Pokémon TCG Value Watch: Brilliant Stars in January 2026

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Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Brilliant Stars, pokemon, pokemon cards, Sword & Shield

Pokémon TCG Value Watch: Brilliant Stars in January 2026

Our monthly Pokémon TCG Value Watch series observes the Sinnoh-themed cards of Sword & Shield - Brilliant Stars in January 2026.

Published Sat, 31 Jan 2026 10:12:13 -0600
by Theo Dwyer
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Article Summary

  • Discover the top-valued Pokémon TCG Brilliant Stars cards as of January 2026 market prices
  • Charizard V Alternate Art continues to soar, nearly doubling in value since the Scarlet & Violet era
  • Trainer Gallery cards, especially Umbreon and Sylveon VMAX, have seen significant price increases
  • Brilliant Stars maintains collector interest, though less than sets like Evolving Skies in the current market

The Pokémon TCG is an ever-changing and unpredictable market. Over the past year, we have witnessed a significant surge of renewed interest in the hobby. The hype around the Alternate Arts of the Sword & Shield era and the Illustration Rares of the Scarlet & Violet era now continues in the new era, Mega Evolution. The Mega Evolution era continues the popular Illustration Rare and Special Illustration Rare cards while introducing Gold Hyper Rares as the rarest type of card that can be pulled from a booster pack. As packs become more and more difficult to get, it seems that the hobby is more popular than ever. Every month, I will do an installment of this series, Pokémon TCG Value Watch, to track the collector's market of modern sets. This series is not financial advice but is rather a way to help collectors know the trajectory of a card's availability so that Pokémon TCG completionists like myself know when to strike. Should you buy singles or packs? Is that chase card obtainable? Let's find out. Today, let's see how the cards of Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars, which came out in January 2022, are doing now, four years later, in January 2026.

Brilliant Stars top card. Credit: Pokémon TCG

Here are the top valued cards of Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars, with market values observed on TCGPlayer as of this writing:

  1. Charizard V Alternate Art 154/172: $243.61
  2. Charizard VSTAR Rainbow Rare 174/172: $57.65
  3. Arceus V Alternate Art 166/172: $48.36
  4. Charizard V Full Art 153/172: $23.64
  5. Ultra Ball Gold Secret Rare 186/172: $21.24
  6. Arceus VSTAR Gold Secret Rare 184/172: $15.39
  7. Galarian Moltres V Gold Secret Rare 183/172: $14.71
  8. Pikachu V Full Art 157/172: $12.55
  9. Arceus VSTAR Rainbow Rare 176/172: $11.24
  10. Galarian Articuno V Gold Secret Rare 181/172: $11.41

This Pokémon TCG expansion includes a Trainer Gallery subset. The top cards of this subset are:

  1. Umbreon VMAX Character Super Rare TG23/TG30: $76.12
  2. Sylveon VMAX Character Super Rare TG15/TG30: $56.06
  3. Mimikyu V Character Super Rare TG16/TG30: $54.80
  4. Umbreon V Character Super Rare TG23/TG30: $50.00
  5. Sylveon V Character Super Rare TG14/TG30: $46.28

It has been over a year since we checked in with this series. As time passes, collectors are still interested in Brilliant Stars, though not nearly as much as, say, Evolving Skies. Charizard V Alternate Art has gone up in value over time, going from a $120 card during the early Scarlet & Violet era to now inching toward $250 in the Mega Evolution era. Umbreon VMAX Character Super Rare from the Trainer Gallery, though, is the card to watch, as it has doubled in price, as has the Sylveon VMAX Character Super Rare. All of the Trainer Gallery Vs and VMAXes are up in this set.

Be sure to check Bleeding Cool every day to follow our in-depth Pokémon TCG coverage as we explore the hobby's past, present, and even future with upcoming set reveals.

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