Fans of the Pokemon Trading Card Game are looking forward to the release of the two new themed decks Darkmaw and Thunder rattles already waited. Both starters appear as part of the expansion Sun & Moon: Rise of the storm blush, which expands the Trading Card Game by 110 cards. We have the theme deck Darkmaw and a closer look at some booster packs and tell you in the following post what our opinion about the new cards is.
Pokemon Trading Card Game: A Worldwide Phenomenon
Trading card games are about as old as the game market itself. No wonder, after all, good money can be made with the simple collecting mechanism. That individual trading card games like Magic: The Gathering or Pokémon Surviving on the market for such a long time is not only due to good marketing, but rather to the fact that the publishers throw new fodder to fans at regular intervals.
The Pokémon TCG, in particular, is a worldwide phenomenon. The Trading Card Game was published in Japan in October 1996. In Germany, the card game offshoot is celebrating its 2018th anniversary in 20. Since December 1998 people have also been collecting and fighting in Germany. Amigo Spiele is responsible for the German distribution. The contents of the trading card game are of course based on the video game series of the same name, all about the charming pocket-sized fighting monsters. Today Pokemon is considered to be one of the most important franchises of the Japanese game publisher Nintendo. How much their Pokemon hobby is important to collectors in particular is shown by the fact that individual cards with a high rarity value are traded at sometimes horrific prices.
Tournament events are held regularly at the well-known game fairs. The Pokemon Trading Card Game drew a lot of attention on the past SPIEL'17 in Essen on yourself. At Europe's largest annual game fair, fans not only had the opportunity to try out the trading card game, but also to take part in a unique tournament format: the Professor's Cup.
Ultimately, it is the combination of a strong brand, the release of new products, appealing to the passion for collecting and exciting card game duels that make the Pokemon Trading Card Game a worldwide phenomenon.
Awakened childhood memories
Every parlor game appeals to a certain target group, which not only affects the interests of the game, but often also the age. Trading card games in particular become titles that span generations as the market ages. The reason for this is often the emotional bond with a franchise. Anyone who plays Pokemon today may have come into contact with the cuddly pocket monsters for the first time in the 90s. The map collection of veterans and passionate fans continues to grow every quarter - new content appears in roughly this cycle.
Many older players associate memories from their childhood with the Pokemon in particular. How much I only realized when I was writing these lines, because as a player I also had my first experience with the Pokemon in the 1990s - back then on the Gameboy. Since then Pokemon* a term that I associate closely with my childhood.
Even if Pokemon games are no longer one of my regularly played titles these days, the popular brand is so present for me that I follow reports from the scene. With the acquisition of the Nintendo Switch the topic of Pokemon will be more topical than ever again in the foreseeable future.
What has changed in the field of trading card games is the handling of the optional booster packs. When I was a trading card game, the new acquisition looked like this: you meet up with friends in one of the fantasy shops in your hometown, exchange ideas about new deck strategies, buy individual boosters and swap cards right in the store. Nowadays, instead of individual boosters, entire displays are often bought, duplicate cards are sold through online auction houses, and required cards are simply bought. The strong social component has become weaker as the Internet has developed. Game meetings, tournaments and trade fair events where you can experience the charm of classic trading card games up close are all the more welcome. It is these rare moments of connection that make trading card games enduring phenomena.
Sun & Moon - Rise of Storm Blush: New Content
The extension Sun & Moon - Rise of the storm blush is a small part of the Pokemon TCG. The TCG comprises a total of approx. 7000 cards. Sun & Moon - Rise of the storm blush brings 110 new cards to the collection, including 8 new Pokemon-GX, 9 new Trainer cards and powerful Ultra Beasts. Also completely new are two ready-made theme decks that give players a quick introduction to the world of Pokemon: Darkmaw and Giverattle. Each themed deck contains 60 cards including a card list, 1 coin, a play mat, a deck box, damage counters and a code that allows you to use the deck to compete against other players online. Themed decks are named because they differ thematically in terms of the battle monsters they contain. While the Dark Throat themed deck relies on Darkness and Psycho Pokemon, step with the themed deck Thunder rattles Combat and Electro Pokemon in action.
True to the motto 'No expansion without new Pokekon', enter Rise of the storm blush For the first time Anego, Masskito, Katagami, Schlingking, type: Null, Amigento and the supporter cards Samantha and Gladio appear. There are also other Pokémon from the Alola region with Alola Kokowei and Alola Knogga.
In essence, with the new expansion, everything remains the same. Players build decks of 60 cards from their collection. The trick is to combine cards in a strategically sensible way in order to increase the effectiveness of a deck. The larger the personal card collection, the greater the tactical possibilities when composing the deck. If you have limited resources, you can use the numerous exchange calls on the Internet.
The basic rules of the Pokemon TCG are also unchanged. Players bring their Pokemon to the arena to compete against other players' monsters. You support your Pokemon with trainer cards, while energy cards represent the resources for activating attacks.
Infobox
Number of players: 2 players competitively
Age: from approx. 6 years
Playing time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: medium
Long-term motivation: high
Publisher: The Pokémon Company International
Year of publication: 2017
Language: German
Costs: starter 15,95 euros / booster 4,79 euros each
Media to Pokemon
Sun & Moon - Rise of the storm blush
Our impression
For newcomers to the coaching business, the flowery descriptions sound like gibberish. When it says something "Also, unleash the power of the new Pokémon-GX, including Alola Kokowei-GX and Gyarados-GX" are aficionados of the franchise for their game; Uninformed, however, shake their heads perplexed. As in every game, there are fixed terms that need to be learned in the same way as the set of rules.
However, once you've started your journey into the world of Pokemon, you'll enjoy the trip for as long as you can. The Pokemon Trading Card Game unfolds exactly the playful details that you would expect from a TCG. Not only is opening new boosters incredibly exciting, it also gives budding Pokemon trainers new tactical options with regard to their deck strategies.
Whatever you think about the Pokemon franchise, trading cards get it right in purely playful terms. The more you as a player are willing to invest, the higher the fun factor increases - this is typical for a trading card game.
In terms of materials, the Pokemon Company doesn’t show any nakedness anyway. The cards are flawlessly processed and well illustrated. Above all, the extraordinary Pokemon-GX attract the attention of fans, so that the new expansion also makes the hearts of collectors beat faster.
Overall, the additional cards are out Sun & Moon - Rise of the storm blush Mandatory purchases for fans. Newcomers and those not familiar with the scene get with the two themed decks Thunder rattles and Darkmaw on the other hand, beginner-friendly complete solutions for a quick start to the game. The current expansion also offers players good content with the quality consistency that a trading card game needs to be able to survive in the market. Pokemon has been doing this for 20 years now - that alone says a lot.
