The Ruinous Quartet Collector's Guide 2026: Ting-Lu, Chien-Pao, Wo-Chien, and Chi-Yu
By Dexhaul Team · September 23, 2026
Four Legendary Pokémon, four Dark-type pairings, and one of the most underappreciated collector arcs in Scarlet and Violet.
The Ruinous Quartet, Ting-Lu, Chien-Pao, Wo-Chien, and Chi-Yu, debuted in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in November 2022. They are the only group of four Legendary Pokémon in any mainline series game where every member shares a secondary type: all four carry Dark typing alongside a distinct primary type (Ground, Ice, Grass, and Fire). That Dark secondary type link is unique to the Quartet across the entire Pokédex, not shared by any other Legendary grouping.
Their TCG cards followed in June 2023 with Paldea Evolved (SV02), the second Scarlet and Violet English set. All four received ex treatment, and three of the four got Special Illustration Rares.
Chi-Yu ex leads the price range at $54 to $91 raw, while Ting-Lu ex SIR is the accessible entry at $12 to $15. That 4- to 6-fold spread within the same set and same rarity tier is worth understanding before you buy.
Chien-Pao ex (Ice/Dark): The Fan Favorite
Chien-Pao is the Ice/Dark member of the Quartet and the one collectors tend to reach for first. Its 261/193 SIR from Paldea Evolved features a painted full-bleed background showing the icy saber-toothed form bursting through a frozen landscape.
Raw prices sit in the $32 to $43 USD range. A graded CGC 9.5 runs around $100. Chien-Pao ex also appeared in Surging Sparks (SV08) as a standard Rare Holo at $2, giving collectors a low-cost entry before committing to the SIR tier.
The SIR floor reflects consistent demand from Ice-type collectors and players who ran Chien-Pao ex competitively in Paldea-format Standard. It has no dedicated sealed product, but the card moves steadily.
Ting-Lu ex (Ground/Dark): The Undervalued SIR
Ting-Lu ex 263/193 is the Ground/Dark member of the Quartet and currently the cheapest SIR entry point in the group. Raw copies are widely available at $12 to $15 USD, with a PSA 10 graded example at $85.
That $12 to $15 raw floor represents a significant discount versus its three SIR counterparts, entirely because Ground typing generates less casual demand than Ice or Fire. The card itself is identical in rarity treatment to the Chi-Yu ex SIR released in the same set: full-bleed illustration, above-set numbering (263/193), printed on the same card stock. The price gap is purely type-driven, not quality-driven.
For a collector building the complete quartet, Ting-Lu ex SIR is the logical first purchase. It anchors the set while the higher-demand members settle, and PSA 10 at $85 remains accessible relative to graded examples of the other three.
Paradox Rift (SV04) also includes Ting-Lu as a standard Rare Holo at 109/182, available as low as $0.31 to $2 USD: a lower-stakes entry for collectors exploring the Quartet.
Chi-Yu ex (Fire/Dark): The Price Leader
Chi-Yu ex is the Fire/Dark member and the most expensive card in the Quartet.
The 259/193 SIR from Paldea Evolved trades between $54 and $91 raw across active storefronts. That spread sits 4 to 6 times higher than the Ting-Lu ex SIR from the same set, same rarity tier, same print run.
Fire typing alone drives the difference. Fire-type Legendary cards consistently outperform their counterparts regardless of Pokédex era: Entei, Moltres, Ho-Oh, and now Chi-Yu all follow the same pattern.
The Double Rare Chi-Yu ex 234/193 (the non-illustration version from the same set) is available at $3 to $4 USD for collectors who want ex mechanical access without the SIR premium. The Paradox Rift standard Holo runs as low as CA$0.49. Chi-Yu appeared across multiple SV sets, giving the character a wide price ladder from budget to premium.
Wo-Chien ex (Grass/Dark): The Outlier
Wo-Chien is the Grass/Dark member, and its premium English card comes from a different set than the other three.
While Ting-Lu, Chien-Pao, and Chi-Yu all received full-bleed painted Special Illustration Rares in Paldea Evolved (SV02), Wo-Chien's English premium card is the 240/091 Hyper Rare in Paldean Fates (the 2024 shiny reprint set). That card carries a gold border rather than the painted full-bleed artwork, making it structurally distinct from its three SIR counterparts. Collectors building a four-card SIR set will find they cannot complete one: there is no Wo-Chien ex SIR in English Paldea Evolved.
The Paldean Fates Hyper Rare is currently available at $7.50 to $18 USD raw, lower than even the Ting-Lu SIR floor. That price partly reflects Grass/Dark demand dynamics and partly reflects the gold-border format being treated as a different tier by collectors. The Japanese original, Wo-Chien ex 092/071 from Snow Hazard (SV2P), runs around $30 USD for collectors interested in the Japanese print with its own distinct foil treatment.
The asymmetry in Wo-Chien's premium card is a genuine collector quirk. If you want a thematic four-card set, you need to decide whether three SIRs plus a Hyper Rare satisfies the brief, or whether you prefer all four members in the same gold-border format (which requires sourcing the other three's Paldean Fates reprints instead).
Which Member to Buy First
None of the Ruinous Quartet has ever headlined a standalone sealed product in English: no ETB, no Premium Collection. The Paradox Rift Booster Box is the closest sealed option, though it contains all four only at the common and holo tier rather than SIR or Hyper Rare.
Buy Ting-Lu ex SIR first
The $12 to $15 raw floor is the most defensible starting point for a collector new to the Quartet. The SIR art treatment is identical in quality to Chi-Yu ex, and the type-discount has held steady since launch. You are not giving up any card quality; you are simply buying the member that does not have Fire typing, and that choice buys you time to assess the rest of the group at current prices.
Add Chien-Pao ex second
The $32 to $43 range for the Chien-Pao SIR is where consistent demand sits. Ice-type traction, competitive legacy from the Paldea format, and the illustration's visual strength all support the floor. It is the quartet member most likely to see renewed interest if Chien-Pao returns in a future set or collaboration.
Decide on Wo-Chien separately
Wo-Chien requires a separate decision: its premium English card is in a different set with a different art format.
The choice is three Paldea Evolved SIRs plus one Paldean Fates gold, or all four in the gold-border tier. Both are valid. The Paldean Fates Hyper Rare at $7.50 to $18 is accessible regardless of which path you choose.
Reserve Chi-Yu ex for last
Chi-Yu's $54 to $91 range has support, but Fire-type premiums are also the most sensitive to new releases. Buying it last, after the other three are in hand, is lower-risk sequencing.
DexHaul searches hundreds of independent storefronts across all four Ruinous Quartet members at once. Search Ting-Lu on DexHaul to compare current raw and graded listings across sellers in your currency, or run individual searches for each member as you build the set. DexHaul is independent and unofficial: the listings are from merchant storefronts, not from The Pokémon Company or Nintendo.