Pokemon TCG Delta Reign: Mega Rayquaza ex Chase Cards Guide

Pokemon TCG Delta Reign: Mega Rayquaza ex Chase Cards Guide

ME06, the sixth mainline Mega Evolution expansion, brings back the Hoenn Weather Trio's signature legend as Mega Rayquaza ex. Japan gets the set first, under the name Storm Emeralda, on July 31, 2026. The English release, Pokemon TCG: Mega Evolution, Delta Reign, follows on November 6, 2026. Here is what is confirmed about both releases, the chase cards revealed so far, the new split Stadium mechanic, and how to plan a submission strategy across a four month gap between the two launches.

What Delta Reign Is: Storm Emeralda's English Release

Delta Reign is the English localization of Storm Emeralda, the Japanese M6 expansion. The two are the same set, not a Japan-only exclusive with a separate English follow-up, so everything revealed in Japan ahead of the July 31 street date carries over to the November English print with the same card numbers and rarities. Storm Emeralda runs 76 cards in the main set, with reports of an additional 35 to 40 secret rares stacked on top, putting the full master set in the neighborhood of 115 cards, in line with recent Mega Evolution releases.

The theme returns to Hoenn and the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire era, built around Mega Rayquaza ex as the set's central Pokemon. Community trackers expect Primal Kyogre and Primal Groudon to appear alongside Rayquaza, recreating the Weather Trio dynamic that defined that generation, though neither has a confirmed Special Illustration Rare treatment yet as of this writing.

Release Dates: Japan First, Then a Long English Wait

The gap between the two street dates is the story collectors need to plan around.

Region	Set Name	Release Date	Format
Japan	Storm Emeralda (M6)	July 31, 2026	5 cards per pack, 30 packs per box
Taiwan and Hong Kong	Storm Emeralda	August 7, 2026	Same as Japan
English	Mega Evolution, Delta Reign (ME06)	November 6, 2026	Standard English booster format

A ten day window before Japanese packs hit shelves is a short runway, but the four month gap to the English release is longer than most recent Mega Evolution launches. That means English speaking collectors get a full quarter of Japanese pull data, community grading results, and secondary market pricing before Delta Reign packs are in their own hands, a real advantage if you use it instead of racing for early Japanese singles.

The New Mechanic: Split Stadium Cards

Storm Emeralda introduces a Stadium card type that has not appeared before: two physical cards that share one continuous piece of artwork and are played together as a single, larger Stadium. Two pairs are confirmed so far, Legendary Marine Trench (cards 71 to 72) and Legendary Summit (cards 73 to 74), with a third split Stadium reported in a later reveal wave alongside Mega Golisopod ex and Wishiwashi ex.

For collectors this is a new grading and storage question that the Mega Evolution sub-brand has not raised before. A split Stadium is really two separate cards, each independently gradeable, but the pair only means anything to a player or a set completionist as a matched two-card unit. Expect graded pairs to be marketed and priced as a set once population data exists, similar to how paired promo cards from other games have traded historically. There is no grading precedent yet for either half individually, so treat any early asking price on a Legendary Summit or Legendary Marine Trench pair as a projection.

Mega Rayquaza ex: The Set's Headline Chase

Mega Rayquaza ex (058/076). The flagship card and the reason Storm Emeralda is drawing preorder attention well ahead of its Japanese street date. Japanese market trackers are projecting the Special Art Rare at ¥35,000 to ¥50,000, roughly $215 to $310 at current exchange rates, which would make it the most valuable single card in the set if that estimate holds. Rayquaza's Colorless typing and Weather Trio legacy give it crossover appeal beyond players who just want the in-game ability, the same dynamic that made prior Mega Evolution flagships (Mega Charizard, Mega Meganium, Mega Darkrai) hold value independent of competitive relevance. Centering is the axis to watch: Rayquaza's serpentine full-art pose tends to run closer to one edge of the frame than a symmetrical Pokemon, and the silver foil ring around a mostly blue-green background makes off-center prints easier to spot at a glance but also easier to misjudge from a phone photo instead of a real scan.

Mega Golisopod ex and Mega Malamar ex. The two other confirmed Mega ex cards revealed so far, giving the set at least three Mega ex chases across Grass and Darkness typing. Neither has a confirmed Special Illustration Rare treatment as of this writing, but every prior Mega Evolution set has extended SIR treatment to its secondary Mega ex cards, so expect the same here once the full card list is spoiled.

Wishiwashi ex and Talonflame ex. Confirmed non-Mega ex cards rounding out the set's ex roster. Historically these secondary ex cards trade well below the Mega ex tier but still clear a real PSA 10 premium over a raw pack pull, especially early in a set's life before population reports settle.

Zinnia, Steven Stone, and Wallace Supporter cards. Early community reporting flags these three Hoenn-tied Trainer cards as the strongest secondary chases outside the Pokemon ex tier, consistent with how prior Mega Evolution sets have treated marquee Trainer alternate arts as a second chase pool below the Special Illustration Rares.

Card	Type	Rarity Confirmed	Raw (projected)	PSA 10 (projected)
Mega Rayquaza ex	Colorless	Special Art Rare, RR	Not yet priced	$215 to $310 (SAR, JP estimate)
Mega Golisopod ex	Grass	ex confirmed, SIR expected	Unpriced	Unpriced
Mega Malamar ex	Darkness	ex confirmed, SIR expected	Unpriced	Unpriced
Wishiwashi ex	Water	ex confirmed	Unpriced	Unpriced
Talonflame ex	Fire	ex confirmed	Unpriced	Unpriced

Every figure in that table beyond the yen estimate on Rayquaza is a placeholder for a reason: Storm Emeralda has not released yet, and a full spoiler list has not been published. Do not treat any number attached to an unrevealed rarity slot as a market price. It is a projection until real raw and graded sales exist.

Where Delta Reign Sits in the Mega Evolution Timeline

Delta Reign is the direct follow-up to Mega Evolution: Pitch Black, which released July 17, 2026 with Mega Darkrai ex leading a dark themed, black bordered set. Our Mega Evolution sub-brand guide covers the full timeline from Phantasmal Flames through Ascended Heroes and Chaos Rising: the silver foil frame thickness, the Special Illustration Rare structure, and the five grading axes stay consistent set to set, so everything you learned grading a Pitch Black pull applies directly to a Delta Reign pull.

What changes with each release is the color palette and the background treatment, and both matter more than the mechanic for grading outcomes. Pitch Black's black borders punished edge whitening harder than any prior release. Storm Emeralda flips that risk: Rayquaza's set leans on blue and green backgrounds and a lot of open sky artwork, which tends to make surface scuffs and print lines more visible than they were on a busier, darker composition, while making minor edge whitening comparatively easier to miss on a quick visual check.

Grading Delta Reign: What to Watch For

The Mega Evolution sub-brand's five recurring grading issues (detailed in full in the sub-brand guide) all apply here, with two Storm Emeralda specific notes worth flagging early.

Centering against the silver ring, not the outer border. As with every Mega Evolution set, measure centering to the inner edge of the silver foil ring around a Mega ex, not the card's outer printed edge. Rayquaza's asymmetric pose makes an off-center print easier to spot by eye than a symmetrical Pokemon would be, which cuts both ways: a genuinely centered copy can look off at a glance, and a genuinely off-center copy can look fine if the pose happens to mask it.

Open sky backgrounds show surface defects at a different rate than a dark set. Coming directly off Pitch Black's black bordered, edge-punishing set, do not assume the same defect priorities carry over unchanged. A lighter, sky heavy background surfaces print lines and light scuffing more readily under a grading lamp, which shifts more of the risk toward the surface axis on this set's headline chases than edge whitening carried on the prior release.

Split Stadium cards have zero grading history. Legendary Marine Trench and Legendary Summit are a genuinely new card format for the sub-brand. Scan both halves independently the moment you pull them and do not assume a matched pair grades identically; each half is printed and cut separately and can carry its own centering or edge issues.

Sealed vs Singles: Playing the Four Month Window

The unusually long gap between the July 31 Japanese release and the November 6 English release changes the usual playbook. In a normal Mega Evolution cycle, English collectors are pricing singles against thin, days-old Japanese data. Here, a full quarter of Japanese pulls, PSA and CGC submissions, and population reports will exist before a single English pack opens.

Use that window rather than racing it. Watch Japanese Mega Rayquaza ex SAR sales and early grading population data through August and September, and let that data set your expectations for the English Special Illustration Rare equivalent instead of guessing from the pre-release ¥35,000 to ¥50,000 estimate alone. If you specifically collect Japanese language cards, the ten day runway to July 31 is your real preorder deadline; MSRP for Japanese Storm Emeralda boxes is reported around ¥6,000. English preorders for Delta Reign have not opened broadly as of this writing, so lock in a box at MSRP the moment retailers open orders rather than waiting for the September hype cycle that typically follows a strong Japanese debut.

Run the math with our is your card worth grading calculator once real raw prices exist on either side of the Pacific, and scan every pull the day you open it. Historical grading population data for a card is the strongest signal you will get before committing a submission fee, and this set will have four extra months of it before English boxes are even for sale.

The ZeroPop Verdict: What to Grade and What to Wait On

Mega Rayquaza ex is the safest early bet, purely on the strength of the character and its Weather Trio legacy, but "safe" still means wait for real sales data rather than submitting off a projection. The split Stadium cards are the most interesting new wrinkle in the sub-brand and worth pulling aside to scan, but they carry zero grading precedent and should not be a first submission priority until population data exists for at least one pair.

For collectors sitting on the sidelines until November, the smart move is to spend the next four months watching Japanese Storm Emeralda sales and grading results, then walk into the Delta Reign release with real comps instead of a pre-release estimate. See our Pitch Black chase guide for how the prior Mega Evolution release actually graded once population data came in, and use that as your baseline for what a strong Mega ex pull looks like on submission day.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Storm Emeralda release in Japan?

July 31, 2026, with Taiwan and Hong Kong following on August 7, 2026. The set is Mega Evolution's Japanese M6 expansion, led by Mega Rayquaza ex.

When does the English version, Delta Reign, release?

November 6, 2026. Pokemon TCG: Mega Evolution, Delta Reign is ME06, the direct English localization of Storm Emeralda, with the same 76 card main set plus an additional 35 to 40 secret rares reported.

Is Delta Reign a different set from Storm Emeralda?

No. Delta Reign is the English release of the same Japanese set, Storm Emeralda, with the same card numbers and rarities. It is not a Japan-exclusive spinoff or a separate follow-up expansion.

What is the most valuable card in the set?

Mega Rayquaza ex (058/076) as a Special Art Rare, with early Japanese market trackers projecting ¥35,000 to ¥50,000, roughly $215 to $310 at current exchange rates. That figure is a pre-release projection based on Rayquaza's historical market performance, not a confirmed market price.

What is the new split Stadium card mechanic?

A Stadium type that spans two physical cards sharing one continuous artwork, played together as a single larger card. Legendary Marine Trench and Legendary Summit are the two confirmed pairs so far, with a third reported in a later reveal wave. Each half is an independently printed, independently gradeable card with no grading precedent yet.

Should I buy Japanese Storm Emeralda or wait for English Delta Reign?

If you collect Japanese language cards specifically, preorder before July 31 at the roughly ¥6,000 box price. If you collect English cards, the four month gap to November works in your favor: watch Japanese sales and grading population data through the fall and use it to set real expectations before Delta Reign packs are in hand, rather than paying an import premium now for cards you will be able to buy in English later.