Welcome back to another TCV Highlights. This time a sort of bitter/sweet reflection and look forward into 2023.
With the end of Sword & Shield nearly upon us with Silver Tempest and the up coming special Crown Zenith products, we look back fondly on what we think will be one of the best eras in Pokémon history.
It does beg the questions “what’s next” and “will it compare to SWSH?” Those are some pretty big shoes to fill right? Considering SWSH is the era that followed the mammoth explosion of Pokémon collecting seeing Pokémon Co. Print and distribute more Pokémon cards in the last 12 months than they have done in the previous 20+ years…
Anyway, that’s enough looking backwards… Now let’s look forward to 2023 and the introduction of Scarlet & Violet… A name already synonymous with the newest Nintendo Switch offering from Gamefreak.
SCVI looks to yield a familiar feel with the reintroduction of EX rarity cards but maintaining the modern feel with the new AR art based rarities following the popularity of the Trainer Gallery/Character rare cards that we have all been in love with this year. A rarity we first got introduced to in a set called Dream League, a memorable set for all the Japanese collectors out there.
More recently however, a new development has been announced and one we believe has a lot to do with the fan base. We’re talking of course about the phasing out of the famous yellow borders from English language cards! We suspect the same will occur with European and Korean prints that share the same base card design.
This aligns the card style more with the Japanese prints which have always proven popular with collectors for looking more sleek and modern.
So...... if the styling now matches the Japanese more closely… will the print quality follow as well? Notoriously, Japanese sets have had a superior print quality for some time now, so here’s to hoping!
What has been your favourite part of the SWSH era? And what are your expectations for 2023?