Summary
Pokemon TCGhas seen a handful of big changes over the past few years, with one of the most anticipated being the return of silver-border cards outside of Japan and the addition of more holographic cards in each pack. With the release ofPokemon Scarlet and Violetfor the Nintendo Switch came new cards for the firstPokemon TCGset based on Gen 9, and then the card game started expanding with new thematic releases based on parts of the game, like Paradox Pokemon. Now,Pokemon TCGis officially releasing its newestScarlet and Violetexpansion withTwilight Masquerade, which is based on the first DLC for Gen 9, The Teal Mask. Game Rant had the privilege of opening a few products fromTwilight Masquerade, including an Elite Trainer Box.
Pokemon TCG’sTwilight Masqueradecombines cards from the Japanese setsCrimson HazeandMask of Change, and it heavily relies on Ogerpon and its various forms as well as most of the critters from the land of Kitakami. The set also includes some Teal Mask-exclusive Pokemon species, such as Poltchageist, Sinistcha, Dipplin, Bloodmoon Ursaluna, the Loyal Three (Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti), and Ogerpon itself. There are many good cards to pull from this set, both in terms of the actual game and in terms of rarity and looks, andTwilight Masqueradealso includes a few new rules and mechanics to keep track of.
Every Product Available From Pokemon TCG’s Twilight Masquerade Expansion Explained
There are a few key products to choose from when starting one’s collection ofPokemon TCG’sTwilight Masqueradeexpansion. These include:
New Special and Noteworthy Rules and Mechanics in Pokemon TCG’s Twilight Masquerade Explained
SincePokemon TCG’sTwilight Masqueradefocuses on the lore and in-game mechanics of the land of Kitakami andThe Teal Mask DLC forPokemon Scarlet and Violet, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Ogerpon takes center stage once more. In this case, there are various Ogerpon cards in the set that may be played together thanks to a specific card called Ogre’s Mask.
Ogre’s Mask allows players to swap their Ogerpon Ex cards for different (or even the same) Ogerpon Ex cards in the discard pile, but retain the original Pokemon’s attached cards, damage counters, and other effects. This allows players to have any Ogerpon Ex on the field at any time, which can be invaluable inTwilight Masquerade, especially since one can have up to four copies of each Ogerpon Ex in a given deck due to them having different names.
Another noteworthy mechanic is that of theLoyal Three - Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti. These three Pokemon all have unique abilities tied to their in-game story, and they are respectively Adrena-Power, Adrena-Brain, and Adrena-Pheromone. Although Okidogi is a Fighting-type card and Munkidori and Fezandipiti are Psychic, all these abilities require having a Dark Energy attached to work. In the case of Okidogi, Adrena-Power grants it +100 HP and its attacks deal 100 more damage to the opponent’s Active Pokemon.
Munkidori’s Adrena-Brain allows players to move up to three damage counters on one of their Pokemon onto one of their opponent’s, effectively healing up to 30 damage from a Pokemon and dealing 30 damage to any opposing Pokemon, even benched ones. Lastly, Fezandipiti’s Adrena-Pheromone makes it so it is not damaged by attacks once per turn if the player flips a coin and gets heads. While very strong, all these abilities require a Dark-type Energy, but that can be bypassed with the new Legacy Energy Ace Spec card, which counts as all Energy types at once.
Pokemon TCG Twilight Masquerade: The Best Pulls For Competitive Play and Collectors Explained
There are manygood cards inPokemon TCG’s latest expansion, andTwilight Masqueradeoffers ample selection when it comes to competitive play as well. In fact, multiple cards from this set can be effectively used in tournaments and competitive events, and some have already been used with success in the Japanese meta, considering these cards have been available in Japan for a while now. There are multiple outliers that players should be happy to pull, and these include some Pokemon Ex as well as rarer cards, like full art cards, illustration art rares, special illustration art rares, and Gold Cards.
This list counts rare cards, some of the best-looking cards in the expansion (as subjective as that may be), and also the strongest cards from a competitive standpoint.
Pokemon TCG Scarlet & Violet 151 Pokemon Center Elite Trainer Box
One of GameStop’s bestsellers, this Pokémon Trading Card Game box throws it back to the original 151 Pokémon and provides trainers with everything they need to get started playing this popular game. The box contains 11 booster packs (each containing 1 Basic Energy and 10 cards) full-art foil promo cards, dice, markers, and even a competition-legal coin-flip die. Players will love traversing the iconic Kanto region to battle, capture, and discover new Pokémon. Plus, they can try to spot the elusive Mew Ex.
