Technically not a set, but I think it can still be considered as a small set of 53 cards, that have been collected by a lot of people: The WotC promos:
Wizards Black Star Promos bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Wizards_Black_Star_Promos_(TCG)
Discuss:
Favorite cards in the setWorst cards in the setHow you feel about this set in general
This English promo ‘set’ contains a mix of styles due to their release dates being from July 1999 through March 2003. The last few cards in the set looks therefore more like E-reader cards, and the first few like the original WotC era cards we all know. Due to the symbol you see above, these are known as Black Star Promos, which were given out for promotional events such as tournaments or through Pokémon-related merchandise.
These 53 cards were produced before Wizard lost their license. It would be quite likely we would have seen more Vending Machine cards if they had kept their license a bit longer, which would have been planned to be released in Jamboree.
These Black Star Promos give a lot of memories to me I loved The First Movie Promos as a kid and I always thought it was cool to have that stamped on the card. Pikachu was my favorite, I used to be a fan of the old fatty looking Pikachu. The background looked cool for me too. I love the #27 Pikachu Promo as well and I still have a copy which I traded from a friend looong time ago. I had a fake copy of the VHS it came with so I never got a new one of my own (My grandma always went to Estonia because back in the day cheap fakes were all over the place there so she always got us some Pokemon VHS)
Some other favorites:
The art on Articuno and Moltres makes me think of the Pokemon Movie 2000
More Pikachus… but come on. These are so cute and happy cards Too bad the plane on the original Flying Pikachu card was removed from the English version but I understand why…
I love this Suicune too! Such a pretty card. I prefer the Nintendo Black Star Promo version of it a bit more though as it’s a holo (which is quite interesting as it’s basically the same card but with ex-era layout and it’s a holo). They did the same with the Pokemon 4Ever Celebi Promo too which I like a lot as well.
They weren’t? I thought they were released specifically for the 2nd movie. They were handed out in the cinemas. Got my Moltres there.
Maybe they were produced slightly before the movie was released, but still with the purpose of handing them out in the cinemas? Or were they actually released in another way except as promo for the cinema?
Love the artworks of these cards the most:
-mewtwo 12
-articuno 42
-snorlax
-Birthday pikachu
-Venusaur, classic ken sugamori artwork
-lucky stadium
This is a memorable set for me, as it was one of the first binder sets I finished, which ended up costing around 100usd in like 2008, I recall (TCA helped alot with his bountiful supply cache). Sadly sold it this year for like 350usd, which I now regret doing . O well, might collect some psa cards from this set eventually!
I’m dumb. I didn’t notice the 2000 copyright on them at all, stupid me I only looked at the first dates of 1995, 96, 98 and didn’t look further. No wonder I thought it was strange they reminded me so much of the 2nd movie so how could they be released before xD
@skinst Yes! So much Yes! I know that card has massive quantity, but it was the first mew card for most-all westerners. I remember using the “catch mew” card at toysrus. When they put mew in the game, it was magic. Such a great campaign and release concept for Mew. A great example of what makes Pokemon unique.
My personal favorite black star will always be Ivy Pikachu:
I received this at Toysrus, the first time I went to a pokemon league/meet up. Every Saturday Toysrus was packed with kids trading and showing off their cards. I remember just staring at this this card when I returned home. Back then you only had Base & Jungle Pikachu. This was before even the movie promo was available. Seeing that cgi style, with the correct proportions of pikachu was refreshing.
It is also cool how they kept the japanese release parallel with the black star ivy pikachu. This was the first promo release in the hobby, in Japan 1996. The Black Star Promo cards also show how many cards WOTC could keep up with during the golden era. They were so busy with the main sets, very few japanese promo cards actually made it to and English release. Such a solid set from a nostalgic and historic perspective, and they don’t break the bank!
Favourite card in the set is #48 Articuno. Art work is phenomenal for a non-holo card. I also like #6 Arcanine and wish it was a holo!
Don’t really have a worst card but some of them are strange like #49 Snorlax.
I think it is a cool set to collect on the side and I am personally aiming for a complete PSA 10 set over time. I think the cards are really unique and fun to collect as they were only available from movies or magazines so it reminds me of the time era and what it was like to get some of these myself. Decent set!
Movie Pikachu and Venusaur are tied for my favorite. Very old school art style that I can’t get enough of.
Misdreavous is pretty ugly. I know it’s not a popular opinion, but I feel the same way about the Mewtwo artwork where he’s standing in the woods and wavy rings are coming out of his hand. It just doesn’t look appealing, from the color choice to design.
My favorite memory of the promos goes back to when I played basketball in Elementary school. After our Saturday game, one of my teammates found a ziplock bag full of Mews (8) sitting under our bench and proceeded to dish them out to everyone. It was like finding gold, everyone was freaking out.
I loved The First Movie Promos as a kid and I always thought it was cool to have that stamped on the card. Pikachu was my favorite, I used to be a fan of the old fatty looking Pikachu. 
The background looked cool for me too. I love the 
. O well, might collect some psa cards from this set eventually!
I only looked at the first dates of 1995, 96, 98 and didn’t look further. No wonder I thought it was strange they reminded me so much of the 2nd movie so how could they be released before xD
It will always hold a special place in my heart.
