Blog · Mega Evolution & Modern Sets
Pokémon Legends Z-A: Kalos Mega TCG Singles Worth Buying in the 13-Day Window
By Dexhaul Team · October 3, 2026
The standard tier is the play: both Mega Gardevoir ex 060/132 and Mega Lucario ex 077/132 are available below CA$2.00 right now, and Pokémon Legends Z-A launches in 13 days on October 16.
Thirteen days is not a long window to move a TCG single, and the SIR tier for both characters has already priced in the Z-A announcement. But the floor cards are a different story.
Here is every ME01 tier currently available, sorted by what actually makes sense to buy right now versus what you are paying a premium for nostalgia you already missed.
Why game launches matter for ME01 singles
The Mega Evolution English series launched without a game anchor: ME01 through ME04 were TCG products built around the XY-era Mega mechanic without a corresponding game release driving search volume.
Z-A changes that. Mega Gardevoir and Mega Lucario are both confirmed for the ME01 set, and Z-A is the first mainline game to bring Kalos Megas back to the spotlight since XY in 2013. When a game ships, casual players who missed a set the first time often search for the matching cards.
That matters most for standard-tier cards, not SIRs. Collectors who want the SIR already own it or have already acted; the Z-A news moved that market months ago. The floor is where late discovery lands.
Mega Gardevoir ex: Three tiers, one Z-A confirmed Mega
ME01 Mega Gardevoir ex exists in three distinct price tiers on the market right now.
The standard 060/132 is CA$2.00 at Draw For Turn Games. This is the gameplay card: same Fairy-type attacks and 220 HP as every other copy, just without the alternate art treatment. At CA$2.00 it is essentially at floor, and game-launch curiosity tends to move floor cards first.
The above-ceiling 159/132 (the Illustration Rare-equivalent tier for ME01) sits at $5.00 to $5.40. It is $3.40 above the standard and $173 below the SIR. That gap is important: there is nothing meaningfully in between once you step past the above-ceiling tier.
The SIR 178/132 runs $178.99 to $200.00 across active listings. That band is tight, which typically signals a market that has already moved.
Sellers have priced in Z-A awareness. Buying the SIR now means paying the post-announcement price without knowing whether the game will add further demand on top.
Verdict: the standard at CA$2.00 has minimal downside. The SIR at $178.99 is a reasonable collector buy if you want the card itself, but do not expect Z-A to push it meaningfully higher from here.
Mega Lucario ex: Four tiers and the Z-A design split
Mega Lucario ex has four distinct price tiers in ME01, making it the most ladder-able character in the set for collectors entering at different budgets.
The standard 077/132 is $1.29 at The Akiba Vault. The above-ceiling 160/132 runs $9.10 to $16.00.
The SIR 179/132 is $175.00 to $182.99. The Hyper Rare 188/132 (the gold-foil top tier) sits at $182.99 to $244.99.
One thing worth noting for Z-A collectors specifically: the Mega Lucario appearing in Z-A is "Mega Lucario Z," a game-specific design that is distinct from standard Mega Lucario. The ME01 cards depict standard Mega Lucario from the XY-era design. They are the same species but different forms in-game, so the TCG connection is character-based rather than design-exact.
The Hyper Rare 188/132 at $244.99 is the most expensive individual ME01 single currently listed on Dexhaul. For context, two ME01 ETBs cost $199.90. If the Hyper Rare is on your list, it was already expensive before Z-A was announced.
Verdict: the standard at $1.29 and the above-ceiling at $9.10 are both in accessible territory. The SIR and Hyper Rare tiers are priced at levels driven by set scarcity and collector demand, not Z-A timing.
The XY-era M Gardevoir-EX: A different collector market
M Gardevoir-EX 156/160 Full Art from XY: Primal Clash (2015) trades at $45.00 right now and is worth distinguishing from the ME01 cards above.
This card predates the ME series by roughly a year. It uses the original XY "M EX" naming convention (uppercase M, uppercase EX) rather than the ME series "Mega ex" convention. The ME01 set's numbering system is entirely separate from the XY-era sets.
The collector bases overlap but do not align. XY-era Primal Clash buyers tend to be chasing the 2015 set experience: complete holofoil maps, EX rares, and the specific Gardevoir art from that era.
ME01 buyers are in the modern Mega Evolution ecosystem. Z-A affects both, but the XY Full Art at $45 is cheaper than the ME01 above-ceiling tier partly because it is a 2015 card competing against a modern print run, and partly because the Primal Clash set is well-documented and not scarce.
Verdict: buy this if you want a Gardevoir full art at $45 and the 2015 art style suits you. Do not expect Z-A to close the gap between this card and the ME01 SIR tier.
The 13-day summary
Three tiers worth acting on, one to hold off on.
The CA$2.00 to $1.29 standard cards (Gardevoir 060/132 and Lucario 077/132) represent the lowest-friction Z-A play in the ME01 singles market. At that price, the downside is negligible. Both characters are confirmed for Z-A, and standard cards move when casual fans discover a character they like in a game.
The above-ceiling tier at $5.00 to $9.10 is the next step up. It is more collector-oriented without reaching the SIR price band. If you want something above the standard tier and are not ready for the three-figure SIRs, this is where to look.
The SIR and Hyper Rare tiers ($175.00 and up) are already trading at levels that reflect Z-A awareness. These are not wrong buys if you want the cards, but you are not catching the pre-announcement window. That window closed when the Z-A Mega roster was confirmed earlier this year.
The XY-era Full Art at $45 is a separate call entirely. Buy it for the card, not the launch timing.
Search for ME01 Mega Evolution singles across independent shops at DexHaul (independent and unofficial). We pull listings from thousands of stores so you can compare prices and availability in one place before Z-A ships on October 16.