For years, purchasingPokemon TCGbooster packs has meant taking advantage of a nifty perk: a guaranteed code for digital cards withinPokemon TCG Live. That live-service smartphone app, which predates themassively successfulPokemon TCG Pocketbut nevertheless continues to captivate plenty of players, has rewarded folks handsomely through this mainstay incentive.
Just in time to tie in withPokemon Legends: Z-A, the trading card game’s upcoming set, the appropriately-titled Mega Evolution,is poised to bring back the mechanic after a nine-year absence. That’s grounds for hype. On the flip side, however, Mega Evolution will be shifting the way its booster packs work in a way that’s ruffling Taillow feathers among card-playing enthusiasts everywhere.
Another Valuable Lesson In Reading The Fine Print
Pokemon Trading Card Game fans have spotted something dubious tucked into some notably smaller text on Mega Evolution’s official description page.We first caught wind of it on Reddit, and it’s altering the odds of a redeemable Pokemon TCG Live code in every booster pack. Which is to say, until Mega Evolution, the odds are100 percent. After the set drops on September 26, it’s dwindling to 50 percent.
What happened? Basic Energy. That’s what happened.
“Each Pokemon TCG: Mega Evolution booster pack contains 10 cards and either 1 Basic Energy or 1 Pokemon TCG Live code card.”
There it is. Basic Energy isa requirement for playing Pokemon TCG, but it’s something that most players will already possess when they start pulling open booster packs. I’ve never seen anybody, anywhere, jump for joy because they just nabbed their hundredth Fighting Energy. Tossing one in 50 percent of the time isn’t the problem here; replacing a TCG Live code half the time, on the other hand, is a real bummer.
If there’s a silver lining, it’s more of an innate caveat: if you don’t play Pokemon TCG Live, you’re probably not going to care. Online code reselling does exist, but unless you have an unspeakably high number of these things, you’re unlikely to turn anything remotely resembling a profit.
All of this hinges on the chance that you’ll even be able to grab a bunch of Mega Evolution booster packs at launch, though. Predictably,scalpers are out in full force.
