It’s time to go Mega Evolved!
Pokemon Mega Evolution kicks off a new series of sets for the Pokemon TCG with the return of the namesake Mega Evolution Pokemon. This set establishes brand new pull rates, a change to the design of holo patterns and many brand new strategies and cards introduced in this set that are expected to become main stays in many decks after rotation. But with this change comes some new issues for the future of the TCG, are these simply problems that can be resolved within a few sets or will they persist and affect the rest of the TCG for the next few years.
Mega Pokemon burst onto the scene
The brand new rules for Pokemon make them much bigger targets for opponents, but make it so much easier to bring them into play and start battling it out. Unlike in their previous incarnation, Mega Pokemon cards can be evolved without reaching their final evolution as they now act as an alternative final evolution; after reaching Kirlia, you can choose to evolve it into Gardevoir or Mega Gardevoir. This is certainly an improvement as the original not only required you to reach the final evolution but would also restrict the player from being able to use the Mega Evolved Pokemon until the next turn. This is also the return of pokemon being valued at 3 prize cards after knock out as the new Mega Pokemon now offer more prize cards after being defeated similar to the previously released Pokemon VMax during the Sword & Shield era of the TCG. Not all of the Mega Pokemon are included in this set, with expectations of the rest of the Mega Pokemon coming up in future sets such as Phantasmal Flame and the set that has been previewed with the new Mega Dragonite card. The poster Pokemon for this set are Mega Gardevoir and Mega Lucario, with many more for each type of energy and their own strategies to play. One of which is the Mega Latias ex card, this pairs with the new Latios card and swaps energy cards from the bench to Mega Latias ex as it comes into the active, being able to unleash a total of 300 damage once they are able to get the energy cost onto the Mega Latias ex.
Outside of Pokemon, new Trainer cards have been released in the set that will potentially shake up the meta in a new way! One card in particular is Lillie’s Determination, allowing for the player to shuffle their hand into their deck and draw out 6 new cards. However, if they still have 6 prize cards remaining then they are allowed to draw 8, making this card greatly sought after due to the early advantage it provides. As well as this, we see the introduction of Forest of Vitality as a new stadium card providing a massive benefit to all grass type decks going forward as they will now be able to evolve immediately after playing a pokemon onto their bench (with the exception of the players first turn).
Brand new Illustration rares to seek out!
Alongside Mega Evolution shaking new cards and Pokemon, we also get a grand selection of Full Art, Illustration Rare and Special Illustration Rare art cards with a new addition in Full Art Item cards along with Supporter cards. As expected, the Pokemon Company provides many great and beautiful prints of Pokemon cards from fan favourites to unique pieces that spark nostalgia.
A brand new massive connecting card art sees the three pokemon in the Mega Venusaur evolution line, seeing a trail of Bulbasaur and Ivysaur following behind a Mega Venusaur with a small, spectral Venusaur looking up on the trio, hidden in the connection between Ivysaur and Mega Venusaur. Alongside this, we see several new great Special Illustration rares in the set; Mega Gardevoir in a decorated pink display while being surrounded by its previous evolutions, Mega Lucario in the middle of a heated battle between Mega Venusaur with many other battles taking place in the background and so on. Other Special Illustration Rares include artwork of Supporter Trainer Cards featuring popular gym leaders and opponents. The biggest call back is in the artwork for Lt. Surge’s Bargain as he is seen working out in his gym alongside equipment styled after electric type pokemon such as Voltorb as a gym ball.
A new addition to the card game with this set is the Mega Hyper Rarity (Gold Cards), which revamps the old Gold cards into a new design as well as making them massively rarer than they previously were. The only two currently available with this set are the gold cards for Mega Gardevoir and Mega Lucario which are similar to the Black & White Rarity cards that came out in Black Bolt and White Flare. The new design is gorgeous and features details that centre the pokemon on the card as a gold bust that is encircled by markings that could possibly be in reference to Mega Evolving.
Mega Evolution need Mega Products
As expected of a main set, Pokemon provides a wide variety of traditional products that many fans, new and old, will be able to find best fits within their own budget for collecting, playing and trading. One of these many expected products is the Elite Trainer Box that has had the internal storage changed from the cardboard dividers for plastic casing that keeps everything secure inside of the package. It is curious that the product has been redesigned in this way, leaving some collectors concerned with the amount of waste being produced in comparison to the previous iterations. What is likely to be the most desired product in this range, as of current, is the psyduck that comes part of the three pack blister. The promo-card psyduck that comes with this product is highly sought after due to its ability, Damp, where all pokemon now lose access to any abilities that require the pokemon to knock itself out; this helps to prevent some pokemon that have found meta relevance such as Dusknoir and Magneton.
A Mega start for the new Mega era
Mega Evolution has stormed the gates and feels like a great hit from the Pokemon company after releasing the previous main line sets themed around Trainer Pokemon. The new mechanics for Mega Evolved Pokemon fit well thematically and functionally in the TCG, even with some fans feeling that re-introducing 3 prize card pokemon may be a step in a negative direction. The start of the next series of Pokemon TCG sets establishes the direction of the game as well as sets up future releases as fans now speculate what is to come in future sets; what Mega Pokemon will be released first, how they will play and what support each deck type will receive, what new illustration rares will they come out with, etc. In conclusion, this is certainly the start for what will hopefully be remembered as one of the best modern sets and series of sets to come over the next few years. A highly recommended set from myself and has sparked much excitement in the community as a whole.
