Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Celebrations, P25, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG

Pokémon TCG: Celebrations Early Opening: Dark Sylveon V Tin

Tomorrow, the Pokémon TCG will release its landmark 25th Anniversary expansion, Celebrations. Celebrations pays homage to 25 years of this incredible hobby with 25 all holo cards featuring iconic Pokémon from the past and present of the franchise. This set also features the Classic Collection subset, which consists of 25 reprints of iconic cards from every time period of the Pokémon TCG, including cards from Base Set all the way up to the Sun & Moon era. I am thrilled to tell you that the Pokémon Company reached out to me with a celebratory box for the occasion in exchange for an honest review of the set. Starting today, I will open every product sent and give you my take. The first product I opened was the Dark Sylveon V Tin.

First, it is notable that this is the only product I received that shares a promo with another product. This promo card is in this tin as well as the Pokémon TCG: Celebrations Collection – Dark Sylveon V Box. This box included:

• Dark Sylveon V Promo
• Four packs of Celebrations
• One pack of Battle Styles
• One pack of Vivid Voltage

Now, this opening may be a bit more intensive than some of the others, as it is my first time cracking packs of Celebrations. This review will contain my very first impressions of the set.

First up, the Dark Sylveon V promo is quite nice. It's a standard Pokémon-V and it's a SWSH Black Star Promo, so that'll be a nice addition to my binder. I recommend everyone who collects Pokémon TCG cards to build a binder for each generation's Black Star Promo sets. By the time the generation wraps, you essentially have a full-holo bonus set!

All right, so… Celebrations. My initial thoughts:

• There are four cards in each pack, which makes the packs a bit more delicate and prone to bending. Open carefully.
• There is no card trick. The card order goes like this:
  • SLOT ONE: Main set holo
  • SLOT TWO: Main set holo
  • SLOT THREE: Main set holo or Classic Collection Reprint (only in this slot)
  • SLOT FOUR: Main set holo or main set Ultra Rare (Full Art, Pokémon-V, VMAX, Gold Card)
• Now, I always advise against trying to get a feel on a pull rate early on in a set from anecdotal evidence. However… my pulls were insane this time. Three out of four packs had Classic Collection hits. Three out of four also had an Ultra Rare Pull.
• I immediately pulled one of my main set chase cards: the Full Art Pikachu which reimagines the Base Set art.
• Don't let the preview images shown by the Pokémon TCG form your opinion of the Classic Collection. When I pulled my first Classic Collection card, the Rocket's Zapdos pictured above, I realized that this wasn't just a reprint set. The Classic Collection gives these cards the premium treatment with full texture. The entire card, top to bottom, has velvety, grooved texture like a Full Art. Trust me: these are cards that will impress in person.

Overall, my first impression of this new special set from the Pokémon TCG far exceeded my expectations. I'll admit, I went in expecting a fun set but coming off of Sword & Shield – Evolving Skies, which I consider one of the best sets ever, I didn't think I'd be so hyped for Celebrations. A few pulls in, and I'm in, dude.

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