I’ve noticed if its a black writing its usually unlimited but I’m not 100% accurate on it
@chopkins1994, hey chop
I have a blackout theme deck with all variant 2 indicators but with a vertical strip seal not the horizontal one on top.
What does this mean?
Vertical is always unlimited
Does anybody know at this stage if ghost stamp Pikachus can be pulled from a non-gold strip Zap deck, if it’s still a shadowless variant? Or is this exclusive to gold strips/still unknown?
thanks!
As far as I know there have been no confirmed non gold strips
I recently opened a non-gold strip Zap deck that was shadowless. No ghost stamps.
Just a data point.
Makes sense, and I assume the same for No Damage Ninetales from Brushfire decks? Gold seal only?
As far as we know, yes. It makes sense considering that was the first print run.
If variant 2 box has a vertical seal with a horizontal pull tab does it make a difference in determining if it could be shadowless? @kingboo64 , @chopkins1994 ,@thecharizardauthorty,@gypsypony,
[img src=“https://i.imgur.com/gip7Vwf.jpg” src="" alt=" "]
This is the picture I was trying to post above.
@kingboo64,@chopkins1994,@thecharizardauthorty,@gypsypony,
I’m not certain if it makes any difference. The main determining factors seem to be the packaging and where the deck is placed within the box
From my experience vertical seal=no shadowless
Since this thread has developed quite a bit since it was created, and there are a lot of new videos on YT, I thought I would post an update with some new variants. I have so far found 10 variants (I gave Zap! its own entries since it has a black text and a blue text variant, while the text on the other theme decks seems to be static). DO NOT use this post to claim your box is shadowless when trying to sell it. The sample sizes on all of these is relatively small so there is no guarantee on any variant, though some do seem extremely likely.
I can update this post with pictures or additional details if anyone finds the variant descriptions confusing.
v1 - Has a gold seal strip around the top of the box
Shadowless: 3/3
Deck on top: 3/3
v2 - no seal strip, seal on side of box
shadowless: 2/2
Deck on top: 2/2
v3 - clear horizontal seal strip, no vertical seal on back, middle card on back picture in front, damage counters present in back picture - zap exclusive, black text
top deck shadowless: 1/2
bottom deck shadowless: 0/2
Deck on top: 2/4
v3.5 - same as v3, but zap deck has blue text
bottom deck shadowless: 0/1
Deck on top: 0/1
v4 - same as v3, but for all other theme decks with no text color change
top deck shadowless: 7/9
bottom deck shadowless: 0/12
Deck on top: 9/21
v5 - same as v4, but vertical seal present on back of box
top deck shadowless: 1/5
bottom deck shadowless: 0/3
Deck on top: 5/8
v6 - same as v4, but middle card on back picture behind other cards, no shelf hanger present
shadowless: 0/1
Deck on top: 1/1
v7 - same as v6, but middle card on back picture behind other cards, and shelf hanger is present
top deck shadowless: 0/1
bottom deck shadowless: 0/2
Deck on top: 1/3
v8 - same as v6, but with vertical seal on front and back
shadowless: 0/5
Deck on top: 0/5
v9 - same as v7, but with vertical seal on front and back
shadowless: 0/0
Deck on top: 0/0
v10 - damage counters not present in picture on back of box
shadowless: 0/8
Deck on top: 4/8
Notes: These results may be skewed by what people decide to post online
Since sample sizes on all of these are relatively low, I am not going to post percentages as variance is likely very high.
I only included results where I could verify which of the variations noted here the deck was from.
Since there were no openings I could verify with a shadowless deck on the bottom, I am grouping those results.
I included 2 of my own openings. I have not posted videos of them, but I can provide pictures if people would like. Neither were shadowless, one was v3, the other was v4.
Although I could not find many videos of gold strip deck openings, the consensus in the community seems to be that they are guaranteed shadowless. I have heard nothing to refute this, so while not a guarantee, it seems extremely likely that they are always shadowless
I was only able to find 2 openings of decks with different wrapping that has the seal on the side of the box. There does not seem to be the same consensus around this (I am not counting ebay sellers since there is a huge financial incentive to insist they are shadowless), so until we have more data, take the claim that they are also guaranteed shadowless with a grain of salt.
TCA Gaming / Rusty - If you see this, would you be able to elaborate on who you heard that this variant was guaranteed shadowless from and why you believe this is a credible claim other than 2 verified openings? If we can get more data on this, that would be fantastic.
If you have a data point to add to this, please do so. The more info we can gather, the better!
Conclusions:
Not enough data: v2, v3, v3.5, v6, v7, v8, v9
deck on bottom: almost certainly unlimited
v1: probably guaranteed shadowless (3/3 with community backing)
v4: high likelihood shadowless, no guarantee (7/9)
v5: very low likelihood shadowless, but possible (1/5)
v10: almost certainly unlimited (0/4)
Credit:
Chadtronic Games
TCA Gaming
Poke Giant
Fire Energy
2WiLD4TV
OrangeTango
smpratte
Red’s TCG Den
Spamland
Wartooth Collectibles
cadethian
flareon01
Four Ninja Toads
Myster P
Brantley Boys
Lootbox TV
Poke Mewsment
Retro Down Under
openingPokemonPacks
Arcanine16
Pokemon Boosters
ChrisRyanV
Rocky Top Collectibles
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I dont know for sure if that seal variant is guaranteed or not, but I have a few more coming in that I plan to open soon. Digging for the no damage ninetales still.
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Curious: why are y’all just looking at these variables in particular?
Awesome, good luck! Hope you’re able to pull one. I’ll keep an eye on your channel.
The variables noted in this thread seem to be fairly good indicators of whether or not a deck is shadowless. The ones that we suspect guarantee either shadowless or unlimited have so far held up. The ones in the middle either don’t have enough data to draw any conclusions, or skew heavily toward either shadowless or unlimited.
It is entirely possible that there are other variables which are better indicators of whether or not a deck is shadowless, and if you noticed anything that wasn’t covered here, it may end up being very helpful.
It may also be helpful to just try sorting on other combinations of variables. For example, I didn’t sort by deck name (Zap!, Overgrowth, Blackout, Brushfire), but it’s possible some theme decks have a higher shadowless chance than others. When I made the updated list, I did so under the assumption that the current model works, but it’s possible a different model would work better.
Sorry for the super long response, I hope that answers your question ^_^;
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Hey there (am newb only just found out about e4)
Opened my Zap! theme deck and it was shadowless.
-Clear horizontal strip
-10 damage counters
-Damage counters present above the cards at the back
-Deck top half
-Shelf hanger at top of deck
-Card in the middle (Pikachu) was behind and not in front.
Not sure if this helps but may as well put my findings in,
I also have a Blackout (unopened) that has the exact same signs as the above Zap! deck that I opened. Very tempted to open lol.
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Was it shadowless or unlimited?