Pokémon

With new Pokemon games on the horizon and the holidays approaching, the Pokemon TCG is gearing up for a handful of expansions. Sun and Moon – Burning Shadows and Shining Legends have already hit store shelves, and Sun and Moon – Crimson Invasion is just a few short days away. To commemorate this, The Pokemon Company detailed some collections of boosters and promotional cards they’ll be releasing in the future.

A handful of these have already seen release, such as the Mewtwo pin collection, Team Skull pin set, and Ho-Oh Super Premium set. The Mewtwo pin and Ho-Oh collection are based around the new Shining Legends set, which focuses on the rare and sought-after shiny Pokemon from the games. The Team Skull set carries on the legacy of Burning Shadows, but isn’t really worth the 50$ CDN you’d have to pay for it.

On the 3rd of November, however, a brand new set releases, and with it comes new box sets. The standard Elite Trainer Box of this set is the Sivally box, featuring a Silvally-EX design on the sleeves included in the box. Promo packs include the Ultra Beast-GX premium collections starring Buzzswole and Primarina, and the Zoroark-GX pin set. Elite Trainer Boxes are only useful for the initial release of a set, as afterwards you shouldn’t have to buy new Energy cards or other ephemera. The best value otherwise would have to be the Ultra Beast collections, even if they make it more expensive with those useless oversized cards that just take up room.

The last big push shown so far is on the 17th of November, where a variety of collections will be released. A finale to X/Y‘s trading card dominance comes in the form of a Premium Trainer’s Collection featuring promos of the legendaries from those games. It’s a good way to catch up on the set if you missed out, and those promos are really nice. There are also two Sivally sets, one with a figure and one based on the shiny version of the Pokemon, which lines up with the current Gamestop promotion. I’d say get the shiny set, as the statue may be nice, but you can’t play the game with that, can you? There’s also a figure set based on Marshadow, and a lunch box you could potentially brain someone with if you’re not careful. Finally, an official release of decks based on the ones used by this year’s TCG world champions will launch, in case you want an unfair advantage over your friends (and only your friends, as these decks aren’t legal in competition).

These sets are touch and go. It’s a bit unfair to say “it’s all up to your taste”, but most of these sets have goodies that you definitely don’t need if you’re just planning to play the game or collect the cards. If you’re interested in a specific strategy or Pokemon, look into getting the promo boxes for that release. If not, an Elite Trainer Box and some boosters would be plenty. Whatever you do, don’t buy those expensive Target Pokemon card cubes: they’re a complete ripoff.

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