Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Astral Radiance, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, the pokemon company

Opening A Pokémon TCG: Astral Radiance Build & Battle Box

This past weekend, Pokémon TCG held pre-release events at tournament-official hobby shops and game stores for the upcoming expansion, Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance. Pre-release events can sometimes feature gameplay but, ever since the initial lockdown, many stores have shifted to simply offering Build & Battle boxes to players and collectors hoping to get a taste of the new set. Build & Battle boxes feature four packs of the new set as well as one of four new holographic promos stamped with the new set's logo and a deck-building kit of cards. I headed over to pre-release at Brothers Grim Games and Collectibles in Selden, NY and picked up two Build & Battle kits. Let's see what I go.

First, I was happy to note that Brothers Grim Games and Collectibles offers three additional packs of Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance with each box. This is standard for some shops but you will find that not all shops will be as generous with their Pokémon TCG product. This took the number of packs that we were opening from eight all the way up to fourteen, which made the opening a lot more fun and dynamic.

First and foremost, when I get two Build & Battle kits, my hope is that I'm going to get two different promos. Your chance of pulling any of the four promos is the same, so you could very well end up with two. I was thrilled to get Hisuian Samurott in my first box and Hisuian Basculegion in my second. All I need now is Wyrdeer and Magnezone and I'm all set.

Now, this wasn't my first taste of Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance. I was sent a booster box and Elite Trainer Box by the Pokémon TCG, and you can read those in the links above. Judging from those, I had a great first experience with Astral Radiance. This next opening was more hit and miss. I find that it's reasonable to expect a hit (a V or above) in a box, and it's quite rare to just entirely strike out. I, unfortunately, did have a strikeout, with my first box not even offering a holo rare. That's the first time it's ever happened to me in more boxes bought and opened than I care to share during my time collecting. The second box treated me better, with pack that had the Frostmoth Character Rare and the Hisuian Samurott VSTAR in the final pack. Outside of that, all of my other hits were from the loose packs. Darkrai VSTAR was quite a nice hit from the packs, though I will admit… my favorite is the Mesprit holo. I'm a huge fan of this Pokémon and the sunset-tinged background is perfect for the holo pattern. I, of course, would've been more thrilled with an Alternate Art, Full Art, or Secret Rare, but the truth about pull rates is that they are unpredictable.

On that note, stay tuned for my Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance Pull Rate Quest series examining booster boxes of this set.

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