Summary
No one balances nostalgia with new quite as well as The Pokemon Company.Pokemonhas managed to keep huge chunks of its older fans engaged, some of them for more than two decades, while pulling in new fans along the way. One of the more notable ways it tapped into its nostalgia in recent years wasvia the release of the Pokemon TCG Classic. A collection replicating its original Pokemon card launch in the late 1990s, and right now it’s cheaper than ever at Best Buy.
Not only was it hard to find a pre-order for the TCG Classic when the set was released in 2023, but at full price the set costs $400. Pick one up at Best Buy right now and you’ll get it for $249.99. Hard to imagine the set will remain in stock for long, especially since as far as I can tell, this is the cheapest it has been available for brand new through a major retailer.Amazon previously cut the price of the setearlier this year, but by less than $100, so nowhere close to the reduction Best Buy has applied.
As for what’s inside, the TCG Classic comes with three decks, each one headed up by a shiny version of Kanto’s fully evolved starter Pokemon - Venasaur, Charizard, and Blastoise. Although the whole point of the set is that it focuses on the very first Pokemon TCG cards ever released, there are some new ones in there too. Suicune ex, Ho-Oh ex, and Lugia ex all made their TCG debuts via this set. Some of the first Pokemon those of us were introduced to after the bombshell that there were 100 more coming via Pokemon’s second gen.
Roll The Clock All The Way Back For $150 Less Than Usual
Pokemon Trading Card Game Classic
The Pokemon TCG Classic is a set that revives the original Pokemon cards released during the late 1990s. Each of its three decks is headlined by a shiny version of Kanto’s fully evolved starters, and the case includes everything you need to play the TCG with a friend or rival.
The TCG Classic also comes with everything else you need to play the game with a friend, meaning each of you can choose a deck and go head-to-head using recreations of some of Pokemon’s original cards. The only caveat for those of you who dabble with the Pokemon TCG’s competitive scene is nothing in this set can be used in tournaments. The TCG Classic is effectively a self-contained set, everything you need packed inside a single case and not created to be mixed with other Pokemon TCG products.
While the designs themselves aren’t from the Pokemon TCG’s original set, there aretwo new cards available for free through the Pokemon Centerright now that feature two of Pokemon’s original creations. The Pikachu and Eevee Pokemon Together cards, which were previously European exclusives, are now being given way through the US Pokemon Center. You will need to buy a bundle in which they’re included to get them, though.
