Every 2026 Pokemon TCG Set Ranked From Worst To Best

Pokemon TCG - All 2026 Sets, Ranked Published Nov 13, 2026, 7:44 AM EST Sam Woods is TheGamer’s Senior Reporter. He’s been in games journalism since 2020 and has undertaken a variety of roles in that time. These have included roles such as SEO Editor, Managing Editor at DualShockers, and Global Head of Gaming, and he's also been seen on the BBC. He was promoted to the Senior Reporter position in 2025 following a series of high-quality reports and exclusives for TheGamer. Since 2020, Sam has written over 3,000 articles and specializes in telling the stories of the people behind the games. He’s interviewed the biggest game directors, some of the industry’s top talents, told the stories of how indie games came to be, and spoken to players about what really makes them tick. He’s also interviewed some of the world’s biggest musical artists to find out how the medium has inspired their work, and TV and Film actors about their roles in video game adaptations. He even hosted a PAX panel in 2021 and made a documentary in 2024 surrounding the creation of a Disney game. Alongside this, Sam focuses on breaking news. He got the scoop on Perfect Dark’s cancellation, provided context on some AI drama, and revealed that Lady Dimitrescu’s actress would love to step back into the character’s giant shoes. These articles have been picked up by the biggest gaming sites, including IGN, GameSpot, and PC Gamer. He also loves to dive into the numbers behind the games. Sam’s journey in games journalism has taken him all over the world. He’s covered Gamescom in Germany, Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, and Tokyo Game Show in Japan, each on three occasions. He’s been learning Japanese since 2024 with the intention of identifying and translating Japanese-language news and bringing it to English-language audiences first, something he’s done countless times. Sam’s first review was 2020’s Battletoads reboot, and he’s since reviewed games in The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Pokemon franchises. Last week, The Pokemon Company released the final Pokemon Trading Card Game set of the year—Delta Reign. It's perhaps a set that encapsulates 2026 as a whole for the Pokemon TCG, or at least the sets released, with some great cards, but not enough. As an avid Pokemon TCG fan, I've opened more than 100 packs of each of this year's expansions and experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows. Putting the scalping issues aside for a second, here is our ranking of each, from worst to best. 6 Perfect Order This was the easiest choice on the list— Perfect Order is comfortably the worst set The Pokemon Company released this year. It made sense to feature Mega Zygarde so prominently, given its importance in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, but there are 100s of other Pokemon to catch in Z-A, whereas the Mega Zygarde ex SIR took up one of only four SIR slots in the set. As a TCG, you need cards featuring Pokemon that will sell sets, and Mega Zygarde isn't one of them. The Meowth SIR is cool, and both the Godzilla Starmie and Clefable SIRs have some nice colors, but it's not a great selection, and the IRs don't save it either. In my preview, I called it the worst expansion since 2024, and I stick by that. 5 Pitch Black Pitch Black suffers from a lot of the same problems Perfect Order does, it's lacking a killer Pokemon. Had the regular Darkrai been the feature, it'd have been far better, but instead we got the much-maligned Mega Darkrai. The card is killer, but it's not one that makes the set stand out, and as such, it falls low on the list. Like Perfect Order, Pitch Black features a pretty but underwhelming selection of SIRs, including Morpeko and Mega Chandelure, and a lackluster set of IRs, which is saved only by Slowbro. I called the set "deflating" in my preview, and I think that sums up the Pokemon TCG's recent momentum nicely. 4 Chaos Rising If there is one thing the Pokemon Trading Card Game did really well this year, it's making cards that pop​​​​​​. All of Chaos Rising's SIR's have really nice color schemes, but again, they mostly feature Pokemon nobody cares about. The Mega Greninja ex definitely puts it above the Mega Darkrai and Mega Zygarde. It also has the best IR selection of the three sets comfortably so far. While this has no bearing on the rankings, during my Chaos Rising preview, I had some staggering pulls and called it the "most astonishing pack opening" I've had in 30 years of collecting. 3 Delta Reign Delta Reign is the Pokemon TCG's latest set, and it takes the top spot of the four regular expansions released this year. It does something the other three failed to do, and has TWO banger SIRS. I said the Mega Rayquaza SIR would be one of the most expensive cards in a while, and I was wrong, but it's still over $300 and a stunner; the Raikou SIR takes the cake for me, though. Jumping down a stormy mountain, the Gen 2 Legendary looks fantastic. With IRs featuring adorable Pokemon like Eevee, Growlithe, Zorua, and Azurill, Delta Reign takes the prestigious bronze medal. It's a damning indictment of the year, however, as I called the set "a big comedown" after the 30th Anniversary expansion, and suggested that "some of the spark is missing." 2 30th Anniversary Celebration Speaking of the 30th Anniversary Celebration, it takes my second place of the year, and I'd say it's one of only two truly great sets in 2026. The main expansion understands the assignment—tons of popular Pokemon in celebration scenes—but it's packed with extras, too. The 30-Pikachu subset is really cool, and I'll never tire of the Classic Collection, pulling some of my favorite cards from a time gone by. It's chock-full of hits, and every opening is guaranteed to bring joy. I called the expansion "the most refreshing in years" in my recent preview, and with seemingly solid stock levels, it's one I'll be happy to open for a while. 1 Ascended Heroes The Pokemon Company kicked 2026 off with style with Ascended Heroes. It's probably my favorite since 2021's Evolving Skies, and it features some of the best SIRs ever created. The affectionately named "Treekachu" is great, the Mega Gengar is menacing, the Mega Dragonite is beautiful, and all three SIRs featuring the starters are vibrant. There are too many to name-check, and I think that's what makes this set so good—the variety. The IRs let it down a little, though there are some bangers; the SIRs do so much heavy lifting that it doesn't really matter. Even some of the Mega Attack Rares are peak. In my preview, I may have bemoaned the set size, but I said, "Ascended Heroes, for me, goes down as an all-timer. It has some of the best art created in Pokemon TCG history, and I had a blast getting through my packs." Franchise Pokemon Original Release Date October 20, 1996 Player Count 2 Age Recommendation 6+ Length per Game Variable Franchise Name Pokemon