Posted in: Card Games, Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: ampharos, mareep, pokemon, pokemon cards, Pokemon TCG, Team Up

The Cards Of Pokémon TCG: Team Up Part 10: Mareep Line

We look back on the Sun & Moon era today with a spotlight on, Pokémon TCG's landmark expansion Team Up which included the Mareep line.

Four years ago, Pokémon TCG released the ninth main series set of the Sun & Moon era. The expansion, Sun & Moon – Team Up, came out on September 9th, 2022. Sun & Moon – Team Up added quite a lot to the hobby, including a special card type that would later become the most sought-after style of chase card in the Sword & Shield era. I'm talking, of course, about Alternate Arts. Sun & Moon – Team Up also introduced TAG TEAM Pokémon-GX, which featured two Pokémon on a single card. These species shared at least one of their typings. TAG TEAM Pokémon-GX were available as standard TEAM TEAM GX cards, Full Arts, Alternate Arts, and Rainbow Rares. Sun & Moon – Team Up was also the last set to include Prism Stars. This English-language expansion was based on the Japanese set Tag Bolt and took inspiration from the Kanto-themed games Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! Let's look back on this influential set and appreciate the artwork that would lay the groundwork for the current Alternate Art-themed era of Sword & Shield and beyond. Today, we continue with the Electric-types of Sun & Moon – Team Up.

We have had a strong Kanto focus so far so it's cool to see some variety in Sun & Moon – Team Up as one of my favorite, and arguably one of the most underrated, Pokémon evolutionary lines gets the spotlight. The Mareep line doesn't get quite the love it deserves, so any time we can get some of that Gen 2 appreciation, I'm happy. The Mareep card is illustrated by Akira Komayama, who delivers a cartoony take on the Electric sheep as it bounds toward us, seemingly about to pounce. Flaaffy gets a soft, cute, and floral card from Shibuzoh. whose textured brush makes it look like not only the Pokémon but even the background is made from wispy cotton candy. Finally, Ampharos gets a solid GX from go-to Ultra Rare artist 5ban Graphics. This Ampharos GX depicts the Pokémon floating in what looks like an orb of electricity high in the air over a city, which… cool? It's not clear why Ampharos is a mile high, and loving it, but hey — I'll take what I can get as a big Ampharos fan!

Stay tuned for the journey through this teamwork-themed set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon – Team Up. Next time, the spotlight continues with the main section of this set.

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