Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Champion's Path, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, TCG

Pokémon TCG Champion's Path Special Set: Complete Review

While Vivid Voltage is currently the hottest expansion in the Pokémon TCG community, interest in the Champion's Path Special Set is still going strong. Unlike a standard expansion which can be bought in separate booster packs and booster boxes, Champion's Path is sold in pin collections, premium collections, special boxes, and an Elite Trainer Box. This set is controversial though, in that many love it as much as the iconic Hidden Fates special set, while others feel that this small set is a collection of filler with the only highlight being the two hard-to-pull Charizard chase cards. Let's take a look and see if that's true.

The Cards

First up, it can't be denied that this set has beautiful cards. While it is much smaller than a full expansion or even some previous special sets, the artwork here is terrific. Highlights are the stunning Alcremie VMAX, the terrific Hatenna line, the luminescent Galarian Cursola V, and, indeed, both the Charizard VMAX Rainbow Rare and Shiny Charizard V Secret Rare. While Charizard cards do get overhyped sometimes, these are unquestionably beautiful cards and are worthy of being the chase cards of Champion's Path.

The one weakness that Champion's Path has is the low amount of regular rare and holographic cards. If you open up ten packs of Champion's Path, you're going to end up with doubles, perhaps multiple, of Centiskorch, Hatterene, and Machamp. There is something majorly attractive about a smaller set, as it's certainly easier to complete a full collection than Vivid Voltage, but at the same time, it becomes more tedious to go after the ultra and hyper rare cards when there is little variety in the standard rares.

The Presentation of the Special Pokémon TCG Set

While Hidden Fates, in general, is a superior set because of the incredibly Shiny Vault subset, Champion's Path has the best presentation of a special set in recent Pokémon TCG memory. With boxes that focus on each gym from the Pokémon: Sword and Shield games, Champion's Path is a collector's dream. The crowning achievement of this special set is the huge Marnie Premium Collection, which comes with a playmat, pins, booster packs, and more. The modern design of it all is great, adding some much-needed spice to this small set.

Also, it's no secret: everyone wants the Elite Trainer Box for this set. Not only does it come with a Charizard promo card, but it's also brilliantly designed.

Final Rating

7/10: Champion's Path is all peaks and valleys. The set has incredible presentation and the highly coveted hyper rare cards of the set are worth the incredible collector interest. However, the lack of variety in the rares and uncommon cards makes hunting those cards more tedious than usual

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