Image via DeNA and The Pokémon Company
Though I will forever love ripping a pack of physical cards, I have to admit, I’m a little bit obsessed with Pokémon TCG Pocket. I live in a very small house, which means my space for physical collectibles is limited. Yes, cards don’t take up that much space. But even so, sometimes it’s nice to enjoy some stunning Pokémon artwork without adding to the mounting stack of ETBs in my office. Though I’m not much of a PvP battler, my Pokémon TCG Pocket goal is to complete every collection. Naturally, that means I was pretty excited when the first Deluxe Pack was unveiled. In theory, it’s a great chance to fill in those rarer cards from prior sets in a series. In practice, the Deluxe Pack ex was a bit of a mess at launch. However, DeNA clearly learned from many of its biggest mistakes, making the recent Deluxe Pack MEGA release significantly more exciting.
My biggest complaint with the Deluxe Pack ex was simple: cards didn’t register in the original set dex when you pulled them from the Deluxe Pack. That basically erased the benefits of the release, as far as I was concerned. Thankfully, DeNA quickly fixed that particular issue. This alone made the release of Deluxe Pack MEGA more exciting for me personally. But after ripping over 70 packs from the limited-time digital expansion, I noticed some other notable improvements that make these far more fun to open than their predecessor. That’s not to say it’s a perfect concept, but it’s certainly much improved from round one.
Pokémon TCG Pocket Delivers A Superior Pack Opening Experience for its Deluxe Pack MEGA Release
Cards on the digital table, I did receive a helpful Poké Gold boost from DeNA and the Pokémon Company to support my coverage for this latest drop. That let me open far more packs from the Deluxe Pack MEGA release than I normally would have this soon after release. Though I do pay up for the Premium subscription for Pokémon TCG Pocket, I don’t typically otherwise spend money on the game. That means I’m well behind on completing Series B sets and struggling to get a few cards from as far back as Pulsing Aura. Naturally, I welcomed those boosted odds for the Pokémon ex I’m missing from the B Series.
The biggest improvement with Deluxe Pack MEGA is, obviously, that cards from prior sets automatically register in the dex for both the original booster and the new Deluxe Pack. This was my biggest issue with the Deluxe Pack ex drop, and it was lovely to go into this new limited set without that hang-up. But a few other little tweaks have made opening these packs much better. I like that when you swipe to add new cards to your Dex, a little pop-up on the side shows you which other pack Dex the card is registered to, if applicable. This scratches my “collect ’em all” dopamine sensors in a delightful way, and makes it much easier to keep track of how the Deluxe Pack is actually helping with your backlog.
I’m also a fan of the Parallel Foil Cards Mass Outbreak Wonder Pick event that launched alongside the new pack, which makes it a bit easier to snag the new variants. Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of the parallel foils, because they basically make it harder to pull the cards you’re trying to get from older sets by diluting the pool. But they are very shiny, and I do find it enjoyable to get them from those Rare Pick pop-ups. In general, there’s a lot about the launch of Deluxe Pack MEGA that really improves upon the concept since its first iteration. That said, I do still have some issues with these limited-time packs existing at all.
At The End of the Day, Deluxe Packs Do Still Add to the FOMO, Not Fix It
Games like Pokémon TCG Pocket inherently rely on a sense of scarcity. You’re trying to collect every card, which means that a limited-time release like the Deluxe Pack creates a FOMO problem. While every prior booster from the A Series and B Series are still available to pull from (for now), the Deluxe Packs are different. They’re only available for a limited time, which encourages you to pay up to open more packs during that window. This wouldn’t be too bad if it was just boosted odds on those older ex cards for your collection. But with the addition of alternate arts and parallel foils, the Deluxe Pack becomes just another set you need to complete. And that’s my biggest issue with the concept.
I get it, games like this need to encourage players to spend money somehow. A free-to-play game has to justify its operation costs somehow. But it’s already hard enough to keep up on completing the standard packs without the arbitrary time limit that comes with the Deluxe Pack model. My poor Deluxe Pack ex dex is horribly incomplete, even if I’ve filled the standard dex for every other Series A release. As such, I’m all the more frustrated that it may not return again now that we have a newer Deluxe Pack on the market.
I’m not necessarily saying the Deluxe Pack shouldn’t exist. And I do like some of the alternate arts quite a bit, as they make the pack feel less like a straightforward rerun. Even so, I do wish it didn’t feel quite so much like an impossible task, rather than a helpful final boost to complete one series before the next begins.
The Deluxe Pack MEGA will be available until October 28th at 8:59 PM ET. If previous patterns continue, it should return a few more times before we get the Series C rendition of the Deluxe Pack, so try not to let the FOMO hit you too hard for this first round.
**Bonus Action received a one-time bundle of gifted Poké Gold for Pokemon TCG Pocket to support coverage.**
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