Pokémon Day is less than a week away, and The Pokémon Company is ready to spoil us with a handful of new releases that include the first English Charizard cards of 2022 in Brilliant Stars, plus the Japanese Strengthening Expansion, Battle Region, which gives us a new rare Shiny Pokémon variant. In the world of sports, Panini gives us an updated set for Donruss Basketball. Read up on all of these releases, and more, in this week’s edition of The Rip.
Pokémon Brilliant Stars
The English Pokémon TCG is finally getting its first expansion of the year with Pokémon Brilliant Stars, and it is packed full of nostalgic potential. The main set is composed of 172 cards, 14 of which are Secret Rares, but it is the five different Charizard cards that will take you right back to the early memories of ripping Base Set booster packs in 1999. Of the five Charizards in the set, two of them are brand new Charizard VSTAR cards. VSTAR Pokémon are cards that evolve from Pokémon V and provide the Pokémon with increased Hit Points in addition to providing them with more powerful attacks.
There will be several different ways to start your search for Charizard VSTAR including two different Elite Trainer Boxes, one of which is a Pokémon Center Exclusive. However, the Pokémon Brilliant Stars Booster Box will give you the best odds as the box comes with ten cards per pack, and 36 packs per box.
Pokémon Brilliant Stars will officially release on February 25th wherever Pokémon cards are sold.
Pokémon Battle Region
Pokémon Battle Region is a Japanese language Strengthening Expansion set, meaning it is not a full expansion but is designed to give your deck or collection a powerful boost. Among the 67 cards in the set are brand new Sparkling Pokémon which are either a variant of Shiny Pokémon or rare Pokémon with different colouring than their species normally has. The two Sparkling Pokémon we know will be in the set for sure are Sparkling Greninja, and Sparkling Hawlucha, and while the pull rates are unknown at this point, the excitement of chasing these cards early will definitely present collectors with a fun challenge.
The Pokémon Battle Region Booster Box deviates from the standard Japanese format slightly as it holds six cards per pack, and 20 packs per box. The set will be released in Japan on February 25th.
Pokémon Stacking Tins
The Pokémon Stacking Tins add a little mystery to the releases leading up to Pokémon Day on February 27th. Each tin holds three booster packs and a collectible Pokémon coin, the three different tins feature artwork for Decidueye, Wishiwashi, and Electivire.
The Pokémon Stacking Tins will release on February 25th.
Pokémon V Battle Deck Lycanroc vs. Corviknight
The Pokémon V Battle Deck Lycanroc vs. Corviknight comes complete with ready to play decks so you can immediately begin to battle with a friend. Each deck is centred around its own powerful Pokémon V, either the Fighting-type Lycanroc V (who can land a massive 200 damage attack), or Corviknight V (a Metal-type Pokémon who can land a 190 damage attack of its own).
Along with the two 60 card decks and Pokémon V cards, you will find eight Trainer cards, two Pokémon coins, two deck boxes, two strategy guides (one for each deck), and several assorted gameplay accessories.
Pokémon V Battle Deck Lycanroc vs. Corviknight will release on February 25th wherever Pokémon cards are sold.
Fragment Design x Pokémon Thunderbolt Project
Fragment Design and Pokémon have teamed up with the MIYASHITA PARK Hotel in Tokyo for the latest instalment of the Thunderbolt Project. The 16th floor of the hotel was given Pokémon makeover earlier this year, and now the parties are releasing a limited capsule collection of Pokémon plushies and keychains at the popup. Plushies include the three original starter Pokémon, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle plus Snorlax, while the keychains include the three starters plus Snorlax and Pikachu.
These Fragment Design x Pokémon Thunderbolt Project plushies and keychains will be available at the popup in Tokyo from February 21st-March 20th with plushies retailing for $58 and the keychains retailing for $12.
2021-22 Panini Donruss Basketball
Last month, NBA Hoops gave us the first cards displaying current NBA Rookies in their pro uniforms, and this week, 2021-22 Panini Donruss Basketball delivers their first Rated Rookie cards. The base set will hold the Rated Rookies for this season’s highly touted rookies like Evan Mobley, Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, and more. Several autograph subsets are also available with most being sticker autographs. However, the Next Day Autographs set are made up of higher-end on-card autographs from this season’s rookies. Finally, Donruss once again provides some of the best inserts in the hobby including the cereal-inspired Crunch Time and comic book influenced Net Marvels.
The 2020-21 Panini Donruss Basketball Hobby Box holds 30 cards per pack, and 10 packs per box. Each box averages one autograph and one relic card, along with a combination of 60 limited print run parallels and inserts. The 2020-21 Panini Donruss Basketball Hobby Box will release on February 25th at online and local trading card hobby shops, with retail boxes like Blasters and Hangers beginning to be stocked in the coming weeks wherever trading cards are sold.
2021-22 O-Pee-Chee Hockey
2021-22 O-Pee-Chee Hockey sticks with tradition by offering a mix of a massive base set composed of 600 cards, along with beloved inserts such as OPC Playing Cards that utilize a design fit for a standard deck of 52, and patch memorabilia cards.
The 2021-22 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Hobby Box contains ten cards per pack, and 18 packs per box, with each box promising one Rare Chase cards such as limited print run parallels, inserts, or manufactured patch cards.
2021-22 O-Pee-Chee Hockey Hobby Boxes will release on February 23rd at online and local trading card hobby shops.
