With Chaos Rising, the fourth standard expansion of Mega Evolutions, the new Pokémon TCG era is now in full swing and, ironically, the chaos has only escalated throughout. Phantasmal and Ascended continue to fly off shelves thanks to the insatiable hunger of Charizard and Gengar hunters but, like Perfect Order before it, Chaos Rising offers a reprieve from those overserved big names. There are some kick-ass Pokémon cards in here for collectors and players alike, and it's a bonus that Chaos Rising's smaller than other recent Pokémon sets - but, in the same breath, I wish it offered greater variety.
If you're unaware of Chaos Rising, it's a Greninja-led set that doesn't have a huge selection of cards. There are around 120 in total, putting it on the same line as Pokémon TCG's Perfect Order and Phantasmal Flames expansions, which I also praised for being smaller collections.
A smaller card total typically gives an expansion better pull rates and makes it easier to Master Set - and after opening the 17 Pokémon Chaos Rising packs Wargamer was sent ahead of release, my opinion remains positive on those fronts. On the downside, though, I'm starting to see a small and frustrating pattern.
For reference, the Pokémon Company kindly sent us one Elite Trainer Box and two Build & Battle Boxes, the latter including four Chaos Rising packs each. And, before we get into the pulls, I'll reiterate that the promos included with Mega Evolution sets have so far wiped the floor with the Scarlet & Violet era; Chaos Rising's included Fennekin Illustration Rare is the most adorable since Prismatic's Eevee.
Over the course of my ripping session (which never fails to bring a smile to my face), I found the pull rates to be on par with previous expansions. While I was extremely lucky to get an SIR with my Perfect Order preview, Arceus' luck wasn't shining down on me today - and that's okay. I managed to come away with four ex cards, three Illustration Rares, and one Ultra Rare. That's a hit in eight packs, which means the odds are just slightly below 50% in my personal experience. Of course, this is a small sample size, but it aligned with both of my experiences of the two previous standard Pokémon sets.
Sligoo #95 was a surprise hit I never expected to love as much as I do. It shows the snail Pokémon in its happy place: by a cosy, mossy tree root, grinning at a rain puddle, a natural setting that recalls my favorite Journey Together Cards. Similarly, Chespin #87 sees the Grass-type perched on a fallen tree branch, basking in dappled sunlight, its little face full of glee (which is clearly infectious, because I got very happy indeed when I pulled it).
The increase in chances of getting IRs or above from smaller sets has been a huge positive for me this era. While I wish the SIR hit rate was increased further (to hopefully make stock more available to collectors as opposed to scalpers), the multiple IRs I've pulled across these three standard sets have been much better than my experience with - shudders - Prismatic Evolutions or the like. Sadly, there's a cloud to that silver lining: I'm becoming somewhat bored with smaller sets, and for one reason alone - repetition.
It's normally a very small problem , but it becomes unavoidable when there are fewer overall cards to pull. From 17 packs, I ended up with duplicates of several - Ho-Oh, Ampharos, and Goodra, to name a few; I even got a duplicate Mega Floette ex. Towards the end of the packs, this started to grate on me; weirdly I was more mad about the dupes than about missing out on any SIR mega hits.
As someone who enjoys collecting as many Pokémon cards as possible in each set, I like smaller expansions for making that easier, but in some twisted sense of self-punishment, I'd prefer to find various uncommons and rares as opposed to seeing the same ones frequently. Even if that does mean they take up another spot of an IR or, Giratina forbid, an SIR.
If you're looking to purchase some packs around Chaos Rising launch day, Friday, May 22, 2026, make sure to check out the following retailers regularly:
Am I being picky? Yes, absolutely. But as a Pokémon TCG collector first, and a journalist second, I have to be. Of course, I do generally prefer to get more IRs than rares - I'm not an idiot - but the variety would be a pleasant return. You can call me an idiot to my virtual face in our Wargamer Discord if you'd like. I really don't mind.