For good or bad,Pokemon TCG Pockethas been extremely successful overall in terms of sales, even if it’s still fundamentally a gacha game with some staples of the industry that don’t appeal to all fans. Despite some issues, like low trading resources and a very steep progression inPokemon TCG Pocket’s Ranked Modedue to no win streak in Ultra Ball and above, the game is still very generous for being a gacha title, and it runs multiple events across the lifespan of every expansion. Recently, a new event came out with exclusive promo cards, and while it’s a good thing for players who engage with the game regularly, it’s repeating the same mistakes that sparked a controversy on launch.
Pokemon TCG Pockethas its set of unwritten rules, and one of them is arguably that one should try and get at least one copy of each promo card distributed with events, especially those that are mechanically unique. For example, the promo version of Ekans from a few months ago is different from the regular Genetic Apex Ekans in terms of attack, with Poison Sting available instead of Bite, and this may make it more or less desirable. Now, the Ultra Necrozma Ex event adds three mechanically unique cards, including an Ex card, which is even worse than the infamous Lapras Ex.
Why Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Event Exclusive Cards are a Double-Edged Sword
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Lapras Ex may be the rarest cardin the game because it came out shortly after the title was released, and between the fact that not all players may have known about the event’s exclusivity and the fact that now there are more players than back then, not all fans have one copy (or more) of Lapras Ex. There is no Lapras Ex in the game other than this promo, and while it’s not great from a competitive standpoint, it’s still a unique card that cannot be obtained now.
TheUltra Necrozma Ex event forPokemon TCG Pocketadds three new cards not obtainable by other means. These are:
While Ultra Necrozma Ex, which is arguably the star of the show, is unlikely to see a lot of play due to its Energy requirements and the fact that it’s relatively slow and not very bulky, Dusk Mane Necrozma has already proven to be a great card. SeveralPokemon TCG Pocketdecks run Dusk Mane Necrozmanow, and with decent success.
Dawn Wings Necrozma has yet to hit the meta status, but it could pair nicely with some Gengar decks to stop Silvally and other Supporter-heavy decks in their tracks. Regardless, these are three cards that are currently only available for a few extra days, after which they will presumably become unavailable for good or for a very long time. Doing this with three Necrozma cards, one of which also happens to be in multiplemeta decks inPokemon TCG Pocket, seems unwise after the Lapras Ex backlash, but it’s not something the game hasn’t done since.
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Promos May Be on a Path to Intense FOMO
The main issue may be that the Ultra Necrozma Ex event sets the precedent for multiple mechanically-unique cards in a single drop, which may be exciting for collectors and active players, but it can be equally problematic for others. It also builds on the same FOMO tactics as similar events, but possibly worse, because ideally, one would need two copies of each unique card to ensure they have enough to build a possible deck. It’s unlikely that this approach will change now, andPokemon TCG Pocket’s promosin the future may just follow suit.
