Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Destined Rivals, pokemon, pokemon cards, Scarlet & Violet

Pokémon TCG Review: Scarlet & Violet – Destined Rivals ETB

Let's open three new Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet – Destined Rivals products: an Elite Trainer Box, Booster Bundle, and Build & Battle kit.

Pokémon TCG has released its latest expansion: Scarlet & Violet – Destined Rivals. This set continues the theme of "Owner's Pokémon," which focuses on Pokémon owned by specific trainers, which were reintroduced in March's Scarlet & Violet – Journey Together. Destined Rivals, however, brings a specific focus to Team Rocket. Evoking the original Team Rocket expansion released in the year 2000, Scarlet & Violet – Destined Rivals features the Pokémon who belong to the first and most popular villains of the franchise. The Pokémon Company International was kind enough to supply us with new Scarlet & Violet – Destined Rivals products so we can give you an analysis of this set. For this part of our unboxing, we will assess the Scarlet & Violet – Destined Rivals Elite Trainer Box and other products.

Elite Trainer Boxes contain nine packs, a promo card (in this case, a Wobbuffet Illustration Rare), card sleeves, a selection of Energy Cards, a storage box, condition markers, dice, and a guide to Scarlet & Violet – Destined Rivals. There is also a Pokémon Center version of the ETB, which contains an additional Wobbuffet card that is stamped and 11 packs, but that product has long since sold out.

I personally enjoy Elite Trainer Boxes as a one-time purchase for new main series sets like this. While packs are always random and your chances of pulling some real fire are of course better with the 36 packs offered in a booster box, the nine packs of an ETB gives you a solid chance. Here, you can see I pulled three Pokémon ex and a Murkrow Illustration Rare.

For me, the real reason to get an ETB is the promo and the sleeves, which are exclusive to this product. The Pokémon TCG has dramatically improved its ETB sleeves, moving away from the low-quality matte sleeves of the Sword & Shield era and back to glossy, soft-touch sleeves.

Once you already have an Elite Trainer Box, though, the best move for a smaller purchase is a Booster Bundle. These products contain six packs and are more affordable, as there is no additional frills: just packs. While I didn't pull anything crazy from these six packs, I recommend this item for a collector who isn't prepared to go all in on  a booster box. Note that there is no promo card in this product.

Finally, I opened a Build & Battle kit. These are especially fun items because they include one of four possible promo cards which are stamped with the set's logo. These cards are exclusive to Build & Battle kits and entirely random, which makes this an item I'd personally buy until I had the full set. They also come with four packs, and I was able to get an Illustration Rare out of one of them.

Be sure to check Bleeding Cool every day to follow our in-depth Pokémon TCG coverage as we explore the hobby's past, present, and even future with upcoming set reveals.

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