Crown Zenith wraps up the Sword & Shield era with a special set that of course includes one of the two era mascots, Zacian.
The Sword & Shield era of the Pokémon TCG has come to an end. Three years of expansions dedicated to the region of Galar, with some love for Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl‘s revitalization of Sinnoh and Pokémon Legends: Arceus‘s introduction of the ancient region of Hisui, have led to this moment. Crown Zenith, a special set celebrating the Sword & Shield era, was released on January 20th, 2023. It was primarily an adaptation of Japan’s VSTAR Universe set and also featured a collection of cards that were cut from other English-language sets and more. Like other special sets, including Champion’s Path, Shining Fates, Celebrations, and Pokémon GO, Crown Zenith packs were found in specially branded products like Premium Collections and Elite Trainer Boxes rather than booster boxes. This set featured the Galarian Gallery subset, which introduced Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rares, originally called “Art Rares,” to the hobby, which set the standard for the following Sword & Shield era, which used these card types as their primary Secret Rares. In today’s installment of this Crown Zenith spotlight, let’s take a look at one of the Sword & Shield mascots. In this case, the Sword: Zacian.
Zacian gets three cards in Crown Zenith‘s main numbered set, including:
- A standard card by nagimiso shows Zacian doing The Lion King pose, looking quite noble as it is backlit by the sun peeking through a cloudy sky.
- Zacian V by aky CG Works uses a mixture of 3D rendering and bright yet muted coloring that creates a unique, fun style.
- Zacian VSTAR, a card that had to happen in this set, with 3D artwork by 5ban Graphics.
Stay tuned for the journey through this special set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Crown Zenith. Next time, the spotlight continues with the main section of this set.
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