Set of the Fortnight #7 - B&W Dragons Exalted

General
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Just realized the previous one was almost two months ago!.. Now I know how @milhouse felt. Time flies!..
Anyway, it’s time for another set discussion. This time it will be:


B&W Dragons Exalted
bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Dragons_Exalted_(TCG)

Discuss:

Favorite cards in the set
Worst cards in the set
How you feel about this set in general

Dragons Exalted was released in English on August 15th, 2012, and was the sixth Black & White set (and fifth Japanese B&W set on March 16th of the same year). This was also the first English set to include the new distinguished Dragon-type Pokémon.

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Some of my favorites:


I like the setting and playfulness of the Pokémon. When I received this card for free with one of my orders it made me instantly smile for some reason, and it’s my favorite artwork of this set. :grin:


Maybe it’s because Milotic is such a majestic Pokémon regardless of artwork, but this artwork gives a magic kind of feeling for me. Especially with those bubbles.


I like the pose and angle of this artwork, and ants are also one of my favorite animals, so the ant Pokémon is high on my list as well because of that. Just imagine an ant of that size running towards you from the top of the stairs would scare the crap out of me…


A simple but effective concept of an artwork that’s partially under water. It may not be extremely detailed, but I like it.

Some of my least favorite artworks of this set (although I must admit, I don’t hate any at all). Overall the artwork of this entire set is average. None really stand out (except for the Swablu imo) for being really good or really bad.


I like the non-shiny Serperior a lot better than this one… And it doesn’t fit at all with this background, but maybe that’s just me…


Maybe it’s just the Pokémon itself that I don’t really like, especially when I compare it to its two three brothers. The rocks in this artwork I like, but the artwork of the Pokémon itself not so much…

Greetz,
Quuador

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Dragons Exalted is a really nice set in my opinion. Especially because there are lots of dragon type Pokemon and dragons are my favorites :grin: Dragons finally getting their own type on the TCG with this set also makes it remarkable.

I think it’s easy to say that many people remember this set thanks to the Ho-Oh EX and Rayquaza EX Full Arts as both are awesome! And the Rayquaza secret rare! Oh and Mew EX too! So many collectable ultra rares on this set. :blush:

I like this set on TCG side of things, too. I used to play a deck that was based around the holo Garchomp and Altaria, with the #89 Gabite also having a huge part of the deck with it’s Dragon Call ability. Blend Energy WLFM was also perfect for that deck. Ah good times :grin:

Here are some of my favorites from the set:



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@xzini I figured you or someone else might post the Ho-Ohs, Mews and Rayquazas.
I agree that all of those have amazing artwork as well. Which is why I picked some of the more common cards, because I knew a lot of other people would pick those Ultra Rares. :grin: :wink:

Greetz,
Quuador

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Wow, I never noticed this Swablu:

I really like this Gothita card. Its like, why are you so tiny?!!

I think for the big cards the Mew was my favorite from this set:

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I personally found the set to be kinda meh. The only card that stands out for me is the Shiny Rayquaza card.

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First of all, I love that you love ants. Secondly, i can’t be the only 90s kid that thought about the movie “Honey I Shrunk the Kids” with your comment about a giant ant running toward you.

Ants for the win! (Trigger warning: ant-scorpion violence)

Also, that Spheal :heart_eyes:

Thanks for posting @quaador And I love all the little details you added :blush:

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2nd favorite set behind Ex Deoxys!

Amazing artwork in this set and dem Rays tho… :wink:

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I really like the idea of this thread! I tried to do something similar to this on Instagram where I picked my favorite common, uncommon, holo and ultra rare, etc and posted them in one pic and asked what everyone elses favorites were from the set. It never really caught on though (because who cares about commons anymore right?)

Looking through my set, the swablu definitely sticks out to me as far as the commons go. Can’t beat that playroom look. The secret rare rayquaza I believe I remember it being a $90 card at one point, because of play-ability. It didn’t have a regular, less expensive version like the exs had. If you wanted the attacks that it had, you needed that exact card. Plus I’m sure the fact that it was a rayquaza helped…

I opened one box of the set when it was released, and the full art I pulled was the mew. So that likely would be the one I would be attached to the most. And as far as my favorite holo, I’d have to say that Ampharos and Wailord are interchangeable with my top spot. Maybe slightly in Ampharos’ favor.

The set was continuing the trend of the early BW era, and I had no issues really with anything, though once boundaries crossed came out next and upped the game with the secret rares, it really makes the secret rares from dragons exalted seem a bit lackluster in terms of shine. Amazing what a gold border can do. Haha

You could say that the pull rates weren’t good, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It really helped the sets collect-ability and value in the long run. Plus I like something that isn’t easy. The people I see complaining the most about the pull rates are the people in today’s world that didn’t collect when the set was released. It’s much harder to find the full arts and such in good condition and for a good price now. One guy I saw complain that he only got one full art out of a box he opened a few months ago and he was all sorts of pissed and felt like he got ripped off. He just didn’t understand that no matter what one he pulled, it was going to be a good one, and that you only got 1 per box (aside from the rare instance that you get 2) There may be more ultra rares in today’s sets, but you pull roughly 6-7 on average per box. That 6/24 is still close to the proportions of the black and white sets. You pull 2 exs and one full art to make 3/12. That means you pulled 1/4 of the ultra rares, the same as newer sets. The fact that sets are overprinted now is what kills the value of the new sets (at least for now) And I realize those stats aren’t totally accurate. But they are ballparked from my sleep deprived mind. I also didn’t include secret rares in that either.

Looks like I got a bit off topic with that, my apologies. Dragons Exalted was a fantastic set. It will probably be pretty rare for me to say that a set was just awful in every way. I look for the good characteristics of the sets, otherwise you end up with hatred and a negative view of a set, of which there’s no reason for. Again, I really like the idea of this thread. I must’ve missed the other ones. Can’t wait to see more! :blush:

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Thanks. Glad that you like it. I always try to say something about why I like a certain card, and I also add some basic information about the set like release date, or any other noticeable information. :blush:
Oh, and you misspelled my name: It’s two U’s instead of two A’s. :stuck_out_tongue:

It has been around for a while now. But I’m glad you like it. I think it was a great idea of @milhouse to start this series, and I continued where he left off (although I’m also leaving huge gaps now by accident…) I’ll try to post a new one every 3-4 weeks, and I already have the next two sets prepared in my head. :blush:

Yeah, new collectors forget that in the past there were boxes without any Secret Rare in them. Nowadays (especially with Sun & Moon), there are a lot more Secret Rares in a set, and also more per booster box.

No problem for going off-topic. All discussions are welcome imo. :blush:
And I definitely agree with “It will probably be pretty rare for me to say that a set was just awful in every way. I look for the good characteristics of the sets, otherwise you end up with hatred and a negative view of a set, of which there’s no reason for.”. It’s already pretty hard to find any cards in a set I don’t like as much, and I think the total cards I find ugly of all existing Pokémon cards can be counted on a single hand…

And if everything goes as planned, you will see A LOT more in the future. I plan on continuing this series until we’ve done all existing sets. :wink: Will probably take a few years though.

Greetz,
Quuador

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Never seen that swablu card, but I like it! Favourite has to be mew full art :blush:. Also I personally prefer the XY Ho-Oh full art rather than this one in Dragons Exalted.

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I got a hard time with this set, like any BW set, simply because I just do not connect with a lot of Pokemon in BW. Maybe because I always felt the game was OK, the starters didn’t grab me neither did the legendaries.

There is some great hand drawn art work in it, like this Magikarp

My only real favourite card in the whole set is this Trubbish but only because I really like Trubbish (which is odd, since I am so into Gen 1)

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(Dark) Bouffalant

This is a nice Garchomp artwork, wish it was Holo.

I like cards that have multiple of the same Pokemon on it.

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I can’t believe I’m already looking upon this set with nostalgia, but time flies. 2012 was the year I returned to collecting, and this was one of the year’s most iconic sets. I remember winning an auction for 40+ blister packs at around $1.50/ea, one of which yielded the SR Rayquaza.

If you’ve played Black and White for the DS, you’d recognize lots of the artwork taking place in various locations across Unova. The Swablu in N’s room, Gothita on one of the many bridges, Durant and Throh on the steps to the Pokemon League, etc. The whole bringing the region to life is one thing I think the BW sets in general did really well.

Despite the set’s attempt to spotlight Dragon-types, Mew EX FA steals the show and is easily my favorite card in the set.

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