With Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on the way, 2022 might be the last year for the Sword and Shield expansions, an era that has given us a lot of unique cards that will be cherished for years to come. So to honor the legacy of such a great era, we decided to formulate a list of our top 10 of our favorite Full Arts that Sword and Shield has produced so far, not the most valuable, not the best ones to grade, but simply the most underrated that we feel everyone should have in their collection.
10. Kingdra – 190/184 – CHR – Vmax Climax
Look at the power of Clair’s Kingdra! Blasting through the water, the colors, the autumn leaves, Clair clinging on for dear life! It has it all.
The artwork by Taira Akitsu featuring Clair, who of course had a Kingdra in every game she appeared in. This Full Art Secret print was later included in the Astral Radiance expansion.
9. Genesect V Alt Art – 109/100 – Fusion Arts
Genesect is one of the most underrated bugs in all of Pokemon; it has a super cool design, and its idea is also pretty interesting. Team Plasma revised a fossil Pokemon and enhanced it with new weapons; it doesn’t get much cooler.
In this alternate full art, the artist lets his imagination run wild. Genesect is often associated with dance music; it even learns an exclusive move called Techno Blast. So showing it grooving to some music is perfect. The card also features a Smeargle chilling in the back, because, why not?
8. Eevee Trainer Gallery – TG11/TG30 – Brilliant Stars
Eevee and it’s Eeveelutions remains one of the most popular Pokemon in both the games and the TCG, and how can you not love this one causing a mischief in Bill’s office. This artwork by Souichirou Gunjima featuring Bill is utterly glorious with tonnes of detail, was originally printed in the Japanese VMAX Climax subset. Also… people… this card is $3!!! I mean, come on!
7. Galarian Zapdos V Alt Art – 076/070 – Peerless Fighters
This card is truly something else; taking inspiration from the popular roadrunner cartoon it shows Zapodos running through a mountainous valley at breakneck speeds. The Galarian Zapdos, unlike its Kanto counterpart, doesn’t fly, but runs like an ostrich.
The artist clearly understood the assignment placing this Zapdos variants design front and center.
6. Parasect – 072/071 – CHR – Dark Phantasma
This card is awesome. The picture will never do it justice, with an unbelievably colorful holo that makes you realise what Pokemon Rainbow holos SHOULD look like. The Parasects are at home in the forest with a Ginkgo Guild merchant gathering in the background. The art style is beautiful, the composition is wonderful.
5. Oranguru – 212/184 CHR – Vmax Climax
I’m not sure what the illustrator was briefed or what he was taking but we want to see it and we want to try some. This Oranguru is so incredibly colorful and the Japanerse holo border is a real touch and set’s it all off. Again… disturbingly cheap right now on second hand marketplaces.
4. Golurk V Alt Art – 070/067 – Skyscraping Perfection
Golurk is a weird Pokemon; it never quite took off like other Pokemon it really is a love-hate relationship amongst the community. But, regardless of your opinion of this Pokemon, the alternate art card for Golurk is really something else and surely everyone can appreciate the big old Guardian.
Golurk were used to fortify ancient castles and are fiercely loyal to their owners. You can see this one working hard in this illustration, probably for their trainer, and really tells a story. If that wasn’t enough, the card also features Nickit and Swablu; seeing Pokemon interact with each other makes the illustration come alive and always end up being popular… in time. This is a definite one for the collection.
3. Snorlax – 077/071 – CHR – Dark Phantasma
This beautiful card of everyone’s favorite sleep boy was included as both a Regular card and this stunning Full Art CHR in the Japanese Dark Phantasma subset. The Full Art print features artwork by Kouki Saitou, whose first illustrations were featured in the Aquapolis expansion and he has continued to produce work for the TCG since creating artwork used on booster packs and merchandise sold through Pokémon Centers. Snorlax can be seen scoffing while his trainer, Kamado is featured in the Full Art print’s illustration, who uses a Snorlax in Pokémon Legends: Arceus the game being the main theme for a lot of the artwork for the CHR’s in Dark Phantasma.
P.S I’d like to make It known that this should be at number 1 and its an utter travesty that the rest of the team didn’t agree with me
2. Galarian Slowking V Alt Art – 080/070 – Peerless Fighters
The Galarian Slowking V Alternate Full Art is unlike anything else you’ll see in the TCG; the illustration makes it stand out. The Slowking from Galar is not a very popular Pokemon, to begin with, so to take that design, add a psychedelic-like aesthetic to it, and make it as unique as this one is truly remarkable.
1. Zekrom – 195/184 – CHR – Vmax Climax
There couldn’t be another card in our number one spot than this (besides Snorlax). Zekrom featuring N riding the Legendary pokemon soaring through the sky. With artwork by Akira Egawa, famous for his Pikachu V-Union card as well as the Chonky Pikachu Vmax used in the CoroCoro promo cards. The English version would later be included in the Brilliant Stars expansion complete with its yellow border (sigh). This card really has everyone at Mana pining for a Pokemon Anime that looks JUST. LIKE. THIS. since its first appearance in the Japanese VMAX Climax subset.
