Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Paldea Evolved, pokemon, pokemon cards, Scarlet & Violet

Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Paldea Evolved – Complete Set Review

Our special, long-running spotlight on the artwork of Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet - Paldea Evolved concludes with a complete set review.

With Sword & Shield officially concluded, the Scarlet & Violet era of the Pokémon TCG kicked off in March 2023 with a focus on the ninth generation of Pokémon games and the new region: Paldea. It all began with the Scarlet & Violet base set, which introduced major, lasting changes to the hobby. Now, the borders of the cards have become silver, matching the Japanese releases. Another major change is that now, each pack culminates in at least a holo-rare and two reverse holos. The major mechanic of this era is the lowercase ex, which features a double holographic pattern of a horizontal shine and a starry sparkle. Full Art exs now use a green, foil outline around the Pokémon. The Secret Rare section of expansions going forward features Full Arts, Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rare exs, Full Art Trainers, Special Illustration Rare Trainers, and Gold Hyper Rares. On June 9, 2023, the Pokémon TCG released the second set of this era, Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved, which focused on the Paldean Starters and the Treasures of Ruin Legendaries. In today's installment of this Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved art spotlight, we wrap with a complete expansion review.

Starters and Legendaries

The direct previous set, the Scarlet & Violet base set, introduced Paldean species for the first time along with the changes to the cards described above. Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved is the first set of this era to feature a strong theme: the Paldean Starters and their evolutions, from which the set gets its name. This expansion also features a strong focus on the Treasures of Ruin Legendary Pokémon.

All of these Pokémon get major card features, including Full Arts, Illustration Rares, Special Illustration Rares, and/or Gold Hyper Rares.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Pokémon TCG's new Paldea-themed era is how they keep the same artist on a sequence of Illustration Rares if they depict a Pokémon's evolution. In the Scarlet & Violet base, we saw connecting cards with species like Spidops as well as cards that tell a narrative of evolution, like the Ralts, Kirlia, and Gardevoir line. This set leans into the evolution stories in a major way with the Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly Illustration Rare lines, which depict the evolution of each of these species in fun and exciting ways.

Breakout surprises in the Pokémon TCG

One thing I value strongly in this set is how certain cards became breakout successes. Largely, you'll see the chase card often tied to the set's theme. The chase of Sword & Shield – Lost Origin is Giratina. The chase of Sword & Shield – Evolving Skies is Umbreon. After this set, the chase of Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames is Tera Charizard. Here, in Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved, the Iono Special Illustration Rare and the Magikarp Illustration Rare have nothing to do with the set's core theme and still became the two biggest cards of the set. Iono was also an influential card, leading to a momentary spike in interest and value of female-focused Trainer Supporter cards in both current sets as well as the entire Sword & Shield era.

Final Rating

9.5/10: The reason that cards like this can break out in the Scarlet & Violet era is that the Pokémon TCG is using Illustration Rares to let their top artists creature gorgeous images in their own unique styles. We saw it happening with the Alt Arts in the Sword & Shield era, with Illustration Rares in Crown Zenith and Scarlet & Violet, but now we're really starting to see how card this can be taken. We are in an era of the best-looking Pokémon TCG art potentially ever, and this just may be the set in 2023 that encapsulates that best.

Stay tuned for the journey as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG. Next time, we move to Scarlet & Violet – Obsidian Flames. You can read more about this iconic trading card game right here at Bleeding Cool.

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