The newest expansion to the Pokémon trading card game launches later in the month. I got sent some of the new Temporal Forces packs ahead of time, which feature fresh artwork from the Paldea region, new Paradox Pokémon, and the return of ACE SPEC cards.
We first got to share news about the new Temporal Forces collection back at the start of the year in January. It’s the seventh expansion to the Scarlet and Violet era of the trading card game, but is still managing to give Trainers some firsts from the TCG. That’s even more surprising considering that Temporal Forces only consists of 218 cards. There are 162 unique artworks in the main set and then an extra 56 secret rare cards.
That breakdown actually makes this the smallest set in the 9th Generation of the card game and the smallest since all the way back in 2021. So expect a lot of duplicates.
While the new Pokémon TCG expansion set doesn’t launch until the end of the month, I’m taking a closer look at what to expect from the lineup ahead of time. Pre-release tournaments are slated to begin this weekend, so this should also help break down the set beforehand.
This new set is really leaning into Paradox Pokémon. It only makes sense with that being the main mechanic gimmick from the Scarlet and Violet games. But Temporal Forces does do something original in that it focuses on many of the ancient or future Pokémon that haven’t made it into the card game yet. The DLC for those games have brought quite a few new designs into the franchise, and so the latest TCG expansion is following suit with some cards for them.
Another one of the exciting elements of Temporal Forces this time is the reintroduction of ACE SPEC cards. Just like how the Scarlet and Violet era resurrected EX cards after years of being on hiatus, the newest set is also bringing back another old mechanic. These new ACE SPEC cards feature a pink card template and an entirely new holofoil style. Another change this time is that they can also be Special Energy cards.
I might only be a collector of the Pokémon cards, versus someone who plays competitively, but even I can see just how much of an impact ACE SPEC cards will have on the meta. No wonder they’re limited to one card per deck.
Latest TCG expansion coming March 22
The latest expanion to the TCG will be coming later this month come March 22. You’ll have to wait two weeks before you can start hunt for the chase cards in the new Pokémon Temporal Forces set. There’s going to be the standard Elite Trainer Boxes clocking in at $59.99, with the grand return of Booster Boxes also entering at $161. It’s been ages since the Pokémon Company has sold these larger bundles – but they’re excitingly back!
There is also a new version of the Build & Battle Box, which includes a preconstructed 40-card deck, four booster packs, and one of four promo cards.
9to5Toys’ Take
The Pokémon Company just launched the Paldean Fates collection earlier in the year with a bit more of a gimmick included – Shiny cards. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the expansion, so I am glad that the newest release has the TCG returning back to its roots. Just the fact that Booster Boxes are back had me going into this coverage with plenty of optimism on how things are going with this set, and now that I’ve dove in, that excitment remains.
In total, I opened 51 packs of the new Pokémon TCG Temporal Forces set. I wouldn’t say that I had the best luck when it came to pulls, but I did get plenty of cards I was excited about. You can see some of my highlights from getting to unbox a Booster Bundle, Elite Trainer Box, and the four packs from the Build & Battle Box.
Like I said, not the most amazing luck. Over on Twitter (X), I have been talking about how excited I was to score the new Snom full art card. I unfortuntely didn’t get that one, but I did get some other incredibly cute full art designs and plenty of the new EX cards to go with them.
My final take is that Temporal Forces has interested me enough to go back and buy some new packs once the expanion officially drops. It isn’t my favorite from the latest series, but has its own charm. If you’re someone who likes hunting highly sought-after chase cards, this might not be the set for you, however. There’s no Charizards or anything of that caliber this time around – just lots of Paradox Pokémon that may or may not skyrocket in value after launch.
Hands-on with other new Pokémon TCG expansions:
- Pokémon’s new Paldean Fates TCG set puts Shiny cards in the spotlight
- Pokémon Paradox Rift debuts with first-ever Paradox cards, new trainers, more
- Pokemon TCG Obsidian Flames puts fan favorites in the spotlight with Tera EX cards, more
- Pokémon Lost Origin expands the Sword and Shield TCG with gorgeous full-art cards
- Pokémon’s Astral Radiance TCG expansion excites with all-new Hisuian artworks
- Pokémon’s new Brilliant Stars TCG set is now available, here’s everything you need to know
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