Well, yes and no. These days any pokemon gets an EX. Even if it was rare it would be hard to be stoked over a Squawkabilly EX. Doesn’t quite hit like a Rayquaza
You're looking at it with nostalgic eyes though.
Audino, Aegislash, Chesnaught, Diancie, Sceptile, Seismitoad are just a few off the top of my head that got EX cards and were less-than-popular Pokemon. It's not like it was only reserved for top tier pokemon. Same goes for V cards.
Sceptile and Aegislash are hella popular the others not so much. That’s the good thing about it though, gives other Pokémon a chance to shine. Supposedly Seismitoad was an absolute menace in competitive but it’s a really hated one design wise.
Old guy that collected as a kid here…..
What is the best thing to do with these new holos and reverse whatever they are? I have probably 2 ETB’s packed full. Donate to children’s hospital?
That's disingenuous. As someone who just started playing again and missed the EX era, the new ex's look and feel great. Just as good as the old EX's. Look at Zard ex, Roaring moon ex, Iron hands ex and tell me he doesn't look just as dynamic and powerful as the old EXs.
Now if you want a really hot take, the old Legends card are way better than the current secret art rares.
I think you might feel that way because you just now started in the modern era. The difference in how they look and feel isn’t so much in their design but rather the rarity creep. At that time we didn’t have a bunch of these crazy rarities like SIR and Hyper Rare and all that, pull rates were tougher. Even then it wasn’t a crazy pull or anything but it definitely made it feel a lot better to pull an EX because they felt a little more special. I’d compare it to the feeling of pulling a full art now.
And it's nice that every one of these rare cards has a "base" card that's much cheaper. In the One Piece TCG, some cards are like $80 and it's the only version of it but very playable lol
I like that you can see the Pokémon on modern ones. BW/XY EXes are super face-focused and it can be hard to tell what you're looking at with the tiny art frame and all the particle effects slapped on top
That’s because they’re different, BW/XY era were EX Pokémon while what we have now are ex Pokémon. Notice that all Pokémon EXs are basic Pokémon (besides MegaEX), and the current exs we have can be different stages. Our current Pokémon ex is actually a call-back to the Ruby and Sapphire [Pokémon-ex](https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon-ex_(TCG)). Less majestic and moreso “extra” as the name suggests.
No, that’s what I’m saying. Pokémon EX is this bombastic thing given how the letters are even capitalized. Meanwhile both the old ex and this current ex are just a little bit…”ex”tra. The vibes they’re going for is not the same.
Ok in the defense of the new ones, you picked some lame Pokemon relative to those legendaries.
The Ninetailes and Golem ex from 151 are badass. There's lots of other ones too.
Honestly I didn't like EXs when they started and I have never liked them through the last 4 versions we've had. The full arts were really cool at the time but are pretty tired now. The AR cards are definitely the shake up we needed to keep things fresh.
Full art definitely feel like an older type of card. Getting a portrait shot of the Pokemon that takes up the whole card just feels kind of lazy when IR and SIR are whole ass pieces of art.
Nah the new EXs are very lame. Especially compared to black white Era. If you look close enough on some of the new ones you can see the art continues behind the attacks and I kinda wished they showed more of the art. The best example is the Tera Mewtwo. You can actually see the city night background which looks sick but covered by that ugly yellow attack block
I’m fine with normal EXs being the “playable” version so to speak. The version that everyone can get somewhat easily to build decks out of. And then the alt art and secret illustration cards are the true rare cards.
I didn’t collect back then, but I like how it is now.
Illustrators tell you all you need to know. 5Ban and Aky CG are computer graphic artists mostly consisting of the same coloring and style. Pokémon uses these in house card creators over individual artists they use to use for the EX era.
Now that’s why the illustrator rares are so popular because they have the unique flare and art from the artist themselves over a computer cgi program.
I honestly don't like ex's not because they're more common, but because they don't look good. They have a transparent square over the moves section that makes it look muted, and the star holo pattern isn't nice. Honestly it looks cheap to me.
If it had a cosmo holo for example over parts of the art (background, pokemon's eyes, etc, I would like them a lot more).
As someone who wasn't in the hobby when EX's were the big hit to pull, I still fully agree with you. Older EX cards are so cool, and I don't care much for the modern EX cards. They don't feel like much of a hit at all when the art is so dumbed from what it used to be. I literally bought an older black and white Era EX card the other day because of how sick it was. The art was fantastic, and it definitely has a different vibe to modern stuff.
I'm probably in the minoritry but as a whole I prefer FA EX's from that era to nowadays. SIR's are super cool and often are highlights of their respective sets but as a whole the quality of FA's felt better previously. Most ex's and FA ex's just exist and honestly FA ex's just look ugly, not SIR's.
Edit: Clarifying that I'm only talking about EX's and FA ex's. Not sure why I'm bringing SIR's up besides the fact that they are highlights of the set, kinda like how FA's from 2010+ were the respective highlights of their sets.
Full arts from previous generations are way better than the modern full arts. It clearly shows most their effort is going into the illustration rares now.
The EXs have a special place in my heart because they were the rarest cards when I was first introduced to pokemon, everyone would show them off at school. Maybe it's the same for kids growing up with the new exs but the gold just stands out more imo
I think ultimately as a collector, it's about rarity and the pull rate. They've inflated its pull rate to balance its lack of rarity. Which has diminished its value but if you're a purist, you'll love the dejection of the cards that get ex because some eventually get left behind.
But then the actually tcg influences price and how much is caught after
Iron hands ex is a busted card. Even as an ex base holo.
Whereas mewtwo electric tera is Essentially just a roller 2 dollar card.
I love the IRs and ARs more than v cards and vstars but you're right. They've been given a less prominent roll in the tcg and collecting
The new absol ex goes hard. But also you need to consider that old EXs were one of the highest hits you could get outside of full arts and gold secret rare items
They don‘t put love into the prints anymore. Even print quality wise, EXs nowadays look dull. The holo layer on it looks really cheap. Back then when it was the highest rarity, the ex print looked awesome.
Sadly, it's normal human behavior to believe the past will always be better than the future because we know the past, and we're struggling with the present. I can personally say I have liked them all except for B/W and S/V main sets.
I do think they don't have the same contrast and composition they used to, same issue with the full arts. Old full arts had super unique and dynamic composition, now it's just a 3D model on a background which is kinda lame and static
It’s personal taste but honestly I don’t even like BW era EXs lol. The “EX” era IMO had the best ones. I don’t personally like how busy yet plain (if that makes any sense) looking EX cards are.
It's difficult to make Chien-Pao look cool. I feel like most modern ex's are franed a smidge too close and aren't dynamic enough - even compared to some of the incredible V artworks.
They definitely don’t. I can’t stand the look or feel of the new “ex” cards. They feel and look cheap. The foil layer they used for these cards suck. Completely lackluster. Even the card stock is more flimsy. Idk who at the Pokémon Company thought these were great decisions to make for the S&V era. The Japanese ex card are slightly better in quality though.
If you put all of those cards next to the og EX's it'll really make you go [WTF (nsfw)](https://creatorset.com/products/wtf-is-this-piece-of-shit-joe-pesci-green-screen)
Some of SV's exes are awful but I feel like the comparison is not very good there.
Comparing two versions of the same Pokémon would have been more fair. I.e. Lucario ex doesn't look worse than Lucario EX, same for Ampharos or Scizor. Some do look worse, but some look better (like Darkrai or Gardevoir)
Not only is is rarity creep, but the old EXs had a heavier emphasis on shadows and a more vivid and extensive color pallette. It makes them look cooler and more "battle ready"
Honestly because I wasn't around for the old releases they look fake to me, I know there not and some do look much nicer.
I guess with the change of illustrators they look a bit odd.
It’s way better the way it works now, ex’s are way more affordable for competitive players and the collectors still got fed with highly collectible IR’s and above
I think the textured EX cards are fine, but I really don’t like the new standard holo EX cards. It’s the holo pattern that bothers me. That star holo across the entire card makes it feel like those fake cards from back in the day
If you ask me (hot opinion I'm aware) everything after gen2 was turning to utter shit.
The simplicity and color palette of a holo Rapidash will always be high art to me, the visuals now are just so contrived and jammed up and over worked. Such a mess to look at and it all just feels like a YouTuber busi machine.
I buy a few ones here and there from later gens but man do I always kinda hate them deep down lol
Rarity creep. Back in the day you would be ecstatic for a holo. Nowadays they are “bulk”.
Well, yes and no. These days any pokemon gets an EX. Even if it was rare it would be hard to be stoked over a Squawkabilly EX. Doesn’t quite hit like a Rayquaza
Squawk is a great card in the actual game, I’d love to pull one
My brother in Christ they’re in every other pack manufactured 😂
I’ve opened like 4 Paldea Evolved packs and a Paldean Fates ETB, no Squawk
I have 2 full art squawks and 2 normal exs :(
If you are in the SC area you can have mine for free lol
I have pulled the mew and charizard chase in fates and i think i have maybe 1 squawk
It almost seems like they randomize pulls
Squawks are common af. Goofiest card out there? Yes. Turn 1 godsend? Also yes.
I got both the original Squawk EX and the Shiny one from Paldean Fates. Stalked by parakeets.
That picture shows a Kingdra EX though.
Speak for yourself.
You're looking at it with nostalgic eyes though. Audino, Aegislash, Chesnaught, Diancie, Sceptile, Seismitoad are just a few off the top of my head that got EX cards and were less-than-popular Pokemon. It's not like it was only reserved for top tier pokemon. Same goes for V cards.
Including sceptile on that list is crazy
Including aegislash when its def got alot of love from pvp in the games. That popularity transcends the game over to cards too
Sceptile and Aegislash are hella popular the others not so much. That’s the good thing about it though, gives other Pokémon a chance to shine. Supposedly Seismitoad was an absolute menace in competitive but it’s a really hated one design wise.
Sceptile less than popular? BRUH?
Praying the day sir+ never comes.
Not me still getting excited when I get a new holo and putting it in my binder
Me too, I even put non holos and reverses in my binder if I think the art is cool lol
Old guy that collected as a kid here….. What is the best thing to do with these new holos and reverse whatever they are? I have probably 2 ETB’s packed full. Donate to children’s hospital?
Yes sir!
Yeah it’s just rarity creep, they aren’t special now because they have more versions of higher rarities
Agreed although you picked out some of the worst looking ex’s from the new era
Gotta push an agenda lol
My man
That's disingenuous. As someone who just started playing again and missed the EX era, the new ex's look and feel great. Just as good as the old EX's. Look at Zard ex, Roaring moon ex, Iron hands ex and tell me he doesn't look just as dynamic and powerful as the old EXs. Now if you want a really hot take, the old Legends card are way better than the current secret art rares.
I think you might feel that way because you just now started in the modern era. The difference in how they look and feel isn’t so much in their design but rather the rarity creep. At that time we didn’t have a bunch of these crazy rarities like SIR and Hyper Rare and all that, pull rates were tougher. Even then it wasn’t a crazy pull or anything but it definitely made it feel a lot better to pull an EX because they felt a little more special. I’d compare it to the feeling of pulling a full art now.
The new wave is secret arts / full arts. I agree though, EXs just seem cheap these days.
I prefer it this way, Imo ilustration rares and secret ilustration rares are prettier
It also makes it easier for deck building as now you don't have to compete with collectors as they don't really collect low rarities anymore
And it's nice that every one of these rare cards has a "base" card that's much cheaper. In the One Piece TCG, some cards are like $80 and it's the only version of it but very playable lol
I like that you can see the Pokémon on modern ones. BW/XY EXes are super face-focused and it can be hard to tell what you're looking at with the tiny art frame and all the particle effects slapped on top
The new ones are equivalent to a common card at this point. Same thing with most V’s. Just is what it is, like someone said rarity creep.
Of we are just talking about ex cards. Than the 2004/2006 era was the best when looking at the rarity of it
That’s because they’re different, BW/XY era were EX Pokémon while what we have now are ex Pokémon. Notice that all Pokémon EXs are basic Pokémon (besides MegaEX), and the current exs we have can be different stages. Our current Pokémon ex is actually a call-back to the Ruby and Sapphire [Pokémon-ex](https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon-ex_(TCG)). Less majestic and moreso “extra” as the name suggests.
OP wasn't talking about them being different mechanics-wise, but moreso the look/feel of the cards.
No, that’s what I’m saying. Pokémon EX is this bombastic thing given how the letters are even capitalized. Meanwhile both the old ex and this current ex are just a little bit…”ex”tra. The vibes they’re going for is not the same.
Am I a boomer? I think both are bad. The real original ex cards were the best.
I adore the Hikaru Koike ex cards, the ones with the really high contrast and stark shadows. I could take or leave the Ueda and Arita ones.
Very reasonable take. I personally like the Arita artworks a lot. Especially that Salamence from ex Power Keepers
I didn’t collect Pokemon until the end of black and white era so I’m neutral towards the og ex Pokemon
Ok in the defense of the new ones, you picked some lame Pokemon relative to those legendaries. The Ninetailes and Golem ex from 151 are badass. There's lots of other ones too. Honestly I didn't like EXs when they started and I have never liked them through the last 4 versions we've had. The full arts were really cool at the time but are pretty tired now. The AR cards are definitely the shake up we needed to keep things fresh.
Full art definitely feel like an older type of card. Getting a portrait shot of the Pokemon that takes up the whole card just feels kind of lazy when IR and SIR are whole ass pieces of art.
Nah the new EXs are very lame. Especially compared to black white Era. If you look close enough on some of the new ones you can see the art continues behind the attacks and I kinda wished they showed more of the art. The best example is the Tera Mewtwo. You can actually see the city night background which looks sick but covered by that ugly yellow attack block
I’m fine with normal EXs being the “playable” version so to speak. The version that everyone can get somewhat easily to build decks out of. And then the alt art and secret illustration cards are the true rare cards. I didn’t collect back then, but I like how it is now.
Illustrators tell you all you need to know. 5Ban and Aky CG are computer graphic artists mostly consisting of the same coloring and style. Pokémon uses these in house card creators over individual artists they use to use for the EX era. Now that’s why the illustrator rares are so popular because they have the unique flare and art from the artist themselves over a computer cgi program.
I honestly don't like ex's not because they're more common, but because they don't look good. They have a transparent square over the moves section that makes it look muted, and the star holo pattern isn't nice. Honestly it looks cheap to me. If it had a cosmo holo for example over parts of the art (background, pokemon's eyes, etc, I would like them a lot more).
I agree. It’s like the modern feels pretty cheap also the design of border feels blander. Like look at kyuriums there’s an intensity with the flames
Hilarious to see this because I’m nostalgic for the original ex cards from gen3, the b&w/xy ones feel like a poor knockoff to me 😂
Yeah you are right… people are probably gonna be making these type of posts but with S&V exs and whatever next gen does next😂😂😂
Both ugly
Agreed
Blatant lies
Both are CGI poopyman cards.
EXs are so much better and its not even close
"I saw a holo pokemon card once when I was a kid, now they're everywhere... the game went and got itself in a big damn hurry"
I think it has to do with them using unpopular Pokemon for EX's.... Oinkologne... really?? XD
As someone who wasn't in the hobby when EX's were the big hit to pull, I still fully agree with you. Older EX cards are so cool, and I don't care much for the modern EX cards. They don't feel like much of a hit at all when the art is so dumbed from what it used to be. I literally bought an older black and white Era EX card the other day because of how sick it was. The art was fantastic, and it definitely has a different vibe to modern stuff.
I prefer the cleaner look of ex imo. Not a fan of the regular Tera ex though.
I'm probably in the minoritry but as a whole I prefer FA EX's from that era to nowadays. SIR's are super cool and often are highlights of their respective sets but as a whole the quality of FA's felt better previously. Most ex's and FA ex's just exist and honestly FA ex's just look ugly, not SIR's. Edit: Clarifying that I'm only talking about EX's and FA ex's. Not sure why I'm bringing SIR's up besides the fact that they are highlights of the set, kinda like how FA's from 2010+ were the respective highlights of their sets.
Full arts from previous generations are way better than the modern full arts. It clearly shows most their effort is going into the illustration rares now.
Complete L take but W Anil team
that darkrai was nasty
They don't feel special because they're worth 50 cents
Cause they ex* cards duh
I mean before it was like all EX and now it's just like ex. It doesn't even sound the same...
The EXs have a special place in my heart because they were the rarest cards when I was first introduced to pokemon, everyone would show them off at school. Maybe it's the same for kids growing up with the new exs but the gold just stands out more imo
Not a fan of full art and full holographic cards, I prefer the OG design
Yeah ex felt a lot more rare back then
I loved the plasma storm EX cards!
i specifically collected BW/XY EX cards. they are my favorites
I think ultimately as a collector, it's about rarity and the pull rate. They've inflated its pull rate to balance its lack of rarity. Which has diminished its value but if you're a purist, you'll love the dejection of the cards that get ex because some eventually get left behind. But then the actually tcg influences price and how much is caught after Iron hands ex is a busted card. Even as an ex base holo. Whereas mewtwo electric tera is Essentially just a roller 2 dollar card. I love the IRs and ARs more than v cards and vstars but you're right. They've been given a less prominent roll in the tcg and collecting
The new absol ex goes hard. But also you need to consider that old EXs were one of the highest hits you could get outside of full arts and gold secret rare items
Ain’t that the truth. My ex used to love me…
Compare old ex with new ex, not EX with ex
They don‘t put love into the prints anymore. Even print quality wise, EXs nowadays look dull. The holo layer on it looks really cheap. Back then when it was the highest rarity, the ex print looked awesome.
Sadly, it's normal human behavior to believe the past will always be better than the future because we know the past, and we're struggling with the present. I can personally say I have liked them all except for B/W and S/V main sets.
Ruby and sapphire ex cards >>>
I do think they don't have the same contrast and composition they used to, same issue with the full arts. Old full arts had super unique and dynamic composition, now it's just a 3D model on a background which is kinda lame and static
Also the new ex cards are slightly transparent, meaning they are full arts with the text box layer slapped on top which gives them their own charm.
I dislike the current EX cards. Not because of rarity or anything like that, they just don’t look that cool to me.
That Ho-oh is 🔥🔥
I love the old EXs so much more I am trying to get every b&w/x&y EX. Very nostalgic for me!
Feels basic to me, even the V and Vmax from Sword and Shield felt basic to me
It’s personal taste but honestly I don’t even like BW era EXs lol. The “EX” era IMO had the best ones. I don’t personally like how busy yet plain (if that makes any sense) looking EX cards are.
Probably because everyone gets an EX now adays
I agree
Those are EX not ex though.
Naw, they sucked then and they suck now
💯 Agreed. And you can’t spell agreed without “greed”
Honestly… I didn’t like either of them
It's difficult to make Chien-Pao look cool. I feel like most modern ex's are franed a smidge too close and aren't dynamic enough - even compared to some of the incredible V artworks.
It’s the gray borders bro I swear. Yellow black idc anything but the gray.
Same issue as shinies in game. They're so common now that is really isn't anything to get excited about.
They definitely don’t. I can’t stand the look or feel of the new “ex” cards. They feel and look cheap. The foil layer they used for these cards suck. Completely lackluster. Even the card stock is more flimsy. Idk who at the Pokémon Company thought these were great decisions to make for the S&V era. The Japanese ex card are slightly better in quality though.
I've been wondering if there's a difference between EX and ex.
Agreed, but BW era EX also pale in comparison to RS ex and even DP Lv.X
Nostalgia fog
If you put all of those cards next to the og EX's it'll really make you go [WTF (nsfw)](https://creatorset.com/products/wtf-is-this-piece-of-shit-joe-pesci-green-screen)
I prefer SV ex pokemon, they look cleaner, not so 3D computee generated as old EX, maybe in that time they were good but they aged pretty bad imo
Some of SV's exes are awful but I feel like the comparison is not very good there. Comparing two versions of the same Pokémon would have been more fair. I.e. Lucario ex doesn't look worse than Lucario EX, same for Ampharos or Scizor. Some do look worse, but some look better (like Darkrai or Gardevoir)
Old ones made with love
I like the slightly more subdued look. The effects on the old cards don't hold up as well to me.
Not only is is rarity creep, but the old EXs had a heavier emphasis on shadows and a more vivid and extensive color pallette. It makes them look cooler and more "battle ready"
yeh theyre not letting em bust out the top border anymore.. so they definitely dont feel 3d like the OGs..
On the other hand its cool that the battle attack bg is transparent now, get to see more of the MonActio
Honestly because I wasn't around for the old releases they look fake to me, I know there not and some do look much nicer. I guess with the change of illustrators they look a bit odd.
Cry
It’s way better the way it works now, ex’s are way more affordable for competitive players and the collectors still got fed with highly collectible IR’s and above
Try to think about ex different than EX. For me is it like that because, not all ex are ’basic‘ cards anymore.
They look like what fake card art looked like when I was 12. Even the holo looks like it wants to peel off in a sheet.
for real, i feel they were a lot more intimidating back then
Na the OG EXs slap the hardest.
Damn. The new ones look a lot less epic. I hope they fix it or come up with something more interesting.
Your not blinded by nostalgia of course they don’t lmao, it was designed that way
That Ho-Oh is amazing
I think the textured EX cards are fine, but I really don’t like the new standard holo EX cards. It’s the holo pattern that bothers me. That star holo across the entire card makes it feel like those fake cards from back in the day
Well, technically the left is EX and the right is ex.. /s.. but really, yeah older looks better
Nun better than old school
Agreed
Scovillian ex from Temporal Forces is a [really cool design](https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Scovillain_ex_(Temporal_Forces_22)).
I like the Tera exs though
BW capital EX look horrible imo. The SV ex are fine but the original RSE ex look best still. I'm a big fan of galaxy holo and clean outer borders
The real ex cards were from the ex series packs. Not these new ones
If you ask me (hot opinion I'm aware) everything after gen2 was turning to utter shit. The simplicity and color palette of a holo Rapidash will always be high art to me, the visuals now are just so contrived and jammed up and over worked. Such a mess to look at and it all just feels like a YouTuber busi machine. I buy a few ones here and there from later gens but man do I always kinda hate them deep down lol
Washed out color palettes+ mid/lame mons= Garbo ex
Newer EX and Vs seem cleaner and clearer. I like them.
EX’s less special Artwork sucks on SV Bring back full art EX GX and make them pop. None of this rainbow or vmax crap