Hello everyone! This is Elena from Gaia Storm, and it is great to be here once again. Not long ago, Lost Origin arrived officially at the TCG and with it, amazing new cards like Giratina VSTAR, Zoroark VSTAR, the Lost Zone Engine and much more. Normally, we would have to wait at least 3 months for the new expansion to land, but it seems that 2022 is going to be a bit different than usual, as we will have a brand new set coming up sooner than ever. Silver Tempest will be officially arriving on the 11th of November, which means we will have a 2-month gap instead of a 3-month one. This is something that can be perceived as very positive for avid collectors that cannot wait to get some of the new cards but a bit overwhelming for players, who will need to adjust to a whole new meta in a very short period of time.
Silver Tempest is probably going to be the last main set of the Sword and Shield era since Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is literally around the corner, and expectations, of course, couldn’t be higher. At the time I am writing this article, there is still no official list that has been confirmed, but we know for sure some of the big cards that will be part of the set. Main cards include fan-favourite legendary Pokémon Lugia, new archetypes and more. Let’s see some of the most interesting cards here! (And don’t worry, we will probably do a top card analysis later on).
What you should be looking for in the Silver Tempest set
Lugia VSTAR is the star of the set. Not only is it one of the most popular Pokémon worldwide (though I must admit that I’ve never been able to decide between it and Ho-oh), but Lugia cards are often pretty strong in the game and become heavily played. On this occasion, we are receiving a colourless VSTAR Pokémon that has an incredible ability to put down other colourless Pokémon from the discard pile into your bench. The most apparent combination I can see is the new Archeops that is also coming up in the set, allowing the player to accelerate energy cards into the field, effectively fulfilling Lugia’s attack requirements. Because Colorless type Pokémon have a lot of support cards like Cheren’s Care and Dunsparce, I think Lugia can be a strong contender and make its way into the top spots of the metagame.
Vulpix VSTAR is probably the card I am looking to pull the most, but mainly because I think Alolan Vulpix is the cutest Pokémon ever designed (I will fight anyone that believes otherwise!). While I think it will end up being a bit of a situational card, Vulpix still holds some potential, being able to stop entire strategies if they are not prepared to counter its ability. It will be interesting to see if it is played as a 1-1 one or if it becomes an archetype on its own.
Then, we have some new “Regi” cards coming to the game, in this case, with VMAX and VSTAR versions! Regieleki VMAX will be a good support Pokémon for its ability to provide an extra +30 damage to any electric attacker (Did anyone say Vikavolt V?), and Regidrago VSTAR reminds us of Mew&Mewtwo Tag Team in the sense that it can copy any attacks from other Dragon-type Pokémon. Unfortunately for us, there are not too many good Dragon cards in the TCG, and its efficiency will be reduced, but no one ever knows what they are going to print in the following few sets, so I’ll keep an eye on this “Dragon Toolbox” deck for the upcoming expansions.
The supporter I like the most from this set is Serena, a character we barely saw in the Pokémon TCG. Serena is a very flexible supporter that lets you choose between switching the opponent’s active Pokémon for a V-benched one or discarding cards to draw. While I am a bit unsure about all decks running Serena, I appreciate the flexibility it provides, and I can see it being played depending on how the meta evolves
Last but not least, we have Ho-oh V, which is probably one of the most interesting cards we’ve seen in a while, this type of “high-risk, high reward” V Pokémon. Once per turn, you can summon it from the discard pile and attach up to 4 basic energy cards, with the downside of ending your turn. I imagine that massive energy acceleration can be incredibly beneficial for specific strategies.
Conclusion
I am looking forward to getting my hands on this new set and starting to test all the cool cards. While we still need to wait a little bit to see the official setlist, from what we’ve seen in Japan, there will be some massive changes in the format. And, of course, don’t forget that you can acquire your cards and Silver Tempest products here at TCG Park, so don’t forget to do so before you leave the site. Thanks for reading!