The Coolest Pokémon: Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike Cards We Pulled From Booster Packs

Earlier this month, the Pokémon Trading Card Game released its special Celebrations expansion to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise as a whole. While that limited expansion was focused squarely on the past, the world of Pokémon TCG pushes ahead with its newest expansion, Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike.

Earlier this year, The Pokémon Company released its Sword & Shield – Battle Styles expansion, which introduced a new mechanic that allows players to use special variants of Pokémon to either deliver a knockout blow or approach battles more strategically. This latest expansion, Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike, expands on that mechanic with new Fusion Strike cards that typically gain bonuses when other Pokémon with Fusion Strike are in play. The idea is to let players create synergies between their Pokémon through Fusion Strike Style decks.

The Fusion Strike expansion adds 20 Pokémon V, 13 full-art Pokémon V cards, and 8 Pokémon VMAX cards, including a few really awesome Mew cards. In addition, players can collect 20 new Trainer cards, plus 7 full-art Supporter cards and 1 special Energy card. 

The Pokémon Company sent us a ton of booster packs, which we cracked open. I noticed a definite emphasis on Gen I Pokémon when it came to standard cards, but as I look at the VMAX and full-art cards I pulled, the distribution across the generations feels pretty even. As much as I loved the standard Lapras, Snorlax, and Arcanine cards I pulled out of the packs (none of which are included in the gallery below), most of the full-art cards I pulled were not from Gen I.

You can see my favorite cards I pulled from the newest expansion below.

The Pokémon Trading Card Game: Sword & Shield – Fusion Strike expansion is available November 12. For all things Pokémon Trading Card Game, head to our special hub by clicking on the banner below!