Pokemon TCG Pocket's Breakneck Expansion Releases Are Stressing Me Out
Pokemon TCG Pocket's next Alola-themed set is releasing on May 29. Extradimensional Crisis is a sister expansion to the recent Celestial Guardians set -- and it's introducing the wacky and weird Ultra Beasts to the game.
Every Pokemon from another dimension now has a special Ultra Beast tag displayed just under its health point total. And certain Pokemon abilities and Trainer cards from the new set will only work on cards with this tag. While there are always new cards that shake up the metagame, this expansion looks ike it will largely introduce cards that play well with others in the set.
Extradimensional Crisis is one of TCG Pocket's smaller base set expansions. These companion sets are often released a month or so after a big expansion. Mythical Island released after the massive Genetic Apex launch set, and Triumphant Light was the supplement to Space-Time Showdown.
Normally, I'd love to rip into packs in order to hunt more than 100 new base set cards being added to the game. Buzzwole, Nihilego and Guzzlord are some of my favorite monsters from the seventh-gen Pokemon games and the art for their cards is gorgeous.
This time around, I'm just not able to get as excited about the new drop.
The Ultra Beasts are getting their first base set cards -- and some flashy full art alternatives.
DeNA/Screenshot by CNET
Pokemon TCG Pocket is releasing expansions too quickly for me
I've played Pokemon TCG Pocket every day since launch. With few exceptions, I've opened both of my free daily packs -- even if I have to stay up past my usual bedtime to do so. Ripping these suckers open has become a part of my daily routine, and I've been largely content to do so (even when I pull five common base set dupes).
But these expansions are getting a little out of hand now. For most games, having too much content is a good problem to have, but struggling to keep up with a collectible game saps the fun. Extradimensional Crisis will be the seventh set released in the game over the course of eight months. Despite my diligence, I've only completed a single base set -- Shining Revelry -- and I've never completed a master set with all of the full art cards and shiny Pokemon.
To be clear, I don't expect to be able to keep up with every expansion in the game. I don't even want to collect all of the secret cards -- I just want to put together the base sets. I'm a fully free-to-play TCG Pocket gamer, and developer DeNA Games needs to make money to keep the app running. New releases grease peoples' palms and keep the money flowing.
I was lucky enough to pull the shiny Charizard full art card from Shining Revelry -- moments like that are what keep me hooked on TCG Pocket.
DeNA/Screenshot by CNET
Even still, these releases have been dropping at such breakneck speeds that I don't feel like I can return to past sets to finish collecting the cards I'm missing. It's disheartening to complete the majority of an expansion and then leave it behind with so many gaps.
This sentiment seems to be shared among at least some parts of the Pokemon TCG Pocket community. It's probably not a great sign when a contingent of the top comments on the YouTube video of your next big reveal are asking you to stop revealing things.
"Crisis? [The only] crisis is the one I'm having with so few hourglasses," said one commenter.
Another person put things more plainly: "Honestly, I'd prefer if they'd slow the rollout of the expansions a little bit. Let the sets take hold for a few months and then drop bigger, higher quality sets."
The joking hides real frustration, as many free players haven't been able to complete the game's full base sets. I'm not asking for these releases to be spaced out too far apart, but a single month between expansions is starting to feel untenable. Double the downtime between sets and let people breathe -- and maybe I'll finally be able to finish up Genetic Apex.
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