This is actively making me want to quit collecting Pokemon, guys. I could handle regular EX cards not being Prime-level rarity and I could even manage every set having a dozen full arts, but I still haven’t even come close to finishing SM’s base set because it just feels soul crushing at this point. Is there anybody (besides TPCi’s wallets) who enjoys every new set now being a giant clusterfluck of chase cards like this?
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I am completely uninterested in the S/M era at all, partly due to what you are talking about here. The idea of that many SR/UR cards being in a set is just plain absurd. Couple that with the Japanese release of sets being every 6 weeks or so now(the + sets are basically sets) it’s just way too much and I can’t be bothered to even attempt to keep up.
It’s a good thing for me because I don’t have the money to afford it anyway. It allows me to focus on older goals for older cards.
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I’m not sure how many of the return fans or newer collectors will be able to sustain the interest in sets when they have so many ultra rare cards, plus the 1000+ pin/tin/box/car/house sets. Expecting a lot of burn out in the next few releases.
May Arceus have mercy on us all.
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The S&M era is less than 6 months old and we already have 72 cards with a rarity of SR or rarer.
To give perspective, the XY era averaged 46 per YEAR. This is of course talking specifically about the Japanese cards.
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From what I see the whole S&M block so far is heavily based on playability. And Nintendo/TPC loves to see full art decks at tournaments. It is easy marketing for them to stream a match and people seeing high quality artwork on the table instead of trying to figure out that this blue blob they see is a Squirtle or a Horsee.
I totally dislike the look of the Secret/Hyper Rares. The total colour stripping and just having this rainbow glow doesn’t have any collectors appeal and is hard to spot when played due to gloss.
But… It’s still a better decision to add many different rarities and high quantity of those to a set, then going the WotC way for Magic and having real lottery cards at a rate of 1 card per 3 cases. And Magic cards aren’t full art, full holo and most of those lottery cards are even unplayable.
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All i’m gonna care about in this set are those extremely adorable Sylveon cards •_•
Must has :3
Once Sm3 is out with Charizard Gx i’ll grab the popcorn and watch the non SM collectors go bananas…
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Don’t watch me too closely, I can’t perform when under pressure
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I don’t know how magic works, so how many packs per box, box/case and prices, but I think rarer cards are good for the game. All the high rarity cards have cheaper variants, so it doesn’t create any problems for tcg, but I think cards with the rarity of BW Secret Rares and Gold stars are great, they could make them even rarer now with the amount of packs being opened. The saturation is a huge problem, I’m pretty sure you can win PSA 10 English Hyper Rares at $30
I’m not sure what they’re thinking, I don’t know how they expect people to be able to collect all the cards in these huge sets with tons of secret rares. I have a feeling they’re appealing more to competitive players rather than collectors. Now this is probably old news to most people, but I just noticed how a lot of the Secret Rare trainers in the XY era and even moreso in SM have been playable cards. Vs Seeker, Trainers’ Mail, Rare Candy, Water Patch, of course Ultra Ball, and more that I’m probably missing because I know nothing about competitive. And don’t even get me started on Full Art trainers.
Maybe it’s because playable cards make people buy more product? For example, the only reason Roaring Skies is so sought after is because it has a lot of playable cards. And because competitive players don’t have the time or money to open product themselves to try and pull these cards, they pay high prices for playable cards. People buy boxes and packs hoping to get playable cards to sell on the secondhand market. (Except if you’re like me and keep them for no reason)
Huh, I just answered my own question. I guess that Economics class did come in handy after all.
I’ve seen many great collectors go on breaks, hiatus and even leave the TCG collecting scene due to the harsh rates of getting these rarer cards. It’s really unfortunate and I think partially because of what was stated above: Pokemon just wants people to go and play full arts and secrets in tournaments.
As I said from the beginning of SM, I’m not collecting them because I don’t like that they moved the set number to the bottom left of the card. It makes it impossible to sort through bulk now, and changing something that has been around for decades for the aesthetic is absurd.
I think it is unfair to compare SM to any other era. There is an entirely new rarity (HR) for sets, so naturally there are going to be more chase cards. I agree that the + sets are overboard. I personally think it is overwhelming as well, but the sets aren’t made for me.
These new sets are geared more towards players; that is the target audience. It is a little dramatic to say “I am quitting because there are too many cards”. There are so many other items to collect in this hobby. If anything maybe the saturation of sets will put the focus on collecting promo cards.
Basically, I agree there are a ton of cards, but I understand I am not the target audience.
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Small MtG lesson. You got the usual rarity: Common, Uncommon, Rare and Mythic (UR). I got no clue how the call the lottery cards these days but always some funky name. Every booster has 15 cards. One rare, one foil per pack. The foil can be any of the rarities. A foil rare can be in same pack as non foil rare. The rare is replaced by a Mythic one on every 8 packs (average). The thing with Mytics (and lottery cards) in Magic is that they unplayable due high mana costs/to much setup or just reprints of older cards (e.g. Sword of Feast and Femine being printed in 2011 and reprinted as lottery card in 2016, both playable in ‘extended’). Some Mythics are very playable like e.g. Shaymin EX leaving certain cards in the dust when it comes to money/investment/collectible value.
I don’t mind lottery cards, special sub sets (Arceus Set, Radiant Collection) but as I said, the art work doesn’t stand out enough to be a real collectible (unlike RC) and playability wise it’s just another print variant. Which just helps lowering price/value of the more common/regular prints.
As a set collector it’s annoying, but not impossible. I have absolutely no interest in purchasing packs anyone except for one booster box at the beginning for fun/fill out the uncommon/commons. I get it’s for deck blingers, which is fine because people really enjoy that. Hyper rares are very beautiful and I love the holo pattern on them, but they don’t strike me as something I have to collect NOW. With the SuMo sets, prices will go down over the months. SR Ultra Ball dropped from $90-$60ish in a few months, and I still haven’t cared enough to pick one up, because from what I can see, there’s no penalty in waiting.
The amount of URs and SRs is def pushing me to complete older sets first, as there is less amount of bling to worry about.
Also Charizard GX collectors! Remember when XY Evo M Charizard FA was preordered at $60 and everyone bought into it, and now it’s $20??? Playing the waiting game works! Be patient! So many cards = lower prices over time!
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Why not just collect the main set and forget the secret rares if you don’t like them? That is my plan. I never have collected reverse holos either.
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I don’t think it’s overdramatic to say “I feel like quitting because the sets are out of control now.” Because I do. I used to be super-excited for every new set and would rush to complete them ASAP. For SM it’s felt like a complete chore. There were common and uncommon cards I didn’t even get one copy of in my booster box and I’m only just going back to fill those spots now. And I don’t think the reason is something like I’m getting too old for collecting or Pokemon or whatever because I was still excited for new sets as recently as Fates Collide, Steam Siege and Evolutions.
For the last several years I’ve been a complete English set collector so just saying “ignore the Hyper Rares” doesn’t work for me either. It’s frustrating that the game has taken the turn it has since Gen 5 imo. Now we have super blinged out versions of cards that we already had just normal blinged out versions of. What’s the breaking point here? Are we getting Super Hyper Secret Rares in Gen 8?
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The Rainbow rares for the three Sun and Moon starters will be in the Guardians rising set for English!
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some of you need to stop whining. if you don’t like it complete some other sets. you can have fun doing something other than completing the new sets anyway… or if you’re like me you can open a box and buy a complete set. or avoid the hyper rares… which are super sexy imo. yes it is overwhelming… but look at magic the gathering… they have sets reaching 400 cards… so what you could either buy 4 or 5 booster cases and sell some gem 10s you graded yourself and complete your set… or you can buy the whole set… easy peezy! magic is the same way. you’ll need a few cases of boosters to complete a set… I collect psa 10 sets… my wallet cries harder than your guy’s does. you don’t see me quitting do ya guys??
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@frost I get where you are coming from. The new era is primarily player based. We collectors are simply not the target audience.
Uncommon opinion here apparently, but I actually love it. Looking at the two extremes, I’d much rather have a set be so challenging that I never complete it, or complete it years later, than have it be trivially easy. Now, I’m not trying to say pre-SM was easy either, just that I don’t mind the shift farther in this direction. Personally I haven’t completed the Sun & Moon set yet, but I’m enjoying the thrill of the hunt.
Ask me again after 10+ sets like this have been released, and I may have a different answer. But for now I’m actually liking this setup.
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