP-034 changed my perspective. It showed me that Fusion World’s best cards can become physical archives of Dragon Ball history.

That is why this belongs in every serious Fusion World collection.

It is a Dragon Ball artifact first.

This is original Akira Toriyama manga artwork, not a modern anime redraw.

The same illustration appears on Dragon Ball 3-in-1 Edition Vol. 9, which contains Volumes 25, 26 and 27.

That is the climax of Namek and the birth of Super Saiyan Goku, one of the most important transformations in manga history, preserved through Toriyama’s own artwork.

Its provenance cannot be recreated by another booster chase.

The English card entered circulation through Limited Pack MANGA Version 01, distributed as a participation prize during the 40th Anniversary Event Vol.1 from August 29 to September 25, 2025.

It was never available inside normal retail booster boxes.

Each event pack contained only one of nine possible manga parallels.

That gives it three permanent historical anchors:

Dragon Ball’s 40th anniversary.
Organized-play distribution.
The first Limited Pack MANGA release.

Even the underlying card was already meaningful.

FP-034 originally debuted as the FB05 New Adventure release-event participation promo in February 2025.

It was also a genuinely strong card: a 25,000-power double attacker for Goku leaders that could self-awaken by taking life into hand.

Bandai then selected that already recognizable promo for the Toriyama manga parallel.

It is essentially an event parallel of an event promo.

The demand comes from multiple collector groups.

Goku.
Original Toriyama artwork.
Super Saiyan.
Planet Namek.
40th anniversary.
English event distribution.
MANGA Version 01.

Most modern chase cards depend on collectors continuing to care about one set.

FP-034 appeals to Fusion World collectors, Goku collectors, manga collectors and Dragon Ball anniversary collectors independently.

PSA had graded 202 copies when I checked, with 194 receiving a 10.

That proves its growth is not being manufactured by an artificial condition bottleneck. Collectors are paying for the identity and provenance of the card itself.

The market has already moved from roughly $175 in late March to around $780, with 196 verified sales and a 139% increase over 90 days.

I do not believe that is the end of the move. I believe it is the beginning of the market recognizing what this card is.

My minimum long-term target is $10,000.

FP-034 is the card that changed me from someone watching Fusion World into someone collecting its history.

If one card has to explain why Fusion World deserves to be collected, this is mine.

Is $10,000 too high, or am I still thinking too small?

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

@Mr_Leadfoot97 @beckettcollect Congrats on the black label! 4x 9.5 hurt 😭

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

@dbs_10_10

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

@OldTownJB Bidding on both, still at an discount if you see the long term vision 🤣

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

@mr8mil A must have 😉

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

Possibly the most controversial conclusion from this thread:

The Bandai supercycle is a cleaner thesis for Bandai Namco stock than for most Bandai cards.

Bandai’s latest quarter strengthens the company thesis:

- Toys & Hobby sales up 31%
- Segment profit up 89%
- Global TCG market share already ranked #3
- More production capacity planned
- Naruto joining an already massive IP portfolio

Every one of those catalysts benefits Bandai directly.
None of them guarantees that a specific booster box or card appreciates.
Bandai makes more money by printing and selling more product. Collectors only make money when demand for what they own grows faster than the available supply.
Those incentives can directly conflict.

Bandai can dominate TCGs, One Piece can keep growing, Naruto can explode and company profits can hit records while generic Fusion World sealed still underperforms.

Collectors also do not receive a bigger budget every time Bandai launches another game. The same capital, shelf space, grading budget and attention now gets divided between One Piece, Dragon Ball, Gundam, Naruto and the rest.

So I agree with the supercycle.

But the company thesis alone is not enough. Every card position still needs a separate case for fixed supply, cultural importance and irreplaceability.

Which raises the question:

Why is the optimal five year trade 10 different card positions instead of Bandai Namco stock plus 2- 3 genuinely unreproducible grails?

[Cardfather @CardfatherTCG]

This might be one of the biggest early Riftbound opportunities so far, and entering costs nothing.

Riot is releasing only 10,125 English T1 Worlds Champion Signature Edition boxes.

Each box contains five exclusive T1 cards featuring Faker, Doran, Gumayusi, Keria and Oner.

One of the five cards is guaranteed to be serialized /2025 with a gold-stamped player signature.

The price is $360, but you cannot simply buy one. Riot is randomly selecting who gets the opportunity to purchase it.

This is what makes it interesting:

You can enter for free and only decide whether to buy after being selected. There is basically no reason not to enter.

How to get one:

1. Create or log into your Riot account
2. Verify the email connected to it
3. Register between August 14 and August 17
4. Check your emails from August 20 onwards
5. If selected, you have 24 hours to purchase

Do not use multiple accounts. Riot can disqualify all of your entries if they detect it.

This combines T1, Faker, serialized cards, exclusive artwork and a permanently limited print run. I expect demand to be significantly higher than supply.

Obviously, profit is never guaranteed. But getting selected at retail is a completely different risk/reward than buying one from resellers later.

Bookmark this so you do not miss the registration window.