Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: guardians rising, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, Pokémon Trading Card Games

Pokémon TCG Guardians Rising Expansion: Complete Review

Today, we conclude our latest stop on our trip through recent Pokémon TCG history. On May 5th, 2017, the Pokémon TCG released the second set of the Sun & Moon era: Guardians Rising. This set focused primarily on the Guardian Deities of Alola, Tapu Koko, and Tapu Lele, which were introduced in the Generation Seven games. This set also included the Pokémon-GX mechanic introduced in Sun & Moon base three months prior and includes quite a large number of Full Arts and Secret Rares. Increasing the number of Full Arts and Secret Rares in sets is a trend that has continued to this day. Now, we finish up with a full review of the set.

The GX wave continues in the Pokémon TCG

I personally find this set very comparable to the Sun & Moon base set. It increases the Alola focus for sure with its cards featuring the Guardians, but like Sun & Moon base, the chase card is an Eeveelution. Sylveon is by far the best pull in the set, but isn't the only interesting card. Let's get into what this set has to offer.

The cards

There's a bit more overall cuteness in the commons, uncommons, and rares of this set. The peeking Bellsprout, the crisp artwork of the Victreebel, the smiling Victini, the hopping Helioptile, the sculpted Trubbish, the grinning Mimikyu, the crocheted Goomy, and the soundlessly derpy Clefable are standouts. Other than that, the real stars of the Ultra Rares and Full Art sections are the Alolan Ninetails and of course Sylveon. Tapu Koko and Tapu Lele are both pretty interesting cards, and Metagross has a nice presence here, but the 3D art style of the standard GXs brings down my excitement for this set a bit. However, the Full Art Trainers are far better than most previous sets, with Hau, Mallow, and Hala all being strong offerings.

Final Rating

Guardians Rising is, for me, a tick better than Sun & Moon base set. While the artwork of the standard Pokémon-GX remains a bit too computer-generated for my taste, the incredibly strong art in the Aloloan Ninetails and Sylveon cards make for the strongest Sun & Moon-era entries so far. On top of that, the strength of the Full Art Trainers, especially the Hau, makes up for many of the set's flaws.

7/10

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