|
In November 2022, Pokémon TCG released the final main series set of the Sword & Shield era. The expansion, Sword & Shield – Silver Tempest, came out on September 9th, 2022. It is the twelfth set under the Sword & Shield banner and it adapts the Japanese sets Incandescent Arcana and Paradigm Trigger, with its Trainer Gallery subset adapting cards from VMAX Climax. The Lugia-themed Sword & Shield – Silver Tempest also continues both Radiant Pokémon as well as the Trainer Gallery, a special subset of Character Rares, Character Super Rares, Full Art Trainers, and Black & Gold VMAXes that began in the first set of the year, Sword & Shield – Brilliant Stars. Follow me on a journey through this latest set as we appreciate the artwork, discuss the card’s place in the set, and theorize as to what certain elements of the expansion may imply for the future of the Pokémon TCG. Today, we continue with a V and VSTAR pair from Sword & Shield – Silver Tempest.
Because the current era has done away with the Fairy-type, we get a Psychic-type Mawile V and VSTAR here. Mawile V is quite beautiful, with illustrator takuyoa using a snow-covered forest and purple-tinted sky to gibe with the purple coloring of Psychic-type Vs. Mawile itself is snapping at us with its, uh… back mouth. The VSTAR paints a more realistic image of Mawile that makes its, errrrrrrrr… back mouth look a bit gross under the pen of illustrator PLANETA Mochizuki, but the card still looks sick. The golden gleam of the VSTAR energy around Mawile plays well over the cool swirl of blue and green in the background — a solid coloring choice.
Stay tuned for the continuing journey through this Lugia and Alolan Vulpix themed set as we continue to spotlight the cards and artwork of Pokémon TCG: Sword & Shield – Silver Tempest. Next time, the spotlight continues with the main set of this expansion.
Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!
