The newest booster set for the Digimon TCG, Blast Ace, comes out November 17, so it’s time to get hyped. The set is introducing new mechanics like ACE and Mind Link. It will also feature important figures from the web novel, Digimon Seekers, which is really exciting to see. Go check out my translation if you’re interested. The set has some very cool art, so let’s dive into it!
If you’ve been enjoying these updates, make sure you like, comment, follow, and subscribe. If you need to preorder Blast ACE, or any other Digimon Product, get it over at TCG Player using my affiliate link. DO NOT preorder singles until the set comes out. Wait for the prices to settle.
Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning will be hitting U.S. Theaters on November 8 and 9. To celebrate its release, Premium Bandai has opened up preorders for a very unique collector’s set for the Digimon TCG. The set costs $80, which is a bit on the expensive side, but well worth it if you are a fan of Adventure 2.
And if you are a fan of Adventure 2, Toei Animation has uploaded the entire series on their YouTube!
If you’ve been enjoying these updates, please make sure you like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends. If you need to pick up any product that isn’t Premium Bandai, like the new Resurgence Booster set, pick it up at TCG Player using my affiliate link!
The set includes:
I love the Digitama sleeves. They are so cute. I am not too crazy about this kit myself, but I can see fans of the movie or people who want to make their Imperialdramon deck pretty getting this. I just hope the storage box looks better in person. The Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning Set costs $80. Preorders end on November 27, or when supplies run out. The set ships in June.
Holidays are just around the corner, and that means exclusive Pokémon merch. The Pokémon Center just dropped a bunch of cool holiday items to fill you with the holiday spirit. I don’t want to make this post too long, so make sure you check out the official page to see everything they have in stock! If you enjoy these updates, make sure you like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends!
Charizard ex Premium Collection ($39.99)
I know the Charizard ex Premium Collection isn’t explicitly a holiday item, but it is a solid gift for the holidays. I know a lot of people are sick of playing Charizard ex decks, especially on the PTCGL ladder, but its a solid card.
The set includes:
1 etched foil promo card featuring Charizard ex
2 foil cards featuring Charmander and Charmeleon
6 Pokémon TCG booster packs
1 magnetic card protector with display base
65 card sleeves featuring Charizard as a Tera Pokémon
A code card for Pokémon TCG Live
You can pick it up at the Pokémon Center for $39.99, but I found it on TCG Player for as low as $32.99.
Pokémon TCG: Holiday Calendar ($49.99)
If you are looking for a nice holiday treat, you might want to pick up the Pokemon TCG Holiday Calendar. This neat little twist on the advent calendar is the perfect gift for the trainer in your life
The set includes:
8 foil Pokémon TCG cards with a festive stamp
5 Pokémon TCG booster packs
7 Pokémon TCG 3-card fun packs
2 Pokémon coins
2 Pokémon sticker sheets
1 sidekick dangler featuring Pikachu and Glaceon
A code card for Pokémon TCG Live!
You can pick yours up at Pokémon Center for $49.99, but I also found them on TCG Player for as cheap as $43.
Pokémon Holiday Village
If you are still in need of some holiday decorations, the Pokémon Holiday Village might be a great place to start. The pieces are super cute, and I can only assume the quality will be fantastic!
I don’t want this post to get too long, so make sure you check out the holiday page to see everything else they have. There is cookware, sweaters, and a bunch of sold-out plushies. I’ll leave pictures below!
All the plushies are sold out as of writing this, but maybe you’ll get lucky
The Pokémon TCG regionals in Lillie France brought some new faces to the top of the format. It is always cool to see how the meta shifts between each region. Obviously, we see a few familiar contenders, but that’s the nature of the game. I’ll leave affiliate links for those of you who want to buy singles. TCG Player is also a terrific place for sealed products, like the new 151 expansion. If you enjoy these updates, make sure you like, comment, follow, and share this with your friends!
1. Mew Vmax
Mew VMAX was the first deck I ever built, so it will always have a special place in my heart. It is a lot of fun to play, and it’s nice to see it still doing well with all the Charizards out there. Congratulations to Konsta Kallama for taking first place!
Love it or hate it, Lost Box continues to be a strong deck in the meta in its many incarnations. Congratulations to Arthur Trutzschler for taking it to 2nd place!
Last but not least we have LostTina, which always seems to perform consistently in the format. Congratulations to Alberto Conti for making it to the top 5!
While we are still seeing a few familiar faces in the meta, the Sacramento regionals saw a couple of new archetypes shacking up the meta. I’ve collected the top deck list for each archetype. I’ll leave links for those who want to build them. These will be affiliate links, but I’ve been using TCG Player since before I became an affiliate because it is a great place for singles and sealed products. If you enjoy these updates, make sure you like, comment, subscribe, and share this with your friends!
1. Lugia VSTAR
Lugia VSTAR is one of those decks that always gets brought up as a strong contender for competitive play, but that hasn’t seen success until Sacramento. Congratulations to Alexander Flatos for piloting this deck to first place! This is one of those decks I’ve been meaning to try, but haven’t gotten around to.
2nd place went to an interesting Arceus deck with a splash of Gyarados VMAX that I am sure many are going to want to try. Congratulations to Niccolo Abate for piloting this very neat deck and placing 2nd at regionals.
Maraidon continues to perform well in the shifting meta. This is a solid deck for those of you who want to get started. Congratulations to Cory Laffiton on his 11th-place win.
We just got some more spoilers for the upcoming Paradox Rift set, and it is hard not to be excited. Especially when you see the alt art cards. This round of spoilers is full of cards you are going to want in your binder. Hopefully, the pull rates are better than 151. Paradox Rift releases on November 3rd. I’ll leave links below on where you can preorder if your LGS isn’t an option. Please use my affiliate links where possible. If you enjoy these updates, make sure you like, comment, subscribe, and share this with your friends.
Where to Buy
If you’d like to preorder any Paradox Rift product, always check with your LGS, but I’ve collected a few options in case that isn’t an option. Use my TCG Player affiliate links when possible. Everything is in stock as of making this post, but I’ll do my best to keep them updated. And remember, with how much Pokémon overprints, it is never a good idea to pay scalper prices, especially on preorders.
I got the Pokémon My First Battle kit because I have a young nephew who collects Pokémon, and I thought it would be fun to teach him how to play. I haven’t had the chance to play with him yet, but since I bought both kits, I decided to try it with my wife. She doesn’t know anything about Pokémon and has never played a TCG.
The first thing you should know before getting this kit is that it is meant to teach young kids. It’s not going to have any value other than getting someone started with the Pokémon TCG. It is a very stripped-down version of the game that focuses on teaching the absolute fundamentals of the game. There are no abilities or supporters, and the rules and phases have been simplified to reduce randomness. I only say this because I already see scalpers selling it for twice what it’s worth.
The set comes with two 17-card-themed mini decks. The cards aren’t standard legal and have the My First Battle logo printed on the back. It comes with two laminated playmats specifically designed for its simplified format. You also get 1 large metallic coin to flip, a sheet of damage counters, six prize cards, and a rulebook to get you started.
The rulebook is clear and easy to follow. I like that it has clear examples with detailed pictures. The playmats feel sturdy and have the actions a player can take per turn printed on them. The setup is incredibly easy. The kit focuses on teaching players the basic phases of the games such as drawing, attacking, evolving, and using item cards. Both players start with a basic Pokémon in the active spot and an energy attached. The rest of the deck is shuffled, and you play the game like normal till one player wins three prize tokens.
Other significant changes include:
Players start with a three-card hand
You can only bench three Pokémon at a time
You don’t lose energy when your active Pokémon is knocked out
You can’t deck out
My only suggestion for people getting this kit is to grab dice to use as damage counters and coin flips. I have never liked counters, and coin flips make things messy. If you are only getting this for your kids to play with, then the counters should suffice. Just note that it will be messy.
If you have kids you want to get into the hobby, this is a great product. If you are trying to teach someone older, there are better options. The kits are at a great price point, and have everything you need to get started. I like that the cards aren’t standard legal, and the mats are sturdy because these cards will most definitely get beat up. My cards came a bit warped, but they weren’t meant to be graded anyway.
I loved this as a tool to teach my wife how to play the game. She has never played a TCG, and only reluctantly agreed to play if the game was easy. With how complicated and luck-based Pokémon can get, I was relieved to have a simplified and streamlined version to get her started. I only needed to explain the rules to her once before she started going through the phases on her own. She had fun and beat me all the times we played. It’ll probably take more convincing to get her to something harder, but I’ll take what I can get.
The kits are $9.99 and come in two flavors: Pikachu v. Bulbasaur or Squirtle v. Charmander. I got them at GameNerdz as a set, but you can pick them up at Best Buy or GameStop while supplies last. I wouldn’t pay more than MSRP for these since you aren’t even getting real cards. With how much Pokémon overprints, I would wait for the restock.
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With the release of Pokémon 151, players have been curious about how it has shifted the meta. There have been a lot of cool ideas floating around on the internet, but the Peoria regionals was the first opportunity players got to test them out in an official capacity. It seems the only real effect 151 had on the meta was to edit the existing archetypes. I’ve collected a few of the top-performing decks. If you enjoy these updates, don’t forget to like comment, subscribe, and share this with your friends.
1. Lost Box
Congratulations to Raymond Long for his first-place win. I just started playing a variation of this, and I regret not playing it sooner. You get some solid early-game pressure with Cramorant, you have some sweet board snipes with Sableye, Radiant Greninja, and Kyogre. If you want to get into this game, this is a solid deck to pick up. Here is a copy of the deck list that won it all.
Energy (11) 4 Water Energy 3 4 Metal Energy 8 3 Psychic Energy 5
2. Mew VMax
I have a real soft spot for Mew VMax because it was the first competitive deck I ever built. This is a quick and strong deck that is easy to pick up. Even with how popular Charizard Ex is, the Mew Vmax continues to prove how strong a contender it is. Congratulations to Rowan Stavenow for taking it all the way to third place! Here is copy of his deck list.
Maraidon has been growing in popularity since Worlds, and it is a deck that has seen consistent success in the competitive scene. I haven’t had a chance to play it yet, but it seems like a fun deck with a lot of solid tools at its disposal. This is JW Kriewall’s list. The deck won 4th place at Peoria.
I’ve actually been playing a bunch of Lost Box Charizard on the PTCGL ladder, and I love it. It’s not as fun as Gardavoir, but it is a solid ladder-climbing deck. People will probably hate you because that’s all that seems to live on the ladder lately, but it’s undeniably strong and easy to pick up. This is Terrence Miller’s list, who got 6th at regionals.
Gardavior is my favorite deck because it is so much fun to play. The only reason I don’t still play Gardavoir is because I am forcing myself to play my other decks. Gardavior continues to show that it is a solid and consistent deck in the competitive scene. This is Brent Tonisson, he took 7th place at regionals.
The new starter decks for the Digimon TCG, Wolf of Friendship and Dragon of Courage were released on October 13. This means it is time to go over the card lists and get hyped. Check with LGS to preorder for the exclusive promos, and ask if they will be running the special prerelease event for these decks. The decks introduce the new Ace mechanic, and they are a solid place to start if you are trying to get into the hobby. I also wouldn’t mind adding a few of these to my collection.
This post will focus on the Dragon of Courage deck, so make sure you check out my previous post about the Wolf of Friendship deck. The deck will include a reversible paper playsheet you’ll probably toss or store somewhere, memory gauges you’ll quickly replace, and a playable 54-card deck. All starter decks will need some tweaking to be competitive, but they are fine to get you started in casual play. I like to keep a few sleeved starter decks in case anyone ever wants to play.
MSRP for this deck is $15.99, but I wasn’t able to find it for that price. Always check your LGS first. If that isn’t an option, TCG Player has the Dragon of Courage deck for as cheap as $12.25, shipping included. Please use my affiliate link.
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The new starter Digimon TCG starter decks, Wolf of Friendship and Dragon of Courage, release on October 13. These decks are a great jumping point for beginners and a great buy for collectors. Check with your LGS to see if they will be running the prerelease event so you can get your hands on the sweet promos tied to this release.
You can get these promos through by preordering the decks at a participating LGS.
The deck will include a reversible paper playsheet that you’ll either hang up or toss, memory counters that you’ll need to get started, and a playable 54-card deck.
The new starter Digimon TCG starter decks, Wolf of Friendship and Dragon of Courage, release on October 13. These decks are a great jumping point for beginners and a great buy for collectors. Check with your LGS to see if they will be running the prerelease event so you can get your hands on the sweet promos tied to this release.
MSRP for the decks is $15.99, but I had trouble finding it at that price. Always check with your LGS, but you can always pick Wolf of Friendship from TCG Player using my Affiliate Link. TCG Player has them for $13.42 which is a solid price for entry.
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