We Unboxed Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet's Latest Expansion - Destined Rivals

There’s thing magical astir slicing unfastened the seal connected a caller Pokémon TCG box. That quiescent shfffft arsenic the integrative slides away, the value of a booster container successful your hands, and the flicker of anticipation arsenic each battalion crinkles open. And aft unboxing everything myself, Pokémon TCG: Scarlet & Violet's latest expansion, Destined Rivals, genuinely gets it.

After getting my hands connected a afloat dispersed of Destined Rivals products early, acknowledgment to The Pokémon Company, it was evident from the commencement that this isn’t conscionable different Scarlet and Violet set. The nostalgia hits hard, and the artwork is genuinely stunning.

Build and Battle Box

I kicked things disconnected with the Build and Battle Box, which comes with 4 booster packs, a 40-card semi-constructed deck, and 1 of 4 stamped promo cards. Mine came with Team Rocket’s Tyranitar which instantly acceptable the tone. That promo looks fantastic successful foil.

From the 4 booster packs, I managed to propulsion an Illustration Rare and 1 ex card. The Tyranitar holo unsocial had maine wishing I could clone it 3 much times. Putting unneurotic a speedy platform utilizing the included cards and a fewer pulls was fun, which says a batch for a merchandise that’s often treated similar a warm-up act.

Booster Bundle

This was my favourite merchandise to open. The Booster Bundle packs successful six booster packs and nary fluff, and I deed golden with my favourite paper of the set. I pulled Ethan’s Typhlosion IR from this bundle. Honestly? If I had stopped opening packs here, I’d person been perfectly happy.

Both cards felt similar a reminder of however overmuch thought and attraction has gone into the set’s design. And erstwhile you deed cards similar that back-to-back, it’s pugnacious not to commencement scrambling for much bundles conscionable to spot what other you mightiness get.

Booster Box

There’s conscionable thing satisfying astir cracking into a afloat Booster Box, and this 1 didn’t disappoint. Inside the 36 packs, I pulled 8 ex cards, six Illustration Rares, 1 Special Illustration Rare, and 1 Gold Rare. That’s 16 hits that didn’t consciousness similar filler.

Alongside the Ethan pulls mentioned above, I pulled Ethan's Ho-Oh ex Gold rare, Arven’s Mabosstiff ex SIR and Team Rocket’s Crobat ex SR , some of which instantly got maine reasoning astir caller platform builds. The Mabosstiff ex artwork unsocial is capable to marque maine privation to tally midrange decks again, and Crobat looks similar it was calved for a harm dispersed archetype.

Team Rocket’s Houndoom IR besides showed up precocious successful the box, and it felt similar the cleanable closer. It's aggressive, looks similar it could punch a spread done your binder, and made maine really halt and admit an Illustration Rare that isn’t trying to beryllium excessively cute.

Elite Trainer Box

Next was the Elite Trainer Box, with its slick reddish and achromatic Team Rocket plan that looks adjacent amended successful person. Inside you’ll find 9 booster packs, Rocket’s Wobbuffet promo card, a acceptable of sleeves, dice, and each the different trimmings you’d expect.

Unfortunately the pulls were a bust for me. That’s the mode it goes sometimes, but I volition accidental the container plan mightiness beryllium 1 of my favorites successful caller memory. It feels similar it was made for fans who grew up with Gen II and inactive person their Rocket’s Zapdos determination successful a binder. Even erstwhile the hits don’t come, it inactive feels similar a collector’s piece.

Should You Buy It?

If you are looking to bargain Destined Rivals, your champion stake close present is via Best Buy, which is dropping Destined Rivals ETBs connected May 23 via a peculiar "Best Buy Drops" preorder lawsuit connected its app, conscionable similar the caller Black Bolt and White Flare expansions preorders.

Typically, these drops hap astir 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET, truthful get your Best Buy app acceptable and signed in, and adhd the ETB to your wishlist ASAP.

So should you prime it up? In my opinion, yes. If you’re a collector, a platform builder, oregon conscionable idiosyncratic who misses the feeling of opening packs that really consciousness similar they’re worthy something, this is the acceptable for you.

Get the Booster Box if you privation the afloat ride. Grab a Booster Bundle if you’re chasing an IR similar I was. Even the Build and Battle Box makes a coagulated lawsuit for itself. Just don’t beryllium amazed if 1 merchandise turns into three. This acceptable has a wont of pulling you in, battalion by pack.

Final Thoughts

Credit: Christian Wait

Destined Rivals is the benignant of acceptable that doesn’t conscionable thin connected nostalgia, it uses it arsenic a instauration and builds thing new. The instrumentality of Trainer’s Pokémon opens up each sorts of originative deckbuilding potential. You’re not conscionable gathering a platform astir a benignant anymore.

You’re gathering it astir a character. And for once, the communal cards consciousness similar they belong. I’m uncovering myself looking astatine each paper successful the battalion alternatively of instantly bulk-sorting thing without a foil.

And the artwork. I cognize everyone says this each clip a caller acceptable drops, but I really mean it. The paper illustrations successful this acceptable are much expressive, much dynamic, and conscionable plain much amusive to look at. That’s thing I didn’t recognize I was missing until I opened 40-plus packs and recovered myself lingering connected commons. Obviously my favourite container opening acquisition was with the booster box, implicit huffy scenes.

Christian Wait is simply a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has implicit 7 years of acquisition successful the Gaming and Tech manufacture with bylines astatine Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian besides makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is besides the writer of "Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior". Find Christian connected X @ChrisReggieWait.