Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Incandescent Arcana, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, Silver Tempest

Pokémon TCG Japan: Incandescent Arcana Preview: Serperior VSTAR

One of the most highly anticipated Pokémon TCG sets arriving in Japan this year has now been revealed. Incandescent Arcana is set for release on September 2nd, 2022, in Japan. Unlike the direct previous Japanese set, the Origin Forme Giratina-themed Lost Abyss that brought back the Lost Zone mechanic, this set will include Character Rares and Radiant Pokémon. Leading this set is the unusual but exciting Alolan Vulpix VSTAR, which follows the fun trend of Pikachu and Eevee Ultra Rares, where it's the cute and iconic form that gets the feature rather than the highest evolution. This set, along with the following main series Japanese set Paradigm Trigger, which will focus on Lugia, will be the basis of the fourth and final English-language Sword & Shield set of 2022, which is expected to close out the era. Today, we continue our Incandescent Arcana previews with some more Serperior action.

What is it with these standard Pokémon-V recently!? I love seeing the Pokémon TCG depart from the standard style used for this card type, which generally are rendered as computer-generated, 3D-style images. Artist Ayaka Yoshida delivers a stunningly beautiful piece with a graceful Serperior, a background of blue foliage, and beautiful leaves and flowers circling around the Pokémon. It's so good that it almost struck me as much as the Serperior V Character Super Rare that we previewed yesterday. Then, we get a much more standard image with the Serperior VSTAR. PLANETA Mochizuki is responsible for this one, and while I prefer the other Serperior cards, a strength of this illustration is that it manages to showcase the entire design of Serperior while other VSTARs have sometimes been so in-your-face that they only show a piece of the design.

Japanese sets often give us early ideas of what the English-language sets may include, so be sure to keep an eye on our coverage. You can stay tuned for previews of Incandescent Arcana cards as well as updates on everything Pokémon TCG right here at Bleeding Cool.

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