Every S4a booster guarantees a shiny; S8b makes a different promise entirely. That’s where the resemblance ends.
Shiny Star V (S4a) and VMAX Climax (S8b) are the two sets most collectors point to when they explain why Sword & Shield-era Japanese high class packs became a category of their own. S4a arrived first, in November 2020, and built its whole identity around colour-swapped “shiny” Pokemon stacked more than a hundred deep. Thirteen months later, S8b answered with a different idea entirely — full-scene illustrations pairing Trainers with their signature Pokemon, a rarity tier that didn’t exist in S4a at all. If you’re deciding which box to chase, or trying to understand why the two trade at such different prices today, this is the direct comparison.
S4a Shiny Star V (Nov 2020) pioneered the Sword & Shield high class format with 100+ shiny cards and a guaranteed shiny per pack; a sealed box is currently listed at ¥22,365. S8b VMAX Climax (Dec 2021) followed with the Character Super Rare (CSR) concept — its full-art extension of the earlier CHR tier — and a sealed box currently listed at ¥39,375. Neither set’s own catalog pages document a “god pack” mechanic.
Prices below are our current catalog listings as of August 2026, converted at ¥163/USD (2026-07 basis) where a USD figure is shown. Any secondary-market figures are marked as such and are community-reported, not official Pokemon TCG data.
At a Glance: S4a vs S8b
| Set | Japan release | Main set | Secret/shiny cards | Total (varies by source) | Box price today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S4a Shiny Star V | Nov 20, 2020 | 190 cards | 100+ shiny cards | 320+ (our listing pages count 326) | ¥22,365 |
| S8b VMAX Climax | Dec 3, 2021 | 184 cards | 101 secret cards (#185–285) | 285 | ¥39,375 |
S4a’s total carries a small internal discrepancy between our article copy and our structured card-list pages — a handful-card gap that doesn’t change the shape of the comparison. What matters more: S4a is built almost entirely around one concept (shiny recolours), while S8b splits its secret-rare space between a new illustration-driven rarity and a smaller shiny/gold tier.
S4a Shiny Star V: The Format’s Origin
Shiny Star V released in Japan on November 20, 2020, and it’s generally credited as the set that established the Sword & Shield high class pack format — the template that VMAX Climax, VSTAR Universe, and every later high class release would follow. The main set runs 190 cards, but the number that made S4a famous is the tail: over 130 secret and shiny cards, taking the count past #191 up toward the 320s (our own listing infrastructure logs 326 total, a small variance from the “over 130” figure used in earlier coverage).
The core mechanic is the S (Shiny) rarity — color-swapped versions of ordinary Pokemon, with more than 100 of them in the set — layered under the SSR (Shiny Secret Rare) tier, which reserves the shiny treatment for VMAX and V Pokemon specifically. Every booster pack is guaranteed at least one S-rarity card, which is a big part of why S4a felt different from anything that came before it: the “hit” wasn’t a maybe, it was baked into the pack.
MSRP at release was ¥5,500 per box, the same as every Sword & Shield-era high class pack that followed.
S8b VMAX Climax: The CHR/CSR Answer
VMAX Climax followed just over a year later, on December 3, 2021, as the second entry in the Sword & Shield High Class Pack line. Its main set is slightly smaller than S4a’s at 184 cards, and its secret-rare block runs 101 cards from #185 through #285, for a set total of 285.
Where S4a leaned on shiny recolours, S8b brought the CHR (Character Rare) concept — a tier that pairs a Trainer character with their signature Pokemon in a single full-scene illustration, first seen two years earlier in 2019’s SM11b Dream League — into the Sword & Shield era, and added CSR, the VMAX/full-art extension of that concept that didn’t exist in S4a at all. The set also carries an HR/UR gold tier for its highest-end chases. It’s a different design philosophy from S4a — narrative illustration over colour variation — and it’s the reason CHR/CSR became its own collecting category independent of either set.
MSRP also sat at ¥5,500 per box at release.
Chase Cards Compared
Six cards define what collectors are actually hunting in each set. All prices below are our own current graded-listing prices, not third-party market quotes.
| Card | Set | Rarity | PSA 10, currently listed at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reshiram (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | S4a 021/190 | — | ¥6,695 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| Dedenne (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | S8b 200/184 | CHR | ¥9,719 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| Professor’s Research (Professor Juniper) | S8b 266/184 | SR | ¥8,240 |
| Pikachu V (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | S8b 045/184 | RR | ¥11,845 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| Galarian Moltres V | S8b 242/184 | CSR | ¥10,567 |
| Friends in Galar (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | S8b 258/184 | SR | ¥19,234 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| Umbreon VMAX | S8b 245/184 | CSR | ¥41,365 |
| Pikachu VMAX (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | S8b 279/184 | UR | ¥59,925 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
Notice the pattern: our current S8b singles inventory skews toward the CHR/CSR/UR tier and runs well above our S4a listings in this table. That lines up with how the two sets are generally discussed — S4a’s headline chase is Charizard VMAX Shiny at the SSR tier (#308/190, community-reported secondary prices have ranged widely for raw and graded copies over time; we don’t currently list this specific PSA 10 copy), while S8b’s most-discussed chases sit across CHR, CSR, and its gold UR tier, several of which we do carry graded right now.
Every PSA 10 linked above is a single physical holder, not a restockable SKU — when a listing sells, it’s gone and the next available copy (if any) will be at a different price.
Box Pricing and Market Data
| Set | MSRP (2020/21) | SNKRDUNK-basis market price (community-reported, ~July 2026) | Our sealed box, currently listed at |
|---|---|---|---|
| S4a Shiny Star V | ¥5,500 | ~¥23,800 (~$149) | ¥22,365 |
| S8b VMAX Climax | ¥5,500 | ~¥38,900 (~$243) | ¥39,375 |
The community-reported SNKRDUNK-basis figures above and our own catalog prices land close to each other, which is itself informative: on the same MSRP, S8b is trading at roughly 1.6× the level of S4a. Given that S4a is the set that started the format and S8b is the set that carries CHR/CSR, that gap is usually attributed to CHR/CSR becoming a chase category collectors pursue independent of either set — but we’d frame that as the general market narrative around these sets, not a claim we can verify directly.
Which Box Fits Your Collection
- Want the format’s origin point. S4a Shiny Star V is the set that made “guaranteed shiny per pack” a Sword & Shield staple. If you’re building a collection around the history of the mechanic, this is the starting set. Currently listed at ¥22,365.
- Want CHR/CSR specifically. Within these two sets, that rarity only exists in S8b — S4a has no equivalent. VMAX Climax at ¥39,375 is the only way to pull a CHR or CSR from a sealed box between these two releases.
- Working on a budget. S4a is the lower entry point on both MSRP-multiple and current listing price, while still guaranteeing a shiny hit every pack.
- Chasing a specific single instead. Skip the box and go straight to a graded copy — our current S4a and S8b PSA 10 stock is linked in the chase-card table above, and each one is a single graded holder rather than an ongoing SKU.
Where to Buy Shiny Star V and VMAX Climax from Japan
We ship sealed Japanese booster boxes and graded singles worldwide out of Tokyo with tracked delivery.
- Browse current sealed Japanese boosters on our sealed booster box collection
- Browse graded S4a and S8b singles on our PSA 10 collection
- Use our Quick Order page to build a mixed order across both sets, or ask us to source a card we don’t currently list
For related comparisons, see how S4a stacks up against a different high class pack in our S4a Shiny Star V pull rates and best cards guide, how S8b’s full lineup breaks down in our S8b VMAX Climax pull rates and best cards guide, or how VMAX Climax compares against a later Sword & Shield flagship in our VMAX Climax vs VSTAR Universe box guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is S4a Shiny Star V or S8b VMAX Climax more expensive?
S8b VMAX Climax. Our sealed box is currently listed at ¥39,375 versus ¥22,365 for S4a Shiny Star V, and community-reported secondary-market data (SNKRDUNK basis) shows a similar gap — roughly ¥38,900 for S8b against ¥23,800 for S4a.
What’s the difference between S4a and S8b’s chase rarities?
S4a is built around the S (Shiny) and SSR (Shiny Secret Rare) tiers — color-swapped Pokemon, with a guaranteed shiny in every pack. S8b carries CHR (Character Rare) and CSR, which pair a Trainer with their Pokemon in a full illustrated scene. The two rarity systems don’t overlap within these sets; CHR/CSR appears only in S8b here, though the CHR rarity itself debuted earlier, in 2019’s SM11b Dream League.
Which set released first?
S4a Shiny Star V, on November 20, 2020. S8b VMAX Climax followed about 13 months later, on December 3, 2021.
Do either of these sets have a “god pack”?
Neither of our own set breakdowns for S4a or S8b documents a god pack mechanic. We’re not asserting one doesn’t exist — only that it isn’t part of either set’s confirmed structure in our research.
How many cards are in each set?
S4a’s main set is 190 cards with 100+ shiny/secret cards layered on top, for a total generally cited around 320+ (our structured listing pages count 326). S8b’s main set is 184 cards with 101 secret cards numbered #185–285, for a set total of 285.
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