The newest Pokémon TCG expansion, Sword & Shield—Battle Styles, has officially been released today, and fitting the name of the expansion, this set introduces a new Battle Styles mechanic themed around the Isle of Armor and Urshifu’s two forms — the Single Style Style and the Rapid Strike Style.
There are 60 “Battle Style” cards in the set which play off of these two styles and certain cards affect either Single Strike Style or Rapid Strike Style cards, leading to a few different strategies.
My friends at Pokémon sent me a booster box and an Elite Trainer Box to unbox, which you can find over on my YouTube channel if you’re interested in seeing my thoughts and impressions of some of the cards, along with what you get in the Elite Trainer Box.
Otherwise, here’s a look at some of the press images for the set, showing the different products (booster packs, Elite Trainer Boxes, etc.) and some key cards from the set:
Booster Packs
Elite Trainer Boxes
Unlike most expansion sets, there are actually two different Elite Trainer Boxes in this set. They each contain 8 Booster Packs, 45 basic Energy cards, 65 card sleeves, a Player’s Guide showing all of the cards in the set, damage counter dice, and acrylic special condition markers.
However, the difference between these two is the color and artwork on the contents such as the box, card sleeves, and Player’s Guide, with the interior reflecting what is shown on the exterior — the blue Elite Trainer Box features Gigantamax Rapid Strike Urshifu and a blue color scheme while the red Elite Trainer Box features Gigantamax Single Strike Urshifu and a red color scheme for its contents instead.
A Few Cards in the Set
You can take a look at even more of the cards in the set over on the official website’s gallery for Sword & Shield—Battle Styles. Note that it does not showcase any of the “Secret Rare” cards — there are an additional 20 Rainbow Rare or Secret Rare cards that go beyond the 163 cards listed in the main set.