Magikarp 60/97 Pokémon EX Dragon Raw

Pokémon: Magikarp

Series: EX

Set: Dragon

Card Number: 60

Rarity: C

Condition: N/A

Grade: Raw

Year: 2005

Illustrator:  Kouki Saitou

Type: Water

The Magikarp 60/97 is a Common Water-type Basic Pokémon card from EX Dragon, released on November 24, 2003 by The Pokémon Company and illustrated by Kouki Saitou, a Japanese artist whose dynamic, high-movement compositions and bold, fluid linework brought a sense of determined, underdog energy to one of the franchise's most beloved and iconic Pokémon. As a 30 HP Pokémon with a Weakness to Lightning-type attacks (×2), no Resistance, and a Retreat Cost of one Colorless Energy, it occupies a deceptively simple but strategically valuable position within the 97-card master set. EX Dragon was the 18th expansion of the Pokémon TCG and the first English set to introduce the Dragon Energy type and EX Dragon attacks—a mechanic that allowed certain Pokémon to use Dragon Energy to power enhanced versions of their standard attacks—making it a pivotal transitional set between the Neo era's physical card dominance and the emerging e-Reader digital platform.

In terms of decks and strategy, Magikarp's two attacks make it one of the most tactically interesting Common Water Pokémon in the entire EX era. Call for Family costs a single Colorless Energy and allows the player to search their deck for Magikarp and put as many of them as they like onto their Bench, then shuffle the deck afterward—a powerful bench-flooding tool that could populate the entire Bench with Magikarp in a single use, creating a devastating setup for a subsequent Gyarados evolution turn. This made it a cornerstone of 2003–2005 Water-type and Gyarados-focused decks, where the ability to flood the Bench with cheap, expendable bodies created a powerful evolution pipeline that could deploy multiple Gyarados in rapid succession. Tackle costs one Water and one Colorless Energy and deals a flat 20 damage—a modest but reliable strike that kept Magikarp functional as a turn-one attacker while its primary role remained as a bench-filling enabler. In modern Unlimited and Expanded formats, it remains a functional tech card in Water-focused strategies, and its single Colorless Retreat Cost makes it a highly mobile bench presence that can rotate in and out freely without energy investment.

Collectors love the EX Dragon Magikarp for its unique position as one of the most culturally significant Common Pokémon in the entire EX era, a card whose Call for Family attack represented a design philosophy of bench manipulation that was remarkably creative for a 30 HP Basic. Kouki Saitou's illustration—depicting Magikarp in a determined, mid-swim pose with its small, stubborn eyes locked forward and its orange-and-white scales rendered in his signature bold, fluid style—captures the raw, underdog spirit of the species in a way that stands out among the more aggressive and dramatic artwork of the set's Holographic Rares like Kingdra ex, Latias ex, and Rayquaza ex. As a Basic Pokémon that can be played directly from the hand on turn one and serves as the pre-evolution of Gyarados in the same set, Magikarp occupies a structurally important position within the set's evolution ecosystem, and its permanently fixed supply—combined with over 20 years of natural wear from the population of EX Dragon cards that were opened, played, and traded in the mid-2000s—ensures that quality raw copies remain a steady target for both set completionists and players of Unlimited format tournaments who still appreciate the creative bench-flooding mechanics of one of the EX era's most iconic and mechanically rewarding Water-type Pokémon.

Product Details

Card Number / Rarity:60/97 / Common

Card Type / HP / Stage:Water / 30 / Basic

Attack 1:[1] Call for Family
Search your deck for Magikarp and put as many as you like onto your Bench. Shuffle your deck afterward.

Attack 2:[1W] Tackle (20)

Weakness / Resistance / Retreat Cost:L / None / 1

Stock Image(s) Shown.

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