So really... what
is Gym Heroes? Here are the facts:
Set Size:
132 in the US, at least 128 in Japan (94
avaliable in packs + 34 fixed cards)
Set
Order: 6th set in the US, 6th set in
Japan
Release
Date: August 14th, 2000 in the US, Spring
1999 in Japan.
Other
Goodies:
The Wizards-based Gym Heroes greatly
differed than that of Japan's Gym 1. Most of it dealt
with how the set was made up; Gym 1 focused more on
fixed cards and other cards found in Preconstructed decks
while Heroes was, like always, pack driven.
Aside from that, since Gym 1 focused solely on
the first four "Kanto" Gym leaders (Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge,
and Erika), there was an obvious lack of Psychic
Pokémon. Now we're not sure what the reaction was in
Japan, but Wizards decided that it would be a good idea to
mix in a few cards from Gym 2 just so Psychic
Pokémon fans wouldn't get shafted. Therefore, Wizards
took Gym 1 and Gym 2 and mixed them up a bit
to make Gym Heroes.
Because of this change, the set symbol was changed,
therefore not confusing collectors or something.
This set marked another one of Wizards somewhat
unpopular decisions for the Pokémon TCG. Since there
were a number of "fixed" cards in Gym 1 (fixed
meaning that they had no rarity), Wizards decided to give a
number of them a rare rarity. Some of them were good enough
to be a rare, but other cards like Misty's Tentacruel
weren't deserving of their rarity. These "common rares"
created quite a stir in the Pokémon TCG community. We
here at PA! support Wizards through thick of thin, and
understood that for the most part, it was how rare they were
in Japan, NOT the card's abilities, which justified their
rarity. Many people however didn't share our position. Oh
well. Either way though, Wizards decided to base the rarity
of fixed cards in Gym 2 on their game play abilities
over their "fixed" properties.
Other Images:
Japanese Brock Deck
Japanese Erika Deck
Japanese Lt. Surge Deck
Japanese Misty Deck
Japanese Gym 1 Pack
Gym Heroes Advertisement
Japanese Misty's Tears
Symbol:
The symbol for Gym Heroes was a "light" stadium. The
symbol for Gym 1 was a bird's eye view of an arena
with the word "Gym" in it.
|