Crown Zenith, the last official set for the Pokémon Sword and Shield TCG, treats fans to dozens of new, gorgeously-designed cards.
As detailed on Kotaku, this new set introduces an array of stunning new cards, including 70 Galarian Gallery cards exclusive to Crown Zenith. The collection contains 230 cards from 14 different series within the SWSH TCG era, including Incandescent Arcana, Paradigm Trigger, Special Deck Set: Charizard VSTAR vs. Rayquaza VMAX, and The Zeraora / Deoxys High Class decks. Crown Zenith officially hit shelves on Jan. 20.
Crown Zenith's New Pokémon Cards
Crown Zenith's Galarian Gallery cards feature full art cards for several legendary Pokémon, including Mew, Arceus, Manaphy, Mewtwo, Keldeo and Diancie, in addition to the numerous full arts made for popular non-legendaries like Pikachu, Lapras, Miltank, Mareep, Absol and Bidoof. The Galarian Gallery also contains Trainer cards for iconic characters like Cheren, Irida, Melony and Roxanne. While many of the more impressive cards are classified as either Holo rare or Ultra rare, Pokémon TCG fans should know that pull rates for rare cards appear to be higher with this set compared to past collections.
To give Pokémon fans outside Japan an impression of Crown Zenith's pull rates, The Pokémon Company sent Kotaku writer John Walker a total of 19 Crown Zenith booster packs to open prior to the game's official international release. From these packs, Walker and his son pulled at least 18 ultra rare cards, including two full art cards for Altaria and Drapion designed by Pokémon TCG artists Asako Ito and Yuka Morii, respectively. Walker noted that the pull rate for these 19 packs was significantly higher than that of the 36-pack Silver Tempest booster set he bought for his son, from which "far, far fewer" decent cards were pulled.
Higher Ultra Rare Pokémon Card Pull Rates
Incredibly, there is a chance that the pull rates for Crown Zenith's Japanese version, VSTAR Universe, might be even higher. According to Walker, VSTAR Universe's 10-card packs can contain "as many as four ultra rares or higher," and generally have more holo cards than international packs. Aside from the different pull rates for rare cards, there are other critical differences between the Japanese and international versions of the game. For instance, the special energy cards in the game's Japanese version feature a unique holo effect that transforms the energy symbol into a Pokéball when tilting the card. The international versions lack this effect. Reverse holo cards in Japan can also feature a particular bubble pattern, whereas Crown Zenith's cards only feature the standard herringbone pattern for reverse holos.
Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith is available now.
Source: Kotaku