Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: Fusion Strike, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, Pokemon Trading Card Game

The Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike Part 1

The Pokémon TCG has outdone itself with its latest release, Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike. Fusion Strike, which was released in November 2021, is the largest expansion that the Pokémon TCG has ever released with a whopping 264 cards before Secret Rares. The set is partly based on the Japanese expansion Fusion Arts but also adapts several key Japanese promo cards as well as cards from sets like Eevee Heroes that were left out of that set's English equivalent, Sword & Shield – Evolving Skies. Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike is notable for its focus on the Mythical Pokémon Mew and Gengar VMAX, as well as its introduction of a new Battle Style to the competitive TCG with Fusion Pokémon now joining Rapid Strike and Single Strike. Now, let's take a journey through the best cards in this staggeringly large set of Pokémon cards.

• Butterfree: The best holographic card in the set, Butterfree is depicted beautifully with soft artwork and gorgeous background coloring. This, to me, is the perfect style of illustration for a standard holographic card. Holos need space for their patterns to really show their stuff, as any fan from back in the Wizards of the Coast era will tell you. Butterfree is small here, allowing plentiful room for the holo pattern to glow.
• Breloom: Every bit a standard Pokémon-V in its execution, I love this card because of the choice of Breloom. This Grass/Fighting-type species is a beast in Pokémon GO but isn't often the subject of Ultra Rares or even holos these days. A strong choice.
• Leavanny: I remember the first time I pulled this card from a pack of Fusion Strike. It stopped me in my tracks. Leavanny cradles a newborn Sewaddle with a contented smile on her face in this card, which is one of the most heart-warming and beautiful illustrations ever printed by the Pokémon TCG.

Next time, the spotlight on Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike continues with more cards from the set. You can follow this spotlight series by clicking our Fusion Strike tag.

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