Emerging Powers Review

Hey guys! It's LuxrayMogul here to more or less rant about the new expansion that was released today - Black & White - Emerging Powers. Yes, the name sounds pretty cool, but I guess this expansion is more of a... collector's expansion than a competitive one. Most of the cards are not too appealing to competitive players. The full art Thundorus and Tornadus is great for collectors, but their attacks definitely aren't that good compared to cards from previous expansions.

The main hype? Well, I think there are mostly two cards from this expansion that is pretty much the only "hype" you would say; and probably one of the only reasons why someone would buy boosters from this expansion in the first place. The first one is Pokémon Catcher (Emerging Powers 95). This has the same effect as a pretty old card, Gust of Wind (Base Set 93), a similar effect to the more recent reprinted card, Pokémon Reversal (HGSS 99) [without the coin flip], and a similar effect to Pokémon Circulator (Unleashed 81) [opponent's choice, not yours]. This gives you the power to switch your opponent's Active Pokémon with a Benched, which can quickly give you a victory - perhaps this aspect adds to its popularity and demand. Definitely watch out for Catchers in the upcoming tournaments.

The second card hype, Beartic (Emerging Powers 30), is also a big hype, and also a nightmare to play against. I'm not going to do a review here, because that'll be saved for PikaCirculator's later reviews ;D But its staggering 130 HP for a Stage 1 and its deadly attack Sheer Cold builds to its popularity - although it only does a mere 50 damage, its additional effect prevents the defending Pokémon from attacking - which forces them to wait out a turn, or retreat to another Pokémon to do the attack. Definitely expect to see this Beartic in upcoming tournaments for sure.

Another new change in this expansion is the feature of energy symbols in the holographic design of the reverse holos - reverse holos in this set feature a holo design that includes a repeating pattern of that Pokémon's energy symbol on the card. If it's a Trainer, Supporter or (yet to be released) Stadium, the reverse holo features a background of Pokéballs instead. This is also great collector items and will definitely add to the popularity of this expansion.

But overall, the cards are not too great; the expansion only features a few good cards. The holographic treatment adds to its grading. I'll grade this expansion a probably-too-generous rating of 2.5/5.

Let's all look forward to Noble Victories coming out November! It will feature Japan's Red Collection cards, which should be more appealing in regards to competitiveness. So, this is LuxrayMogul signing off this first expansion review. Regular card reviews will be coming back this Sunday - however, because of the upcoming school workload, the Card of the Day Review will now, unfortunately be a Card of the Week Review. But nevertheless, stay tuned, and don't forget to check out our latest video on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9ONLR1zgdg