Posted in: Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: pokemon, Pokemon TCG, Sun and Moon

Looking Back At The Cards of Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon Part 1

Let's take a trip through recent Pokémon TCG history. On February 3rd, 2017, the Pokémon TCG released the Sun & Moon base set that kicked off a whole new era of cards. Based on the Sun & Moon games, this expansion was the first to feature Alolan Pokémon. This set also introduced GX cards, which replaced the previous EX style of cards as both standard Ultra Rare pulls and Full Arts. This is also the set that revolutionized how Secret Rare cards are handled, drastically increasing the number of these special pulls from the previous XY era by introducing Rainbow Rare cards, which feature the GX cards in a textured card with a silvery, rainbow color palette. We begin our journey with the Ultra Rare GX cards of the set.

• Decidueye GX: This card actually looks better in person than in this digital image, as the foil catches the light shining off of Decidueye's arrow quite nicely. The pose here is what makes it, with Decidueye showing off some Robin Hood-style swagger for this iconic bow and arrow shot. As the first GX card in the first set to debut this style, it's also worth talking a bit about what differentiates these visually from EX cards. The standard (that is, non-Full Art) EX cards have a much bigger border, with the artwork closer in size to a standard Pokémon card. On those cards, the Pokémon would loom out of the border for a 3D effect, but the border remained large. Here, the border drops to the very bottom of the card, which leads some to classify these as "Full Arts," even though the vast majority separate the two, with GX being its own thing and Full Art GX cards having texture on the card and showing up in the set numbering after the trainers rather than integrated with the Pokémon.
• Lurantis GX: This right here is one of my favorite Pokémon GX cards of Sun & Moon. The simplicity of the card is quite nice, but it's the way the bright colors work together that makes this such a fun pull.
• Incineroar GX: Incineroar looks like it's bursting with the Super Saiyan God aura here, but… I don't know, while I love Litten, this one doesn't personally do it for me. It comes down to the campy design, but there are certainly better Incineroar cards where this Fire-type starter ends up looking like more of a fiery force to be reckoned with.

Next time, we will continue with our spotlight on the GX cards of Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon.

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