VAULT JOURNAL · SET DEEP DIVE · MARCH 2026

Start Deck 100: The MEGA Series' Best Kept Secret

A format unlike anything else in the lineup - and some of the most exclusive cards in the MEGA era.

THE FORMAT

Not a Booster Box

Before anything else: this is not a booster box. The Start Deck 100 Battle Collection is a fundamentally different product from the booster-based sets that make up the rest of the MEGA Series. You're not pulling individual cards from randomised packs. You're pulling an entire preconstructed 60-card deck from a pool of 102 possible builds - and you don't know which one you're getting until you open it. Think of it less like buying a booster box and more like buying a lottery ticket where every ticket wins something playable.

The pool includes 100 standard decks, one secret Deck #101, and one extremely rare gold variant of Deck #001. Every deck contains 60 cards plus a damage counter and marker sheet. Every deck is guaranteed at least two Pokemon ex. The total card pool across all 102 decks exceeds 742 unique cards, with 57 being entirely new to the TCG. Released December 19, 2025, it sits between MEGA Dream ex and Nihil Zero on the release calendar - a wildcard product with a collector profile all its own.

Most people browsing Japanese Pokemon products online scroll straight past it. It doesn't look like a traditional booster product. It doesn't photograph the same way. It doesn't have the same kind of box art that makes you stop and pick it up. That's exactly why it's worth writing about - because what's inside is genuinely one of the most interesting collector propositions in the entire MEGA era.

THE SECRET DECKS

Deck #101 and the Gold Variant

Every deck in the pool is playable and every deck contains at least two Pokemon ex. But the real collector intrigue lives in two pulls that sit outside the standard 100.

Deck #101 is the headline chase. It contains Super Rare versions of the three Johto starter Mega evolutions - Mega Meganium ex, Mega Emboar ex, and Mega Feraligatr ex - all in the same deck. These three cards are exclusive to this pull. They don't appear in any booster set. Based on community data from a 1,000-deck sample, Deck #101 appeared approximately four times - a pull rate of roughly 0.4%. That's four chances in a thousand.

Then there's the gold variant. A special version of Deck #001 contains a gold-etched Mega Charizard Y ex as a Master Ultra Rare - the MUR of this product. Within the same 1,000-deck community sample, it was not confirmed pulled. Its actual rarity remains unquantified, and that uncertainty is part of what makes it one of the most talked-about cards in the MEGA Series.

That scarcity is genuine. The gold Mega Charizard Y ex has traded at levels that place it among the most valuable singles in the entire MEGA era - a card whose rarity is extreme, not just marketed as such. Inferno X gave us Mega Charizard X. Start Deck 100 gives us Mega Charizard Y. For collectors who want both forms, this product is the only path to the second.

EXCLUSIVITY

Cards You Can't Get Anywhere Else

This is the detail that elevates Start Deck 100 from a curiosity into something essential for serious MEGA era collectors. Several of the product's most notable cards are not reprinted in any booster set. The Johto starter Megas in their SR forms exist only within Deck #101. The gold Mega Charizard Y ex MUR exists only within the Deck #001 variant. Mega Charizard Y ex itself - in any form - debuted here, not in a booster set. None of these cards can be chased through conventional booster box openings.

That matters. If you're building a complete collection across the MEGA Series and you're only buying booster boxes, you're missing cards. Start Deck 100 fills gaps that no other product in the lineup can fill. The Johto starter trio - Meganium, Emboar, and Feraligatr as Mega evolutions - had never appeared in the TCG before this release. They debuted here, and their premium versions stayed here.

For most products, "exclusive" is a marketing word. Here, it's a structural fact. These cards are mechanically unavailable through any other sealed product.

THE CARDS THAT MATTER

Beyond the Secret Decks

The secret decks get the attention, but Start Deck 100 has significant collector cards spread across the standard pulls too. You don't need to hit Deck #101 to open something worth keeping.

Lillie's Clefairy ex (found in Deck #032) is the marquee single from the standard deck pool. Illustrated by Naoki Saito, it carries what the collector community calls the "Saito Tax" - a consistent pricing premium driven entirely by the illustrator's following. Saito cards hold value differently from other artist pulls. They attract a collector base that treats the illustrator as the draw, not just the Pokemon. This card is no exception.

Boss's Orders featuring Karasuba (localised as Corbeau in the English release) is a card driven by both competitive play and character popularity. As a staple Supporter in competitive decks and a fan-favourite character from Legends: Z-A, the full art version commands strong demand from two distinct buyer pools - a rare overlap that keeps the card relevant across both markets.

Pikachu ex carries the weight you'd expect from any premium Pikachu illustration - it's Pikachu, it's a SAR, and it has broad cross-generational appeal. These cards don't need explaining. They hold value because demand never goes away.

The Art Rare pool rounds out the collector appeal. Eevee and Erika's Tangela are standouts - both are the kind of cards that look better in hand than on screen, which is increasingly rare in an era where most collecting happens through product images. The AR treatment across the set is consistent and well-executed, giving the standard deck pulls genuine visual quality beyond the headline chase cards.

THE VERDICT

Who This Is For

Start Deck 100 appeals to a specific kind of collector. If you only buy booster boxes and evaluate products purely on pull rate per yen, this isn't for you. The odds on the secret decks are long, and the standard pulls - while playable and genuinely enjoyable - don't deliver the same dopamine hit as cracking a booster box with guaranteed SR-or-better pulls.

But if you appreciate the lottery mechanic, if you enjoy the idea of pulling an entire ready-to-play deck without knowing what's inside, and if the thought of cards that are structurally unavailable through any other product appeals to you - this is one of the most interesting things in the MEGA era. It's also worth noting that every single deck is immediately playable with a guaranteed pair of Pokemon ex. There are no dead pulls. Even the "worst" outcome is a functional, ready-to-shuffle deck.

The MEGA Series has given us some exceptional booster sets. MEGA Dream ex is the most considered. Inferno X has the Charizard. Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia launched the era. But Start Deck 100 is the release that does something nobody else in the lineup even attempts. It changes the format entirely - and in doing so, it created a corner of the MEGA era that rewards a different kind of collector's instinct.

For a complete guide to this product's full card pool, notable cards, and set list, visit the Start Deck 100 Set Information page.

-SV