It’s time for that four armed Fighting type Pokemon to take the spotlight, as we check out the most valuable Machamp Pokemon cards!
Fighting type Pokemon are, as you may expect, simply from their Energy type, among the heaviest hitters in the Pokemon Trading Card Game (for more insight on this, check out our Pokemon Energy types article!).
Being one of the original 151 Pokemon, Machamp is one of the most iconic Pokemon of them all, and remains a popular choice to this day.
Despite this, Machamp’s cards don’t seem to reach the same level of ridiculous cost that other Pokemon can command (see our valuable Gyarados Pokemon cards list for a great example of just how expensive some cards can get!).
We checked out the current average market prices on TCGPlayer to see which Machamp Pokemon cards are the most valuable.
Note that we’re only showcasing English language cards here – there are Japanese variants that can sometimes exceed the prices of the cards we’ve listed, but even then Machamp seems to be an underrated, underappreciated Pokemon card in many incarnations!
So of all the Machamp cards that have ever been released, which are priced the highest?
Let’s find out, as we check out the most valuable Machamp Pokemon cards!
1. Machamp – XY Evolutions, Pre-Release Staff Promo ($154)
The 2016 Evolutions set brought a classic set of cards back, along with new Evolutions and types to make it much more than just a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
This Machamp card is one of the more classic looking cards, hearkening back to the aesthetic of the very first Pokemon sets, celebrating the 20th anniversary of Pokemon in general.
In the years since the original Base Set of Pokemon were released, Pokemon had steadily increased in power; so this Machamp, despite looking like an OG, has had its stats tweaked.
Which means that this Machamp has 160 HP instead of the original’s 100 HP and 120 damage dealt by its Seismic Toss, compared to 60 HP of damage on the Base Set’s card.
Interestingly, that Seismic Toss is also cheaper to use, despite dealing double damage!
Currently selling for $154, this particular variant of the card is one that was given to staff as a promo at pre-release events for the Evolutions set.
We have seen this card selling for many times that value before, but that does tend to be the case for graded copies; we here at Card Gamer would just urge caution, and advise you to make sure you’re shopping around for the best deal!
2. Machamp V – Astral Radiance ($97)
Even if you’re not a fan of Machamp or Fighting type Pokemon in general, it’s hard not to be impressed with this card, which was released in 2022 as part of the Astral Radiance set.
The Machamp V’s full art design is bold and colourful, showing a whimsical, almost Studio Ghibli-esque scene of Machamp seemingly delivering different items to stalls in a market.
It’s a far cry from the aggressive stances we usually see Machamp in – and its even being assisted by a helpful Trapinch!
Perhaps that’s one reason that this card, despite being such a recent release, finds itself close to the top of the most valuable Machamp Pokemon cards list.
It’s currently valued at an average of $97, though as is often the case, you can easily pay well over the odds for this card if you opt to buy a graded card.
It’s unusual to see such a recently released card on the list of the most valuable cards, but this Machamp isn’t just a pretty face; its actual attacks are impressive too, making it useful for players as well as collectors.
For the cost of two Energy (one Fighting and one Colorless), you can use an attack that does up to 100 damage, as long as you have damage counters on any of your Benched Pokemon.
Add one more Fighting Energy and you can use Seismic Toss, which deals 140 damage.
Sticking to the no nonsense damage dealing, this Machamp V is an easy card to make good use of, and it should cope pretty well with anything except Psychic Pokemon!
As a V Pokemon, it’s also Basic, so there’s no need to evolve your Machop into a Machoke and then Machamp in order to make use of this card, making it even more desirable for players to get their hands on!
3. Giovanni’s Machamp – Gym Challenge ($84)
Too heavily reliant on coin flips for my liking – with its only attack dealing 30 damage per heads flipped, with 4 attempts allowed – this Giovanni’s Machamp is a risky card to use.
Being part of the Gym Challenge set, which showcased the different Pokemon held by Gym Leaders in the Kanto region, this Machamp card also has a power that requires a successful coin flip in order to be of any use!
However, thanks to its unique look, not to mention how old it is too, it’s a card that’s held reasonable value for collectors.
Having appeared in the very first Pokemon games, along with the Pokemon anime, Giovanni is a Gym Leader who’s always been popular as a supporting character too, which no doubt adds to the allure of this card.
That is of course reflected in its price, with a current average value of $84.
So even though it may not be a card that’s useful in-game any more, it’s definitely one that collectors always seem to chase!
4. Marshadow & Machamp GX – Unbroken Bonds ($69)
This Tag Team card, which sees Machamp pairing up with creepy (but also cute!) Marshadow, is from the Sun & Moon: Unbroken Bonds set, which released in 2019.
It’s a pretty spectacular card too, with some genuinely impressive, surprisingly low cost attacks on offer.
With Revenge, it can deal 30 points of damage, and a further 90 HP of damage if you Knocked Out an opponent’s Pokemon in the previous turn!
For a cost of two Fighting and one Colorless Energy, this Tag Team can use Hundred Blows Impact, which deals a straightforward 160 points of damage with no special effects.
Its GX attack, which can only be used once per game, can deal 200 damage, but at a cost of one extra Energy (on top of its two Fighting, one Colorless cost) it can prevent being Knocked Out on its next turn and remain in play with 10 HP.
That one extra turn of having Marshadow & Machamp in play could make all the difference!
Currently selling for an average price of $69, it’s not difficult to see why it’s so sought after, despite being such a recent release; not only is it a brilliant card from a mechanical point of view, but it’s a gorgeous card to add to any collection too.
5. Dark Machamp (Holo) – Team Rocket ($54)
Hailing from the Team Rocket set that was released in 2000, Dark Machamp is a unique variant of this particular Pokemon.
It can only evolve from Dark Machoke; it’s no good just having a Machoke card!
Given its age, it’s no surprise that it’s woefully underpowered in comparison to modern cards; Dark Machamp has just 70 HP, plus a Mega Punch attack that does 30 HP damage for the cost of 2 Fighting Energy.
It does also have Fling, which deals no damage but forces your opponent to shuffle their Active Pokemon and all attached cards back into their deck; though this can’t be used if your opponent has no Benched Pokemon, it’s still a pretty cool attack.
Or at least it would be, if it didn’t cost 3 Fighting and 1 Colorless Energy, which seems very high indeed!
Though available in a non-Holo variant, it’s the holographic foil Dark Machamp that commands an average price of $54; no doubt this being a unique version of the popular Fighting Pokemon has made it so sought after.
6. Machamp (Shadowless) – Base Set ($41)
The very first Pokemon Trading Card Game cards, from 1999’s Base Set, had no shadow around the window bordering the Pokemon’s picture.
This soon changed, with further prints of the cards adding a shadow that made the image ‘pop’ a little more, though nothing else changed about the visual design at that stage.
For collectors, those original, shadowless variants can often prove more valuable than the reprinted versions, even though the latter are, in our opinion, more aesthetically pleasing.
This Base Set Machamp currently sells for a price of around $41, though it can be purchased for a surprisingly low price if you’re willing to take a risk on its condition.
Though in its day, this was a powerful card (certainly in comparison to many Base Set cards), it’s long been overtaken even by other Machamp variants.
However, given that even cards from just a few years ago are no longer tournament legal, of course the value of these cards is in their nostalgia and, especially with shadowless cards, their unique, rarer, visual style!
7. Machamp – XY Evolutions, Pre-Release Promo ($40)
You’d be forgiven for experiencing a serious case of deja vu when looking at this card, given that you could easily play a game of spot the difference with this Machamp and the one in our number one spot on this list!
If you did, you would only find a single major difference: the ‘STAFF’ stamp on the card featured at number one.
Otherwise, this Machamp is identical, being a promo card given out at XY Evolutions pre-release events, though in this case, not to staff!
So you can see the same Counterattack ability, along with the Seismic Toss attack; for the sake of the missing Staff stamp, the cost of this card is at an average of $40, rather than $154!
8. Machamp (Holo) – Expedition ($39)
Released as part of the Expedition set in 2002, you’ll notice that this Machamp card has barcode style patterns on two edges of its face.
Those are codes to be read by Nintendo’s e-Reader device, which plugged into the Game Boy Advance and read scanned cards to play minigames or display other bonus content on the GBA’s screen.
With Pokemon cards, it was most commonly used to unlock bonus, animated Pokedex entries.
Expedition was the first set to feature the e-Reader cards, making these particularly sought after for collectors.
It holds a current value of $39 for its Holofoil variant, though you’ll be able to find the non-Holo versioon much cheaper.
It has an ability, known at the time as a Poké Power, which is pretty useful: Terraforming.
This allows you to look at and rearrange the top four cards of your deck, before attacking, as long as your Machamp doesn’t have a Special Condition.
It also has the Iron Fist attack, costing 2 Fighting and 2 Colorless Energy.
Though expensive in terms of the number of cards it needs to be used, Iron Fist deal 50 HP of damage, plus an extra 10 HP damage per Pokemon you have in play with damage counters on them.
However, be warned: it’ll only deal this bonus damage if you flip heads on a single coin toss, so try not to rely on always having that extra damage to hand!
9. Machamp – XY13, Pre-Release Promo ($37)
This Machamp’s Fighting Fury ability powers up your other Fighting Pokemon, giving their attacks a 20 HP damage bonus when they attack your opponent’s Active Pokemon.
It also has Machamp Crush, which costs 3 Fighting Energy and deals 80 HP of damage, also reducing the Defending Pokemon’s attack in the following turn by 40 HP!
This particular card, valued at $37, is another one that was given out as a pre-release promo card to Staff.
Despite this variant’s rarity, it certainly hasn’t held as high a value as other pre-release promo cards on this list, but it’s still worth getting hold of if you do find it; we suspect that these Machamp Staff promo cards may well rise in value over the coming years, given how scarce they are.
10. Machamp LV.X – Stormfront ($35)
A forgotten type of Pokemon card, Level Up Pokemon were used to Evolve previous forms with one major difference: the attacks and abilities of the prior forms would still be available when a Level Up Pokemon was used.
That’s the case with this LV.X Machamp from the 2008 Stormfront expansion set.
It’s placed on top of a ‘normal’ Machamp and, as long as it’s in the Active Spot, adds 60 HP of damage to all of Machamp’s attacks!
It has the Strong-Willed attack too, which costs 1 Fighting and 2 Colorless Energy.
This attack deals 20 HP of damage and also, if Machamp is supposed to be Knocked Out during its next turn, instead you flip a coin; on a result of heads, Machamp remains in play with 10 HP.
It’s another unique and unusual Machamp card, which explains its $35 average selling price.
So there we have it – the most valuable Machamp Pokemon cards!
Want to check out more costly Pokemon cards? You can take a look at our most valuable Venusaur Pokemon cards, most valuable Blastoise Pokemon cards or most valuable Charizard Pokemon cards lists for many more; some of which are incredibly expensive!
