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The 10 Best Pokémon TCG Cards To Pull From Silver Tempest

Some Pokémon cards on top of an Unown V art.
Some Pokémon cards on top of an Unown V art.

With Pokémon TCG’s final Sword & Shield main set, Silver Tempest, now out in the wild, people have torn open enough packs and boxes to get an idea for which cards are the most desirable. Whether it’s for their beautiful alternate artwork, their resale value, or their playability in the tabletop game, we’ve rounded up the 10 best cards to pull from this latest set.

I admit, I’m leaning toward the flashier cards here, rather than those that will rewrite the meta. So, yes, Rapidash’s Heat Boost ability can work in teams to massively boost Fire attacks, and the various Seal Stone VSTARS frankly confuse me more than I want to get my head around. That said, let’s dig in.

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Alolan Vulpix V/VSTAR

The Vulpix V and Vulpix VSTAR card.
The Vulpix V and Vulpix VSTAR card.

The flagship Pokémon for Silver Tempest is, rather splendidly, the humble Vulpix. Appearing on the Elite Trainer Box, and on one of the four pack arts, it’s occupying a space usually reserved for Legendaries or fan-favorite big-hitters. And, accordingly, this set sees the snowier Vulpix become the first (and possibly last) unevolved Pokémon to receive a V and VSTAR card.

Appropriately, its attacks are relatively modest too. The V has a free attack that can reach 60 if the opposing Active Card is also a V, or a weeny 110 for three Energy. The VSTAR beefs this up to 160 for three Energy, and prevents returning damage if the opposing card has an Ability. Its one-time VSTAR Power does 70 damage for every V card on the board, which is a fairly hefty blow for the little guy.

Obviously the Full Art version of the V, and the Rainbow Rare version of the VSTAR are more collectible, the latter currently fetching $20, but given the novelty of a lowly Stage 0 Pokémon getting such high status makes it a lovely one to pull from its own set.

Jynx Trainer Gallery

The Jynx Trainer Gallery card.
The Jynx Trainer Gallery card.

Silver Tempest contains an incredible Trainer Gallery, the section rapidly becoming the best part of any new set. There are dozen cards from the 30 I’d love to highlight here, and this certainly won’t be the only one, but it’s by far my favorite. And it’s Jynx! Poor ol’ Jynx, finally getting a card that celebrates her properly.

It’s the autumnal colors combined with such a bold use of empty space that has this Full Art card work so well. The Jynx is so small on the card that you have to squint to see it properly, and then when you do you get the excellent surprise that the daft creature is smooching its enormous lips at its trainer, hearts popping out around its head. Such an elegant, beautiful card, that hides such a silly, funny detail: I love it.

Unown V

The Unown V card.
The Unown V card.

Unown getting a V is brilliant enough, but wow, what a V it is. A complete game-changer, this offers the three-Energy attack, Victory Symbol, that radically changes how you can win the game.

In a regular game of Pokémon TCG, you need to win back all six of your Prize Cards to win the whole game. But with Unown V, if you have one Prize Card left on the board, and use Victory Symbol...you win. Like, just for attacking. It’s utterly bonkers, which is perfect for this most mysterious of Pokémon.

Accordingly, Silver Tempest contains a pile of these, with a regular Unown V, then a Full Art version (that’s actually slightly less exciting-looking than the regular), and finally the Alternate Art you can see above. It’s currently changing hands for a monstrous $70, but fortunately the regular version is easily pulled from packs—my son got two of them from his pre-release box! It’s going to be fascinating to see what this card does to tournaments, messing with the very reality of the game.

(There’s a VSTAR, it should be mentioned, but aside from offering a possible 210 damage if you flip three heads, it seems to weaken the card’s potential.)

Regidrago V Alternate Art

The Redigrago V alternate art card.
The Redigrago V alternate art card.

Silver Tempest has quite a few muted-color cards that are wonderfully evocative. Regidrago’s Alt Art V is such a richly detailed piece of art, Hataya’s meticulous detail focused on the ruins surrounding the Pokémon, with the Legendary itself a more simplistic design. That’s a fascinating decision, and the results are amazing.

It’s a neat card, too, letting you pilfer your deck for Energy, then a classic 130 Dragon Laser attack that also delivers 30 damage to an opponent’s benched Pokémon. Nothing special, obviously, but a solid inclusion in your deck. Although in its Alt Art form, it’s more of a brag, given the card’s currently selling at around $60 to $80.

Friends In Galar (Full Art)

The Friends In Galar Trainer Gallery card.
The Friends In Galar Trainer Gallery card.

As Sword & Shield winds down, and the TCG world prepares for next February’s shift to Scarlet & Violet, the series is starting a fantastic effort to celebrate the last three years. Next year’s final Special Set, Crown Zenith, will not only be about a last hurrah for V-based cards, but also contain an enormous 70-card “Galarian Gallery” (which, yes, should obviously have been called a Galary). It’ll hopefully be a lovely goodbye to the Galar region.

However, jumping the gun slightly is a card from Silver Tempest that does a lovely job of capturing the spirit of Sword and Shield, with many of the main characters posing for a lovely Full Art picture. Sanosuke Sakuma’s illustration shows Victor (the male player character), Bede (who my son remains convinced is an old lady), Hop (your hometown bestie), Marnie (grumpy Dark-type, and a monstrous card on her own), and Gloria (the female player character).

This Trainer Gallery card is just gorgeous, although its regular version (from Brilliant Stars) is also a great-looking card. It’s already fetching prices around $30, but I think it’s too lovely not to play in your deck, in place of one of your 17 Barrys.

Emergency Jelly

The Emergency Jelly trainer card.
The Emergency Jelly trainer card.

OK, look, you’re likely not going to see this new Item card appearing in anyone else’s Silver Tempest lists. It’s a neat card, don’t get me wrong, and it’s got me out of some scrapes playing TCG already: It allows you to heal 120 damage from a Pokémon if its HP drops to 30 or lower, which is a great Hail Mary. It’s just...as a card, it’s pretty ordinary.

However, and very importantly, it’s called Emergency Jelly. And that’s a very funny name.

Impressively, it’s funny no matter how you parse the word, whether the (incorrect) U.S. use as a word for a preserve or jam, or the (correct) UK use as the wobbly translucent children’s dessert. Either is an incredibly silly thing to need in an emergency, and the idea never fails to make me smile. Even more when I decide it’s made out of Duosion.

Serena

The Serena full art card.
The Serena full art card.

Given the V-heavy leaning of Silver Tempest, Serena is an excellent new addition to the range of Trainers. She has two abilities, and you can pick whichever is most appropriate in any given situation. If you’re being bombarded by an opponent’s V, it works like a Boss’s Orders and lets you switch their active card to one of your choice from their bench. But unlike Boss’s Orders, if you pull Serena too early for that to be a useful move, you can instead use the other option, and discard up to three cards and then draw until you have five in your hand.

That’s such an excellent versatility, all the power of Boss’s Orders, but with that bonus option to reshape a starting hand before such switches are useful. And given her new arrival so late in the Sword & Shield era, it’s nice to see the card getting the full works. Alongside the regular version, there’s the above Full Art, and indeed a Rainbow Rare. They are, you’ll not be surprised to learn if you’ve noticed the waifu tendancies of such characters, pretty expensive. The Rainbow is going for $30, while the much nicer Full Art will cost you a ridiculous $60.

Skuntank V

The Skuntank V alternate art card.
The Skuntank V alternate art card.

This one’s going to get a bunch of play. Pursuit Blast is a two-Energy attack that does 30 damage to an opponent’s benched Pokémon, except there’s an exceptional twist: If that benched Pokémon was retreated the last turn, the attack does 120 damage, and that’s pure evil. What a brilliant way to police those god-awful Comfey players who take half an hour for every sodding turn: most of their bench will be vulnerable every single turn.

Put a Dark Energy on there too and you can deliver Shrieking Poison, 90 damage and adding Confused and Poisoned, which is great. But that Pursuit Blast is a brilliant addition to the game, and I can’t wait to see it messing with Lost Zone players.

It also has the above gorgeous Alternate Art version, which is an image you can just pore over. Search it an you’ll eventually spot a Paras and a Diglett. It’s a great one to pull, because you won’t want to pay the current $40 it’s going for.

Radiant Alakazam

The Radian Alakazam card.
The Radian Alakazam card.

With bad “illusionist” (he gets mad if you call him a magician) Uri Geller’s ridiculous lawsuits dropped and apologized for over his attempt to prevent Nintendo from using the name Kadabra, there was hope that the spoon-bending Pokémon might finally return to the card game at some point soon. Instead, we’ve got yet another cheaty Alakazam that doesn’t need to evolve from Abra, this time in a Radiant form. (Important note: Kadabra bends spoons using its mind magic, while Geller just bends them with his thumb.) Yet, even though Kadabra would have been a more satisfying return, this Alakazam is highly desirable, not just for its lovely, striking art, but also its playability.

Radiant Alakazam allows you to move damage counters around your opponent’s Pokémon with the Painful Spoons Ability (essentially allowing you to knock out a benched Pokémon with one of your own), and for just 2 Energy, Mind Ruler can do 20 damage for every card in your opponent’s hand. That’s outrageous. It’s going to be in an awful lot of Psychic decks come December, and thankfully is common enough that it’s selling for just $5.

Lugia V Alternate Art

The Lugia V alternate art card.
The Lugia V alternate art card.

The Lugia V/VSTAR combo in Silver Tempest is definitely one of the most desirable cards from the set. The Pokémon Silver mascot is a perennial fan-favorite, and offers a powerful V. Read the Wind lets you discard a card and draw three for just one Energy, while get it loaded up with four Energy of any type and Aero Dive can do 130 damage a turn with no limits, while also letting you discard any Stadium in play.

Bump that up to VSTAR, and Tempest Dive does the same Stadium-destroying attack, but this time along with 220 damage. Its VSTAR Power, Summoning Star, lets you fetch a couple of Normal-type Pokémon (without Rule Boxes) out of your discard pile, and back onto your bench.

Which is all lovely, but of course collectors are after it not just for its power in the game, but the prettiness of its variants. There’s a Full Art V, and both a Rainbow Rare and Gold Rare versions of the VSTAR. But most desired, and indeed most desired from the entire set, is the Lugia V Alt Art.

It’s fetched a ridiculous $314, and is all over eBay for around $300, just three days after the set officially released—which means we’re not even getting an idea what PSA 10s will go for. Given similarly priced cards from recent sets, we’re likely looking at well over $1,000 for the graded card.

The card is unequivocally gorgeous, Kawayoo’s distinctive painted style looking amazing in muted blues and greens across a predominantly gray scene. But prices like this are still daft.


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