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

The Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith Part 80: Arceus VSTAR Gold

Our final spotlight on the cards of Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith features AKIRA EGAWA's epic Arceus VSTAR Gold Alternate Art.

The Sword & Shield era of the Pokémon TCG has come to an end. Three years of expansions dedicated to the region of Galar, with some love for Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's revitalization of Sinnoh and Pokémon Legends: Arceus's introduction of the ancient region of Hisui, have led to this moment. Crown Zenith, a special set celebrating the Sword & Shield era, was released on January 20th, 2023. It was primarily an adaptation of Japan's VSTAR Universe set and also featured a collection of cards that were cut from other English-language sets and more. Like other special sets, including Champion's Path, Shining Fates, Celebrations, and Pokémon GO, Crown Zenith packs were found in specially branded products like Premium Collections and Elite Trainer Boxes rather than booster boxes. This set featured the Galarian Gallery subset, which introduced Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rares, originally called "Art Rares," to the hobby, which set the standard for the following Sword & Shield era, which used these card types as their primary Secret Rares. In today's final installment of this Crown Zenith spotlight, let's take a look at more cards from the Galarian Gallery subset.

Our Crown Zenith spotlight ends with a card I reported on with genuine admiration when it was leaked. I wrote:

Could this be the most beautiful Pokémon card of all time? With packs [of Japan's VSTAR Universe] now being opened, collectors have found the first instance of a Gold Alternate Art VSTAR card. […] The first Gold Alt Art VSTAR revealed was Arceus, followed by Origin Forme Dialga, Origin Forme Palkia, and Giratina. Bask in Arceus's glory!

This gorgeous Arceus is the final of four themed Gold Alternate Arts from VSTAR Universe by artist AKIRA EGAWA. EGAWA has become one of the hobby's top artists due to his detailed, painterly style since his debut in Sun & Moon – Unified Minds. Some of the more memorable EGAWA cards are Blaziken V and Celebi V from Sword & Shield – Chilling Reign, Umbreon VMAX from Sword & Shield – Evolving Skies, Chandelure VMAX and Mew VMAX Alternate Art from Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike, Zekrom Character Rare from Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars, and Ho-Oh V and Duraludon VMAX Character Super Rare from Sword & Shield – Silver Tempest. What could ever be more notable, though, than this run of four Golden cards? In my opinion, EGAWA and Kouki Saitou absolutely RAN Crown Zenith with EGAWA's Golden Alts and Saitou's 9-card connecting set of Illustration Rares.

Stay tuned for the journey through this special set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith. Next time, the spotlight climaxes with the top five cards of the set and a complete expansion review. You can read more about this iconic trading card game right here at Bleeding Cool.

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