Pokémon Mystery Box: What's Inside and How to Read a Pack Before You Open

A Pokémon mystery box, also called a mystery pack, is a pack put together by a seller instead of the publisher. The seller picks the cards that can come out, including the top hits. When you open one online, the site draws your card from a listed pool and shows the result straight away.

On CARDZ, each draw in a Pokémon pack gives you one Pokémon card or one graded slab. It always comes from the pool shown on the pack page.

Mystery box vs sealed booster box

A sealed booster box comes from the publisher. It holds a set number of sealed packs, and its pull rates are set for the whole print run. Every shop sells the same product. The cards inside are raw, so if you want a slab, you send the card for grading yourself.

A mystery box is packed by the seller. The two differ in three ways:

• Who decides what is inside: the publisher for a booster box, the seller for a mystery box.
• What you get: a booster box gives you packs of raw cards. A mystery pack gives you one card per draw, and the pool can include graded slabs.
• What you can see first: a booster box tells you the set name. A mystery pack page can list every possible card and the odds.

Some CARDZ packs put sealed booster boxes in the pool, so you can open a mystery pack and get a box. You will find a few in the pack list below.

What can be inside a CARDZ Pokémon pack

Each pack page lists its own pool. The cards in it are one of two kinds:

• Raw cards: cards that have not been graded. Each listing shows a condition tier, and the card you receive meets that tier.
• Graded slabs: cards sealed in a grading company's case, with the grade on the label. The card you receive matches the grade and certification details shown.

The graded cards in today's Pokémon pools are PSA slabs, and most of them are PSA 10.

Pools are not all the same. Some hold only raw cards, some hold only PSA slabs, and some mix the two. The Umbreon Pack, for example, lists three Umbreon cards and a random raw Pokémon card. The Pikachu Pack puts PSA 10 Pikachu ex cards next to ungraded Pikachu ex promos.

Some packs go beyond single cards. CARDZ Original packs can include booster boxes, plushies and other collectibles. Some of them let you choose 1 to 5 draws in one opening.

CARDZ does not offer a grading service. To grade a raw card, request delivery first and send it in yourself.

How to read a Pokémon pack page before you open

Every CARDZ pack page shows the following before you pay. Check them in this order:

1. The full pool. Featured cards are only part of it, so look past them.
2. The grade on each card: PSA 10, another PSA grade, or raw.
3. The odds for each rarity tier, and the value range of each tier.
4. The number of draws in one opening.
5. Any minimum guarantee.
6. The remaining quantity, if the pack shows one.
7. Whether the pack uses Points or Gems. Cards opened with Gems are not eligible for buyback.

Once a pack is live, its pool and odds stay fixed. If something has to change, CARDZ pauses or ends that pack instead of editing it.

The draw uses SHA-256 with three inputs: a server seed, a client seed and a nonce. Staff cannot choose a player's result. The formula and reference code are on the RNG and Verifiable Fairness page.

What you can do with the card

You have three options after you open:

• Keep it in your Backpack, with no time limit and no storage fee.
• Convert it to Points at the buyback offer shown at the time. The offer can be much lower than what you paid for the pack.
• Ship it with tracking, by FedEx, DHL or, in some regions, Japan Post EMS. Raw cards travel in a sleeve and a top-loader. Slabs go in a fitted sleeve and bubble wrap.

For the full process, read How Online Pack Opening Works.

Pokémon packs on CARDZ

Each of these posts shows the featured cards of one pack:

• Charizard Pack: five PSA 10 Charizard cards lead the pool, including MEGA Charizard X ex MUR.
• Pikachu Pack: PSA 10 Pikachu ex cards and ungraded Pikachu ex promos.
• Umbreon Pack: Umbreon VMAX, Umbreon V SR and Umbreon ex SAR, plus a random raw Pokémon card.
• Mew Pack: five PSA 10 Mew cards, from Bubble Mew to Mew AR.
• Mewtwo Pack: Awakening: five PSA 10 Mewtwo cards, including Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex SAR.
• Greninja Pack: MEGA Greninja ex MUR and water-type PSA 10 cards, with raw cards in the pool. In the app it is called the Water Pack.
• Rayquaza Mystery Box: Japanese Blue Sky Stream (S7R) and M6 boxes are among the prizes.
• 50/50 Pack: each opening gives you an M6A box or an M6 box, with equal odds.
• M6a Anniversary: the top prize is 100 M6a boxes.

Packs change over time. See what you can open today on the CARDZ homepage.

FAQ

Is every card in a CARDZ Pokémon pack graded?

No. A pool can hold raw cards, PSA slabs or both. Each card in the pool shows its grade, or shows that it is raw.

Are the cards real?

Yes. CARDZ sources cards through established distribution channels, certified card shops, partner stores and private collectors. Items are inspected before they are listed. A graded card arrives matching the grade and certification details shown, and a raw card meets the condition tier shown.

Can the card be worth less than the pack?

Yes. Before you open, check the value range of each rarity tier and compare it with the pack price.

Who can open packs on CARDZ?

CARDZ is for players aged 18 and over. It is not available in places where this type of draw is prohibited.