What are some ways to make cards more rare? Or is that even needed? Serialized cards or adding autographs of voice actors or artists to sets? Right now the only limited cards are prize cards but what if it was incorporated into set cards?? What are your thoughts?
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I really dislike the idea of making cards out of packs artificially rare in that way. Iâm all for extremely rare artworks (SWSH alt arts for example) but serialization would suck. How would that work for reprints? If you have a 1 of 100 etc on the first wave, will subsequent reprints not have a chance at the serialized card?
I think autos on cards wouldnât hit with the majority of the hobby. People are typically very âin the weedsâ before they care about the artists in any way at all
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I agree that people are crazy enough in Pokemon without artificially creating higher levels of rarity. Maybe itâs just me, but it seems like doing that takes some of the fun away from collecting as it means some things will just instantly be unobtainable! Right now the system works well, because there are plenty of rare cards if thatâs your thing, but regular sets let demand drive print levels and even then no card is really ever going to be that rare.
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Same way they do everything else. Limited edition with alternate recolors and a unique sticker on the packaging for every rerelease.
But really, make X sheets of shiny recolors for every Y sheets of normal cards. Insert semi-randomly so they cant be mapped, solves the reprint and distribution issues since its still technically part of the print run, and boom built in rarity that will be quadruple alt art chase card values or more.
Or you could throw in a qr code or rfid chip for the pokemon cry sound effect that will tie in to Augmented Reality when they eventually get there. Different sound effects are rarer and you never know until the card is scanned while placed on a compatible playmat (playmat must be purchased separately). Collect all the sounds for each pokemon and only one card has this per booster box or something like that.
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Right now there are about 6 (?) different ´rare´ levels. I would make that three. I get that the oldschool holo´s aren´t the real chase cards anymore (a shame to me, but hey). But they can make all the ´higher´ cards (EX, Full art ect.) a double star rarity. Then, for your third rarity, create some very rare ´special´ cards. As in truly one in a hundred or so packs. These can be the alt arts that we have now, but I would make less of them.
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Agree with the shiny part. They already have a mechanic for rarer pokemon built into the existing game/universe. They could employ this in the TCG, and it wouldnât feel as forced as something like serialized cards.
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I dont see any good reason to make cards more rare. I think that they should be more common if anything. Does anyone really think that a 1/3000 pack card makes sense? Serialized cards have been talked about some here before. I am entirely against that idea. Keep it in mtg and sports, not pokemon.
I also think people get too focused on rarity and lose track of enjoying the cards for what they are. I cant imagine chasing rarity and rarity alone.
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Serialization is such a low effort / meh move that I hope it never shows up in the Pokemon TCG.
âYou wouldnât normally consider this card particularly desirable/rare/unique but now you should because we printed some extra numbers on itâ
Imo itâs a desperation move, and there are already enough existing levers in the TCG to manufacture rarity.
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I think the problem with shiny recolors is that it would deflate the regular ones if theyâre both in the same set and one is much rarer than the other.
The most realistic thing is probably that they just add another rarity thatâs close to the current highest rarity, and then go up incrementally as needed. Nothing drastic.
In a fantasy world? Gold stars were enough, more than enough. They should just pump out different tiers of trophy/prize/promo/whatever cards.
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I agree with the others, I donât think thereâs much need to add another layer of artificial rarity. Like @c0ll3ct0r and @ArcticLapras said (kinda) sometimes less is more: probably the presence of so many rarity layers is what makes things confusing; even if a card is indeed rare, they arenât perceived as that. Goldstars were a simple, perfectly balanced choice.
If they absolutely want to follow the serialized route (I hope they donât), they could just add a cool stamp on an already available set card. A âPokerusâ stamp maybe, why not lol
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For the record I would hate any kind of method that makes cards more rare. I collect for enjoyment, not value.
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The best & most thematic way to make a card rare would be to jetison it into space. 1 entire set, the entire print run. Just fwoomf. Right up there.
Or other similar inaccessible places, like a Heatran in a volcano.
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Eat them.
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Convince @tokyopokemon to burn his inventory.
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More rare, not crash the whole japanese bulk common market
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I donât like cards because they are rare. I need to enjoy the art or appreciate the story behind the cardâs development or distribution. I would not enjoy artificially rare set cards.
TPC/TPCi does a great job at creating enough product for players while maintaining a collector base with alternate arts, exclusive promos, trophies and attendance prizes, etc.
Sometimes I find that people who chase rare cards for the sake of it are needlessly concerned about the financial prospects of their collection or how others view the reproducibility of their collection. If you like the thrill of obtaining something rare, then thatâs awesome. But my advice would be to buy what you like and to not let clout, ego, or social media tell you to buy something because it is rare/scarce. We live in a time of FOMO and extreme self-comparison, so it can be difficult to remember why we collect what we collect.
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who hurt you?
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TPC is doing right by players and casual collectors with the current sets. There is more demand for good card art than there is for making cards more rare. Serialisation and other contrived rarity gimmicks never belong in them, leave that to non-tcg releases (Yu Nagaba match prints, etc)
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Wizards of the Coast
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