Pokemonspinoff material often likes to pull directly from recent launches of the game series, so it’s no surprise that the TCG forms entire eras around each title. Sword & Shield, for example, has over 17 expansions within its era, all focusing on different core ideas and introducing Pokemon from the Galar region.
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If you’re going to try your hand at the Expanded and Unlimited formats, knowing the best sets from the Sword & Shield era isalmost a necessity when building a deck– with everything the Sword & Shield expansions introduce, it would be a shame to let the interesting new mechanics fall by the wayside.
9Core Set
As the first set of the era, the Sword & Shield core expansion does a great job of introducing powerful cards and concepts while leaving enough room for future sets to explore more creative ideas. One of the most important features born from this expansion is Pokemon V and VMAX, which function similarly to both the EX and GX Pokemon of prior sets.
So many solid strategies have come from this set, with a Zacian V deck being one of the most successful during Sword & Shield’s run in Standard. So many Pokemon that work well for support like Oranguru and Drizzile come from this expansion, making it one worth returning to for staples and centerpieces alike.
8Darkness Ablaze
Despite the expansion’s title, Darkness Ablaze doesn’t actually have much of a bias towards Dark or Fire-type Pokemon– there’s a fairly even distribution of Pokemon types, even in terms of those that got V and VMAX forms.
Darkness Ablaze has a cavalcade of viable cards to offer, with many being core to the Eternatus V deck. Eternatus V and VMAX are the crown jewels of the set, with plenty of options like Crobat V, Hoopa, and Rowlet to use for support. Even if you don’t end up using Eternatus, there are still a number of other Pokemon that can be built for competition.
7Rebel Clash
Rebel Clash may be one of the most hated when it comes to visual flair, but it’s really quite versatile when push comes to shove. The best part of this expansion is bar none the collection of Pokemon V, which is plentiful enough to have something for everyone.
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The set actually has a foothold in two major competitive decks, claiming both Dragapult V and Inteleon V. Though there are technically a decent few support cards available, the majority of the expansion’s value lies in its cast of powerful headliners.
6Chilling Reign
Chilling Reign’s greatest strength is card diversity, as it pushes archetypes that at release were not supported by Standard. In modern Expanded and Unlimited, this broadens the possibilities of decks that are generally viable; even Aggro Psychic decks got a good amount of support in this set.
The Calyrex Alcremie deck is a top-tier option that fits into this Aggro Psychic archetype, focusing on Shadow Rider Calyrex’s V and VMAX forms to deal huge damage. Cards like Sobble and Passimian are perfect support Pokemon even at the high-level play, being integral in Urshifu Inteleon decks.
5Shining Fates
Shining Fates is another entry in the Shining series of Pokemon TCG expansions, following in the footsteps of Sun & Moon’s Shining Legendsto bring all new Shiny Pokemon to the scene. Surprisingly, Shining Fates is also one of the more competitive sets to come out of Sword & Shield, giving you a shot at looking good while winning tourneys.
Considering that this set is mostly concerned with visual flair, it makes sense that the art-focused V and VMAX cards get the most power throughout the card list. Most of the reprints are incredibly solid, but original cards like Greedent V and Ditto VMAX take this set to a whole new level.
4Battle Styles
The title of Battle Styles is rather simplistic, describing the very concept of having different decks within a TCG in just two words. Thankfully, the expansion actually lives up to its name by offering a nice variety of cards meant to support different archetypes.
The unique selling point of this set is the Single and Rapid Strike cards, which can interact with each other through specialized moves and abilities. Houndoom has such an ability, letting you apply a powerful Single Strike Energy to a Pokemon at the cost of health.
3Champions Path
Champion’s Path is an expansion with a special focus on Galar’s Gym Leaders and their Pokemon, containing a number of fantastic Trainer Supports and incredible Pokemon V. The Trainer cards of this expansion are the show-stealers, with solid options like Rotom Phone, Kabu, and Suspicious Food Tin being workable in Expanded.
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The expansion’s Alcremie V and VMAX work extremely well as main Pokemon, being pretty easy to build around thanks to their moves Sweet Splash and G-Max Wisk respectively. Despite Champion’s Path’s smaller overall size, it does quite alright at delivering a consistent collection of cards.
2Evolving Skies
Evolving Skies marksthe return of Dragon types in the Pokemon TCG, bringing back such classics Rayquaza and Dragonite through Sword & Shield’s iconic V form. This, though, isn’t the most compelling aspect of the set– strangely, the Non-Dragon type Pokemon from the expansion have a far better track record in the competitive scene.
Gyrados and Leafeon’s V forms were some of the most popular Pokemon to play when Sword & Shield was in Standard, with Leafeon being particularly integral to the Leafeon Inteleon deck. There are also quite a few Pokemon with abilities like Suicune V’s Fleet Footed that are suited to support roles.
1Vivid Voltage
Sword & Shield’s best stuff tends to come straight from the top half of the era, with the bottom half being weaker on all fronts– Vivid Voltage only lives to confirm this trend, serving as a fairly consistent experience and sitting right at the center of the first half of expansions.
The standout card from this set competition-wise is Jirachi, which is great for both recon and card drawing when used for support. Vivid Voltage also has the benefit of having a solid chase card in Pikachu VMAX, which is both interesting to look at and actually playable in-game.
