Found This Week: Luck of the Drawn
Ten this week. The first one was drawn by a human hand exactly once, and there is no second copy anywhere on earth.
Lady Death Dark Alliance hand-drawn sketch card, 1 of 1
I got this one in a bundle full of other random cards, Witchblade and Top Cow stuff. After going through the whole lot, this was one of my favorite cards out of it. Chaos! Comics and Comic Images put actual graphite sketch cards in Dark Alliance packs back in 2002, and the certificate on the reverse confirms this is original pencil, not a print. One of one means exactly that. (Somebody sat down and drew this once, sealed it in a pack, and hoped.)
The rest of the bundle was randoms. This was not.
Hunter x Hunter Kurapika SP-23, sealed wafer card
Hunter is one of my favorite animes and Kurapika is one of my favorite anime characters in general, so I always have my eye on the coolest pieces with him or Hunter on them. Still sealed in the original wafer wrapper, gold foil frame showing through, Bandai 2023. The wrapper spells him Curarpikt, which is Bandai's own official romanization. (Take it up with Bandai.)
Evangelion Death and Rebirth laminated card, movic 1997
The full ensemble key art from the 1997 theatrical run: Rei center, Misato with the pistol, Asuka face down in the plugsuit, Shinji up top. Different card from the Death and Rebirth telephone card that ran here two roundups ago. Same movie, same movic, different object. NGE is another favorite of mine, which should be a given with how many items I have gotten from that series alone.
Card people, the next four are for you.
Buster Blader, 1st Edition
Legendary Collection 2 print, 1st Edition. Gains 500 ATK for every dragon your opponent controls or has in the graveyard. (The card that made every dragon deck nervous.)
Idyllic Tutor, Fallout Secret Lair, CGC slab
From the Secret Lair Fallout S.P.E.C.I.A.L. drop, 2024, CGC authenticated. Magic and Fallout in one card, sealed in a slab. Crossovers used to be a novelty. Now they are a market.
Chaos Sorcerer, 1st Edition
Special summon only, banishes a monster once per turn. Clean 1st Edition copy from the same Legendary Collection 2 run as the Blader above.
Thunder Nyan Nyan BE2-JP169
Yes, another Thunder Nyan Nyan. Different card. Last week's was the MA-09 promo, this is the Duelist Legacy Volume 2 print. The oni drummer earns shelf space twice. (Collected for the art, not the deck, and the effect literally destroys itself around bad company.)
Three left, all for the deep-cut people.
Dark Angel P1 promo, Topps 2001
The promo card for the trading card set of the Y2K Jessica Alba show. Built for Action, says the front, and the back is a sell sheet promising episode guides and Max galleries. Two matching copies. (One to keep, one to keep also.)
Neo Genesis Pikachu, 1999
The lightning-bolt Pikachu from Neo Genesis, unlimited print, no first edition stamp, light handling wear. A common. (Still Pikachu.)
Maiden of the Aqua, 1st Edition
Pharaonic Guardian, 1st Edition. Turns the field into Umi without the stat swing, which mattered to exactly the kind of person who built Umi decks. Underrated art. The 1 of 1 up top will never exist again. Neither will your excuse.