Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: battle styles, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, TCG

Are Pokémon TCG: Battle Styles: Build & Battle Boxes Worth It?

Before the official release of Sword & Shield: Battle Styles, the next official Pokémon TCG expansion, on March 19th, you can experience the new set early at certain local hobby shops with Build & Battle Boxes. Basically, these pre-release items take the place of actual pre-release events, taking places at stores that participated in official Pokémon TCG competitive gameplay. Here's a look at what these boxes contain and if they're really worth it for collectors.

Basically, these boxes are made to help you construct a competitive deck. However, there is a major upside for collectors. The boxes contain an evolution pack (basically, cards from recent expansions, Battle Styles included, made for deck building), a holo promo card from the Sword & Shield Promos set that can't be found anywhere else, four packs of Battle Styles, and a players' guide. Many stores also offer additional packs of Battle Styles to those who purchase one of these.

Coming at this from the perspective of a collector rather than a competitive Pokémon TCG player, are Build & Battle Boxes worth it? I think it's an easy "yes." First of all, the promos alone are the draw for me. There are four possible promos that you can get: a Cherrim, a Houndoom, a Bronzor, and an Octillery. I'm going for the complete Sword & Shield Promos set, so these aren't boxes to miss. The one possible tough aspect of these is that the promos are random, so buying four won't guarantee you all four promos. That said, the main reason to get these is the packs. You're getting four (or possibly six depending on the shop) packs of Battle Styles ahead of release.

Many shops will keep these on sale long after pre-release, but with Vivid Voltage Build & Battles, I saw extreme mark-up in price. This is because one of the promo cards from that set, the Charizard, began to skyrocket in value. Then, the same happened with the Lugia. With Battle Styles, there is no Charizard but I believe that the Houndoom promo has a decent chance of increasing in value, so my tip to collectors is to get out there and get these boxes while they're still being sold at fair prices. The boxes are fun to crack open, the promos are great (the Cherrim has to be my favorite), and Battle Styles is shaping up to be a fun set of the Pokémon TCG to collect.

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