Ancient Mew Card Returns to Pokemon Trading Card Game

The famous Ancient Mew card is getting a new printing in celebration of the upcoming CGI remake of the first Pokemon movie. Earlier today, the Pokemon Company announced via the Japanese magazine CoroCoro that the Ancient Mew card would be distributed in Japan as a promotion for Pokemon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION. The original card was distributed to fans who attended showings of Pokemon the Movie 2000 during the movie’s first week in theaters. The card used holofoil on both the front and back and used runes in place of normal text and players had to “translate” the card’s abilities and HP using clues posted on Pokemon.com. Because the card used runes, the Pokemon card is one of two cards to be banned in both the Unlimited and Modified formats of the Pokemon TCG.

Because of its unusual appearance and perceived rarity among casual fans, the Ancient Mew card has a special place in the Pokemon franchise and is well-remembered to this day. And because the card is nearly 20 years old, many parents or former fans of the franchise will re-discover the card and then look up its value online. Although it doesn’t have any significant value (unopened copies usually sell for $6-$10 online), you can almost always find someone trying to sell it for hundreds of dollars on eBay or another marketplace site.

Players in Japan can obtain the card by purchasing a movie pamphlet when they visit the theater for Pokemon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back EVOLUTION. No distributions have been announced for the US, but it seems very likely this card will get a new distribution sometime in the fall.

Do you still have your copy of Ancient Mew? Let us know in the comment section or find me on Twitter at @CHofferCBus to chat all things Pokemon!

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