It’s a big day for trading card collectors as both Square Enix and The Pokemon Company are launching new cards for their respective game series. For Square Enix, they have officially released the new Final Fantasy Trading Card Game (FFTCG) booster set entitled Resurgence of Power. Meanwhile, The Pokemon Company is preparing to launch the Scarlet & Violet expansion for their Pokemon Trading Card Game (PTCG).

When it comes to the Final Fantasy Trading Card Game, this new expansion is now available in North America. The Resurgence of Power set includes the return of popular Legacy Cards previously released from FINAL FANTASY VII, featured as alternate art versions with illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano. The set also features a Special rarity version of Yuffie [18-050L], a Full Art Foil version that includes a foil stamp of Tetsuya Nomura’s autograph.

Some more of the brand-new artwork and original illustrations this new series showcases include:

• Ryoma Ito (FINAL FANTASY XII REVENANT WINGS)

• Yasuhisa Izumisawa (WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY)

• Yukihiro Kajimoto (FINAL FANTASY V)

• Gen Kobayashi (FINAL FANTASY III)

• Yusuke Naora (DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY)

• Toshitaka Matsuda (FINAL FANTASY III / FINAL FANTASY XI)

• Fumio Minagawa (FINAL FANTASY XI)

• Miki Yamashita (FINAL FANTASY V)

• KINSHA creations co., ltd (FINAL FANTASY VIII)

This new expansion also introduces three new “Legacy Cards” which are Premium Full Art versions of highly sought-after cards from previously released sets, as well as one “Special Card” with an autograph foil stamp from Tetsuya Nomura:

• Aerith [8-049L]

• Sephiroth [11-130L]

• Cloud [11-136S]

• Yuffie [18-050L] Special Card

If you are just now starting to consider getting into collecting the FFTCG, then you are in luck as this new expansion follows the recent release of the Two Player Starter Set Noctis vs Ardyn. The set features two 50-card preconstructed decks created around the theme of FINAL FANTASY XV, and is a starter set that allows two players to jump into a match straight out of the box. For more information, check out the official Final Fantasy Trading Card Game website.

Following the recent launch of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, The Pokemon Company is bringing the Scarlet & Violet expansion next year with the official launch date set for March 31, 2023. Now, they did initially unveil this during the 2022 Pokémon World Championships, but Scarlet & Violet will see the return of the Pokémon ex gameplay mechanic, which will appear in each stage of Evolution and have high HP, as well as powerful attacks and Abilities. However, when a Pokémon ex is Knocked Out, it gives up two Prize cards instead of one.

The Pokémon Company International also introduced several card design improvements that will be implemented starting with the Scarlet & Violet expansion, including:

• Yellow borders on Pokémon TCG cards will become gray to match the cards released in Japan, providing a more seamless Pokémon TCG experience around the world while allowing the card artwork to shine even further.

• Subcategories for Trainer cards — such as Supporter, Item and Stadium — will appear in the top left corner to be more visible in players’ hands.

• Basic Energy cards will display another Energy symbol on the bottom right corner to make it easier to track during gameplay.

• Expansion symbols will be replaced by expansion codes and language codes across all cards.

We may have to way a few months before we see this expansion set launch, but you can find out more information on the upcoming Scarlet and Violet expansion on the official Pokemon website.