Lucario & Melmetal GX Canada Buy: Honest Collector Guide

Lucario & Melmetal GX is not automatically a good buy at CA$139.08—but it can be a very defensible Tag Team purchase for the right Canadian collector. The card sits in an interesting middle ground: it has major character appeal, a memorable Unbroken Bonds release, and playable history, but it is not one of the hobby’s most explosive modern chase cards.

What are you actually buying?

Lucario & Melmetal GX is a 2019 Tag Team GX from Sun & Moon—Unbroken Bonds. Its appeal comes from the pairing rather than scarcity alone. Lucario has one of Pokémon’s strongest collector identities, while Melmetal gives the card a distinctive heavyweight theme that is difficult to confuse with ordinary set filler.

That matters because Tag Team cards have a different collector profile from many later Ultra Rares. They represent a specific era of oversized character combinations, and sealed Unbroken Bonds product has become increasingly expensive to open. However, the regular Lucario & Melmetal GX is not the set’s top chase. The alternate-art and rainbow versions carry more premium appeal, so buyers should not pay a rarity-level price for a standard copy simply because the characters are popular.

Is Lucario & Melmetal GX Canada buy pricing fair?

At ARCardZ, the listed Lucario & Melmetal GX is CA$139.08. That is a serious price for a single modern-era card, and the purchase only makes sense if the copy’s condition, finish, and centering match the asking price. Confirm whether the listing is raw or graded before comparing it with eBay.ca sales; a raw near-mint card and a graded example are not interchangeable benchmarks.

Ontario buyers also need to calculate the checkout total. A CA$139.08 card becomes about CA$157.16 after 13% HST, before shipping. Canadian shipping commonly adds roughly CA$10–CA$20 for tracked protection, although rates vary by order value and destination. That makes the realistic landed cost closer to CA$167–CA$177. The Canadian dollar also changes the comparison with TCGPlayer or United States eBay listings: a seemingly cheaper US price can lose its advantage after currency conversion, shipping, and possible import handling.

Condition, centering, and grading reality

For a raw copy, inspect the four corners, surface glare, back whitening, and the holo area under angled light. Sun & Moon-era full-art and textured cards can show factory edge wear or print lines that are difficult to see in a straight-on photograph. Centering is especially important if you are imagining a future slab. A raw card that looks attractive in a binder may still fall short of a top grade because of an off-centre front or a small rear-edge flaw.

Grading is not a guaranteed upgrade. Canadian collectors should budget the grading fee, insured shipping, and a wait that can stretch from several weeks to months depending on the company and service tier. If a PSA 10 or equivalent sells for only a modest premium over your all-in raw cost, grading can erase the profit. For a card at this price, buying an already graded copy can be more rational if your objective is display certainty rather than a speculative flip.

How it compares with other Canadian buys

The best Lucario & Melmetal GX Canada buy depends on whether you value character nostalgia, alternate-art scarcity, or entry price. These ARCardZ listings show the trade-offs clearly:

Product	Price (CAD)	Best For	Value Rating	Verdict
Lucario & Melmetal GX	CA$139.08	Tag Team and Lucario collectors	★★★★☆	Buy for a clean, display-worthy copy; not a bargain at any condition.
Mewtwo V (Alternate Full Art)	CA$145.59	Alternate-art collectors	★★★★☆	Strong visual value at nearly the same price; better if art impact comes first.
M Lucario EX (Secret)	CA$365.56	High-end Lucario specialists	★★★☆☆	More distinctive and scarce, but the premium is substantial.
Origin Forme Dialga V (Alternate Full Art)	CA$148.30	Modern alternate-art investors	★★★★☆	A close-priced alternative with broad Sword & Shield-era appeal.
Exploud ex	CA$55.19	Budget modern ex collectors	★★★☆☆	Much easier entry point, but not a substitute for Tag Team nostalgia.

Who should buy it?

• Buy it if Lucario and Tag Team cards are central to your collection, you want one memorable binder centrepiece, and the copy is genuinely clean.
• Consider another card if you are focused strictly on price growth. The Mewtwo V alternate art and Origin Forme Dialga V alternate art offer similarly priced visual showcases with stronger alternate-art positioning.
• Skip it for now if CA$139.08 is already stretching your budget. The CA$55.19 Exploud ex lets you keep funds available for a better Lucario copy or a future graded opportunity.

Do not confuse popularity with guaranteed appreciation. Pokémon character demand can support liquidity, but condition and variant matter enormously. A standard raw GX with whitening is unlikely to perform like a scarce secret rare or a high-grade alternate art. Check eBay.ca sold results, not optimistic active listings, and compare like-for-like condition. Facebook Marketplace Canada may show lower prices, but authentication, packaging, and return protection are usually weaker.

Our Pick

Our pick is Lucario & Melmetal GX at CA$139.08—but only as a condition-first collector purchase. It earns four stars for character strength, Tag Team nostalgia, and a price that is competitive with several desirable alternate arts. It loses a star because the standard GX version does not carry the same scarcity premium as the strongest variants, and Ontario tax plus tracked shipping pushes the final cost well above the sticker price.

For the best Lucario & Melmetal GX Canada buy, review the photos closely, confirm the card’s condition and language, and decide whether you want a binder card or a grading candidate before checkout. If the copy meets your standards, order through ARCardZ with protective shipping; if not, redirect the same budget toward the Mewtwo V alternate art or wait for a cleaner Lucario listing.

If you're looking to Pokemon Cards Canada, ARCardZ ships across Canada with fast, reliable delivery straight to your door.