Futuristic Rares means more Pokémon cards to chase, but is it too much?
Futuristic Rares are giving collectors more Pokémon TCG chases with the 30th Celebration set, making everything feel less special.
Futuristic Rares should be an exciting tier of Pokémon cards to collect. They’re flashy, eye-catching cards that anyone lucky enough to open packs of Pokémon 30th Celebration would love to pull. However, as stock continues to dwindle, my first thought wasn’t “I need that”, it was “oh no, another rarity”.
Admittedly, I don’t think the Pokémon TCG has ever been in a stronger position following the Scarlet & Violet era. Illustration Rares and the more elusive Special Illustration Rares make up the bulk of every collector's dream cards to collect. It was simple, neat even, and things made sense.
Then Mega Hyper Rares came along.
Before, SIRs were the pinnacle of each Pokémon set, delivering the most exciting and important card you could own. Mega Evolutions changed that hierarchy, introducing the all-gold and harder to pull Mega Hyper Rares. Suddenly, the hierarchy wasn’t quite as clear anymore.
So, with the upcoming 30th Celebration set adding another rarity in the form of the Futuristic Rares, you can see the issue. With the anniversary expansion set to be one of most sought-after modern sets, another rarity doesn’t feel as exciting as it should; it just feels like another uphill battle for those not finding stockpile workarounds in order to secure hundreds of packs at launch.
The issue isn’t that Futuristic Rares or Mega Hyper Rares are difficult to pull. Chase cards are supposed to be hard to get out of packs. The problem is that they’re arriving during a period where many of us are already struggling to buy products in the first place. Every new rarity adds another card to the wishlist, but stock shortages mean many collectors like you or I never get the opportunity to chase them through opening packs. Instead, they’re forced to watch from the sidelines or pay inflated secondary market prices.
Another rarity tier also makes every chase feel a little less special. As more premium cards are added to each expansion, the waters become increasingly muddied. What should feel exciting starts to feel exhausting. If you’re like me, you’d prefer an SIR any day of the week, so pulling an MHR or a Futuristic Rarity isn’t fun - it’s just an “oh, that’s cool” moment before trying your luck again.
If anything, the recent years before the Mega Evolutions era proved that Pokémon didn’t need to touch the formula. SIRs deliver some of the most breathtaking pieces of art in the entire TCG, and they’re still the most desirable chases in my eyes. Futuristic Rares and MHRs are still awesome, don’t get me wrong, but they don’t hold a Litwick to what an impressive SIR can offer.
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