Best Scyther Cards to Grade
The Scyther 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: Rocket's Scyther ex (Team Rocket Returns) at an expected +$1,222.
Ranked by expected profit 13
| # | Card | Raw | PSA 9 | PSA 10 | Cost | Best case | Gem rate | Expected | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expected +$1,222 per submission: 5.5% of 976 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($16,400), and a PSA 9 ($1,982) still clears the $1,660 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $477 | $1,982 | $16,400 | $1,183 | +$14,740 | 5.5% | +$1,222 | 976 high |
| 2 | Expected +$543 per submission: 3.3% of 2,044 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($9,999), and a PSA 9 ($1,650) still clears the $884 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $165 | $1,650 | $9,999 | $719 | +$9,115 | 3.3% | +$543 | 2,044 high |
| 3 | Expected +$448 per submission: 5.6% of 284 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($8,000), and a PSA 9 ($315) still clears the $726 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $27 | $315 | $8,000 | $699 | +$7,274 | 5.6% | +$448 | 284 high |
| 4 | Expected +$143 per submission: 40.9% of 132 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($400), and a PSA 9 ($152) still clears the $104 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $20 | $152 | $400 | $84 | +$296 | 40.9% | +$143 | 132 high |
| 5 | Expected +$12 per submission: 39.7% of 78 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($250), and only a PSA 10 covers the $122 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence medium on that sample. | $40 | $79 | $250 | $82 | +$128 | 39.7% | +$12 | 78 medium |
| 6 | Expected loss −$10 per submission: 32.5% of 329 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($203), and only a PSA 10 covers the $92 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $10 | $22 | $203 | $82 | +$111 | 32.5% | −$10 | 329 high |
| 7 | Expected loss −$14 per submission: 1.5% of 6,120 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($2,849), and a PSA 9 ($145) still clears the $447 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $50 | $145 | $2,849 | $397 | +$2,401 | 1.5% | −$14 | 6,120 high |
| 8 | Expected loss −$21 per submission: 59.6% of 2,933 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($100), and only a PSA 10 covers the $91 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $10 | $29 | $100 | $81 | +$9 | 59.6% | −$21 | 2,933 high |
| 9 | Expected loss −$24 per submission: 22.4% of 49 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($182), and only a PSA 10 covers the $89 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence medium on that sample. | $7 | $33 | $182 | $82 | +$93 | 22.4% | −$24 | 49 medium |
| 10 | Expected loss −$25 per submission: 1% of 3,458 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($2,950), and a PSA 9 ($152) still clears the $431 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $32 | $152 | $2,950 | $399 | +$2,519 | 1% | −$25 | 3,458 high |
| 11 | Expected loss −$36 per submission: 17.7% of 62 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($200), and only a PSA 10 covers the $89 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence medium on that sample. | $7 | $26 | $200 | $82 | +$111 | 17.7% | −$36 | 62 medium |
| 12 | Expected loss −$38 per submission: 10.6% of 734 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($224), and only a PSA 10 covers the $95 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $13 | $60 | $224 | $82 | +$129 | 10.6% | −$38 | 734 high |
| 13 | Expected loss −$40 per submission: 1.3% of 3,368 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($2,640), and a PSA 9 ($302) still clears the $518 you have in it. Confidence high on that sample. | $123 | $302 | $2,640 | $395 | +$2,122 | 1.3% | −$40 | 3,368 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | $56 | — | $500 | $85 | +$359 | — | — | 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 Scyther ranking
Every Scyther card listed here clears one bar: its PSA 10 price beats its raw price by more than the cost of grading it. 14 Scyther printings pass. 13 of them (93%) have a gem-rate sample of at least ten graded copies in the population reports, and 5 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 Rocket's Scyther ex from Team Rocket Returns, gems 5.5% of the time across 976 graded copies: +$1,222 is what a long run of submissions would average, $14,740 is what one lucky copy returns.
The median gem rate across the sampled Scyther cards is 10.6%. Roughly one submitted copy in 9 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 13 ranked cards, 7 still cover raw price plus fee at PSA 9, 6 need a 10 to break even and 8 lose money on expectation. 10 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 Scyther from Wizards Black Star Promos at +$359.
Before you submit a Scyther 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 Scyther card list, or see how gem-mint premiums run across the whole catalogue on the PSA premium index.