The Pokémon TCG is constantly evolving, and the upcoming Scarlet & Violet: Paldea Evolved expansion is taking that to the extreme. From showcasing beautiful cards that display the evolving relationships between a Pokémon and their trainer to highlighting the best of the returning ex mechanic, Paldea Evolved is built to bring the best of the Paldea region to your table.
Extra Value in Storytelling
First, I want to highlight my favorite returning element of the set: storytelling evolutions.
Sometimes called triptych cards or sequence pieces, players love seeing the relationships between Pokémon and their trainers develop over time. I am 100% the mark for these, as I find the concept adorable. Paldea Evolved is bringing this back, giving the Paldean starters a chance to shine by showing the lives they have built with their trainers.
I may have said that I’m the mark, but I am absolutely not the only one. These variants of popular Pokémon are likely to be a driving force in the popularity of the set at large, as they have strong appeal to casual Pokémon fans and hardcore collectors alike.
Competitively Collectible
The next notable thing that we know about Paldea Evolved is the printing of some competitive staples into the meta. While there are several key cards that we’ve seen in the Japanese sets that this is built around, Snow Hazard and Clay Burst (which sold out in Japan!), none of them rival the powerhouse gym leader, Iono, who is going to replace Judge in competitive lists.
For those of you who don’t speak Japanese, this translates as, “Each player shuffles their hand and puts it on the bottom of their deck. If either player put any cards on the bottom of their deck in this way, each player draws a card for each of their remaining Prize cards.”
This hand refuel is going to see a lot of play, but its competitive viability is only part of the story. Iono is an extremely popular character from Scarlet & Violet, only the Normal Gym Leader, Larry, really giving her much of a run when it comes to fan favoritism. Her Special Illustration Rare variant (the one pictured above) is extremely expensive in Japan and we may be able to expect the same stateside (depending on pull rates, which are sometimes improved in US boosters).
Viable Value
Speaking of competitive staples, while Iono may command the greatest price, there are a lot of cards that are going to be coming into the game that are going to have a serious impact on the game as a whole.
I’ll be the first to admit that I am not as tapped into the competitive end of the game as I would like (I’m working on it, but keep getting distracted running my favorite Pokémon and tinkering with things like the Gym Leader Challenge format), but I more than trust what BurtsPTCG has to say about the competitive merits of the cards that are coming out of Paldea Evolved:
Even if I’m coming at the game from a more casual perspective, I can see the merits in things like the new legendary ex Pokémon, and it certainly helps that these apocalyptic forces from the Scarlet & Violet game are given some very cool representation in the TCG. Combined, Scarlet & Violet: Paldea evolved is looking to be the perfect combination between playability and collectibility, making it a set that’s worth getting hyped for.