Scarlet & Violet Base Set Review

The time has finally come to explore a whole new region in the Pokemon TCG. Say goodbye to Galar and Hisui, and say hello to the sunny peaks of the Paldea region in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. This new era introduces all sorts of new Pokemon, new and returning mechanics, and even a brand new look for the cards themselves.

Whether you’re a returning player, or someone hoping to start fresh with this exciting new era, Scarlet & Violet will surely have something appealing for you.

Ignoring the excitement of the new Pokemon debuting in the TCG for the first time for a moment, let’s take a look at the cards themselves. For the first time, the international TCG has ditched the yellow borders it has had since the very beginning, and instead makes use of the grey borders of the Japanese version. This seems like a simple enough change, but the effect it has on making the cards pop is massive. From the commons up to the secret rares, cards have never looked this snazzy before.

It's not just the card borders that are different. Now, booster packs are guaranteed to contain a whopping three holofoil cards, rather than the two of previous eras. Every single rare card will be a holo, to make those rare cards feel even more special. There’s also a few quality-of-life changes for players, too, such as including Energy symbols on the bottom right of the card to help you quickly see how many are attached when they’re tucked underneath a Pokemon!

Of course, for most people, the debut of Paldea is the main event here. This Spanish-inspired region is full of fantastic new Pokemon to meet, such as the starters Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly. My personal favourite is Mabosstiff, a Mafia-themed dog Pokemon who has an incredible, ferocious alt-art in this expansion. Naturally, we’ll also be seeing faces from Paldea as Trainer cards, like Penny, Arven, Jacq, and Katy.

The Scarlet & Violet video games introduced Terastallization, a way for Pokemon to change their types on the fly. For the TCG, this mechanic is being represented by the returning ex cards, which haven’t been seen in the game since 2007’s EX Power Keepers expansion. While ex Pokemon are much stronger, there comes a cost: if they go down, your opponent takes two Prize cards, rather than just one.

Both regular and terastallized Pokemon are making an appearance in this era, with terrastalized Pokemon potentially being different types to what the Pokemon normally is. For the Scarlet & Violet expansion, we’ve started things pretty slowly with a fire-type Arcanine and Water-type Gyarodos as you’d expect, but it does mean we get to see that very strong Tera ability that prevents all damage dealt to the Pokemon while it’s on your bench. No more of your opponent wiping out your bench!

On top of being powerful, these cards feature incredible art that breaks out of the frame, and reimagines Pokemon in their crystalline forms, complete with the Tera-crowns that give them their power. This is this generation’s version of the V and VMAX Pokemon of Sword & Shield, so will definitely be worth keeping an eye out for when cracking your packs!

Speaking of packs, how can you get your hands on scarlet & Violet? Well, for this expansion, there are two different Elite Trainer Boxes available: the purple Miraidon box, and the red Koraidon. Each include the usual sleeves, dice, and nine booster packs, but the choice lets you pick which one you prefer more. My vote is the for the prehistoric Koraidon, but you may prefer the lseek futurism of Miraidon instead.

On top of Elite Trainer Boxes, you can also buy Scarlet & Violet in loose booster packs and booster boxes. There’s also the Build And Battle box and Build and Battle Stadium, which let you make decks ready to play with with ease. The Box includes four boosters, a prerelease card, and the scaffolding of a deck ready for you to put your own spin on. The Stadium includes two of these boxes, letting you and a friend have your own Scarlet & Violet game night!

It won’t be a Pokemon release without Checklane boosters, which include specific cards and exclusive coins alongside booster packs to really bolster your collection. Tis time, you can get the Machamp family, the Gengar family, Spidops, Espathra, Arcanine, or Dodonzo, each coming with between one and three boosters, and a delightful Quaxly flip-coin. If any of these are your favourite, why leave things to chance when you could pick up a Checklane and get them straight away?

Scarlet & Violet is a really exciting time to be a Pokemon TCG fan. With V and VMAX behind us, and a whole new region full of terrastallized Pokemon to encounter, make sure you’ve picked up your packs and singles through Magic Madhouse today!