With its English counterpart already having been revealed the upcoming Japanese set, Ruler of the Black Flame, has finally been officially revealed. It's very odd for a Japanese set to receive its announcement after its international version, but with all the talk and news surrounding the Pokemon 151 set, it may have been bound to happen. Regardless, we've now finally had this set revealed to us, and it certainly does live up to the expectations many fans have expressed about it.
Releasing in Japan on July 28th, Ruler of the Black Flame will contain a total of 108 cards before the inclusion of secret rares. This set, as we previously mentioned in an earlier article, will contain the first type-shifted tera Pokemon in the Scarlet and Violet TCG series; the Pokemon which will be making use of this feature include a dark type Charizard, an Electric type Tyranitar, and a fire type Eiscue.
What might be overlooked by many collectors, but almost immediately noticed by TCG players, is the fact that the type shifted tera Pokemon retain their original energy typings despite being a different type. This means that decks could potentially contain Pokemon with vastly different typings now, and continue to make use of the rest of the deck's energy costs. How this will effect competitive play, no one will know until Obsidian Flame and Ruler of the Black Flame are released and become tournament legal.
These type-shifted tera cards are very reminiscent of their non-official predecessors, the delta series cards all the way from the Ruby and Sapphire era. Two decades ago, Pokemon introduced delta species Pokemon into the mix; these were Pokemon whose typing did not match their natural typing. These cards, unlike the new tera cards we are looking at now, had their energy costs correlate with their new typing, and not whatever their original typing was. Perhaps some players may find use in looking at old logs of previously used decks from back in the day, and make use of some strategies which are much more unique.
Whether you fall into the category of a Pokemon TCG fan excited for brand new cards to collect, a Charizard enthusiast ready to drop several grand on a single card, or a competitive player ready to shake up the meta game, Ruler of the Black flame certainly has something for everyone. With only about a month left until these cards fall into collection binders and deck boxes, our anticipation can only continue to grow from here!
