Paradox Rift split its card pool into two design tribes — Ancient and Future — each with its own Supporters, Energy payoffs, and star ex (Ro...
Paradox Rift split its card pool into two design tribes — Ancient and Future — each with its own Supporters, Energy payoffs, and star ex (Roaring Moon ex and Iron Hands ex). It is the most mechanically distinctive set of the era and the high-water mark for theme-driven set design.
Paradox Rift — Scarlet & Violet series, released November 3, 2023. Official totals: 266 cards, of which 182 are the main set and 84 are secret rares above the printed line.
The Set by Rarity (from the official card data)
- Double Rare: 20
- Ultra Rare: 28
- Special Illustration Rare: 6
- Illustration Rare: 34
- Rare: 27
- Uncommon: 54
- Common: 81
Related reading: Twilight Masquerade Set Breakdown: Ogerpon's Four Masks — keep it open for when you finish this one.
Read as a collector, that table is the set's personality: 20 Double Rare ex anchor the playable chase, 28 Ultra Rares carry the full-art treatments, and 40 Illustration-class and Hyper-class cards form the art-first tier that most collectors actually hunt. Read as a player, the same table is a shopping map — the Double Rare line is where the format's tools live.
Composition, for deck builders: the set's Pokémon lean Water (38), Fighting (29), Colorless (25) by card count, backed by 33 Trainer cards in the data. Type density is destiny for a set's decks — it predicts which archetypes the set can feed on its own and which must import help from neighboring sets.
Notable Pokémon ex by Name
Aegislash ex, Altaria ex, Armarouge ex, Bombirdier ex, Cofagrigus ex, Froslass ex, Garchomp ex, Gholdengo ex, Golisopod ex, Hoopa ex, Iron Hands ex, Iron Valiant ex, Maushold ex, Mewtwo ex, Roaring Moon ex, Sandy Shocks ex, Skeledirge ex, Tapu Koko ex, Toxtricity ex, Tsareena ex.
Illustration highlights in the data include: Aegislash, Aipom, Blitzle, Brute Bonnet, Crustle, Cyclizar, Dottler, Espathra, Ferrothorn, Garbodor.
However you approach Paradox Rift Set Breakdown — player, collector, or both — start with the numbers: size, secret count, and the ex list. Those three facts predict how a set opens, how it plays, and how it ages in a binder.
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