Should I open a Phantasmal Flames (English) Elite Trainer Box?
The cards inside a Phantasmal Flames (English) Elite Trainer Box are worth an estimated $34.90 on average over many rips after selling fees, 0.24× its sealed price of $148. A typical single rip lands around $19.66 ($17.67–$22.13). On the average value it's worth more sealed: sell it sealed, or open one only if you can buy it for under $34.90.
English · Elite Trainer Box · 9 packs · released 2025-11-14
Pull rates are estimated from opening tallies, not official odds. 36 of 36 cards in the big-hit rarities have a recent price. Card prices as of 2026-10-06 · sealed price as of 2026-09-28.
On the average estimate ripping returns 0.24× of what you pay; selling it sealed gets you 0.88× after fees. If you want to open one, buy it under $34.90.
The verdict uses the expected value (the average over many rips) and is for someone who already owns it, so it does not change with the price you type. That price drives the multiples above and the break-even below.
Buying it to open? Break-even is $34.90: below that, opening is expected to pay off; your $148 is above it. Even so, if you already own one, selling it sealed ($130 after fees) beats opening it ($34.90). At the launch price ($49.99) a rip returns 0.70×.
Rip it, pack by pack
Open this Elite Trainer Box with real cards at real odds. Values are each card’s recent median sold price.
What's in the Elite Trainer Box
Estimated copies per product from published pull rates; value per copy = the median recent price of that rarity in this set (outliers left out), with the range from its cheaper to pricier cards.
| Rarity | Copies | Average card | Range | Priced | Adds | Best cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special illustration rare / SAR | 0.11 | $146 | $18.99–$24.98 | 5/5 | $16.41 | Mega Charizard X EX $647, Dawn $24.98, Mega Sharpedo EX $19.99 |
| Illustration rare / art rare | 1.0 | $5.51 | $3.00–$5.17 | 13/13 | $5.51 | Meowth $14.95, Piplup $14.00, Wigglytuff $5.30 |
| Ultra rare / full art | 0.75 | $3.99 | $1.99–$2.99 | 17/17 | $2.99 | Mega Charizard X EX $29.99, Dawn $5.00, Mega Lopunny EX $3.00 |
| Double rare (ex / V / GX) | 1.8 | $1.30 | $0.59–$1.40 | 10/10 | $2.34 | Mega Charizard X EX $4.68, Mega Gengar EX $1.99, Mega Diancie EX $1.46 |
| Mega hyper rare | 0.01 | $301 | – | 1/1 | $2.15 | Mega Charizard X EX $301 |
Sealed price: PriceCharting sold prices, 2026-09-28. Pull data: Pull rates: TCGplayer / community open-rate tallies.
How we work it out
Card prices. Every card is valued at the median of its recent confirmed sales (eBay, Yahoo! Auctions JP, Mercari, TCGplayer), ungraded, converted to USD. A card with no recent sales has no price (never $0). For each rarity tier we leave out cards priced far outside the rest (a single mispriced chase card can’t move it) and take the median of the others, with the lower and upper quartile as the cheaper and pricier ends. A tier is priced from its cards only when at least 30% of them have a price; otherwise it counts as bulk. Each product page says how many cards had a price and the date the prices were taken.
What’s inside (estimated). Japanese boxes follow per-box hit counts from large opening tallies (hundreds of boxes per set), because Japanese boxes are close to guaranteed. English products use published pull rates per pack, because English boxes have no guarantees. Both are estimates from tallies and published rates, not official odds.
The answer. Cards inside = copies you expect of each rarity × its price, plus bulk, minus 12% selling fees, everything sold raw. The verdict uses this average over many rips, chase cards included. As extra information we also show a typical rip, computed with each tier’s cheaper end, median and pricier end (pessimistic, typical, optimistic). We compare it to the sealed price (PriceCharting sold prices, refreshed weekly; where there are too few sales, a dated shop or market reference price) and to the launch price where we know it. Japanese prices are converted at the latest ECB exchange rate.
The odds. Averages hide the spread: most boxes return less than the average, a few return far more. Each product page simulates thousands of boxes with real cards to show your chance of breaking even and of a jackpot.
Not advice. Prices move, reprints happen, and your copies may not be pack-fresh. Use the numbers to decide how you want to enjoy the hobby, not as an investment guarantee.