Latest News: Flygon Gym Challenge Campaign Promo Revealed
Latest Scans: Hydreigon Half Deck
Latest Update: 1999 Promotional Cards

Thanks to some sharp Twitter users in Japan, we've got a photo of a poster in circulation now for the July block Gym Challenge Box Campaign for BW6. As previously reported, the card in question would be Flygon, but the card had yet to be shown until now.

Coming in at 157/BW-P and a Dragon Type, the new promo is looking lovely. Like the cards revealed last night, the Pokedex entry has been blurred out due to it being from the up and coming B2W2. You can check out the new promo below.



A big thank you to denkimouse of Sunyshore for the heads up!

Resource(s):
Twitter (@roast_reval)

A small but exciting update tonight, courtesy of the lovely runners of the PCGN blog. Freeze Bolt and Cold Flare are going to be seeing some old Kanto favourites, finally finishing off the line that began in BW4 with the Venusaur family being in that set. The blog revealed the images of Charmander (010/059), and Charmeleon (011/059) from Freeze Bolt along with Squirtle (012/059), and Wartortle (013/059) from Cold Flare.

It's more than safe to presume we'll be seeing Charizard and Blastoise to match the set. You can check out the new cards below! Interestingly, their Pokedex entries have been blanked out so presumably they'll be entries from the up and coming Black 2 and White 2.

Freeze Bolt:


Cold Flare:


As usual we'll keep you updated as the news comes.

Resource(s):
PCGN Blog

Set Name: ポケモンカードゲームBW サザンドラデッキ30 (Hydreigon Half Deck)
Set Logo:
Number of Cards: 15
Checklist: Download (PDF)



Notes: I'm a bit of a sucker for nice little decks. Some of them can be subpar, with limited art selections for the typing constrains and small kit builds, but both the Garchomp and the Hydreigon decks seem to have a gorgeous assortment of artwork and a nice selection of Pokemon under their belts. While both decks were released in tandem with the BW5 set block, the Hydreigon deck is more or less the parallel deck for Dragons Blast. The artwork features the setting of the N's castle in the background -- both inside and out -- and is an overall 'darker' environ compared to the Garchomp deck which is Pokemon League related.

A sweet little deck with a seriously stunning confetti gloss holo on some key cards. Worth it.


Trivia:
• This deck was released in Japan on the 16th of March 2012.
• Along with the Garchomp Half Deck, these decks were released alongside Dragons Blast and Dragon's Blade.
• This deck has yet to be released in English.

( Scans: Garchomp Half Deck )

In an early update this week, the official website updated today with the official launch of the BW6 Freeze Bolt and Cold Flare page.

While little was revealed, what was is still nice in terms of clarification, and general hype. In addition to confirming all prior details off the sale sheets, the site also gave us a very nice clear look at the previously shown Black KyuremEX and White KyuremEX cards that were revealed in the early CoroCoro leak. We know also know that Black KyuremEX is 045/059. You can check out the two clear shots below along with the final confirmed pack art.





Alongside the official unveil, the site detailed the Box Campaign. The promo for this block set is going to be Flygon -- though the card has yet to be unveiled itself -- and with the side of the boxes shown in the promo image we can also confirm that Maril and Audino will be in Freeze Bolt, while Herdier and Lilligant will be in Cold Flare. It's unknown yet as to which set will see a Flygon variant. You can check out the images below.




As usual we'll keep you updated as the news comes!

Resource(s):
Pokemon-Card.com

Set Name: ポケモンカードゲームBW ガブリアスデッキ30 (Garchomp Half Deck)
Set Logo:
Number of Cards: 15
Checklist: Download (PDF)



Notes: I'm a bit of a sucker for nice little decks. Some of them can be subpar, with limited art selections for the typing constrains and small kit builds, but both the Garchomp and the Hydreigon decks seem to have a gorgeous assortment of artwork and a nice selection of Pokemon under their belts. While both decks were released in tandem with the BW5 set block, the Garchomp deck is more or less the parallel deck for Dragon's Blade. The artwork features the setting of the Pokemon League in the background -- both inside and out -- and is an overall 'brighter' environ compared to the Hydreigon deck which is N's Castle related.

A sweet little deck with a seriously stunning confetti gloss holo on some key cards. Worth it.


Trivia:
• This deck was released in Japan on the 16th of March 2012.
• Along with the Hydreigon Half Deck, these decks were released alongside Dragons Blast and Dragon's Blade.
• This deck has yet to be released in English.

( Scans: Garchomp Half Deck )

Well. A lot of news has come about lately, all of it exciting, so lets dive right on in.

First off, the latest issue of CoroCoro has been leaked early, featuring a shot of Black KyuremEX (???/059) and White KyuremEX (041/059) - from Freeze Bolt and Cold Flare respectively. At present it appears they were the only two new cards shown in this months issue. You can check them and their awesome art out below:


(Click for Larger)

Additionally, the PCGN Blog along with a couple of players via twitter have showcased a slew of new promos. First off, a neat little trophy promo comes to us in the form of Palace Belt. During the Spring Battle Carnival, there was a side league called the Open Battle League Tournament. Winners of the tournament walked away with the Palace Belt as a prize.

Alongside that, the PCGN blog updated yesterday with the June Gym Challenge promotional pack cards. The cards include Ampharos, Trubbish, Aron, Braviary, Rare Candy, Tool Scrapper, and Grass/Water/Psychic/Metal energy. The ten new cards fill in the gap of 134/BW-P through to 143/BW-P. You can check all of them out, plus Palace Belt, below.









As usual we'll keep you in the loop as the news comes.

Resource(s):
2ch
Twitter (Various)
Pokemon-Card.com
PCGN Blog

Set Name: ポケモンカードゲームBW はじめてセット全国図鑑版 (Beginning Set All Region Pokedex Version)
Set Logo:
Number of Cards: 34
Checklist: Download (PDF)



Notes: I was skeptical when this was first announced-- mainly because we'd seen so many different versions of the Beginning Set that were just repackaged kits in the long run. However, they proved us wrong with the All Region variant, seeing a plethora of new cards instead of the same ol' set from 2010. And while all the cards outside the key starter cards, Keldeo's second TCG card ever, Shaymin, and Victini have stock Sugimori art it seems... fresh? It's hard to describe. Perhaps because it's been so long since we've had a set with a lot of Sugimori art. Or the fact the background work on them is really vibrant and befitting of the 'mons. It's just nice.

Oh, and the return of the bubble holo! Love that stuff. Doesn't scan well at all but in person it's a seriously pretty sight.

I got my hands on this kit thanks to denkimouse of Sunyshore, who was amazing and middled this for me.

Trivia:
• This subset was released in Japan on the 20th of April 2012.
• Beginning Set has a vast multitude of releases, all of which keep the same core cards but offer other bonuses. For example, the DX versions of these decks come with heavy duty metal storage tins, while the Plus version has a DS simulator game. This is the first release since the original to be drastically different from the original release (see: totally new.)
• Alongside the Keldeo Battle Strength deck released the same day, this is only Keldeo's second appearance in the TCG of what will likely be many more to come.
• The set symbol, HSZ, is shorthand for Hajimete Setto Zukan -- the kit name in a nutshell.
• This subset has yet to be released in English.

( Scans: Beginning Set All Region Pokedex Version )

Set Name: ポケモンカードゲームBW バトル強化デッキ ゼクロムEX (Battle Strength Deck ZekromEX)
Set Logo:
Number of Cards: 18
Checklist: Download (PDF)



Notes: The newest instalment to what is looking to become a common series of decks for the BW era, the ZekromEX deck delivers an interesting little medley of cards. The decks themselves come in huge boxes to allow for the gorgeous heavy GSM printed playmat, a good sized book about deck building, damage counters, and a coin hiding beneath the deck itself. The decks are a pre-built 60 card version, unlike the previous Battle Strength decks which were only half decks. ZekromEX is obviously the star of the show for this set, with art that just about steals the show from the rest of the deck. One thing I love between the ReshiramEX and ZekromEX decks is the parallel in the artwork. All of the ReshiramEX deck cards are warm, sunny, and bright environments while ZekromEX deck cards are broody and stormy. Eevee is the best example across both to show the difference, since the base card is the same but with totally different art depending on what deck it originates from.

I got my hands on these decks thanks to the ever-lovely denkimouse of Sunyshore.

Trivia:
• This deck was released in Japan on the 21st of October 2011.
• The reason the set logo is BK instead of BS is due to the reading of Strength in Japanese, which is Kyouka.
• Many cards from this deck were assimilated into the English set Next Destinies.


( Scans: Battle Strength Deck ZekromEX )

Last Updated: 09/05/12 Set Complete

Set Name: バトル強化デッキ30ケルディオ (Battle Strength Deck Keldeo)
Set Logo:
Number of Cards: 15
Checklist: Download (PDF)



Notes: A continuation of the original Battle Strength Deck series with the original three Muskedeers, this latest entry brings us Keldeo's first card in the TCG. Much like it's predecessors, there are three focal energies in this deck. This time the focus is on Water, Dark, and Steel. Nothing much else to say about the deck, perhaps asides from mentioning that the broken glass holo of the prior decks has been swapped for a mineral holo which is beautiful in person.

I got my hands on these decks thanks to denkimouse of Sunyshore, who was amazing and middled this deck for me.

Trivia:
• This deck was released in Japan on the 20th of April 2012.
• This deck was the official debut of Keldeo in the TCG.
• This deck hasn't been released in English yet.

( Scans: Battle Strength Deck Keldeo )

Last Updated: 08/05/12 Set Complete