Pikachu Illustrator (1998) Widely regarded as the holy grail of Pokmon cards, the Pikachu Illustrator was awarded to winners of a Japanese illustration contest in 1998
The number uniquely identifies the card, which matters because names repeat across sets and alternate-art versions
We say 'officially', because we got a sneak peek into some of the coming cards a couple of weeks ago, amid the Jumpstart: Historic Horizons spoilers, so these aren't actually the first new cards we've seen for the set - but Thursday was the first official day of the preview season, and we're incredibly excited to see what else the set brings, given how many cool cards we saw in the first 24 hours (don't miss Wargamer's exclusive spoilers, including wolfy Enchantment Howl of the Hunt) The point is, we're about the enter a prolonged spooky season courtesy of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, with this set telling the tale of how the humans of Innistrad are coping with the nights getting longer, and the creatures of the night - specifically werewolves, in this set - becoming more powerful, and seemingly far hungrier too
Though players can only do this once per turn, its incredibly useful in allowing you to refresh the selection of cards you have available on any given turn, if youre running low
Players loved it
This ensures a pretty smooth transition over each rotation
