What to buy: An Elite Trainer Box ($40-50 at retail) A few booster packs ($4-5 each) if you just want to test the waters A booster bundle for a better value-per-pack ratio Budget range: $5 for a single pack to $150 for a booster box The catch: Modern cards are printed in enormous quantities, which means most individual cards won't appreciate significantly
Their rarity, coupled with the nostalgia they evoke, plays a significant role
Not especially splashy, but a 2-drop with a relevant creature type is hard to be mad at
In the end, I don't know what happened
Still not figured that one out, as I look at my Gardevoir Mega Evolution SIR, unable to work out whether to file it in my Gardevoir section of the binder, or upload it to CardMarket.
Using a microscope or magnifier, you may find out that the original card has a multi-layered print