The next expansion for the Pokémon Trading Card Game has been unveiled, as Sword & Shield - Chilling Reign will be bringing Legendary Pokémon from the Galar region's Crown Tundra area into the card game in Summer 2021. Chilling Reign is inspired by Pokémon Sword and Shield: The Crown Tundra, the Nintendo Switch mainline game's second expansion.
Pokémon Sword and Shield's The Crown Tundra added a new area to the Galar region inspired by real-world Scotland. It added a powerful new Legendary. Calryex, which was said to have ruled the Galar region in ancient times. Calyrex has fusion forms with two other Legendary Pokémon that were introduced in The Crown Tundra: Glastrier and Spectrier. These allow Calyrex to attain its Ice Rider Calyrex and Shadow Rider Calyrex forms, respectively.
Calryex and its steeds are finally coming to the Pokémon TCG. The Pokémon Company has announced that the Sword & Shield - Chilling Reign expansion will be released on June 18, and that it will use Pokémon from The Crown Tundra. These include Pokémon V and Pokémon VMAX cards for Ice Rider Calyrex and Shadow Rider Calyrex.
The different versions of Calyrex will be joined by other Legendary Pokémon from The Crown Tundra, as the Galarian versions of Articuno, Moltres, and Zapdos will also be in the set. The full Sword & Shield - Chilling Reign set includes eight Pokémon VMAX cards, 15 Pokémon V and 26 full-art Pokémon V cards, 28 Trainer cards, and 13 full-art Supporter card, and three new Special Energy cards. Players can experience the set early by purchasing a Sword & Shield - Chilling Reign Build & Battle Box on June 5, which contains four booster packs, a 23-card Evolution pack featuring key cards from current and prior sets, including one of four alternate-art promo cards; and a deck-building tip sheet.
VMAX cards are the Pokémon TCG equivalent to Dynamaxing and Gigantmaxing, which has led to some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game. These cards have ridiculously high HP scores and can deal a massive amount of damage with their moves. The only drawback is that they give three Prize Cards to the other player if they're KO'd, making them risky to use. The Legendary Pokémon from The Crown Tundra expansion had a major role in its story and they're more than worthy of appearing on some of the most powerful cards in the Pokémon TCG.
Pokémon: Sword & Shield—Chilling Reign will be released worldwide on June 18, 2021.