u/rskimmel

I had been on the hunt for a 10th W Stamp card to complete my W Stamp binder page. The W Stamp filler card is $5k though and I'm not independently wealthy 😅 and I also could not find any leads on the double W Stamp Wartortle error either 😔

But then destiny intervenes! I'm not a big error collector in general but when I came across this one, I knew it was meant for the collection! This W stamped Wartortle has extra red ink that can be seen in the blue layer, looking almost like a red rain in the background of the image. The red spots continue into Wartortle's body and a red/pink blush can be seen in the card text areas as well. It is very easy to see the differences when it is side by side with a regular one!

I'm sharing this and hoping to raise awareness. Check your Wartortle W Stamps! Let me know of yours has anything similar, maybe our cards are brethren!

When I posted my WOTC binder a few months ago, I thought I was done. A fool, I was 😅

So many folks here showed me SO many more variants and errors I could obtain to really "master" the set. While errors aren't my thing, I did end up collecting some of them, but one particular variant that was very hard to find was the Kanzenban Mewtwo, a variant of the #3 Black Star Mewtwo from the Pokemon movies. Here's a bit more about them if interested:

https://www.elitefourum.com/t/mewtwo-strikes-back-us-version-kanzenban-associated-mewtwo-3-promo-variant/38635

So besides the WB Movie upside down and missing stamp errors that are a billion dollars, I'm pretty sure I caught them all? Tell me if I'm wrong 😆

Huge shoutout to the connections made in this sub to finally obtain the Mewtwo as well as the corrected illustrator birds, no hp Dark Persian, and many others! Black Star Promos are finally completed (for real this time). And no, before the Black Stars is not a real Prerelease Raichu, its a proxy for a card ill never own 🤷 (I wish)

So I've never liked Base Set 2.

I didn't when I was 13 and, until very recently, I continued to carry that same opinion. But after joining this and other subs, connecting with some excellent collectors and people, discussions with them helped me realize that Base Set 2 is the last remaining TRUE vintage set that is still accessible in this crazy pokemon bubble we are in.

It seems to be insulated from the market in a very unique way, probably because it was the first true "reprint" set and carried that same disdain that I held for it for so long. I'm sure there are other reasons, but the fact of the matter is that this set is 26 years old *and can still be put together without selling an organ in 2026*.

But calling it a reprint set doesn't point out its strong points. All the holo cards are cosmos foils, unlike the originals that had starlight foil patterns, and create more depth with the original arts. This was the first time that these card arts were given those treatments! BS2 gave kids the opportunity to rip into their packs to pull their own charizard well after base set closed up shop. It made joining the collecting party more accessible *and it still is doing that today!* It covers a wide swath of two different sets and at the time rotated in very playable cards for Pokemon League players. It has its own part in the WOTC vintage story.

I pulled base set 2 together for my master binder in less than 3 weeks and I did it the old school way for 95% of the cards. I went to shops, got all the commons, uncommons and some rares from bulk bins. Found holos in store binders for $5 here and there or traded for them from people who just had extras and didn't care much about bs2. Blastoise was $45. Venusaur was $30. Clefable was $5. Zapdos was $3. It felt fantastic. It felt like the early 2000s all over again. I was chasing cards without scrolling and clicking and watching Google pay receipts pop up in my inbox. This was real hunting. Real collecting. Loved the adventure of it.

With the pokemon market going nuts and prices soaring to points that make collecting feel like you're hemorrhaging your life savings, I kindly direct your attention to Base Set 2. Someday, the rest of the masses will catch on but, as of now, I would counsel anyone that wants to start collecting vintage to get their feet wet with BS2. My BS2 set is now locked in and I have no regrets!