Best Ascended Heroes Cards to Grade
The Ascended Heroes 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: Pikachu ex at an expected +$517.
Ranked by expected profit 21
| # | Card | Raw | PSA 9 | PSA 10 | Cost | Best case | Gem rate | Expected | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expected +$517 per submission: 64.5% of 6,111 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($2,070), and only a PSA 10 covers the $1,175 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $935 | $860 | $2,070 | $240 | +$895 | 64.5% | +$517 | 6,111 high |
| 2 | Expected +$476 per submission: 65.3% of 8,037 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($1,935), and only a PSA 10 covers the $1,131 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $893 | $840 | $1,935 | $238 | +$804 | 65.3% | +$476 | 8,037 high |
| 3 | Expected +$317 per submission: 64.3% of 4,502 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($1,175), and only a PSA 10 covers the $662 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $550 | $600 | $1,175 | $112 | +$513 | 64.3% | +$317 | 4,502 high |
| 4 | Expected +$258 per submission: 24.1% of 3,200 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($2,070), and only a PSA 10 covers the $615 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $375 | $348 | $2,070 | $240 | +$1,455 | 24.1% | +$258 | 3,200 high |
| 5 | Expected +$222 per submission: 69.6% of 3,127 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($720), and only a PSA 10 covers the $369 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $282 | $300 | $720 | $87 | +$351 | 69.6% | +$222 | 3,127 high |
| 6 | Expected +$213 per submission: 59.5% of 3,079 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($870), and only a PSA 10 covers the $435 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $346 | $315 | $870 | $89 | +$435 | 59.5% | +$213 | 3,079 high |
| 7 | Expected +$83 per submission: 20.3% of 1,454 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($1,127), and only a PSA 10 covers the $331 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $220 | $204 | $1,127 | $111 | +$796 | 20.3% | +$83 | 1,454 high |
| 8 | Expected +$62 per submission: 61.7% of 844 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($276), and only a PSA 10 covers the $158 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $75 | $138 | $276 | $83 | +$118 | 61.7% | +$62 | 844 high |
| 9 | Expected +$54 per submission: 63.2% of 3,636 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($270), and only a PSA 10 covers the $146 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $63 | $82 | $270 | $83 | +$124 | 63.2% | +$54 | 3,636 high |
| 10 | Expected +$37 per submission: 67.4% of 724 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($223), and only a PSA 10 covers the $132 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $50 | $59 | $223 | $82 | +$91 | 67.4% | +$37 | 724 high |
| 11 | Expected +$29 per submission: 67% of 1,622 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($312), and only a PSA 10 covers the $228 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $145 | $144 | $312 | $83 | +$84 | 67% | +$29 | 1,622 high |
| 12 | Expected +$23 per submission: 69.7% of 5,430 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($198), and only a PSA 10 covers the $132 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $50 | $56 | $198 | $82 | +$66 | 69.7% | +$23 | 5,430 high |
| 13 | Expected +$22 per submission: 66.3% of 1,218 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($312), and only a PSA 10 covers the $223 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $140 | $110 | $312 | $83 | +$89 | 66.3% | +$22 | 1,218 high |
| 14 | Expected +$6 per submission: 66.6% of 968 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($249), and only a PSA 10 covers the $196 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $114 | $108 | $249 | $82 | +$52 | 66.6% | +$6 | 968 high |
| 15 | Expected loss −$2 per submission: 45.8% of 192 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($180), and only a PSA 10 covers the $103 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $21 | $38 | $180 | $82 | +$78 | 45.8% | −$2 | 192 high |
| 16 | Expected loss −$2 per submission: 67.9% of 691 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($167), and only a PSA 10 covers the $137 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $55 | $67 | $167 | $82 | +$30 | 67.9% | −$2 | 691 high |
| 17 | Expected loss −$4 per submission: 67.2% of 3,777 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($153), and only a PSA 10 covers the $122 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $40 | $45 | $153 | $82 | +$31 | 67.2% | −$4 | 3,777 high |
| 18 | Expected loss −$7 per submission: 57.9% of 1,108 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($139), and only a PSA 10 covers the $101 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $20 | $35 | $139 | $81 | +$38 | 57.9% | −$7 | 1,108 high |
| 19 | Expected loss −$13 per submission: 51.3% of 357 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($153), and only a PSA 10 covers the $110 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $28 | $37 | $153 | $82 | +$43 | 51.3% | −$13 | 357 high |
| 20 | Expected loss −$26 per submission: 59.2% of 444 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($163), and only a PSA 10 covers the $147 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $65 | $58 | $163 | $82 | +$16 | 59.2% | −$26 | 444 high |
| 21 | Expected loss −$30 per submission: 59.6% of 443 graded copies came back PSA 10 ($145), and only a PSA 10 covers the $136 you have in it — a 9 loses money. Confidence high on that sample. | $55 | $50 | $145 | $81 | +$9 | 59.6% | −$30 | 443 high |
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 Ascended Heroes ranking
Every Ascended Heroes card listed here clears one bar: its PSA 10 price beats its raw price by more than the cost of grading it. 21 cards from the set pass. 21 of them (100%) have a gem-rate sample of at least ten graded copies in the population reports, and 14 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 Pikachu ex from Ascended Heroes, gems 64.5% of the time across 6,111 graded copies: +$517 is what a long run of submissions would average, $895 is what one lucky copy returns.
The median gem rate across the sampled Ascended Heroes cards is 64.3%. More than half of submitted copies came back PSA 10, and no row here covers raw price plus fee at PSA 9, so the gem rate decides whether a submission pays. Of the 21 ranked cards, 21 need a 10 to break even and 7 lose money on expectation. 21 rest on a hundred or more graded copies.
Before you submit a Ascended Heroes 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 Ascended Heroes card list, or see how gem-mint premiums run across the whole catalogue on the PSA premium index.