Tatsugiri 118
Quick take
- One of four possible foil promos in the Twilight Masquerade Build and Battle Box, distributed as a prerelease Black Star promo
- Attract Customers Ability makes it a genuine consistency tool for players
- Common supply and floor-level pricing, so it is a cheap master set checkbox
- A scarcer Staff stamped prerelease variant exists with a modest premium
Collector's readWhat it means for your master set
Set landscapeWhere this card sits in Scarlet & Violet Promo Cards
VariantsCard variants
Holofoil 118/193 · $58.76 — the only variant this card was printed in (no reverse holo or special pattern), so a master set needs just this one copy.
The storyA prerelease promo built for the table, not the display binder
Tatsugiri 118 is one of the Black Star promos that came with the Scarlet & Violet Twilight Masquerade Build and Battle Box in 2024. Each box shipped with one of four possible foil promos, so not every box had the Tatsugiri. It carries new artwork by Shimaris Yukichi, separate from the regular Twilight Masquerade print of the same Pokemon. If you cracked the right Build and Battle Box during prerelease season, this is the card that came with it.
“One of four possible foil promos in the Twilight Masquerade Build and Battle Box, distributed as a prerelease Black Star promo”
The draw here is the Attract Customers Ability. Once per turn it lets you look at the top six cards of your deck, reveal a Supporter, and add it to your hand. In a sealed prerelease pool where your Supporter count is thin, that consistency is a real edge. Standard and Expanded players have run it too. The gameplay value is the whole story of this card.
For master set builders the math is simpler. It is a promo, it is easy to find, and it sits near the bottom of the price ladder. Grab one clean copy to check the box and move on. The chase versions of Tatsugiri live elsewhere, mainly the Illustration Rare in the main Twilight Masquerade set.
By the numbersMarket analysis
This sits at the floor of the promo market. It went out in large numbers through the Twilight Masquerade Build and Battle Box, so raw copies are common and cheap. The Staff stamped prerelease version carries a modest premium over the standard promo, mostly because fewer were printed and it appeals to a narrower group.
Flat and low. Promo singles like this rarely move much once a set settles. There is no scarcity pressure and no real collector competition pushing the price around.
Not an investment card. Treat it as a playable utility piece and an easy master set checkbox. The Staff stamp is the only version with mild upside, and even that is niche. Put your speculation budget into the Illustration Rare Tatsugiri instead.
Grading rarely makes sense here. The card is too cheap to justify slab fees for most copies, and the graded population for the standard promo stays low because few people bother. A pristine Staff stamped copy in a high grade is the only version where a premium starts to make sense, and even then the audience is thin.
This is not a pack pull. It was one of four foil promos packed with the Twilight Masquerade Build and Battle Box, so a share of those boxes contained the Tatsugiri. For comparison, in standard Scarlet & Violet booster sets a Double Rare runs about 1 in 5 packs, an Illustration Rare about 1 in 12, an Ultra Rare about 1 in 15, a Special Illustration Rare around 1 in 90, and a Hyper Rare anywhere from 1 in 300 to 1 in 700. Odds for one specific card run far longer than those rarity-level numbers, since each set has many cards at each rarity, often into the hundreds of packs for a particular SIR. None of that applies here. Supply tracks how many Build and Battle Boxes were sold, and that was a lot.
Within the SVP promo run this is one of the easy, low-cost entries. The Staff stamped prerelease variant is the scarcer sibling. The real collector target for this Pokemon is the Illustration Rare in the main Twilight Masquerade set, which is a true pack pull at roughly 1 in 12 for any IR.
ArtworkWhy the art matters
Shimaris Yukichi is a Pokemon TCG illustrator who has worked on the game since the Scarlet & Violet era, starting around Temporal Forces. The style is clean and character-forward, which suits the lighter, more comic Pokemon rather than dramatic full-art scenes.
The promo shows Tatsugiri in its Curly Form, the orange sushi-shaped variant. The composition is simple and bright, focused tight on the Pokemon with little background. The main set Illustration Rare goes bigger, showing the Curly, Droopy, and Stretchy Forms together in the water, but this promo keeps to the single Curly Form.
Standard Scarlet & Violet era promo layout with the Black Star promo stamp and the SVP 118 number. Released as a holo promo. A separate Staff stamped prerelease version exists with the prerelease badge on the artwork.
Honestly, not the art. The plain look reads like an older filler promo, and that is a fair criticism. What makes the card worth owning is the Ability. If you want art-driven Tatsugiri, the Illustration Rare is the one to hunt.
BackgroundAbout Tatsugiri 118
Tatsugiri is a Dragon and Water type introduced in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. It is the mimicry fish that disguises itself as sushi, feigning weakness to lure prey before ordering its Dondozo partner to attack. It comes in three forms, Curly, Droopy, and Stretchy, and that gimmick made it a fan favorite for its personality more than its battle stats.
- ›A strong, recognizable design built around the sushi gimmick that fans latched onto quickly
- ›The Dondozo and Tatsugiri Commander mechanic gave it a memorable role in the video games
- ›Three distinct forms give artists and collectors more to chase across prints
- ›A genuinely useful TCG Ability that keeps it in players' hands
- ›Scarlet and Violet video games as the Commander partner to Dondozo
- ›Multiple Twilight Masquerade prints including this promo and a main set Illustration Rare
The Attract Customers Ability gives Supporter-reliant decks a consistency boost, and the card saw use in Standard and Expanded as a one-of tutor. It works as a glue card rather than a centerpiece, but it earned real table time instead of sitting as pure binder filler.
Own it wellCollector guide
Build and Battle promos get handled during prerelease events, so edge and corner wear is common. Inspect corners and the holo surface before buying a raw copy listed as near mint. Plenty of well-kept copies exist, so there is no reason to settle.
Skip grading for the standard promo unless you specifically want a graded set. The card value does not support slab fees. A high grade only matters on the scarcer Staff stamped version, and even that is a niche play. Read the grading guide →
A penny sleeve and toploader is plenty for the standard promo. If you keep a Staff stamped copy, sleeve it and store it like any card you might grade later, flat and away from heat and light. See the storage guide →
Buy the cheapest near mint standard copy you can find from a reputable seller for the master set checkbox. If you want the Staff stamped variant, confirm the prerelease stamp is on the card in the listing photos and expect to pay a modest premium. This is a common card, so do not overpay. See the singles buying guide →
Counterfeiting is a much bigger concern with vintage cards than with a modern bulk promo like this, so fakes are uncommon. Even so, buy from sellers with clear photos and check the holo behavior and back print against a card you know is genuine.
Protect your card
Low Chase Score — basic protection is plenty. · Amazon affiliate links · Storage guideWord on the streetCommunity sentiment
The split view is consistent. Competitive players rate the card highly for the Attract Customers consistency and call it worth grabbing if you draft Twilight Masquerade. Collectors are lukewarm, pointing at the plain artwork and easy availability. That is a fair read.
Most discussion frames it as a player's card. Coverage at release pointed players toward it for deck consistency while telling collectors to look at the Illustration Rare instead.
Good to knowFrequently asked questions
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