Pokemon TCG Ascended Heroes - Hands-On Preview

1 week ago 3

Published Feb 5, 2026, 5:57 AM EST

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The Pokemon Trading Card Game's Mega Evolution era is off to a stellar start. I had the chance to get hands-on ahead of the launches of both the inaugural Mega Evolutions set and its follow-up, Phantasmal Flames, and I was kind of enamored by both. Naturally, when the opportunity to get some Ascended Heroes products ahead of launch arose, I jumped.

I've now rabidly ripped open those products, and I'm confident in saying that this is probably the best set since Evolving Skies, and I didn't even pull anything that special.

Why Is Pokemon TCG Ascended Heroes So Good?

Pokémon TCG_ Mega Evolution—Ascended Heroes key art.

I don't play the Pokemon TCG; I'm just an avid collector and have been for years, so I can't speak to the playability of any of Ascended Heroes' newly released cards. What I can speak for, though, is just how nice these newly released cards are. And they are nice.

The set features 22 special illustration rares, and given how nice they are, I'd honestly have been happy to have pulled all but one (the Surfer card). I did manage to pull one, which I'll reveal later, but the selection is almost unparalleled.

Pokemon TCG Prismatic Evolutions - Hands-On Preview

Despite some rough pulls, Prismatic Evolutions is a surefire hit.

Pokemon Legends: Z-A's starters get their first SIRs, introducing their new mega forms with an incredibly vibrant trio of cards, and a pair of Pikachus, Lillie's Clefairy, Team Rocket's Mewtwo, Mega Gengar, and even the much-maligned Mega Dragonite each have stunning entries. You know a set is good when I'm even fawning over a Fezendipiti card.

It's not only the SIRs that are great, either. There are stunning illustration rares featuring the likes of Psyduck, Tangela, and Weavile, and, contrary to popular opinion, I'm a fan of the new Mega full arts, with the Japanese text scrawled across them. This set has the juice.

So, What Did I Pull?

The Pokemon Company was kind enough to send me the following products:

Mega Evolution—Ascended Heroes Tech Sticker Collection
Mega Evolution—Ascended Heroes Elite Trainer Box
Mega Evolution—Ascended Heroes Collection—Erika/Larry
Mega Evolution—Ascended Heroes Mini Tin
Mega Evolution—Ascended Heroes Premium Poster Collection
Mega Evolution—Ascended Heroes First Partners Deluxe Pin Collection
Mega Evolution—Ascended Heroes Booster Bundle

This equated to 36 packs, the same as a booster box, which, given this set doesn't have any, is a good sample size. My pulls were almost exactly what you'd expect from a booster box.

Alongside a handful of ex cards, I got three illustration rares, a full art trainer, a full art item card, and an SIR, Iris's Fighting Spirit.

While I was a little sad not to get a SIR Pokemon, Iris's Fighting Spirit is one of the coolest Trainer cards in some time, so I was happy with my pulls. It continues a good SIR-pulling streak after going four review samples without one.

You Say It's Not Perfect, Why Is That?

Pokémon TCG_ Mega Evolution—Ascended Heroes _ emboar, meganium, and feraligatr ex.

I've given up master setting Pokemon TCG expansions now. I'm the proud owner of master sets for every expansion from Evolving Skies through to Lost Origin, plus Scarlet and Violet base and Obsidian Flames, but it's just way too much now, and Ascended Heroes epitomizes this.

I've long bemoaned set sizes of the Pokemon TCG. Phantasmal Flames was a reasonable 214 cards, but outside of that, every modern set seems to be 300 cards or more, which is a lot of effort to collect. Ascended Heroes laughs in the face of the measly 300-card expansions, too.

To complete the set, you'll need to find around 613 different cards, which isn't helped by the fact that there are two different reverse holo patterns for each card. In my experience, nobody gets excited about these different reverse holos, and if I'm being real, it seems like a way for The Pokemon Company to artificially inflate each set, forcing collectors to buy more cards. It kinda sucks. It also dilutes the set, making it seemingly harder to pull the "good" cards.

Early estimates put the completion cost of Ascended Heroes at around $10,000, and while that has come down, it's still a lot of money.

That aside, though, Ascended Heroes, for me, goes down as an all-timer. It has some of the best art created in Pokemon TCG history, and I had a blast getting through my packs.