Pokémon · Black & White
Empoleon
BW Black Star Promos · #BW56 · Promo · 2011
Listings
No active listings
From
—
Market reference
$15.57
TCGPlayer
Current listings on The Game Traders
No active listings for this card right now.
Card facts
Quick reference for collectors and graders.
- Set position
- BW56 / 101
- Release year
- 2011
- Rarity
- Promo
- HP
- 140
- Subtype
- Stage 2
- Evolves from
- Prinplup
- Retreat cost
- 2 energy
- Illustrator
- Shin Nagasawa
- Pokédex #
- 395
- Series
- Black & White
Card analysis
Computed from this card's stats and text — not a reposted price.
- Primary role
- Attacker
- Damage efficiency
- 70 damage
- 30 per Energy
- Prize liability
- 1 Prize given up
- Single-prize attacker — favourable prize trades
- Setup
- Stage 2
- Needs its evolution line or Rare Candy to set up
Strategy & play
How Empoleon plays — derived from its stats and the rules of the game, not an opinion.
- Its main attack (Cold Crush) needs 3 Energy — a turn-3 swing on manual attachment — you’ll want Energy acceleration to power it up on time.
- Needs Water Energy to attack — your line must supply that color.
- Water type, weak to Lightning ×2 — a Lightning attacker doing ≥70 effectively one-shots it.
- A single-prize attacker — prize-trade-positive against ex / V decks that give up two at a time.
- A Stage 2 — without Rare Candy you lose ~2 turns setting it up, and it’s gust-bait before it’s online (you must draw Prinplup first).
How to beat Empoleon
- Exploit its Lightning weakness — ≥70 damage one-shots it.
- Gust it before the evolution is set up.
Budget alternatives
Cheaper cards that fill a similar role in Standard decks. Reference prices — most-played option first.
More by Shin Nagasawa
This card was illustrated by Shin Nagasawa.
Building around Empoleon?
Drop it into the deck builder for a live consistency score, synergy suggestions, and Standard legality checks.
About this card
"If anyone were to hurt its pride, it would slash them with wings that can cleave through an ice floe."
WFury Attack — 30×
Flip 3 coins. This attack does 30 damage times the number of heads.
WCCCold Crush — 70
You may discard an Energy attached to this Pokémon. If you do, discard an Energy attached to the Defending Pokémon.
Weakness:L×2
Retreat cost:CC
Tournament legality
Current legal status across competitive formats.
Upcoming events
View calendar →Tournaments and releases relevant to Empoleon or BW Black Star Promos.
Recent tournament results
View calendar →Tournaments from the past 30 days where Empoleon was legal.
Tournament play
This printing of Empoleon has no recent tournament appearances, but a different printing is currently a meta staple.
Empoleon ex — Phantasmal Flames
Played in 75 recent decks
Pricing reference
Latest snapshot from the upstream catalog. Actual marketplace prices fluctuate by condition, edition, and grade — use this as a reference, not a quote.
TCGPlayer (USD)
Updated 2026/07/01| Variant | Low | Mid | High | Market | Direct Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holofoil | $4.50 | $16.46 | $117.40 | $15.57 | — |
Cardmarket (EUR)
Updated 2026/02/19| Variant | Price |
|---|---|
| 1-day average | €8.98 |
| 7-day average | €6.81 |
| 30-day average | €5.25 |
| Low | €1.00 |
| Trend price | €6.02 |
| Low (excellent+) | €4.50 |
| reverseHoloAvg1 | €7.50 |
| Reverse holo 7-day | €3.34 |
| averageSellPrice | €5.74 |
| Reverse holo 30-day | €2.37 |
| Reverse holo trend | €3.27 |
Frequently asked
How can I tell if my Empoleon is real?
Empoleon is not on our list of commonly-counterfeited cards, but counterfeits exist across every set. Check the back-light test (real cards have a black inner layer that blocks light; counterfeits glow through), the rosette dot pattern on the back under magnification, font weight and kerning on the card name, and the holofoil pattern if applicable. For high-value copies we recommend submitting to a professional grader (PSA, BGS, CGC) for tamper-evident authentication.
What is Empoleon worth?
As of the latest data, the current market reference price for Empoleon is $15.57; there are no active listings on The Game Traders right now. Actual value depends on condition, grading, edition and printing variant — graded high-condition copies (PSA 9–10) trade at a substantial premium over raw copies.
What set is Empoleon from?
Empoleon is from the Pokémon set "BW Black Star Promos" in the Black & White series, released in 2011.
What rarity is Empoleon?
Empoleon is a Promo card in the BW Black Star Promos set.
Other Empoleon printings
Same Pokémon card across other sets and rarities.
