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

The Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Astral Radiance Part 8: Origin Palkia VSTAR

In May 2022, Pokémon TCG released the second main series set of 2022. The expansion, Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance, came out on May 27th, 2022. It is the tenth set under the Sword & Shield banner and is the first to include the Radiant Pokémon mechanic. Radiant Pokémon are similar to Shining Pokémon of the past as they include a Shiny Pokémon with holofoil and texture on the figure rather than the background. The difference, though, is a special holo pattern on the text area of the card. Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance also continues the Trainer Gallery, a special subset of Character Rares, Character Super Rares, Full Art Trainers, and Black & Gold VMAXes that began in the previous set, Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars. Follow me through a journey through this latest set as we appreciate the artwork, discuss the card's place in the set, and discuss what certain elements of the expansion may imply for the future of the Pokémon TCG. Today, we check out a card that has been popular with players, meaning that the collectors market has been impacted.

We're looking at Origin Forme Palkia V and Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR. Illustrator aky CG Works takes on Palkia V so close that we can't see its oddly horsey bottom half, but it does capture this Legendary's weirdness with its glowing red shoulders in place of arms. Then, we see the same artist take on Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR, which is very in-your-face. This card has caught the interest of competitive players, which makes it the most valuable VSTAR in the set… so much so that the standard Palkia VSTAR is very close in value to the much rarer Rainbow and Gold Secret Rare equivalents.

Stay tuned for the continuing journey through Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield – Astral Radiance. To look back on this series, click the Astral Radiance tag below. Next time, this journey continues with the main set.

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