It seems that inflation comes for everyone. Pokémon card collectors took a massive L when The Pokémon Company announced late last year that the price of its card packs would rise from $US3.99 ($6) to $US4.49 ($6). However, it seems like they’re trying to compensate by improving the pull rates for fans who still want to collect rare cards. Yesterday, PokeBeach reported that all of the upcoming Scarlet & Violet card packs will include two reverse holo cards and one holo card. This is the first time that English packs will guarantee buyers a full foil card.
Scarlet & Violet reverse holo and holo cards
Reverse holos are Pokémon cards that are foil-printed except for the actual card art. Full holo cards are entirely foil, and they’re significantly more valuable than the reverse holos. Two common cards will be cut from the Scarlet & Violet packs to accommodate for these guaranteed pulls, and any illustrated rares (where the card art encompasses the entire card rather than the tiny window) that you pull will replace one of the new reverse holos in the Scarlet & Violet packs. So you’re getting “better” card pulls overall, which hopefully feels like a fair compromise to the enthusiasts who are going to spend even more money on what is already a pricey hobby.
Sneak a peek at some of the powerful and dazzling cards in the upcoming #PokemonTCG: Scarlet & Violet expansion. ❤️ 💜
Get a closer look at new strategies, featured artwork, and more: https://t.co/GUXUdG0TzZ pic.twitter.com/1B44LEcV5V
— Pokémon TCG (@PokemonTCG) March 1, 2023
There are also some major changes to the new set compared to previous versions: All rare cards will now be foil-printed, and rainbow rares will not be available in this set. While these all-rainbow cards can be valuable, not all collectors like them — Pokémon have iconic colour palettes, and some fans feel that the rainbow printing ruined these cards.
These new packs will also have rarer cards at the back, rather than being completely random. So if you’re pulling in front of friends or watching content creators open packs on stream, you won’t be seeing any early spoilers.
Improved pull rates
Pull rates for the Pokémon TCG have been steadily improving since the recent English release of the Crown Zenith set. Our reviewer managed to pull the rarest cards in one out of three packs, which he thought was an improvement over the older Silver Tempest set that was released this fall.
However, some fans are wary about the new setup devaluing the reverse holo cards, since every pack will be guaranteed to have them. Others think that this is a good deal for casual buyers and children who aren’t sinking hundreds of dollars to get their investment back. I’m on the more optimistic side. The Pokémon TCG should be an accessible hobby for kids, not a speculative currency that makes it harder for anyone to buy cards.
The Scarlet & Violet set will be released on March 31.
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