Brilliant Stars - This Stellar Set is finally here!

It’s time to dust off those binders and have your sleeves at the ready because Pokemon have just hit us with what is arguably the best set in the Sword and Shield era. Brilliant Stars is full of the biggest, baddest Pokemon cards for collectors and TCG players alike.

From a golden Galarian Bird trio, an out of this world subset entitled the Trainer Gallery, to (you guessed it) CHARIZARDS, there’s only one word for Brilliant Stars - Brilliant. So let’s take a look at what you can expect from the first Pokemon TCG expansion of 2022 - released on the 25th of February. 

The Pokemon TCG welcomes a whole new type of card with this expansion. Following on from the recently released Glaceon and Leafeon VSTAR collection boxes, four new VSTAR cards have made their way into Brilliant Stars. Charizard, Shaymin, Arceus and Whimsicott have all earned their own VSTAR cards in this set in both Ultra rare and Hyper Rare form. Needless to say the Charizard VSTAR Hyper Rare has been making waves in the community when it’s release was confirmed and it’s high up on a lot of collectors wish lists.

It will be interesting to watch how these cards lend themself to the competitive scene with the general opinion being that VMAX cards are being slowly phased out and replaced with VSTAR cards. Each of these VSTAR cards have a unique special ability that is only usable once per game, however these abilities can be potentially game changing, with players able to search for specific cards in their deck or unleash incredibly powerful attacks.  

But this set isn’t all just Charizards and the new game mechanics because Pokemon has taken 30 cards from the highly popular japanese VMAX Climax set that was released at the end of last year and put them into a subset of 30 cards. This subset has been dubbed the Trainer Gallery and consists of 2 gold cards, 4 Full Art Trainers and 26 Character Rares. These Character Rares are eclectic and include five different eeveelutions along with a whole host of other popular Pokemon. Here are a couple of different cards you can expect to see in the subset, but the fun is in discovering these yourself! 

Following in the footsteps of Fusion Strike and Evolving Skies, Brilliant Stars has carried on with the inclusion of alternate artwork cards.

The artwork on these particular cards is incredibly eye-catching and detailed. From a battling Charizard to the creator Arceus in the sky, these cards will be difficult to get a hold of but if you’re one of the lucky ones, these will be cards to keep a hold of for years to come! Whether they are being used in a TCG battle to give your deck that extra wow factor or whether they are being placed in your binder collection these cards are sure to be some of the most sought after from the set. 

Along with the above mentioned cards there are several Full Art Pokemon and trainer cards that are sure to delight fans, including favourites Pikachu and Marnie, both of which have been brought over from the Japanese Starter Deck 100.

There are also some very well received Gold Cards in the set. In recent times the Gold Cards which have been included in past expansions haven’t garnered too much popularity, perhaps with the exceptions of Snorlax in Chilling Reign and Houndoom in Battle Styles. However, Brilliant Stars is set to change this with the inclusion of the Galarian Bird Trio, which are all receiving their own gold cards and a gold Arceus card that has a lot of people talking.

With over 170 cards that are both competitive and collectable, Brilliant Stars is a set that everyone can appreciate, so what will you pull?