Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Paldea Evolved, pokemon, pokemon cards, wooper

The Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Paldea Evolved Part 49: Paldean Variants

Our spotlight on Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet - Paldea Evolved features Illustration Rares of new Paldean versions of classic species.

With Sword & Shield officially concluded, the Scarlet & Violet era of the Pokémon TCG kicked off in March 2023 with a focus on the ninth generation of Pokémon games and the new region: Paldea. It all began with the Scarlet & Violet base set, which introduced major, lasting changes to the hobby. Now, the borders of the cards have become silver, matching the Japanese releases. Another major change is that now, each pack culminates in at least a holo-rare and two reverse holos. The major mechanic of this era is the lowercase ex, which features a double holographic pattern of a horizontal shine and a starry sparkle. Full Art exs now use a green, foil outline around the Pokémon. The Secret Rare section of expansions going forward features Full Arts, Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rare exs, Full Art Trainers, Special Illustration Rare Trainers, and Gold Hyper Rares. On June 9, 2023, the Pokémon TCG released the second set of this era, Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved, which focused on the Paldean Starters and the Treasures of Ruin Legendaries. In today's installment of this Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved art spotlight, let's take a look at more Illustration Rares.

Paldean Tauros and Paldean Wooper are both new regional variants of two classic species.

The main numbered set featured the various type variants of Paldean Tauros, and now it appears on this Illustration Rare in just the Combat Breed. This card is illustrated by Anesaki Dynamic. Dynamic has been contributing to the Pokémon TCG since the underrated set XY – Steam Siege, drawing memorable cards since then, including the Kyogre Amazing Rare from Shining Fates and the highly sought-after Rayquaza VMAX Alternate Art from Sword & Shield – Evolving Skies.

Paldean Wooper got its first-ever Pokémon TCG appearance earlier in this set, which also includes a Clodsire ex. Paldean Wooper gets a unique and quite strange Illustration Rare from artist Miki Tanaka. Tanaka depicts this Poison/Ground-type species (designated as Dark-type in the Pokémon TCG) sinking into wet marshland, which ties into its lore in the Scarlet & Violet games. Tanaka, who has been contributing artwork since the early days of Fossil, experiments with open space and minimalism here in a major way.

Stay tuned for the journey through this special set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet – Paldea Evolved. Next time, the spotlight continues with the Secret Rare section of the set. You can read more about this iconic trading card game right here at Bleeding Cool.

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