Best Raikou Cards to Grade
The Raikou cards worth grading, ranked by expected profit per submission — every grade outcome weighted by how often the card actually receives it — after current grading fees. The PSA 10 best case is shown on every row but does not decide the order. Top pick: Raikou ☆ (Unseen Forces) at an expected +$6,639.
Ranked by expected profit 17
| # | Card | Raw | PSA 9 | PSA 10 | Cost | Best case | Gem rate | Expected | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expected +$6,639 per submission: 9.9% of 3,889 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($63,050), and a PSA 9 ($4,320) still clears the $5,422 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $1,772 | $4,320 | $63,050 | $3,650 | +$57,628 | 9.9% | +$6,639 | 3,889 high |
| 2 | Expected +$5,044 per submission: 2.8% of 611 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($117,900), and a PSA 9 ($5,500) still clears the $6,472 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $274 | $5,500 | $117,900 | $6,198 | +$111,428 | 2.8% | +$5,044 | 611 high |
| 3 | Expected +$3,972 per submission: 18% of 870 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($21,000), and a PSA 9 ($2,013) still clears the $1,777 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $548 | $2,013 | $21,000 | $1,229 | +$19,223 | 18% | +$3,972 | 870 high |
| 4 | Expected +$1,261 per submission: 4.1% of 1,874 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($26,500), and a PSA 9 ($2,053) still clears the $2,632 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $348 | $2,053 | $26,500 | $2,284 | +$23,868 | 4.1% | +$1,261 | 1,874 high |
| 5 | Expected +$1,022 per submission: 2.8% of 672 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($22,800), and a PSA 9 ($1,800) still clears the $1,408 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $161 | $1,800 | $22,800 | $1,247 | +$21,392 | 2.8% | +$1,022 | 672 high |
| 6 | Expected +$979 per submission: 4.9% of 1,047 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($13,800), and a PSA 9 ($2,071) still clears the $1,499 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $342 | $2,071 | $13,800 | $1,157 | +$12,301 | 4.9% | +$979 | 1,047 high |
| 7 | Expected +$412 per submission: 2% of 707 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($9,999), and a PSA 9 ($1,500) still clears the $891 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $172 | $1,500 | $9,999 | $719 | +$9,108 | 2% | +$412 | 707 high |
| 8 | Expected +$395 per submission: 1.4% of 69 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($26,293), and a PSA 9 ($1,150) still clears the $2,550 you have in it. Confidence medium on that sample. | $268 | $1,150 | $26,293 | $2,282 | +$23,743 | 1.4% | +$395 | 69 medium |
| 9 | Expected +$277 per submission: 5% of 662 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($3,535), and a PSA 9 ($1,020) still clears the $524 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $120 | $1,020 | $3,535 | $404 | +$3,011 | 5% | +$277 | 662 high |
| 10 | Expected +$209 per submission: 39.9% of 271 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($689), and a PSA 9 ($166) still clears the $150 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $63 | $166 | $689 | $87 | +$539 | 39.9% | +$209 | 271 high |
| 11 | Expected +$128 per submission: 2.9% of 680 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($2,130), and a PSA 9 ($700) still clears the $385 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $145 | $700 | $2,130 | $240 | +$1,745 | 2.9% | +$128 | 680 high |
| 12 | Expected +$47 per submission: 35.1% of 450 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($228), and a PSA 9 ($113) still clears the $91 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $9 | $113 | $228 | $82 | +$136 | 35.1% | +$47 | 450 high |
| 13 | Expected +$21 per submission: 6.4% of 187 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($805), and a PSA 9 ($250) still clears the $128 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $40 | $250 | $805 | $88 | +$677 | 6.4% | +$21 | 187 high |
| 14 | Expected loss −$6 per submission: 20.7% of 338 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($277), and only a PSA 10 covers the $100 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $17 | $60 | $277 | $83 | +$178 | 20.7% | −$6 | 338 high |
| 15 | Expected loss −$7 per submission: 56.4% of 25,710 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($174), and only a PSA 10 covers the $127 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $45 | $52 | $174 | $82 | +$47 | 56.4% | −$7 | 25,710 high |
| 16 | Expected loss −$50 per submission: 0% of 23 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($160), and a PSA 9 ($110) still clears the $104 you have in it. Confidence low on that sample. | $22 | $110 | $160 | $82 | +$56 | 0% | −$50 | 23 low |
| 17 | Expected loss −$65 per submission: 0.6% of 2,896 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($3,104), and a PSA 9 ($444) still clears the $561 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $161 | $444 | $3,104 | $400 | +$2,542 | 0.6% | −$65 | 2,896 high |
Best case only — no gem-rate evidence 1
Fewer than 10 graded copies in the PSA and CGC population reports. They clear the grading cost if they gem — that is all the numbers support.
| # | Card | Raw | PSA 9 | PSA 10 | Cost | Best case | Gem rate | Expected | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | $12 | — | $95 | $81 | +$2 | — | — | none <10 |
Expected = every grade outcome weighted by its share of the card's graded population, minus the raw price and the grading cost (PSA tier fee for the graded value plus ~$20 round-trip shipping, fees as of 2026-09-26). Best case is the PSA 10 leg alone. Gem rates come from a self-selected population — collectors grade their cleanest copies — so read them as an upper bound. Raw is a blended market price, not a sale of your copy. Full method and filters on the grading index.
How to read the Raikou ranking
Every Raikou card listed here clears one bar: its PSA 10 price beats its raw price by more than the cost of grading it. 18 Raikou printings pass. 17 of them (94%) have a gem-rate sample of at least ten graded copies in the population reports, and 13 of those keep a positive expected value once every grade outcome is weighted by how often the card actually receives it.
The order is expected profit, not the PSA 10 best case, which rewards the widest raw-to-gem gap whether the card gems one time in two or one in fifty. Here the top row, the Raikou ☆ from Unseen Forces, gems 9.9% of the time across 3,889 graded copies: +$6,639 is what a long run of submissions would average, $57,628 is what one lucky copy returns.
The median gem rate across the sampled Raikou cards is 4.9%. Roughly one submitted copy in 20 came back PSA 10, and most rows here still cover raw price plus fee at PSA 9, so the PSA 9 price does most of the work. Of the 17 ranked cards, 15 still cover raw price plus fee at PSA 9, 2 need a 10 to break even and 4 lose money on expectation. 15 rest on a hundred or more graded copies.
1 card sits below the ranking with a best case only, fewer than ten graded copies. The largest best case among them is the Raikou from 30th Celebration: Classic Collection at +$2.
Before you submit a Raikou card
Grading pays on condition. The four things every grader scores — centering, corners, edges and surface — can be checked at home before paying a fee, and a copy that is visibly off-centre or has a whitened corner will not gem whatever the population says. Those gem rates come from a self-selected population of clean copies, so a random copy does worse.
The cost column assumes a PSA submission at the tier covering the card's PSA 10 value, fees as of 2026-09-26, and raw is CardTrack's blended near-mint price, not a sale of your copy: pay more, or hold a lighter copy, and the break-even moves against you. Test a card with your own numbers in the ROI calculator, see the printings that fail the bar on the Raikou card list, or see how gem-mint premiums run across the whole catalogue on the PSA premium index.