Crown Zenith Set Review

With the Pokemon TCG’s last expansion, Silver Tempest, the Sword & Shield era has finally come to an end. But this has been an iconic era for the game, with lots of fantastic cards, mechanics, and art treatments helping to make our time in Galar and Hisui all the more special.

We’re not quite ready to say goodbye to Sword & Shield, though, and so, with plenty of fancy products, and a whole new subset of cards to collect, Crown Zenith is the send-off the eighth generation deserves.

Crown Zenith is all about celebrating the Galar region, as well as the mechanics of the Sword & Shield era. Almost everything you’ve loved from the past three years is back here, with V, VMAX, VSTAR, Radiant, Dragon types, and even V-Union all putting in an appearance. Even 2021’s battle styles and 2022’s Lost Zones are back with cards like Fusion Strike Mew V and Absol, making this a true celebration of everything we’ve enjoyed in the era.

VSTAR in particular is going out with a bang, with more cards on offer here than in any other expansion: Zacian and Zamazenta, Regigias, Zeraora, Rotom, Simisage, Charizard, Leafeon, and even a Sky Seal Stone with a VSTAR ability are all found in Crown Zenith. For fans of Charizard (and who doesn’t love Charizard), there’s not one, not two, but three different cards on offer, with Charizard V, VSTAR, and a shiny Radiant Charizard almost guaranteed to be one of the biggest pulls of the expansion.

My person favourites, though, have to be that adorably crocheted Snrolax, and the exclusive Trainer cards that have been signed by the characters themselves. Hop’s is a squiggly, smiley-faced scrawl, whereas Bede’s are sharp and hard, just like him. It’s a perfect way to look back on how excellent Galar as a region was before we ship off to Paldea!

While this expansion doesn’t have the ever-popular Trainer’s Gallery subset, it has something so much more special: The Galarian Gallery. These are exquisite alt-art printings of Pokemon with some of the best art the game has ever had. From the cute simplicity of Ditto masquerading as a Numel or Simisage Vstar’s chibi tyle, to artistic masterpieces like Crikitune, Mewtwo VSTAR, and Miltank’s art, these a real treat and can be found either as promo cards in various products, or in the booster packs themselves. Some of the rarest cards can be found here, too, with Dialga, Palkia, Arceus, and Giratina VSTAR all having textured golden-foil secret rare printings on offer.

Crown Zenith is a special expansion, which means how you buy it is slightly different to normal. Think of this more like Celebrations or Pokemon Go, with various promo products giving you exclusive cards and plenty of Crown Zenith packs to keep you going.

First up is the Elite Trainer Box, which includes 10 boosters, an exclusive Lucario VSTAR, sleeves, and other accessories. Another awesome way to pick up the expansion is with the Pikachu VMAX Special Collection. This gets you five booster packs, Pikachu V, Pikachu VMAX, and a jumbo Pikachu VMAX. Saying goodbye to Galar almost means we’re saying goodbye to our good, chunky friend Pikachu VMAX, so of course he deserves his own box!

There’s also three large tins based on the Legendary Galarian birds – each comes with five packs and a full-art promo of either Galarian Zapdos, Galarian Moltres, or Galarian Articuno from the Galarian Gallery. These are also available in standard tins, which come with one fewer booster pack.

Collection Boxes are available, based on Regileki V and Regidrago V. These include four packs of Crown Zenith and either Regileki, Regileki V, and a jumbo Regileki V promo card, or Regidrago, Regidrago V, and a jumbo Regidrago V.

Pin collections are always special for collectors, giving you more than just cards to commemorate the occasion. For Crown Zenith, the focus is on the three Galarian Starter Pokemon, as the Inteleon, Cinderace, and Rillaboom Prin Collections each include an exclusive pin, three booster packs, and a promo card of the Pokemon.

Finally, if you’re wanting to check out Crown Zenith on a budget, the mini tins are the way to go. These five tins showcase the five main trainers of the Galar region – Marnie, Hop, Bede, Leon, and Sonia – in a single, panoramic image of the Galar region. The tins come with two packs, a sticker sheet, and a flip coin, which for their low price is still a great deal!

The next time we see Pokemon, we’ll be in the sunny expanse of the Paldea region for Scarlet & Violet. But let’s not forget everything Sword & Shield has given us, while also getting some powerful, stunning cards! Don’t forget to preorder Crown Zenith, or the singles you want, through Magic Madhouse!