Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Brilliant Stars, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, Star Birth

Pokémon TCG Japan's Star Birth Preview: Alternate Arts

This week, the Pokémon TCG will release the next Japanese set, Star Birth, which kicks off 2022 with a Sinnoh focus. Star Birth will debut the VSTAR mechanic with cards featuring Charizard, Shaymin, Arceus, and Whimsicott. The set, the first major release of the year, will partly be the basis for the next English-language expansion, Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars which will be released in February 2022. We cover both English-language and Japanese-language releases here on Bleeding Cool, as the Japanese sets will give us a peek into the future of what is coming down the line for international releases. Today, let's take a look at two of the first Secret Rares we get to see from Star Birth: the Lumineon V Alternate Art and Roseanne's Back-up Full Art Trainer Supporter.

Currently, Alternate Arts are the hottest cards in the Pokémon TCG. These cards deviate from the standard Full Art style to deliver a scene with the Pokémon in a unique art style. Previously, we have seen 2021's Sword & Shield-era sets include quite a lot of these because we received both Alternate Art Pokémon-V and Alternate Art Pokémon-VMAX. However, with Pokémon-VSTAR replacing VMAX,  this will impact the number of Alternate Arts we get because VSTARs are not receiving Alt Arts. Interestingly, the lower number of Alt Arts could impact the value of the more sought-after Alts… with the Charizard V Alternate Art being the one likely to be the set's chase card.

The full breakdown of Alt Arts that will be available in Star Birth  are:

• Charizard V Alternate Art
• Lumineon V Alternate Art
• Honchkrow V Alternate Art
• Arceus V Alternate Art

Stay tuned for more Pokémon TCG news daily right here at Bleeding Cool! You can follow our Star Birth coverage using our official tag for the set and our Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars coverage using this tag for the set.

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