The release of the Pokémon Trading Card Game's new Delta Reign set is imminent, which means that collectors everywhere will soon start opening Elite Trainer Boxes and Booster Bundles. The Rayquaza-themed set and its chase cards are great. New mechanics like the Legendary Stadiums could shake up competitive play. Some cards, like Tayu's embroidered Pokémon card, make the set feel slightly more experimental.

There's nothing wrong with the set. In any other scenario, Delta Reign would be a highlight of a busy TCG release year. Unfortunately, Pokémon's new TCG set is dropping after one of The Pokémon Company's best — if not the best — set releases ever.

How do you compete with a set like 30th Anniversary, where every single card is a holofoil? What could possibly match up with a release where the hits are so constant, they start to rot people's brains? Over the last few months, I've watched incredulously as people shared what would normally be extraordinary pulls with nothing but complaints. Sure, the disgruntled collector got two copies of Gengar, a Mew, a Jirachi, and the Classic Collection's Tag Team card in just a couple of boxes. But they watched someone else get three Future Rare Mewtwo cards, a Charizard, and a Lugia. Now their daughter is crying because she thinks they both got cheated out of a better experience.

No joke — that was a real anecdote I read from a local Pokémon group in Minneapolis. While that's an extreme reaction, I empathize a little more after Delta Reign.

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