Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration Buyer Guide: Pokemon Center ETB
The Pokemon Center version of the 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is clearly the better box than the standard ETB. The question is whether it is better enough to justify whatever premium you have to pay to get one.
For collectors, I think the answer is yes within reason. The Pokemon Center ETB comes with 11 booster packs instead of nine, but the extra packs are not what makes the biggest difference. You also get two full-art Nidorina promos instead of one, with one of those cards carrying the Pokemon Center logo. That exclusive promo is the real reason I would choose this box over the standard version.
Pokemon officially confirms the 11-pack count and the two Nidorina promos.
What's Inside the Pokemon Center 30th Celebration ETB?
The Pokemon Center ETB starts with everything found in the regular box and adds the two extra booster packs and second Nidorina promo. Most of the accessories are exactly what you would expect from an ETB, so there is no reason to make this more complicated than it is.
The regular ETB contains nine packs and one full-art Nidorina. The Pokemon Center version gives you 11 packs and a second Nidorina with the Pokemon Center logo. Everything else is secondary to that comparison.
Pokemon Center ETB vs. Regular ETB
If I were choosing between the two at reasonable prices, I would take the Pokemon Center ETB without much hesitation. Two extra packs aren't a huge deal by themselves, but they're still two extra packs. Add an exclusive stamped promo on top of that and there is enough here to make the upgrade worthwhile.
Where I would hesitate is on the secondary market. There is a point where collectors start paying far more for the words "Pokemon Center" than the actual contents justify. If the price difference gets silly, those extra two packs certainly aren't going to save the math. At that point you are really paying the premium for the stamped Nidorina and the collectibility of the sealed Pokemon Center box.
The Pokemon Center ETB Nidorina Is the Reason Collectors Should Care
I think this is where the Pokemon Center ETB has a much better argument than simply offering a couple of extra packs. The stamped Nidorina is something you cannot get from the standard ETB, which gives collectors an actual reason to seek out this version rather than just buying whichever box happens to be available.
That doesn't mean the card is guaranteed to become expensive. We have no idea what the long-term market will decide, and I would not recommend buying the box because someone is promising that an anniversary promo will eventually explode in value. The much simpler argument is that collectors tend to care about exclusive versions, and this one is legitimately exclusive to the Pokemon Center product.
The artwork also fits the anniversary better than a random promo would. Nidorina is Pokemon No. 30 in the Pokedex, so using it for the 30th Celebration ETB isn't exactly subtle. That's fine. Sometimes the obvious choice is the right one.
Should You Open the Pokemon Center ETB?
If you're buying this because you want to open 30th Celebration, I would open it. Eleven packs gives you a solid opening, and keeping the Pokemon Center Nidorina trapped inside the box defeats part of the reason I find this version interesting in the first place.
Sealed collectors have a perfectly reasonable argument on the other side. Pokemon Center ETBs are already their own collecting category, and a 30th anniversary box with an exclusive stamped promo has obvious shelf appeal. I just wouldn't turn that into an investment thesis. Buy it sealed because you like collecting sealed Pokemon Center products, not because you're counting on somebody paying three times as much for it five years from now.
If your only goal is opening as many packs as possible, I would be more patient. The 30th Celebration Booster Bundle arrives in October with six packs and none of the extra ETB accessories, so pack-focused buyers will have another option after launch.
Is the Pokemon Center 30th Celebration ETB Worth Buying?
For me, yes, provided the price hasn't gotten ridiculous. The regular ETB is perfectly fine, but the Pokemon Center version gives collectors something materially different instead of simply changing the packaging. You get two more packs, another Nidorina promo and, most importantly, the exclusive Pokemon Center-stamped version.
Pokemon Center currently estimates that the 30th Celebration Pokemon Center ETB will ship in mid-September in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, while the 30th Celebration expansion itself releases worldwide on September 16.
If both ETBs are sitting in front of me at sensible prices, I'm taking the Pokemon Center box.
If somebody wants a massive secondary-market premium for it, I'm taking the regular ETB and sleeping just fine.
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