Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Astral Radiance, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, Sword & Shield

Pokémon TCG Pull Rate Quest: Astral Radiance Part Three

Too often, Pokémon TCG influencers will rush to make a sweeping statement about a new set's pull rates. It's going to be interesting to see how the latest set, Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance, is seen because it has a special Trainer Gallery subset consisting of Character Cards, Character Super Rares, Full Art Trainers, and Black and Gold VMAXes that can be pulled in the Reverse Holo slot along with the new card type Radiant Pokémon. This increases the number of pulls that one can expect to get in a Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance opening. In the interest of dispelling the idea that we can establish pull rates so early in a set's existence, I'm here with Pull Rate Quest, a series at Bleeding Cool where I open Pokémon TCG sets to show that you win some… and you lose some. I love the idea that openings like this can help show people what to expect in a set, but remember… a lot of it comes down to the luck of the draw. Let's open a booster box of Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars and see what we can get in this installment of Pull Rate Quest.

Here are my pulls from this Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance booster box:

• Regular holos: 6
• Radiant Pokémon: 2
• Pokémon-V: 5
• VMAX: 0
• VSTAR: 1
• Full Art V: 0
• Alternate Art V: 0
• Full Art Trainer: 1
• Rainbow Rare VSTAR or VMAX: 0
• Rainbow Rare Trainer: 0
• Gold VSTAR: 0
• Gold Trainer Item or Stadium: 0
• Trainer Gallery – Character Rare: 3
• Trainer Gallery – Character Super Rare: 0
• Trainer Gallery – Full Art Trainer: 1
• Trainer Gallery – Black & Gold VMAX: 1

Which means…

• OVERALL PULLS ABOVE HOLO-RARE: 14

The Trainer Gallery somewhat saved this booster box, but compared to previous openings, this is far and away my worst box. With just a Full Art Trainer pull from the main section of the set and one VSTAR, this is a light box by anyone's standards. The two big pulls from the Trainer Gallery help boost it to "decent" territory. This does go to show, though, how random pull rates are. Astral Radiance has given me what I'd call a contender for my best-ever box opening as well as this one which, while not the worst, is definitely toward the bottom.

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