Temporal Forces Pack Opening: Is It Worth It?

Card prices are sourced from PriceCharting market data (USD). SGD equivalents use a 1.28 exchange rate. Temporal Forces (SV05) released in March 2024 — prices have largely settled, though notable IRs like Gastly remain elevated. Pull rates are from 8,000+ pack community aggregate data.

The Short Answer

Whether opening Temporal Forces is worth it depends almost entirely on what you pay per pack. The expected value per pack is USD $6.10 — below US secondary market pricing at every product format.

Singapore context: As a 2024 set with two years of price history, TF packs may be available at older stock prices from local game stores or Carousell. If you find packs at SGD $7–$8, you are near break-even. Above SGD $10 per pack (SGD $7.81 USD equivalent), you are in negative-EV territory at current card prices.

The key caveat: the EV figure is the average across thousands of simulated openings. Your individual session is driven almost entirely by whether you pull a high-value Illustration Rare (especially Gastly at $107) or a Special Illustration Rare. Without those hits, most openings return only bulk, Ace Spec filler, and low-value Double Rares.

Card Prices by Rarity

Temporal Forces has seven rarity tiers above common, plus Ace Spec. This is an Ancient/Future Paradox set — the most valuable cards are the character art IRs (Gastly, Morty's Conviction), not the Paradox Pokémon ex cards.

Hyper Rares (◇★) — #213–218

Six cards. The rarest rarity tier in the set at approximately 1 in 139 packs (0.72%). These are golden full-art treatments of the six Paradox ex cards — but prices reflect the modest demand for this set's gold cards compared to, say, 151.

Pool average: $10.51 USD. Pool median: $9.23 USD. At 0.72% pull rate and an average of $10.51 per card, Hyper Rares contribute almost nothing to per-pack EV. Pulling one at current prices barely covers the cost of a cheap pack.

Special Illustration Rares (★★★) — #203–212

Ten cards. Full-art character art for the Paradox ex and the trainer cards. Estimated pull rate approximately 1 in 86 packs (1.16%). The trainer-art SIRs — Morty's Conviction and Bianca's Devotion — carry the most value.

Pool average: $38.31 USD. Pool median: $34.04 USD. The SIR pool is relatively tightly distributed — the cheapest is still $16, and the top card (Morty's Conviction) is $79. If you pull an SIR, expect something in the $20–$50 range most of the time.

Illustration Rares (★) — #163–184

22 cards. The most common premium pull — expected once every 13 packs (7.69%). This is where the majority of Temporal Forces' EV lives. Gastly #177 is a significant outlier at $107, far above the rest of the pool.

Pool average: $22.33 USD. Pool median: $11.18 USD. Gastly alone skews the average by nearly $4 — without it, the average IR is closer to $17.50. The median is more representative of a typical pull: something in the $10–$12 range.

Ultra Rares (★★) — #185–202

18 cards. Full-art ex cards and full-art trainer cards. Expected once every 15 packs (6.67%). Gengar ex #193 is the standout at $62.43 — over 10× the pool's second-highest card. Every other UR is worth $2–$7.

Pool average: $6.57 USD. Pool median: $3.44 USD. Gengar ex #193 is the only UR worth chasing — and it is worth 10× the next card down. Without Gengar ex, the average UR is $3.10. If you pull a UR, there is a 1-in-18 chance of hitting Gengar ex, and a 17-in-18 chance of pulling something worth $2–$6.

ACE SPEC Rares — #152, #153, #157, #161, #162

Five cards. Temporal Forces was one of the early sets to reintroduce the ACE SPEC mechanic, with a dedicated pull rate of approximately 1 in 20 packs (5%). ACE SPEC cards replace the standard rare slot when triggered.

Pool average: $7.11 USD. Hero's Cape and Neo Upper Energy carry the pool — if you skip them, the remaining three average under $2. Pulling an ACE SPEC does not guarantee a profitable outcome for a single pack.

Double Rares (★★ ex) — in #001–162

15 ex cards scattered through the main set. Expected roughly once every 5 packs (21%). Gengar ex #104 at $7.32 is the standout; the other 14 are worth $0.91–$1.96. Pool average: $1.63 USD. These are consistent but individually low-value hits.

Chase Cards: Top 15 by Value

Temporal Forces' value is heavily concentrated in Illustration Rares — 7 of the top 15 cards by price are IRs. This is unusual compared to most SV-era sets, where SIRs dominate the chase tier. Gastly #177 at $107 is effectively in a category of its own; without it, the next most expensive card is $79 (Morty's Conviction SIR).

Expected Value Per Pack

Using PriceCharting market prices weighted by pull rates from 8,000+ pack community data, here is where the expected value of each Temporal Forces pack comes from:

Three things stand out in this table:

• IRs are the primary EV driver — at 7.69% pull rate and $22.33 average, Illustration Rares contribute $1.72 of the total $6.10 EV. This is more than any other single slot, including the base bulk + reverse holo combination. Temporal Forces is IR-driven, not SIR-driven.
• SIRs contribute less than IRs — despite averaging $38.31 per card, the 1.16% SIR pull rate yields only $0.44 EV per pack, the same as Ultra Rares at their higher frequency.
• Hyper Rares are nearly worthless for EV — at 0.72% rate and $10.51 average, Hyper Rares add only $0.08 per pack. You are essentially paying $10 for a card worth $10.51 after a 1-in-139 pack commitment. The expected return from this slot alone is deeply negative.
• The base floor is $2.40 per pack — bulk ($0.80) plus reverse holo ($1.60) represents the guaranteed floor value regardless of what rare you pull. These two components alone make the base value of a Temporal Forces pack approximately SGD $3.07.

Monte Carlo: What Really Happens

The EV table gives averages. What actually happens to individual openers is driven by variance. Results from 100,000 simulated openings, drawing from the actual card pool prices and pull rates — not averages. Each simulation randomly selects cards from the 22 actual IRs, 10 SIRs, 5 Ace Specs, and so on at their current prices.

Win / Loss summary across all scenarios

What these numbers mean in practice:

• At US market prices: the median opener loses money every time, regardless of format. The only winning sessions come from hitting Gastly IR, a top SIR, or Gengar ex UR — all low-probability events. Even a full box gives only an 11% chance of being profitable; the median box opener loses $92.
• At SGD $7/pack: the distribution shifts positive. Opening a box at SGD $252 gives you a 57.5% chance of profiting, with a median gain of +$11. The P5 case (worst 5% of luck) still loses $59, but the expected outcome is a small gain. This is the price range where Temporal Forces becomes worthwhile to open.
• The P95 upside for a box at SGD value pricing is $139 profit — almost always from pulling Gastly IR or a top SIR. These are real but infrequent outcomes. Note the upside is more modest than newer sets because TF card prices have fully corrected.

The Break-Even Price

If the expected value per pack is $6.10 USD, break-even prices are:

The most important number: at SGD $7.81 per pack, you are exactly at break-even. Every dollar per pack above that price is a direct loss in expected value. At the US market pack price of $11.24 (SGD ~$14.39), you are paying 2.3× over break-even on every pack.

Sensitivity to IR price changes

Temporal Forces' EV is dominated by Illustration Rares — particularly Gastly at $107. If IR prices correct, the break-even thresholds shift accordingly:

A 50% IR price correction would drop the break-even box price to SGD $242 — still reachable in the Singapore market if boxes can be sourced at that level. Even at a 75% IR correction (an extreme scenario), the break-even box price would be SGD $222. The floor value from bulk, reverse holos, and non-IR hits remains relatively stable regardless of IR prices.

Note on Gastly: Gastly #177 single-handedly accounts for roughly $4 of the per-pack IR contribution (106.84 / 22 × 7.69% ≈ $0.37 alone). A correction in Gastly's price alone could meaningfully affect EV — if Gastly dropped from $107 to $50, IR pool average would fall from $22.33 to approximately $19.60, reducing EV by about $0.21 per pack.

What You Should Actually Do

If you want a specific card

Buy the single. Use the tcgTalk price comparison to find the best current price for any Temporal Forces card across Carousell, SNKRDUNK, and local game stores. For Gastly IR at ~$107, pulling it by opening packs would cost you on average: (1/22 IRs) × (1/13 packs per IR) × pack cost = approximately 1 in 286 packs, or $286–$1,700 in product at current prices depending on where you buy. Buy the single.

If you want to open packs

Only open at SGD $7–$8 per pack or below. At that price range, you are near or below break-even, and the distribution is at least neutral. Set a hard budget before you start — the natural variance of this set means you can easily open 10 packs without hitting a meaningful IR or SIR, which can push newer openers to keep chasing. The floor is at most 22 packs before you statistically expect an IR; you may go significantly longer without one.

Temporal Forces bundles (6 packs) at SGD $40–$45 are a reasonable entry point if you are looking for the opening experience at roughly break-even odds. At that price, you will profit roughly half the time, with the upside driven by IR pulls.

If you are looking for a booster box

The break-even box price is SGD $281. In Singapore, a two-year-old set may be available below that from shops clearing older stock or Carousell sellers. At SGD $250 or below, a TF box is positive-EV at current card prices. At SGD $300+, you are paying above break-even even before accounting for the risk of prices falling further.

SNKRDUNK sometimes lists Temporal Forces boxes from Japanese sellers — check current SGD-converted prices before committing, as exchange rate and shipping can close the margin quickly.

If you are deciding between opening and sealed investment

Temporal Forces sealed is not a strong investment vehicle at current prices. The card market has had two years to fully price in supply, and there is limited reason for a significant price recovery without a competitive meta shift. The strongest cards (Gastly IR, Morty's Conviction SIR) have already seen their primary hype cycle. Sealed boxes will hold value better than individual cards, but significant appreciation from here is not likely. If you have sealed product from launch, you have already captured the best appreciation window — and this may be the time to open rather than hold.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it worth opening Temporal Forces packs?

Only at prices near or below SGD $7.81 per pack (approximately the break-even EV). At US secondary market prices of SGD $14 per pack, you are getting roughly 54 cents of value per dollar spent on average. Find local deals on older stock if you want to open.

What is the most expensive card in Temporal Forces?

Gastly #177 (Illustration Rare) at approximately USD $106.84 (~SGD $137). It is the only card in the set above USD $100. The most expensive SIR is Morty's Conviction #211 at USD $78.55 (~SGD $101), followed by Raging Bolt ex #208 at USD $69.79 (~SGD $89).

What are the Ace Spec cards in Temporal Forces and are they worth it?

Five Ace Specs: Hero's Cape ($17), Neo Upper Energy ($13.39), Mist Energy ($2.05), Master Ball ($2.00), and Prime Catcher ($1.13). Hero's Cape and Neo Upper Energy are competitively relevant — if you need either, buying the single at $17 or $13 is far cheaper than the expected cost to pull one through packs (~20 packs at SGD $7 = SGD $140 per Ace Spec attempt on average).

What is the cheapest SIR in Temporal Forces?

Eri #210 at USD $15.95 (~SGD $20) is the lowest-value SIR in the set. Salvatore #212 at USD $16.98 and Bianca's Devotion #209 at USD $24.28 are the next two. The trainer SIRs (Salvatore, Eri, Bianca's Devotion) carry less demand than the Paradox ex SIRs.

How does Temporal Forces compare to newer sets for pack opening value?

Temporal Forces EV per pack ($6.10) is lower than newer sets like Destined Rivals or Journey Together, partly because SIR prices for a 2024 set have fully corrected and IRs carry the bulk of value. Newer sets with fresh SIR prices typically have higher nominal EV but also higher product prices. TF is interesting if you find it at below-market product prices — otherwise, newer sets offer better nominal EV at retail.

Should I open Temporal Forces or buy singles from the set?

Buy singles for any specific card. The only scenario where opening makes sense is if you find packs significantly below break-even (SGD $6–$7), you enjoy the opening experience, and you have no specific target card. If you want Gastly, Morty's Conviction, or any other specific card, the secondary market is your friend — pack opening is an inefficient targeting mechanism.

Disclaimer: All card prices are from PriceCharting market data (USD) and reflect secondary market rates at time of writing — they will change. SGD equivalents use a 1.28 exchange rate (as of 2026-05-30). Pull rates are from community aggregate data (8,000+ packs); The Pokémon Company does not publish official pull rates. Monte Carlo results use 100,000 simulated openings. This is not financial advice. Verify current prices on tcgTalk or Carousell before making any buying or selling decisions.