Summary
ThePokémon Trading Card Game’s upcoming set,Shrouded Fable, may just be a mini set, but there are still some good cards players will want to get their hands on. As is expected in modernPokémonsets, there are someSpecial Illustration cardsand otherunique treatments that can add to the collectible value of the set’s cards. Several cards will be exciting additions to certain decks.
Even thoughShrouded Fableis a smaller set, it’s still helpful to know which cards are likely the best to get from it, and why. That way, if players don’t want to spend their money on an entire booster box, they can just focus on grabbing the few cards that they want. It’s also important to note that the value of any given card can always be influenced by future releases, so the best cards from a given set are subject to change.
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10Greninja Ex Is A Special Art Treatment Of A Fan-Favorite Pokémon
Found In The Special Illustration Collection Box
One of the most aesthetically pleasing cards fromShrouded Fableis the promotional Greninja ex that comes in the Special Illustration Collection box.The card is a full-art foil featuring Greninjathrowing its signature water shuriken. The background of the card is done in a more traditional style, with the water being reminiscent of The Great Wave off Kanagawa.
Although being from a Special Illustration Collection box may initially reduce this version of Greninja ex’s collectible value, that might not always be the case. At some point, onceShrouded Fableis out of print, these cards may become highly sought after. After all, this unique art treatment is pretty cool and Greninja is a fan-favorite Pokémon. While it may never be worth a huge sum of money, it isn’t unreasonable to think that it will end up being worth a decent amount once it’s harder to find. Players who want one may want to ensure they get it earlier.
9Kingdra Ex Has Some Of The Best Art In The Set
Kingdra ex isthe other Special Illustration Collection PokémonfromShrouded Fable. Similar to Greninja, it is also done in a more traditional art style. In terms of presentation, Kingdra ex just generally looks better. The frame is slightly less busy, and the moon in the background does a better job of establishing a sense of location in the picture than Greninja’s art does. Many factors go into determining a card’s worth, but this slight edge in terms of the card’s art gives Kingdra ex a leg up on Greninja ex.
In terms of collector value, this version of Kingdra ex will likely be a similar situation to Greninja ex. Again, it won’t be too expensive to start with due to it being readily available, but it may grow in price over time. Players who pick up a Kingdra Special Illustration Collection will also get a Horsea and Seadra card so they have all the cards they need to evolve into it.
8Dartrix Is Powerful Support For United Wings
United Wings Decks Need As Many Pokémon With The Move As Possible
Shrouded Fable’s new Dartrix could potentially see play thanks to its United Wings attack. Decks utilizing United Wings typically attempt to include as many Pokémon with the attack in the deck as possible. Since United Wings’ damage is 20x the number of Pokémon in the discard pile with United Wings, a new Pokémon with the attack is a potential 80 more damage that it can do if players include four copies in their deck.
From a collector’s standpoint,Dartrix likely isn’t going to be worth all that much. It’s a common card, so even if United Wings players want four copies for their decks, there will be plenty lying around for them to pick up. This card also isn’t spectacular in its own right, meaning it has little use outside of being a card to discard and buff the attack. While some players will likely be very excited about this card, it’s a bit more niche than some of the others in the set.
7Xerosic’s Scheme Creates A Big Card Advantage
Forces Opponents To Discard
Xerosic’s Scheme is a pretty punishing card. By forcing opponents to discard down to only three cards, players are limiting their ability to respond to threats. This card coupled with other discard or control cards can seriously stall a player’s ability to get anything done on their turn. Though not all players will want to run this card, it will likely see play among more oppressive strategies that try to limit an opponent’s ability to play their game.
Similar to Dartrix, whileXerosic’s Scheme will likely see some play, it probably isn’t going to be a major collector’s item. The card is only uncommon in terms of rarity, meaning there will likely be plenty of extras floating around. Add to that the fact that not every deck is going to play it, and it likely won’t balloon too much in price. That said, this card will likely be an effective addition to any deck whose strategy it does complement.
6Staple Card Earthen Vessel Gets A New Fancy Art Treatment
Players Will Likely Want To Upgrade This Favorite Card
Earthen Vessel is a commonly played card in thePokémon TCG. It has a use in pretty much every deck, as it is a great way to exchange a card players won’t use for some more energy cards. Even if this was just a typical Earthen Vessel, it would probably be worth grabbing a copy if players didn’t already have one. However,Shrouded Fable’s Earthen Vessel is likely going to be even more valuablethan previous versions, thanks to its new art treatment.
The Earthen Vessel that is inShrouded Fableis a full-art treatment being printed at Ultra Rare. Since a lot of players like to bling out their decks with rare art treatments like this, and since so many players use Earthen Vessel, it isn’t too big of a stretch to think that this version of the card will end up being worth a decent amount. Versions of it fromShrouded Fable’s Japenese equivalent,Night Wanderer, are already selling for nearly $70, which is about 10x more than the average Earthen Vessel.
5Kyurem Can Wipe Out Half The Opponent’s Team
Can Deal Damage To Three Pokémon At Once
The new Kyurem card fromShrouded Vesselhas one of the strongest attacks in thePokémon TCG. It can deal 110 damage to three of an opponent’s Pokémon, which can potentially wipe three cards in a single attack. While the attack is expensive originally, and will force players to discard energy from Kyurem, this Pokémon’s static ability has a way to make up for that.
Kyurem, one of therarest Legendaries in thePokémonvideo games, can activate its attack for only one colorless energy if a card with the word “Colress” is in the opponent’s discard pile. While not all players will be playing a Colress card, some strategies rely pretty heavily on it. Players who need a certain number of cards in their Lost Zone will very likely be running Colress’s Experiment.Kyurem is now a very effective counter to that strategy, since players likely won’t want to risk letting Kyurem hit three of their Pokémon just to play a trainer card.
4Dusknoir Deals A Lot Of Damage For No Energy
Dusknoir’s Ability Allows Players To Sacrifice It To Do Damage
The new version of Dusknoir inShrouded Fablehas an ability that makes it easily one of the best Pokémon from the new set. Once per turn,players are able to sacrifice Dusknoir in order to put 13 damage counters on an opponent’s Pokémon. While it may seem risky for players to give up a prize card like this, there are a lot of situations where this is the best play.
Dusknoir can be used to take out weaker unevolved Pokémon, which can help slow down an opponent’s game. Taking out an opponent’s card can also allow players to bring more powerful cards online. For instance, it’s worth sacrificing a Dusknoir if it means players can then play a card like Roxanne, which will swing momentum heavily in their favor. Dusknoir is certainly going to be a card to watch out for, and will likely change the way some players approach the game.
3Cassiopeia Helps Players Find The Answers They Need
Finds Two Cards From A Player’s Deck
Cassiopeia is a supporter card with a very strong ability. When it is the last card in a player’s hand, they can find any two cards in their deck and put those cards into their hand. This level of control in a TCG, where variance always plays a big role in the game, is a huge advantage. Though players will have to wait until their hand is empty, there are cards like Ultra Ball which can cause players to discard cards to use them. That means players can discard cards for effects, and then use Cassiopeia to refill their hand.
This card is also one of the Special Illustration Rare cardsinShrouded Fable. That means that the card isn’t just powerful, but it’s also a rare chase card. Any time a card is both rare and has actual potential as a game piece, players can be pretty sure that it will end up being worth a good amount of money.
2Pecharunt Ex Can Support Other Powerful Cards From Shrouded Fable
Good Synergy With Cards Like Okidogi Ex & Binding Mochi
Pecharunt ex putsShrouded Fable’s Dark-type Pokémon theme on full display with its ability. This card can allow players to easily switch between it and one of their benched Pokémon. While it may seem like a major drawback that this ability poisons the Pokémon it switches out,it can actually be used to the player’s benefit thanks to other cards in this set. For example, the card Binding Mochi will allow a poisoned Pokémon to deal an additional 40 damage to an opponent’s active Pokémon. That’s a pretty hefty damage swing, even if poison does 10 per turn.
Pecharunt ex is also designed to work well in a deck that sacrifices its own Pokémon’s health to deal extra damage. The more of a player’s prize cards have been taken, the more damage that player will do with Pecharunt ex’s attack. That means it can be a strong finisher, especially when its attack is relatively cheap.
1Okidogi Ex Can Fuel Itself & Do A Lot Of Damage
Finds Energy Cards & Places Them On Itself
Okidogi ex is a major offensive force. Its ability to double its attack power while also giving itself more energy, and thinning out its controller’s deck makes it very effective. This card also pairs perfectly with Pecharunt ex, since Pecharunt ex can send it out already poisoned. That means it will immediately have double the attack power, allowing it to quickly take out an opponent’s Pokémon. Attach a Binding Mochi to it, and Okidogi ex could potentially do 300 damage with a single attack.
There are several art treatments for Okidogi ex in this set.Ithas both an Ultra Rare and Special Illustration Rare versionin addition to its standard Double Rare version. The harder-to-get versions of the card will likely be worth a bit more, especially if Okidogi ex ends up seeing a lot of play. Okidogi ex will likely be one of the more valuable as well as the most playable cards fromPokémon TCG:Shrouded Fable.
