Pokemon TCG: The Best Stellar Crown Cards

The latest Pokemon TCG set, Stellar Crown, brings the world of The Indigo Disk to cardboard, so what are the best cards to pick up? The expansion offers different options for different audiences.

The coolest Pokemon TCG Stellar Crown cards

Would you believe it if we said the Illustrator Rares are cool again? We say that almost every time, but hey, it’s still true. The art takes aesthetic risks that seem to be too much for The Pokemon Company on its standard-issue versions, and we love to see that. This time, we in particular like the high-wattage look of Zeraora, Joltik and Galvantula, as well as Gulpin eatin’ a whole cake.

In terms of gameplay, we really like the new Raging Bolt card. One-prize attackers really shine when they have no ceiling, stacking damage with each additional energy until they can take out the biggest foes. Its Thunderburst Storm attack lets you target that damage anywhere you want, chipping away at supporters and damaged retreaters as much as you’d like. (Also the art looks rad.)

The most interesting Stellar Crown cards

We’re intrigued by Kofu, a new card-draw Trainer. The effect is simple enough: put two cards from your hand onto the bottom of your deck, then draw four. It trades the third card draw of a standard friend supporter for filtering to find what you want! But what makes it most interesting is that there’s a power referencing it. Food Prep, found on Veluza and Crabominable, decreases attack cost by one for each Kofu in the discard. Veluza in particular is most intriguing, since it’s a Basic and could theoretically just attack for 110 damage for free!

Stadium card Area Zero Underdepths was clearly built with Terapagos ex in mind, but could have wider implications too. It expands the bench to 8 as long as you have a Tera in play, allowing for extra bench-multiplied damage for attacks like Unified Beatdown but also giving you room to play a bunch of support effects. Terapagos in particular might want to use that space for Bouffalant, which shields 60 damage from colorless Basics if you have two in play.

The most meta-relevant Stellar Crown cards

New supporter Crispin really only works in dual-energy setups, but it offers both energy search and acceleration and could be a staple in a lot of decks. It lets you search for two different Basic Energy cards, putting one in your hand and one on a Pokemon.

Running any ACE SPEC card is generally better than running none at all, but Stellar Crown introduces a few more options to let you find the best for your build. Deluxe Bomb puts 12 damage counters on an attacking foe once, useful both as damage and deterrent. Sparkling Crystal makes a Tera Pokemon’s attacks cost one energy of any type less, which is especially useful for those new three-type attacks but generally helpful for acceleration regardless! And Grand Tree, the new Stadium of the bunch, lets each player search for and evolve creatures, even twice in a row, once per turn.

The cutest Pokemon TCG Stellar Crown cards

It’s something of a cadre of usual suspects in this set, but that works for us when they put the effort in! Among our favorites are the ever-adorable Fidough, an Alcremie baking up some treats, a starry-eyed Wooloo and an Eevee enjoying nature. In terms of unusual suspects, the real-world medium of the new Chewtle suits it well! Some Illustrator Rares of note: a sleepy Bulbasaur, a pastel Milcery and a Dachsbun living out its baked goods dreams.

The latest Pokemon Trading Card Game expansion, Scarlet & Violet — Stellar Crown, launches September 13, 2024. For more on the Pokemon TCG, including a full overview of this new set, check out our archive.