On Nov. 14, the world will recieve the best Pokémon TCG beatdown from Phantasmal Flames, the first expansion for the recently released Mega Evolution era of Pokémon. Now that Pokémon Legends: Z-A has dropped on Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, it makes Phantasmal Flames that bit more special, too. Having a Mega Charizard X and Mega Gengar in-game then pulling their ex cards just adds a boatload of fun. It does for me, anyway.
I'm not going to give you a dry review that tells you how pretty some of these cards are and why you should buy it. I've got pull rates based off what I've pulled from advanced samples from The Pokémon Company, and some of the best deck build ideas using cards only from Phantasmal Flames and Mega Evolution. So let's get into it, if you have the mega stones for it?
What's new in Phantasmal Flames?
With Mega Evolution introducing the new gameplay mechanic of the same name, this expansion doesn't represent a massive shake up, but more of the same awesome Pokémon. Mega Charizard X is front and center for this set and comes in standard ex, Alt Art ex, Secret Art Rare, and Gold Hyper Rare.
Other highlights from a gameplay perspective include Mega Gengar ex, Reshiram, Mega Sharpedo ex, and Toxtricity. But more on why later. All in all it's a great set for players to get stuck into, especially with new trainer cards such as Fire Breather to start stacking fire energies and Dawn for evolution deck searches.
Which products are releasing for Phantasmal Flames and how to get them
There's a good lineup of sealed product for Phantasmal Flames right now, but it's still a challenge grabbing preorders from big box retailers and local stores. If you want to go over MSRP and into the realm of market value, TCGplayer is a great way to get the right price without paying over the odds. Here's what's available right now:
The good news is with this review, I've managed to open most of these products so I can give you a proper insight into what buying a bunch of sealed product gets you. Everything bar the Mega Charizard X UPC, Pokémon Center ETB, and the sleeved boosters have been opened by yours truly.
My favorite pulls and pull rates from Phantasmal Flames
That means I've opened 54 booster packs across Phantasmal Flames sealed product samples, and I pulled six Illustration Rares, 12 standard exs, two Full Art exs, one Full Art Trainer, and one Secret Art Rare. Here's the pull rates I got with my spread:
Double Rares (ex): 22.2% chance (1 in every 4.5 packs)
Ultra Rares (Full Arts): 3.70% chance (1 in every 27 packs)
Illustration Rares: 11.1% chance (1 in every 9 packs)
Special Illustration Rares: 1.85% chance (1 in every 54 packs)
Here's my favorite chase cards from Phantasmal Flames, none of which I actually pulled from my samples, but product I'll be buying as single cards or tracking as the new Mega Evolution expansion releases:
Something to note is that I came across quite a few doubles of standard ex cards. Three Mega Charizard X ex's in one sitting is fantastic if you wanted to build a new Zard deck, but quite frustrating for collectors. The same happened with Mega Sharpedo ex, Mismagius ex, and Ludicolo Illustration Rare.
I'm not complaining, they all make for good entries in my trade binder, but when you're spending decent money on sealed product it's nice to have more variation. This is a small set, so perhaps this is just how it's going to be for anyone ripping open 50+ boosters in one sitting?
My favorite deck strategies
For me, the stars of Phantasmal Flames are Mega Charizard X ex and Mega Gengar ex, so I had a good think about the best decks I could make for them just from Phantasmal Flames and Mega Evolution cards. Here's what I came up with:
Mega Charizard X ex build
This deck is all focused around building up Mega Charizard X ex quickly and one hit KOs, which is pretty standard for a Zard deck. Moltres and Reshiram are going to do the heavy lifting whilst you bench Charmander and evolve up to Mega Charizard X ex via Rare Candy or Charmeleon.
The Battle Colloseum protects the bench, so there's added protection against opponents trying to knock out Charmander or Charmeleon early. In the meantime, use Oricorio ex and Firebreather to build up Fire Energy quickly on Charizard, using its Inferno X move and discarding three to four fire energy for those beautiful instant knock outs.
Here's where to buy all of these cards:
Pokémon (17)
2 × Oricorio ex (Phantasmal Flames #018) — energy acceleration engine
1 × Reshiram (Phantasmal Flames #017) — big basic hitter
2 × Moltres (Phantasmal Flames #014) — early-game pressure vs. ex
2 × Litleo (Mega Evolutions #023) — backup attacker or filler
1 × Pyroar (Mega Evolutions #024) — pairs with Litleo
Trainers and Energy (43)
3 × Firebreather (Phantasmal Flames #087) — grab Fire energy
3 × Dawn (Phantasmal Flames #086) — evolution search
2 × Heat Burner (Phantasmal Flames #089) — utility removal
2 × Jumbo Ice (Phantasmal Flames #090) — healing support
2 × Sacred Charm (Phantasmal Flames #092) — tanking support
2 × Battle Colosseum (Phantasmal Flames #085) — protect bench
2 × Dizzying Valley (Phantasmal Flames #093) — disruption
2 × Rare Candy (Mega Evolutions #125) — evolve faster to Mega Charizard X ex
2 × Switch (Mega Evolutions #130) — mobility
2 × Ultra Ball (Mega Evolutions #131) — search
2 × Wally’s Compassion (Mega Evolutions #132) — support recovery
14 × Basic Fire Energy
Mega Gengar ex build
The aim with this deck is to reduce the amount of prize cards opponents take thanks to Mega Gengars Shadowy Concealment ability, then using Mega Sharpedo ex's Hungry Jaw attack after it takes damage for a massive 270 damage. Toxtricity is perfect for this strategy as it accelerates Dark energy to benched Pokémon whilst damaging them.
Mystery Garden allows trainers to discard one darkness energy to draw cards equal to the amount on the bench, which is a great way to get the cards needed quickly. Punk Helmet deals 4 damage counters onto an opponents Pokémon whilst attacking and Sacred Charm negates 30 damage from any Pokémon with an ability.
Here's where to buy all of these cards:
Pokémon (18)
3 × Mega Gengar ex (Phantasmal Flames #056) — prize control and hard hitter
2 × Mega Sharpedo ex (Phantasmal Flames #061) — aggressive backup attacker
2 × Toxtricity (Phantasmal Flames #068) — Dark energy acceleration
1 × Spiritomb (Mega Evolutions #087) — early game defense vs. abilities
1 × Sableye (Phantasmal Flames #059) — tech attacker
Trainers and Energy (42)
3 × Grimsley’s Move (Phantasmal Flames #088) — Dark-type Pokémon search
3 × Dawn (Phantasmal Flames #086) — evolution search
2 × Heat Burner (Phantasmal Flames #089) — utility removal
2 × Punk Helmet (Phantasmal Flames #091) — punish attacks vs. Gengar or Sharpedo
2 × Sacred Charm (Phantasmal Flames #092) — damage reduction
2 × Dizzying Valley (Phantasmal Flames #093) — confusion lock synergy with Gengar
2 × Mystery Garden (Mega Evolutions #122) — Quickly pull cards you need once bench is full
3 × Ultra Ball (Mega Evolutions #131) — search
2 × Switch (Mega Evolutions #130) — mobility
2 × Rare Candy (Mega Evolutions #125) — evolve faster to Mega Gengar ex
2 × Lt. Surge’s Bargain (Mega Evolutions #120) — multi-supporter plays
Should you get Pokémon TCG: Phantasmal Flames?
If you're into the Mega Evolution mechanic and want to build on your Mega Evolution decks, it's 100% worth it. The cards all look beautiful, with a special shout out to the SIRs and IRs of Phantasmal Flames, but collectors might get a bit frustratred with how many doubles and triples they end up pulling of lower end cards. Of course it is a smaller set with more chance of pulling doubles, but it's stopping players and collectors getting more cards. Make of that what you will, but there's plenty of fun to be had with Phantasmal Flames.