ME07 Aura Seeker ex★: Ranked Buying Priority for All Four Confirmed Cards
By Dexhaul Team · September 30, 2026
ME07 Aura Seeker hits Japanese shelves November 27, 2026, bringing four confirmed ex★ cards and a rarity tier that sits above Special Illustration Rare.
The question right now is not whether to collect them. It is which ones to position into first, and at what tier. Each of the four characters has a different structural case, and treating them as interchangeable is the mistake most collectors make at this stage.
Here is the ranked buying order with the reasoning behind each position.
What ex★ is and why the pre-launch window matters
ex★ (pronounced "ex star") is a new rarity designation introduced with ME07. Cards carry above-set-ceiling numbering, the same convention used for SIRs, but ex★ sits one tier higher.
Three of the four ex★ characters (Suicune, Entei, Raikou) have no canonical Mega Evolution in any mainline game from Gen 6 through Gen 9. Their ex★ cards will be the only official "Mega" designs for these Pokémon that have ever existed in the franchise. Mega Lucario Z is the exception: Lucario received a canonical Mega form in XY (2013) with Korrina as the guiding Gym Leader.
That structural difference drives the ranking. Collectors applying the same framework to all four will misprice at least two of them.
Priority 1: Suicune
Suicune leads the Johto Beast rankings for one clear reason: an existing demand ceiling that dwarfs the other two Beasts.
In EX Unseen Forces (2005), all three Legendary Beasts received Gold Star cards at consecutive above-ceiling numbers: Entei at 113/115, Raikou at 114/115, and Suicune at 115/115. Same set, same rarity designation, same 2005 print window.
Suicune trades at $1,200 raw, Raikou at roughly $114, and Entei at roughly $65. The 18x spread between Entei and Suicune, across identical-origin cards, is entirely character demand.
The VSTAR Universe SAR (215/172) is the current in-stock analog to what ex★ will be structurally: above-ceiling numbered, premium art treatment, Japanese-language. It sits at $38 to $55 raw depending on seller. Suicune's SAR commands a premium over both Raikou and Entei SARs from the same set, which already reflects the demand hierarchy from the Gold Star era.
Suicune was also the cover Pokémon for Pokémon Crystal (2000), the first mainline game to offer a female player option. That cultural anchor has no equivalent among the other three ex★ characters.
Priority 2: Raikou
Raikou is the middle Beast by every metric: $114 Gold Star, $35–61 SAR, and a smaller spread against its own floor than Suicune carries.
The SAR floor at $35.69 sits $3 below Suicune's floor. That gap already prices in the demand hierarchy. Raikou's ex★ upside is narrower than Suicune's, but the current entry cost is also lower, making it the most balanced risk-adjusted position of the three Beasts.
One detail worth noting: Japanese ME06 Storm Emeralda includes Raikou ex 108/076, an above-ceiling-numbered ex card for the character. It is Raikou's first ex card in any Mega Evolution product and trades at $39. Collectors building a complete Beast pre-position before ME07 can use this card as a third data point alongside the SAR.
Priority 3: Entei
Entei is the budget entry across all three Beasts and the most accessible position for collectors who want exposure to the full trio.
Entei V SAR 213/172 at $29.99 is the cheapest of the three Beast SARs, and the Gold Star at $65 raw is the narrowest ceiling in absolute dollar terms. The percentage gap from SAR to Gold Star is similar across all three Beasts; Entei just operates at a smaller nominal scale.
If your goal is complete Beast coverage before ME07, the math is straightforward. Entei SAR at $30 plus Raikou SAR at $36 plus Suicune SAR at $39 totals roughly $105. That positions all three Johto ex★ targets for less than the cost of a single Mega Lucario ex SIR ($176).
Priority 4: Mega Lucario Z (wildcard)
Lucario does not belong in the same framework as the Beasts, and ranking it fourth is not a bearish call. It is a different category.
Mega Lucario ex 179/132 - Holofoil ME01 Mega Evolution - Special Illustration Rare
$176.00 USD
The ME01 SIR 179/132 at $176 is Lucario's existing ex ceiling. It is already above the combined SAR cost for all three Beasts. An ex★ card in ME07 would sit above that SIR tier, so the trajectory question is: how much higher does game-anchored demand go?
For the Beasts, ex★ is their first Mega card in the franchise. There is no existing "Mega Suicune" benchmark to compare against.
For Lucario, ex★ joins a Mega form that already has a game ceiling, a figure collection, an SIR, and a promo card. The ex★ upside is real, but the collector entering a pre-existing multi-product Lucario market faces more price competition than anyone buying a Beast SAR now.
The Figure Collection ($57.45 at floor) is still the most capital-efficient Lucario entry: it includes the MEP033 Mega Lucario ex promo, a figure, and Elite Trainer Box booster packs for less than half the SIR single.
The sealed product angle
Japanese booster boxes for Aura Seeker are already available for pre-order ahead of the November 27 launch.
A booster box is a pull-based approach, not a targeted buy. A 30-pack Japanese booster box at $179.99 gives statistical exposure to the full card pool, including ex★ slots, but with no guarantee on which character you pull. If you want a specific Beast, the SAR singles market is the cleaner path at this stage of the pre-launch window.
Sealed boxes make more sense once price discovery has happened and the SIR and ex★ floor values have stabilized post-launch. Right now, singles are the precise tool.
Quick reference: entry costs by priority
Current SAR floor prices for the three Beasts, from the live catalogue:
- Suicune V SAR 215/172 VSTAR Universe: $38.00–$55.00
- Raikou V SAR 218/172 VSTAR Universe: $35.69–$61.00
- Entei V SAR 213/172 VSTAR Universe: $29.99–$46.00
All three at floor totals approximately $104. For reference, the Mega Lucario ex SIR 179/132 sits at $175–$185 as a single.
English ME07 dates have not yet been announced. Pre-order prices and availability will shift as the JP launch approaches. None of the prices here represent a promise of future value, and the ex★ rarity tier is still new enough that long-term demand patterns are genuinely unknown.
Browse all four characters and the Aura Seeker booster box across independent shops at DexHaul's Aura Seeker search (DexHaul is independent and not affiliated with The Pokémon Company).