I am all in on Pokémon Ascended Heroes. From the moment I saw Japan's Mega Dream ex revealed, I knew it would be a killer 'high-value set' to buy, and I was adamant on securing some products. Fortunately, I've been lucky to pre-order some, but in reality, I'm certainly not going to have enough packs, as Ascended Heroes has a lot - and I mean a lot - of Pokémon cards for a full set.
Ascended Heroes is the upcoming 'high-value' expansion joining the ever-growing list of Pokémon sets, and with Mega Dragonite as the focus, I'm willing to spend a ridiculous amount of money to try and pull all of my favorite cards. Frustratingly, like any other special set in the Pokémon TCG, these packs only come in bundled products - there are no single boosters or 36-pack booster boxes to grab. Considering a good ol' booster box is the only true way to add plenty to your collection at a (relatively) discounted rate per pack, expect to pay more for bundled products.
Two Hundred And Ninety Five cards. That's how many you'll need to collect from Ascended Heroes to have a full collection. That's absolutely ridiculous. Even a traditional booster box (if you could actually get one for this set) only holds 360 Pokémon cards - and what with plenty of duplicates, and no guarantees of any SIR or the awfully dull Mega Hyper Rares, chances are you'll need far more than 36 packs in total to crack the master set.
According to Pokébeach, it's even worse for collectors, too. For each non-ex Pokémon, there will be TWO Reverse Holos - one with a dedicated Pokéball (or Team Rocket's 'R' logo) and one with the appropriate Energy. This is the same as Japan's Mega Dream ex, but Ascended Heroes also includes some singles from the Japanese Start Deck 100 Battle Collection, including exclusive Reverse Holo versions in Ascended Heroes.
I'm not personally someone who completes a master set. I mostly want each of the standard Pokémon, as well as the IRs and SIRs of each expansion, so it's daunting - but not as daunting - for me. My main concern is whether The Pokémon Company treats these various versions of the Reverse Holos as 'hits', meaning less chance at securing an Illustration Rare or better in my boosters. That happened with Prismatic Evolutions, and if it happens again, I will cry in my sleep.
295 cards, though. Wow. That's impressive, but it's sandwiched between two fairly small expansions. Both Phantasmal Flames and the upcoming Perfect Order are some of the smallest sets in recent years, so that should make the sting of collecting almost 300 cards a little less painful. Only a little, but it's something.
If you're looking to make your Pokémon Ascended Heroes pre-orders, you should keep an eye on the following retailers and hope to Arceus you manage to buy some:
- Chaos Cards - invite system (UK-based, global)
- Walmart (US)
- Sam's Club (US)
- Amazon (global)
- Magic Madhouse (global)
We're going to be covering our own thoughts on Pokémon Ascended Heroes, as well as any reveals for the upcoming sets, so make sure to join our Wargamer Discord to be kept in the loop. We also share any 'deals' as they pop up, so if you like finding Pokémon TCG below market value or - gasp - at retail, you'll want to join our community.