English Card Quality

[Athena]

It would really annoy me if American packs started following the Japanese way. I know people are complaining about the pull rates of the EX cards in ND but aren't they even more rare in the Japanese sets? And not being guaranteed a rare in each pack would be horrible. I think the American pack rates have been fine since DP when they went back to 3 uncommons and 10 cards in a pack.

In the Japanese BW sets with EXes (BW3 and BW4), you get 2 EXes per booster box, and a booster box is only 20 packs. FAs are a pull rate of about 1 in every 2 boxes. So FAs are more rare, but EXes are much easier to pull. Approximately half the packs in a box will have a rare, either holo or EX/FA.

You're not guaranteed a rare, but they also are more strict on the cards that become rares. All rares are holo, and many of the cards that are non-holo rares in English sets are either uncommon or common in Japanese sets. So instead of having a 1/3rd chance to pull a holo/EX or get a non-holo, you have a 1/2 chance to pull a holo/EX or you get an extra uncommon, the same uncommons that make up the English pool of non-holo rares. So, actually, your chances of pulling a good rare are better.

 

[ISmokeWeedle]

I agree with the new holo effects.
I don't know if its to save money or what, but with pack prices inflating i think its a bad idea D:
and the texture on the FAs isnt as good as the japp cards

 

[sendoh]

Has anyone noticed edgewear on cards that come straight out of packs?

Mine, when I got a booster box.

Not strictly edgewear per se, it's more of a miscut, but it stretches along the entire border, which is very disappointing. It was the only card in the box to have this problem, too. The other FA in the box, Cobalion, also had a few tiny white spots on the back.

I understand frustration with the localised card design differences. That they overlook these kind of quality problems just makes it worse.

 

[TokenDuelist]

Usually the japanese ones are always high quality, I own a few Neo series, even Base Set japanese cards that still retain their quality and I've put them through hell over the childish years. It isn't a quality issue that's causing the holos to look weird I believe, it's whoever's on the design team thinking "This'll be cool if I made the card art more visible".

Sadly it was a bad idea.