The next expansion in the Pokemon TCG: Mega Evolution run is set to release on July 17th. Though Pitch Black is a smaller set, there are still a few stunning cards that will no doubt be coveted by collectors and players alike. I had the opportunity to check out the product lineup early for review, which gave me the chance to open a whopping 55 packs from Pitch Black. And that means I’m here to do some pull rate predictions to help you know what to expect when the expansion hits shelves.
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Pitch Black has just around 118 cards in its main set. The card list features 11 Illustration Rares, 18 Ulta Rares, 6 Special Illustration Rares, and one Mega Hyper Rare featuring Mega Darkrai ex. The felt experience of opening the packs was overall better than some prior sets, but what does the math say? Based on the 55 total packs I opened, here’s where I estimate pull rates for Pitch Black.
Estimated Pull Rates for Pokemon TCG: Mega Evolution – Pitch Black
Elite Trainer Boxes, booster displays, and booster boxes for Pitch Black will release on July 17th, with Build & Battle decks already available through pre-release starting July 4th. I received a sample of each of these products, totaling 55 booster packs. Using my experience with opening these packs, I have once again done some math to predict what pull rates might look like when these get in the wild.
As always, this is my personal experience, so the actual pull rates might vary. Even so, it does give us some idea of just how rare those SIRs will be. And in my experience, they’re pretty darn rare because I pulled absolutely zero this time around. Honestly, though, none of the ones on offer really caught my eye anyway, so it’s no big loss in my book. If you’re hoping for that Mega Darkrai ex SIR, though, best of luck to you.
ex Pull Rates
Across 55 Pitch Black booster packs, I pulled a total of 15 ex cards. That puts the pull rates sitting right around 1 in 4, which is on par with the last few Mega Evolution sets. That said, duplicates once again seem common here. I pulled a grand total of four Morpeko ex, three standard, and one Ultra Rare. I also got duplicates of Mega Chandelure. Even with the repeats, I was pretty happy with the variety of ex cards I pulled in this sample.
As for full art ex cards, those again remain elusive. I pulled just 3 of them this time around, slightly less than with Chaos Rising. That puts the pull rate projection for full art ex cards at slightly above 1 in 20, or 5%. That means that, while ex cards are relatively plentiful, the full art ex could be a bit trickier to get in Pitch Black than with prior Mega Evolution sets.
New Legends Z-A Mega Pull Rates
Pitch Black introduces another wave of Mega Evolution ex cards that first debuted in Pokemon Legends: Z-A. This expansion’s newcomers are Mega Darkrai, Mega Zeraora, Mega Chandelure, Mega Excadrill, Mega Delphox, and Mega Slowbro. I’m pleased to report that, after opening 55 packs, I did secure at least one ex card for every single one of these Legends: Z-A Megas. I got just one full art, with Mega Zeraora Ultra Rare.
In total, I pulled 8 ex cards featuring Mega Evolutions from Pokemon Legends: Z-A. I got roughly one of each, with repeats of Mega Chandelure and Mega Zeraora. That’s trending slightly better than Chaos Rising, which makes sense given that there are 2 additional Megas ex to pull in this set. Pull rates for Legends: Z-A Megas are sitting at just under 1 in 7, or around 15%. Chances are, you should be able to get your hands on at least a few new Megas ex if you secure a handful of Pitch Black boosters.
Illustration Rare, Special Illustration Rare, and Ultra Rare Pull Rates
Now, let’s talk everyone’s favorite cards to look at and chase – full arts. As I mentioned before, this set has just a handful of SIRs on offer, and I didn’t pull a single one. This is on par with Chaos Rising, which also had pretty steep pull rates for SIRs. In total, I pulled the following full art cards across 55 Pitch Black boosters:
- 5 Illustration Rares
- 5 Ultra Rares
Barring the very real possibility that I had terrible luck, it looks like Ultra Rares will be a bit harder to pull in this set. My experience places Ultra Rare and Illustration Rare pull rates for Pitch Black at around 1 in 11, or 9% odds. As for those Special Illustration Rares, those will be pretty elusive, with only 5 options in the set. Given that I didn’t pull any of these, it’s hard to say what the exact probability will be at this stage.
In all, the pull rates are either about the same as prior Mega Evolution expansions or just slightly worse based on my experience. As always, we’ll see how things play out once the set hits shelves. Pitch Black will be available in stores and online starting on July 17th. Fingers crossed you’re able to get your hands on a few packs to test out my pull rate predictions for yourself!
Will you be trying your luck at a few Pitch Black pulls when the expansion arrives next week? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
