Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: cosmic eclipse, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, TCG

Pokémon TCG Cosmic Eclipse Expansion: Complete Review

Cosmic Eclipse closed out the Sun & Moon era of the Pokémon TCG. It was the twelfth Sun & Moon branded set and it was the final set in which the GX mechanic was included and the only set to include Secret Rare Character Cards which depict Pokémon in scenes with their trainers, showcasing that special bond. Now that time has passed, let's see where this set ranks amongst the greats.

The Cards

Cosmic Eclipse is a treasure for collectors. Personally, I'm working on my Cosmic Eclipse binder and am fully in love with the set's artwork.

This set included a great deal of Tag Team GX cards which rank through the tail end of the Sun & Moon sets including Team Up, Unbroken Bonds, Unified Minds, and finally Cosmic Eclipse. This was far and away the best run of Sun & Moon sets in part thanks to these. Cosmic Eclipse leaned more into the bond between Pokémon/Pokémon and Pokémon/trainers in these cards rather than the battle aspect, which led to some adorable artwork such as the Togepi & Cleffa & Igglybuff GX as well as touching moments like the Vileplume GX Full Art.

Cosmic Eclipse has incredible commons, uncommons, and rares and the best Tag Team GXs of the four sets in which the mechanic ran, but on top of all that, it was the Character Cards that stood out most. In place of the reverse holo, collectors had a chance to pull a Secret Rare card depicting Pokémon having a bonding moment with their trainers. Pikachu laughs with Red, Acerola stitches up her Mimikyu, Lt. Surge does some repairs on Magnemite. The only miss with these Character Cards is that they didn't continue. I'd love more.

The end of the Sun & Moon era in Pokémon TCG

Cosmic Eclipse is special in many ways, with some of those listed above in the intro, but it functions as both a celebration and goodbye of not only the Sun & Moon era, but also Fairy-types cards and Dragon-type cards which were discontinued after this set.

One unfortunate thing about Cosmic Eclipse being the final Sun & Moon era set is that there were a ton of Japanese cards that didn't make it into the English expansion. The Japanese-language set Tag Team All-Stars has some of the best Full Art Trainer Cards ever printed, and I think Cosmic Eclipse must've already been too big of a set to include them.

Final Rating

Cosmic Eclipse isn't only the best Sun & Moon era set. It is one of the most highly collectible, beautifully illustrated sets of Pokémon TCG cards ever produced. When looking at the greatest sets of all time, I don't rank Cosmic with its Sun & Moon peers, but rather all-time greats like Base Set, Team Rocket, Neo Genesis. Neo Discovery. Legendary Treasures, and Generations. It is, along with Hidden Fates, the definitive modern set and will be remembered, and valued, as such.

10/10 All-Time Classic.

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