Right now: the best rip in Sword & Shield is the Booster Pack at $10.69 against $5.34 of expected pulls — a −58% margin after ~15% selling fees. Figures refresh every two hours.
Sword & Shield base set opened the era on February 7, 2020, introducing V and VMAX cards to the game. Zacian V is its flagship — a card that was both the deck staple and the collector pull of early 2020 — with the set's golds and rainbows behind it.
The pack template it established ran for three years: reverse slot, holo slot, hit slot. By community estimates, about 1 in 9 packs upgrades the hit slot beyond a baseline holo, full arts land near 1 in 12 packs, and gold secrets around 1 in 100. The chase list is shallow by later standards, though — this set predates alternate arts entirely, and the era's biggest money cards all live in the expansions that followed.
What props up sealed base set is era-opener nostalgia, the same force that keeps first sets of every generation expensive. Whether the cards inside justify it is a math question, and the live tables below answer it product by product.
Sealed products: price vs. expected value
| Product | Margin after ~15% fees | Market price | EV of pulls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Booster Pack | −58% | $10.69 | $5.34 |
| Elite Trainer Box | −77% | $155.78 | $42.73 |
| Booster Box (36 packs) | −76% | $689.16 | $192.31 |
| Build & Battle Box | −78% | $82.64 | $21.37 |
Pull-rate model
Sword & Shield packs hold 10 cards; the slots below are the ones that carry value.
| Slot | Outcome | Est. chance |
|---|---|---|
| Reverse Holo | Reverse Holo | 100% |
| Holo Rare slot | Rare Holo | 66% |
| Holo Rare slot | Rare Holo V | 27% |
| Holo Rare slot | Rare Holo VMAX | 7% |
| Hit slot | Holo Rare (baseline) | 89% |
| Hit slot | Full / Alt Art | 8% |
| Hit slot | Rainbow Rare | 2% |
| Hit slot | Gold Secret | 1% |
Community-estimated rates — no publisher discloses official pull odds. The calculator prices each outcome from live singles data.
FAQ
What did the Sword & Shield base set introduce?
V and VMAX cards, the core mechanics of the whole era, on release day February 7, 2020. Alternate arts came later — this set has none.
What's the main chase in Sword & Shield base?
Zacian V and its premium versions headline, with the set's gold secrets and rainbow rares forming the rarest tier. The chase depth is thin compared to later SWSH sets.
How many packs are in Sword & Shield base products?
36 in a booster box, 8 in the Elite Trainer Box, 4 in the Build & Battle Box. Every pack contains 10 cards.
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