Triumphant Light is bringing a fresh twist to the Pokemon TCG Pocket’s meta landscape. This new set is brimming with rare cards that work beautifully with Arceus, providing exciting new opportunities for deckbuilding enthusiasts of all skill levels. However, a tweak in how pack points work could significantly enhance the game. Currently, there’s a need for more accessible Ex cards across different sets, a change that many players are eagerly hoping for.
After just four months in the market, Pokemon TCG Pocket has already unveiled its fourth set, Triumphant Light, which cleverly complements the Space-Time Smackdown set, drawing inspiration from Gen 4 Pokemon. While Triumphant Light isn’t the largest collection, it’s packed with cards that naturally align with Arceus and Arceus Ex. This creates a superb environment for deckbuilding, catering well to both novices and seasoned players. Yet, with four sets available, some original decisions—like those linked to the expansion packs—might benefit from a reevaluation.
Since Pokemon TCG Pocket is still in its early days, changes are bound to happen. Yet, the longer some mechanics remain, the harder they are to alter. For instance, while solo battle events might remain untouched due to their established mechanics with stamina and promo-card-only packs, there’s definite room for improvement in managing pack points, especially in smaller sets such as Triumphant Light and Mythical Island.
In Pokemon TCG Pocket, players earn five pack points per opened booster pack, excluding special event boosters like the Genetic Apex packs filled with guaranteed rares. This system works for massive sets like Genetic Apex, but applies uniformly across all set sizes. For example, getting a single Ex card takes a whopping 500 pack points, translating to the cost of opening 100 booster packs, which is quite steep for smaller sets that might not even need that many packs to fully explore.
Given that these pack points aren’t transferable, players often end up with leftover points restricted to the specific set they were earned from. To address this, the game could go one of two routes:
1. Adjust pack point earnings or costs based on a set’s size—perhaps awarding 10 points per pack for small sets like Triumphant Light, or requiring 250-300 points for an Ex card.
2. Allow points accrued from booster packs to be pooled at an account level, usable across different sets, albeit with some purchase restrictions when new sets debut.
The first option offers a dynamic flexibility matching each set’s scale, enhancing the ease of acquiring desired cards for deck completion. Conversely, the second proposal would streamline point usage for maximum efficiency, although it might come with wait times akin to current trading restrictions when new cards are launched.
The necessity to modify pack points becomes more apparent with Triumphant Light and Mythical Island sets, which highlight the challenges of set-specific points against collections with fewer than 100 cards. Players find themselves struggling to save points for critical deck additions like Ex cards, as acquiring these can feel unattainable. While it’s reasonable to have higher costs for cosmetic enhancements such as Crowned rares, the core mechanic-enhancing Ex cards need to be easier to obtain to maintain player engagement and flexibility in deck customization.
