Pokemon TCG Shrouded Fable Review – A tiny card list and a lot of duplicates
Coming in at just under 100 cards, Pokemon TCG’s Shrouded Fable expansion will be one of the smallest for the Scarlet & Violet series. While the cards included are beautiful, low pull rates and duplicates created a frustrating experience.
Shrouded Fable will continue to focus on the sprawling lands of Kitakami from Scarlet & Violet’s The Teal Mask DLC, and spotlights the nefarious Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti as well as Pecharunt. The expansion is filled with Dark and Ghost-Types, perfect for fans of spooky TCG decks.
However, the Shrouded Fable card list is capped at only 99 cards, small even for a special release set, and this tiny list will create an issue when players begin to open packs.
Key Details
- Release Date: August 2, 2024 (ETBs and additional products will be launched on August 23 due to delays)
- Booster Box Availability: No
- Card List Number: 99
- Series: Scarlet and Violet
- Review Samples: Shrouded Fable ETB, Mini Tin, Kingdra ex Collection, and Kingambit Collection
The best Pokemon TCG expansion for Ghost and Dark-type fans
Pokemon TCG players who enjoy Dark and Ghost-types are in for a treat when going through Shrouded Fable. The Legendary trio and Mythical Pecharunt are displayed on colorful cards with beautiful alternate rare designs, but the standard Dark types shouldn’t be passed up.
Options like Zoroark and Dusknoir aren’t packed with an ex set of abilities or attacks but still come with moves that can deal over 100 points of damage with minimal setup. Additionally, Legendary Yveltal comes as a standard card in Shrouded Fable and packs the same heat as its iterations in Sword and Shield.
Players can also snag a standard of Bloodmoon Ursaluna, and the Fighting-type’s ability “Battle-Hardened” offers energy acceleration that makes it playable almost immediately. Shrouded Fable’s excellent standard cards are a saving grace, as the ex and alternate rare cards were underwhelming.
A small set of collections for a tiny TCG expansion
Shrouded Fable will be as limited as special collections like Paldean Fates once released. This means that the booster packs won’t be available in Booster Boxes. Instead, they must be pulled from ETBs, booster bundles, mini tins, and collection sets.
Unfortunately, sets that don’t come in booster boxes can get expensive quickly, especially for those hunting specific cards.
Due to Shrouded Fable’s unusually small card list, the limited access to booster packs is going to be a tough hit for Pokemon TCG fans trying to pull their favorite cards. Mini tins only come with two booster packs and booster bundles come with six. ETBs have nine, but players will end up swimming in dice, extra Pecharunt Promos, and card sleeves if they are willing to pay the steep price to get the boxes.
The lack of accessibility will be an issue for players, and it is made worse by the number of duplicates they will have paid to pull.
The Pokemon TCG Shrouded Fable expansion is plagued with duplicate pulls
While extra-large card lists pose their own issues, like Sword and Shields’s infamous Evolving Skies expansion, small card lists struggle with a similar problem. Shrouded Fable’s 99-card list left piles of duplicate common cards.
Out of the twenty packs opened for this review, many contained the same Meowth, Zubat, Drowzee, and Eevee cards. Additionally common rares Ultra Rares and Illustrations Rares (the less rare variety of uncommon cards) were pulled as duplicates.
Multiple Horsea Illustration Rares, Munkidori ex Ultra Rares, and Revavroom ex Double Rares made pulling special cards less exciting. After sorting out duplicates, only nine cards above standard rarity were obtained from twenty booster packs.
Verdict: 3.5/5
The Pokemon TCG Shrouded Fable expansion is filled with beautiful cards perfect for fans of spooky decks. Unfortunately, the combination of a small card list, low booster pack accessibility, and difficult pull rates make this a brutal expansion to collect from.
For those who are after specific cards from Shrouded Fable, the pull rates may not be the best. However, this is a set worth investing in for those looking to buff out decks with powerful standard cards. I know I am excited to try Bloodmoon Ursaluna and Zoroark out as soon as possible.
I wouldn’t recommend buying multiple collections, tins, and ETBs for Shrouded Fable, but if you pick up any of the items from this line, players will get a good handful of playable cards with durable HP counts and solid attacks. Shrouded Fable is a mixed bag for Pokemon TCG expansions, but it’s not a complete flop.