The Chinese MLP Core Cards Bible

Updated 30/ 12/ 2025

Notice: This work began in Q4 of 2023. It’s a living document in which I’ve recorded information on the cards to assist in developing my guide. At the time, only two people had guides, and they were unaware of each other. The Silver Tree Guide is a tick-box guide geared for adult collectors. It also contains box sets in addition to the core collection. For myself, being in China, I would begin creating a visual guide for my daughter, students, and young adults. Mine is intended for the Chinese collector, who rarely collects R / SR cards. Both parties eventually met in 2025 on the Trading Card Collectors Discord. Most of the other guides out there have reverse-engineered our hard work. So now I have to do this _> This document & its download are Copyright © 2025 Heimantou Co., Limited. All rights reserved.

What is this?

This page is about Kayou’s My Little Pony CCG card collection.

SEA South East Asia (English Cards). SEA Moon 1= CN MOON 6 / SEA Moon 2= CN MOON 7 / SEA Moon 3= CN MOON 8 / SEA RAINBOW 1 = CN RAINBOW 4. / PHOTO FUN 1= CN PHOTO FUN 4. / PHOTO FUN 2= CN PHOTO FUN 5.

US (English Cards). US MOON 1= CN MOON 7 / US MOON 2= CN MOON8 / US RAINBOW 1 = CN RAINBOW 4. / PHOTO FUN 1= CN PHOTO FUN 4.

My personal lexicon definition

Alpha & Omega Collections.

For my part, I’ve chosen to divide the collection into Alpha and Omega. I’ve taken this action for three reasons.

First, if you have any kind of large or complete Alpha core, you must have an absurdly large collection of folders.

Secondly, dividing your collection in half makes it easier to handle, and it makes more sense. The previous five years are represented by Alpha, and the next five years are represented by Omega.

Thirdly, dividing the collection makes collecting the CCG more accessible for newcomers. There is a high probability they may never be able to finish an Alpha collection. However, with the global distribution of the cards in 2026, all newcomers will be able to begin collecting from scratch and be able to complete an Omega collection.

Every successful Kayou card series has three product price points.
10RMB for the most exclusive cards.
5RMB for somewhat less exclusive cards.
2RMB has the fewest number of exclusive cards.

Some series even offer a budget 1RMB pack line, while MLP does not. All boxes contain overlapping sets of cards. For low cards, there are R and SR cards. High cards include SSR and UR cards. In addition to box sets, there are gift sets, folders, and promotional cards.

Download Visual Alpha Guides

The Basics

The Product Names

The process of Kayou, naming these products in English, has just recently started in 2025. However, Western collectors, like myself, have been coining the names of these products for many years. Realistically, a lot of us old collectors are stuck with the nicknames we gave these boxes over the years. I still can’t call the 2rmb Let’s Go boxes, Photo fun, the product’s official new name. Often, even local Chinese do not refer to boxsets as Kayou has termed them. Below is a poster of the English version of Rainbow 4. An example of Kayou’s word salad direct translations. I would like to add that the US box names are a lot better.

Named Moon Foreigners, collecting these boxsets repeatedly, notice the Chinese word “moon” on the packaging. So they began calling the 10RMB boxsets Moon. While Locally in China, the Chinese I would speak to use the box number and price to effectively reference boxsets. 2盒, 10元 for the 2nd moon Boxsets. Original Price 180RMB contains 18 packs per box set.

There are eight Moon 10RMB box sets. However, realistically, obtaining any authentic sealed box sets below Moon 4 in 2025 will be extremely costly. Moon 1 boxes are trading for between 5k and 7k RMB, or 500RMB each pack. The only realistic option to get Moon 1 to Moon 3 cards is to use a card ordering service like the one we provide for VIP Store Members. Be aware Moon 1 boxes don’t contain SC Cards / Moon 6 don’t contain HR cards, but PTR cards /and Moon 8 introduces new ZR cards. Moon Boxes exclusively contain HR pack filler cards and LSR, SGR SC/ZR high cards.

Moon Drop Rate

Personally, I’ve only opened Moons 4 through 8.
I have Terabytes of unseen unboxing footage stashed away, but I have actively collected all of the data from each unboxing. I’m sure this applies to Moons 4 through 7, and Moon 8 introduces new cards, so the formula will be somewhat different. I’m not sure about Moons one through three because I’ve never opened an entire box. I have only personally witnessed four varieties of Moon boxes, which I have named below. However, understanding Chinese culture and having lived in China since 2015, I am positive that there are at least two more unknown varieties. Why? Four is an extremely unlucky number in Chinese culture. I believe there must be at least six varieties of boxes, as six is a lucky number. Locals tell me that there is only one SC card in every 24 boxes. As of July 2025, I have only found five SC cards from boxes and three from loose packs. I’ve had to do some trading or exchanging to get the SC cards I missed from each box set.

Moon Tinfoil Hat Time.

This is sheer supposition, but I believe there are six variations of the 10RMB box set.  I’ve heard tales from both Chinese and international collectors about a rare double SGR box, but no one has provided proof to establish its existence.  If this can be confirmed by unboxing footage, I will update this list.  I’ve already coined this box as the double ghost box.

My guess is that the last box is some kind of jackpot or mega jackpot box; however, it contains the rarest SC cards, which are landscape cards.  However, this only makes sense from Moon 6 onward.  All landscape high cards are notoriously difficult to drop.  This doesn’t just apply to SC cards, as XR and CR landscape cards are also considerably harder to obtain than their portrait versions.

Moon 8 Drops. Regarding Moon Eight, the data is still partially applicable.  I’ve personally encountered the common and the jackpot boxes; however, there are definitely new boxes due to the release of the new ZR card.  I’m guessing Moon 8 has eight different variations. My best guess is that one version will be a mega ZR jackpot box, which contains a ZR and an SC card. If true, I will be calling these boxes King & Queen boxes.

MOON TOTALS

LSR Card YouTube Guides

SGR Card YouTube Guides

SC Card YouTube Guides

ZR Card YouTube Guides

These boxes were named not because of any translation, but because each box set visually has a rainbow on it, hence they are known as rainbow boxes. Original Price 100RMB contains 20 packs per box set

There are four Rainbow 5RMB box sets. However, attaining Rainbow 1 by 2025 will be a costly and useless undertaking. Rainbow 1 and 2 are pretty much the prototype versions of this product.
It is not until Rainbow 3 and 4 that the product reaches complete development. Before Rainbow 3, the boxes included no high cards other than SSR and UR cards. These early box sets introduced two varieties of exclusive transparent cards. If you manage to obtain these original boxes, the experience feels like you are opening 2rmb lets go packs but paying 5rmb for the pleasure. So not a nice experience. Rainbow 3 & 4 introduce the new USR and XR high cards, as well as the new MTR Transparent cards.

Rainbow Drop Rate

Personally, I have only opened Rainbows 2 to 4. The following only relates to Rainbow Three and Four.
There are only two types of boxes, Jackpot and Common. Finding XR cards is far simpler than finding SC cards; typically, one may be found in every two to four boxes. However, during Chinese New Year 2025, I opened ten Rainbow 3 boxes, followed by four Rainbow 4 boxes, and found no XR card. This was just a matter of very bad luck compounded by the fact that I acquired all the boxes from 5 different shops while on holiday. As a result, the boxes came from multiple print runs, rather than from the same supplier and the same production run.

RAINBOW TOTALS

USR Card YouTube Guides

XR Card YouTube Guides

These boxes were called Ponies. Let’s Go, or just Let’s Go boxes. These words were written in English on the package. Original Price 60RMB contains 30 packs per box set

This box was created for younger children with less discretionary cash, allowing them to purchase five packets for the same price as a 10RMB pack. It’s often used in stores as an impulse buy, sitting next to their tills. Filler N map cards. Each box contains 40 cards, which are divided into 20 silver postal mark cards and 20 gold diamond postal mark cards. Realistically, most individuals do not acquire all 40; instead, they collect either all of the 20 gold cards or the 20 silver cards.

High-end cards
SSR cards in Let’s Go Boxset 4 have been redesigned. Instead of utilising prior SSR cards from the current Moon boxsets, they chose to create all-new SSR cards exclusively for the two Yuan boxes. These SSR cards cannot be located anywhere else. CR cards. The 1st box set has nine CR cards, while the following box sets have twelve CR cards. As of 2025, CR cards are one of the most often faked cards; thus, use extreme caution while trading in CR cards.

Let’s go Drop Rate

I’ve opened every single box of Let’s Go, and I think it’s the most fun because you can open more packs for less money. So you can pack mine to find many CR cards, which is a lot of fun. Again, there are just two boxes: jackpot and common. Out of all the high-end cards, I’ve found more CR cards than SC and XR combined. If you don’t locate a CR in 2 to 3 boxes, you’re unlucky.

LET’S GO TOTAL

UGR Card YouTube Guides

CR Card YouTube Guides

Personally, I despise regionally limited edition rewards since, as Europeans, we are frequently taken advantage of or flat-out ignored when it comes to collectible & game rewards. Kayou did the right thing by making it possible for anybody to obtain these limited edition cards. This is where I distinguish between purchasable and unpurchasable PR cards. I consider gift set AR cards as purchasable PR cards. The same goes for folder cards, as anyone may purchase them. On the other hand, unpurchasable PR cards are anti-consumer and rife with nepotism, as are any promotional cards from any card company, most notably Pokémon.

The initial folder was released around Moon 2, and it only contained the pinkie pie PR 4 card.

The second folder is commonly known as the winter folder, due to the winter art motif and the word Wonderland inscribed on it. This came out shortly after the release of Let’s Go 1. The folder comes with a few of these packs and one or two PR cards. You will receive either the coloured hoof bump PR 19 card or the rare gold hoof bump PR 19 ⟡ card. I have eight winter folders, but only acquired one gold PR card.

The third folder was launched in 2025 at a whopping 588 Renminbi and is exclusively available at flagship Kayou stores. I’m not sure why, but this folder is commonly referred to as the Shanghai folder, despite the fact that it is available in other provinces. The folder includes ten packs of seven moon and six PR cards, numbers 41 to 46. I’ll discuss folder difficulties in another post.

Unpurchaseable PR cards

So I’m going to go over this briefly since they are inherently unfair cards, and although I could go into great depth about them, I’d prefer not, so I’m going to skip over the issue. What I will say is that Kayou claims these cards are not part of any collection. PR cards are regarded as novelty items and not part of any major collection. First and foremost, Moon One features seven SGR cards. SGR 007 cannot be found in a Moon 1 box because it was distributed at special events, making it the first-ever PR card, despite being labelled as an SGR card. They are being sold between 4k and 10k. Thus, you have to accept the reality that you are never getting this card, and come to the rightful conclusion that Moon 1 only has 6 SGR cards.

You have seasonal PR cards like the Halloween and the Chinese New Year cards, which are issued every single year. You have the exclusive box set PR cards, which are also intermixed into the collection. These include what was once known as the Zodiac box set, now known as Stardust. You have box sets, such as the Shanghai PR cards. There are also tie-in cards, such as the transformer and anniversary cards. The most contentious card is the pinkie pie style card, worth 40k

A Chinese Card Collection Setup

First and foremost, the primary audience for these cards was children, as MLP wasn’t a thing like it is in the West. In the West, Gen X watched MLP Gen 1 & 2, while millennials got to watch Gen 3 & 4. While in China, Kayou marketed MLP for Chinese girls, whereas Ultraman was for the boys. Many girls have moved on in the four years since the cards’ first debut. Young adult fans have begun to convert to the new game cards. Now I’m going to talk about the differences between a Western & Chinese collection. Chinese collectors throw away R, SR, and some filler cards. They refer to these cards as 垃圾卡 “junk cards,”. A Chinese collection begins with cards from SSR upward. However, some collectors collect the original wave of R and SR cards. They are first-print cards featuring the MLP logo in the upper left corner.

What is a Chinese core collection?

So, what constitutes a full Chinese core collection? That would include every card from SSR forward, from every Moon, Rainbow, and Let’s Go box set. Most individuals I know believe N map cards are junk. However, there is a great deal of disagreement over FR, TR, TGR, MTR, and PTR cards. HR cards are the only filler cards that are universally agreed upon as not being junk cards. I have a broad Chinese core collection, which includes all the filler cards but no R or SR cards.

Collection Etiquette:

There are three things

A splash page.
This is a collage featuring your favourite pony.
On the first page of your folder, you make a spread. The cards can come from anyone, not only Kayou. It might be Dairy Queen or snack cards, or any other type of card you have, to commemorate your favourite equine.

Card Organisation
All of the cards are divided into their types and sorted by box set and serial numbers, except for SSR cards, which are often organised by character rather than serial numbers or box sets.

Promotional Cards
Promotional cards that may be purchased are placed at the rear, while those that cannot be purchased are placed on the very last page. It is considered impolite to place non-purchasable PR cards throughout your collection.