It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was raving about thePokemon Scarlet & Violet 151 TCG set, a set which is steeped in nostalgia and focuses on the original 151 Pokemon. Now, just a short month later, the pre-release for the nextPokemon TCGexpansion is here - Paradox Rift. The set is centred aroundScarlet & Violet’sArea Zero, with the Paradox Pokemon featuring heavily throughout.
Thanks to The Pokemon Company, I got my hands on some product a little early — and Ireallylike it.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet 151: 10 Most Expensive Secret Rare Cards
Erika is leading the pack with a high price tag. Here are the 10 most expensive secret rares in the Scarlet and Violet 151 expansion.
Once again, TPCI has nailed it with the presentation of this expansion, Iron Valiant emblazoned the Elite Trainer Box I received, surrounded by a striking green and pink background, however, there is a second Roaring Moon variant, which looks just as good.
Roaring Moon also features on the Booster Box, Build and Battle Stadium and on the pack arts, alongside Iron Valiant, Ceruledge and a Water-Tera Garchomp, all of which feature in some way, shape or form within the set.
As I mentioned, I’m already a big fan of Paradox Rift, and it’s mainly becausea lotof the cards are great. While my pulls from ~50 packs left a little to be desired, looking through the booklet that comes with the Elite Trainer Box really shows the quality that’s in store.
While my pulls weren’t necessarily amazing, the Roaring Moon ex Special Illustration Rare is now my favourite card from the Scarlet & Violet era, narrowly edging out the Zapdos and Alakazam exs from 151.
As has so often been the case in the last few sets, Paradox Rift absolutely shines with its Illustration Rare cards.
Again, my selection of pulls featured a few of my least favourite cards from the selection, but it’s hard to deny just how good they look. The Gimmighoul really pops and the Snorunt is reminiscent of the Glaceon V Alternate Art card from Evolving Skies, which should come as no surprise as both were illustrated by Norumi Sato.
The set does include some absolute banger Illustration Rares featuring a mixture of fan-favorite Pokemon like Groudon, Yveltal and Steelix, as well as some of the more oft-overlooked Pokemon (or straight up disliked) like Garbodor, Loudred, Ferrothorn and Mantyke. It’s genuinely hard to pick a favorite when there are so many fantastic cards.
The Special Illustration Rares are just as good. While there are one or two minor misfires (I’m looking at you Garchomp), the likes of Iron Valiant, Altaria, Iron Hands and Tapu Koko all get some stunning cards.
The Ancient and Future cards also add an interesting dynamic to the TCG.
While it’s not a new mechanic per-se, all of the Ancient and Future Pokemon are considered Basic Pokemon, meaning they can quickly be thrown into play. The cards are considerably better than the majority of other basic Pokemon, with each having one, or a combination of, high HP, a solid ability or impressive attacks.
My biggest issue with Paradox Rift is one that has tended to plague the Scarlet & Violet era, and that’s the set size.
Excluding promos and reverse holos, Paradox Rift features 266 different cards, a little more than Scarlet & Violet’s 258 and just under Paldea Evolved’s 279. That’s a lot of cards to collect. The set also features 49 different Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rares, and when you consider I pulled six from 51 packs, you’re looking at opening more than 400 packs to hit 49 IR/SIR cards, and that assumes the impossibility that every one you pull is different. Throw in the 28 different full art cards, of which I pulled three in 51 packs, plus seven total golds, and you’re looking at 84 “secret rares” to collect.
When you consider that a portion of these cards are going to be $50+ and the majority of them will sit at a minimum of $5, it makes completing a set near-impossible for a regular person.
That being said, I’m probably in a small percentage of collectors who likes to master their sets and for those of you out there who are looking to just crack some packs and pull some nice cards, Paradox Rift looks to be Scarlet & Violet’s premiere set to date.
