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

Pokémon TCG: Celebrations Product Review: Ultra-Premium Collection

The Pokémon TCG honors its landmark 25th Anniversary this year with a new special set, 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. Unlike main series sets (sets with the current era's title as a header, with examples including Sword & Shield – Evolving Skies, Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike, etc) which can be found in loose booster packs and booster boxes, this set can only be found in products branded to the set. I've opened most of those products right here at Bleeding Cool with one exception… which is perhaps the most intense production the Pokémon TCG has released all year. Today, I open up a Celebrations: Ultra-Premium Collection.

Here is a breakdown of what comes in the Pokémon TCG: Ultra-Premium Collection:

• Promo cards exclusive to this box:
  • Two commemorative metal cards featuring Base Set Pikachu and Base Set Charizard. These are pictured in the image above but below you can get an even closer look at the Gold Charizard which is, by far, the main draw of this box. These two cards retain the original Base Set numbering and are not considered Black Star Promos.
  • 1 special gold version of Pikachu V 1 special gold version of Poké Ball: These are Black Star Promos. They are the weirdest Celebrations releases because they are "Gold Cards" but don't match the beautiful style of Gold Cards currently active in the Pokémon TCG. They are yellow rather than gold and don't have texture. Instead of sparkling, they reflect rainbow light. While I think they're nice-looking, they are certainly anomalies in my SWSH Black Star Promo binder, as no other card looks like these. The standard Gold Card style would've made these look a bit more premium.
  • A stunning Charizard and Pikachu enamel pin: Awesome.
  • 1 metal Pokémon coin: Coins have become standard, but this is a heavy-hitter that you'll want to keep.
  • 17 Pokémon TCG: Celebrations 4-card booster packs: This is by far the largest number of Celebrations packs that any product offers. From mine, I was happy to pull a number of amazing Classic Collection subset cards including Mew ex, two Base Set Blastoise, a Base Set Venusaur, and a Full Art Zekrom.
  • 8 additional Pokémon TCG booster packs: These included the following packs:
    • 3 Sword & Shield – Chilling Reign
    • 1 Sword & Shield – Battle Styles
    • 3 Sword & Shield – Vivid Voltage
    • 1 Sword & Shield – Darkness Ablaze
       Personally, I thought these were fine choices. I personally see these as bonus packs and was happy to have them. I didn't pull much from these but was content to leave with a Calyrex VMAX from Chilling Reign and a Celebi Amazing rare from Vivid Voltage.
  • The normal bonuses like the playing guide and code card.

Now, this product has a huge barrier to entry: MSRP is $119.99 and it is difficult to find. It is currently the most marked-up product because it is the only way to get this gold version of Base Set Charizard. Anything including a Charizard exclusive, especially one riffing off the original, is going to be a collector's item. Personally, I found this worth the price and then some. If you can get it at MSRP, good on you. If not, I think it's still worth it up to a point due to the exclusivity of these cards.

I'll end with this close look at the Gold Base Set Charizard. These are heavy but not heavy enough that they'd ruin a standard, side-loading card binder (VaultX, Card Guardian, Ultra Pro), which makes them perfectly displayable.

Man, oh man. The gold sends beams of bright light through the card, which is fully textured except for Charizard, its flames, and the border which stands out with smooth, cool metal. I can't imagine a more beautiful rendering of the card. Even the back, which is a smooth matte, is noticeably premium.

One thing worth noting is that yes, the card has a nick up top. Personally, I don't mind that but this is something that I've seen multiple collectors note. While this doesn't take anything away in my opinion, I think it's something that more worth-based collectors may want to know.

Overall, I recommend this product for completionist collectors who have some extra money to spare.

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