The latest Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) expansion, Sword & Shield - Brilliant Stars, introduces a new 30 card subset of special Trainer Gallery cards that have not been seen since 2019's Sun & Moon - Cosmic Eclipse expansion. Brilliant Stars is the ninth expansion in the Sword & Shield series that arrived on February 25, 2022, and it seems a Pokémon GO expansion for TCG will follow in the near future. This Sword & Shield expansion set consists of cards sourced from the Star Birth expansion originally released in mid-January 2022 in Japan, which coincided with the release of the video game Pokémon Legends: Arceus for Nintendo Switch.
The overall Brilliant Stars set has introduced 172 new cards to the expansive Pokémon TCG alongside the Trainer Gallery subset. This expansion set debuts the new powerful VSTAR Pokémon; like the VMAX mechanic, Pokémon VSTAR evolve from Pokémon V to make an upgraded form. Similar to the GX cards of the Sun & Moon TCG series, these upgraded Pokémon VSTAR have access to once-per-game special abilities called VSTAR Powers.
Compared to Japan's VMAX Climax, the Trainer Gallery subset released with Sword & Shield - Brilliant Stars seems substantially smaller. The set consists of 23 Character Rares and Character Super Rares, five Full Art Supporters, and two Gold Pokémon, compared to the total of 70 cards seen in Star Birth. Nevertheless, the Brilliant Stars expansion set introduces incredible artwork from new artists and brings across fan-favorite Pokémon and Trainers from the Sword & Shield video game.
All three Generation 1 Eeveelutions appear in Brilliant Star's Trainer Gallery: firey Flareon, sparky Jolteon, and Japan's official water ambassador, Vaporeon. These three beloved Pokémon appear together in this subset as Character Rares, and it is refreshing to see them all together. Each Pokémon is accompanied by Trainer Blue - the inspiration behind Gary Oak - portrayed in the beautifully unique styles of artists You Iribi, Jiro Sasumo, and DOM, respectively. All three of these Eeveelutions have play centered around the Memory Capsule card, which if attached will cause certain Pokémon types in play to have no abilities.
The next Character Rares introduced with Brilliant Stars are the awesomely illustrated Octillery, Zekrom, and Dusknoir. Dusknoir appears with Trainer Morty illustrated by Megumi Higuchi, while Zekrom, though an awesome-looking card featuring Trainer N soaring through the sky on the Pokémon's back by artist AKIRI EGAWA, does not seem to have particularly useful abilities. Octillery is illustrated by Shinya Komatsu in an adorable artwork and features the useful Rapid Strike Search ability; the unique style and bright, contrasting colors of this card definitely place it in the running for Pokémon TCG: Brilliant Stars' coolest card art.
Two more awesomely illustrated Character Rares appear in the Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery set as Dedenne and Alcremie. Dedenne's Trainer Gallery card pops with bright colors, illustrated by kurumitsu, and features Furisode Girl Kali as the Pokémon's Trainer. Kali actually appears in Pokémon X & Y using a Dedenne.
In contrast, the soft tones and lines of the Alcremie Training Gallery card bring to life the Pokémon's soft, creamy nature. This beautifully illustrated card by OKACHEKE features Café Master staring lovingly at Alcremie's sweet creation. Here, Alcremie is pink in color with strawberry details representing a Ruby Cream form, one of the 63 evolutions of Alcremie in Sword & Shield video game.
The Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery set turns to spookier themes with two Character Rares for Gen 2 Pokémon: Ariados and Houndoom. Ariados' menacing-looking Trainer is illustrated by Shiburingaru, and the card includes a neat ability called Spider Net, that allows the player to switch out their opponent's active cards for those on the bench. NC Empire's illustration of Houndoom is accompanied by Trainer Grimsley, and the Pokémon has a unique Single Strike Roar ability.
The final Character Rares of the Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery are Eevee and Oranguru. The traditional Eevee is pictured alongside Pokémon Researcher Bill within a setting of a research facility. It's brought to life by artist Souchirou Gunjima.
Overall, the inclusion of the trio of Gen 1 Eeveelutions and Eevee makes the Brilliant Stars expansion feel well-rounded. Oranguru is a Pokémon Shield exclusive, like Galarian Pontya, in the games. In the Pokémon TCG, Oranguru features in an awesome, colorful artwork by Komayama with a pretty useful ability.
Artist GIDORA brings the sparky pup, Boltund V, to life in the first Character Super Rare card in Brilliant Stars' Trainer Gallery set. Boltund V is pictured happily alongside Sonia, who was one of the main characters in Pokémon Sword & Shield. In the video game, Sonia has a Yamper partner Pokémon (Boltund's pre-evolution) and was recognized as a Professor, just like her Grandmother Magnolia, by the end of the game.
The beautiful Character Super Rares for Sylveon V and Sylveon VMAX present arguably some of the best cards in Pokémon TCG Brilliant Stars in terms of looks. The Generation 6 Eeveelution is pictured alongside Fairy-type Gym Leader Valerie in beautiful artworks created by Megumi Mizutani and sui, respectively. The super-powerful VMAX Sylveon is basically a Dynamax-ed version of Sylveon V, like the mechanic in Pokémon Sword & Shield that enlarges Pokémon.
Similarly, the Generation 2 Eeveelution, Umbreon, has received both V and VMAX cards in the Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery set. The artwork of these powerful Pokémon cards is equally as impressive as Sylveon, with a similar V and VMAX form available for powerful, game-altering abilities. This Dark-type Pokémon is pictured alongside Trainer Karen in beautiful settings created by artists Ligton and kawayoo. This Eeveelution is so popular that Umbreon VMAX is one of the most expensive cards in Brilliant Stars selling for upwards of $197 pre-release, though has now calmed down to sell for $40 - $60.
Mimikyu V and Mimikyu VMAX are two further Character Super Rares introduced with the Trainer Gallery subset of the Brilliant Stars expansion. In the beautiful card artworks by saino misaki and Naoki Saito, Mimikyu is pictured alongside Trial Captain Acerola, who also receives a Full Art Supporter card in this set.
Amusingly, Acerola seems to go from being frightened/surprised by Mimikyu dressed by creepy under-lighting, to relaxing comfortably on the Dynamax version. First introduced in Pokémon Sun and Moon, this popular-yet-misunderstood Ghost/Fairy Pokémon has been reimagined over the years in various Mimikyu fan arts, and Pokémon Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery subset continues the creepy-but-loveable image of the disguise Pokémon.
The star of the Sword and Shield video game's Isle of Armor expansion, Urshifu appears in four distinct Character Super Rare cards in his various forms with game-deciding abilities. Kubfu will evolve into either Single Strike or Rapid Strike Urshifu depending on whether Dark-type or Water-type is selected. The exquisite artwork by Yuu Nishida and kadoma shows Single Strike Urshifu V and VMAX fighting alongside Trainer Gloria; while illustrations by takuyoa and Scav display Rapid Strike Urshifu's V and VMAX forms alongside Dojo Master Mustard.
The Supporters of the Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery include Gloria, a main character of Sword & Shield and the female protagonist. This card, illustrated by Naoki Saito, is joined by new Acerola's Premonition by artist yuu, and Café Master by Sanosuke Sakuma (whose delectable drink has been upstaged by his Alcremie friend from earlier). Though these Supporter cards can only be played one at a time, they have useful deck-scrying abilities.
The final Full Art Supporters in the Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery set are the two Mustard cards: Single Strike Style and Rapid Strike Style. A former Champion of the Galar region, Mustard is a main character of the Isle of Armor expansion for Sword & Shield. He is the only person to have the Trainer class Dojo Master.
The impressive full artwork of these cards are illustrated by KIYOTAKA OSHIYAMA and Souchirou Gunjima, respectively. They detail the two versions of Mustard's fighting style that mimics Urshifu's Water- or Dark-type alignment.
A major component of Sword and Shield is Urshifu, which is brought to life in these impressive Gold VMAX cards by artist PLANETA Tsuji. This dual-form Legendary Pokémon has a major focus within the Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery subset, being depicted on six out of the 30 cards. These Gold versions of the Pokémon are their impressive, image-changing Gigantamax forms.
Overall, the Sword & Shield - Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery focuses on V and VMAX mechanics, with strong synergy within the subset achieved with its focus on Urshifu and Mustard, as well as the Eeveelutions. With the impressive artwork, some by new Pokémon artists, it is perhaps disappointing that more cards from Japan's VMAX Climax Star Birth set did not come across with the Trainer Gallery. Players should not worry, however, as it is likely that more of the 70 available cards will be appearing in the West via the Pokémon Trading Card Game at a later date, potentially including Gold Mew, Pikachu, and Rayquaza.
