All kinds of Pokemon Trading Card Game fans have been enjoying the mobile Pokemon TCG Pocket. It puts card collection front and center, but battling is still there in full for players to put their decks to the test. While collecting every single card Pokemon TCG Pocket has to offer has been made into a near impossibility, much like Pokemon‘s original Pokedex these days, fans can still complete the booster pack expansions with enough dedication.
The current problematic state of the game’s collecting has grown worse over time. The limited event premium subscription promos are just par for the course with a game like Pokemon TCG Pocket, Shinies themselves illustrate the tense situation the game is in right now. Many fans dislike how the Shinies are extremely expensive with pack points, leaving players to rely on luck to get them. To add insult to injury, if they pull the wrong Shiny, they can’t trade it to someone who wants it. Now, it seems like these issues are only going to get worse as a new Deluxe Pack EX is set to launch in Pokemon TCG Pocket on September 30. This Deluxe Pack EX will be a limited-time set only available for a month, which means players will have to act fast and be very lucky to get any chase cards they want.
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Deluxe Pack EX is inspired by an annual special pack unique to the Japanese branch of the tabletop card game. It exists to give players a chance to catch up on rare cards they’ve missed, and even includes full-art rares unique to the pack.
Pokemon TCG Pocket's Deluxe Pack EX Preys on Players in a Whole New Way
Why Pokemon TCG Pocket's Deluxe Pack EX is Good in Theory
Before discussing the criticisms regarding the Deluxe Pack EX, it should be said that developer DeNA has already confirmed that the Deluxe Pack will return in the future after it leaves on October 30. However, it isn’t clear yet if its return will have the same set list as the first pack did or swap a few important cards out for new ones. Out of the Deluxe Pack EX line-up, players can look forward to a new Pikachu EX art rare, a full art Professor Oak card, full art for Greninja and Gardevoir, and likely more.
One good thing about Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s Deluxe Pack EX is that it takes after Japan’s High Class packs by guaranteeing a chase card within each pull. With that in mind, it seems like a great thing for players to throw their daily packs and hourglasses at to get an EX they didn’t get before, or a unique full art. On the other hand, the nature of the limited-time set goes against that very same system of daily packs and hourglasses.
Hourglasses in Pokemon TCG Pocket typically have to be earned through daily missions, limited-time events, and solo battles that can’t be farmed. They can easily be stacked up by saving them in advance, or players can purchase them in bundles like many other mobile game premium currency transactions. Of course, a system like this means some players do work on a free-to-play basis, and that leaves them at a loss with the Deluxe Pack EX. If players don’t use any hourglasses on the Deluxe Pack EX, then they’ll have to wait 12 hours in-between pulls assuming they log in daily. This limits them to a maximum of 60 packs while the Deluxe Pack EX is available, which makes duplicates or basic bad luck worse to deal with.
The Deluxe Pack EX comes to Pokemon TCG Pocket after the frequent set releases have already fatigued players. Now, there’s not only at least one monthly set coming to the game, but the chase cards of the Deluxe Pack EX will demand players’ time or money unless they want to miss out. There’s a very big difference between this and the premium pass cards, which cost money and vanish after a set time frame, but those are at the very least upfront with their limited number, cost, and are guaranteed.
All the Deluxe EX Pack encourages is that players either spend their time grinding for hourglasses to get their chase cards, or rely on an unknown promise that they’ll be back someday. It’s certain to divide players by those who got lucky, those who have the money to spend, and those who don’t get anything they want, which only aggravates Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s growing issues.