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

Pokémon TCG Product Review: Gardevoir & Victini V Decks

2021 marks the year that the Pokémon TCG switched up their long-running theme deck series with a new product: V Battle Decks. This started with the Blastoise V Battle Deck and the Venusaur V Battle Deck earlier this, which were released as individual decks as well as a combined product called V Battle Deck: Venusaur vs. Blastoise. This continued with the release of May 2021's deck products, which were the Victini V Battle Deck, the Gardevoir V Battle Deck, and the V Battle Deck: Gardevoir vs. Victini. The Pokémon Company International sent me one of each of the single V Battle Decks (can I say "V Battle Deck" once more in this paragraph?) to crack open, so let's see what we've got.

As a general note, I approach these as a dedicated collector rather than a player. There's a ton of content out there about playing the game with these decks, which are designed to be played by entry-level players, but the question I'm approaching this review with is: Are these worth buying for collectors? The answer, to me, is an easy yes.

The major attraction here is the promos. The Pokémon TCG has done a great job with the quality of the promos, and that continues here. The best part of these decks for a collector is these Pokémon V, and this is a new feature. The theme decks previously offered a Cracked Ice Holographic reprint of a normally non-holo card from another set. For example, the final theme decks of 2021 had a Cracked Ice Holo Charizard and Drednaw respectively, both taken from the Vivid Voltage set. These cards are Black Star Promos that cannot be found in any set or in any other collection. That alone makes these worth the purchase, but in addition to that, you also get:

• A collectible coin.
• 60 other cards.
• Pokémon TCG content for those who play the game including a playmat, damage counters, and a deck box. The cards are also a ready-to-play deck.

This is a perfect product for both players, which is the main target audience, but also collectors. The switch from the previous theme decks to this V Battle Style is an upgrade for the Pokémon TCG, as this is now something collectors will want to pick up, too. One thing worth noting, though, is that there is a bonus to buying the V Battle Deck: Gardevoir vs. Victini over the single decks. The joint decks include a holographic Professor's Research card from Shining Fates, and that card cannot be pulled as holographic anywhere else.

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