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Browse every tracked card in Sandstorm with live prices, 24h moves, and collector details. Use Hits and Chase when you want a focused view of the set.
Release date, card count, chase cards and how it compares with the EX era.
Sandstorm is an expansion in the EX era of the English-language Pokémon TCG, released on September 18, 2003 under the set code SS. It is a compact release of 100 cards. The headline cards are the ex Pokémon, with Raichu ex, Gardevoir ex, Typhlosion ex and Aerodactyl ex leading the card list. Beyond them, Sableye stands out as a holo rare. Several Pokémon, including Anorith, Cacnea, Duskull, Lileep and Lombre, appear in more than one version, which gives the set its desert-fossil character. It leans on Grass, Water, Colorless and Psychic types.
Sandstorm's rarity structure is simple: 33 commons, 33 uncommons, 20 rares and 14 holo rares, with no secret cards above the printed 100. The most valuable cards are the ex Pokémon, which are rarity-coded Rare here. Raichu ex tops the set, followed by Gardevoir ex, Typhlosion ex and Aerodactyl ex, with Sableye the first holo rare to appear on the value list. Raichu ex is illustrated by Ryo Ueda, and Gardevoir ex, Typhlosion ex and Aerodactyl ex all by Hikaru Koike. The top five cards hold 47 percent of the set's total card value, so the value is spread more evenly than in many sets of its era.
Sandstorm was released September 18, 2003.
Sandstorm has 100 cards.
Sandstorm is part of the EX era.
As of October 2026, Sandstorm holds the 15th highest total card value of the 16 comparable EX sets, about half the era median, and its Raichu ex also ranks 15th among the era's most valuable single cards. Trading activity places it 13th in the era, and 53rd by total value across the whole game. At 100 printed cards it sits about level with the era median of 107. It followed Ruby & Sapphire, which holds similar total value, and came before Dragon, which holds more. Its cards first appeared in Miracle of the Desert, released in Japan on April 18, 2003.
Written from market data as of October 22, 2026; the tables update live.
| Measure | This setSandstorm | Previous setRuby & Sapphire | Next setDragon |
|---|---|---|---|
| Release date | Sep 18, 2003 | Jul 1, 2003 | Nov 24, 2003 |
| Printed cards | 100 | 109 | 97 |
| Master set value | — | $2,413.95 | $4,750.46 |
| Most valuable card price | — | $746.79 | $739.97 |
| Priced cards | — | 109 of 109 | 100 of 100 |
Sandstorm has 100 catalog printings, and all 100 are priced, so a complete run can be tracked card by card. With the top five cards holding 47 percent of total card value, the cost of finishing the set depends on those five ex cards rather than on the commons and uncommons that fill most of the list. Sealed product for the set is a small line of three items: a booster box, a booster pack and a deck. The ex Pokémon and the 14 holo rares make up the cards that matter most to anyone building the full card list.
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