What are Pokémon V and VMAX cards?
Pokémon V and VMAX cards were introduced in February 2020 with the launch of the Sword and Shield series. V and VMAX took over from the EX and GX specialities of the Sun and Moon Series.
The Sword and Shield Video game launched in 2019 and introduced two new metrics to the game – Dynamax and Gigantamax. In the trading card game these metrics translate to V and VMAX.
Pokémon V Cards
The V metric is named from the word ‘evolve’ and any Pokémon can evolve into this form.
All Pokémon V cards are art cards and all are given basic stage. Regular V cards are always half art cards, while ultra rare and secret rare cards are full art. They all have a stylised V in the top left corner.
These are useful cards to have when playing the trading card game since they have much higher HP (Hit Points) than regular cards. They also have more powerful abilities and are able to inflict more damage to your opponent. However, if a V card is knocked out, your opponent will draw two prize cards rather than the usual one.
The V card shown is Ultra Rare Leafeon V from the Evolving Skies expansion set. It has 200 HP which makes it difficult to be knocked out by regular cards. It also has two special abilities: Greening Cells allows an energy card to be attached to any Pokémon. Leaf Blade is a special attack move that increases damage inflicted by 60 points.
Pokémon V Union Cards
V Union cards were introduced in the Autumn of 2021. They are special Jumbo-sized cards which are formed by combining 4 regular-sized cards. The cards are full art cards with each of the 4 regular-sized cards containing a quarter of the finished card.
The completed V Union cards have a high HP and also have special unique abilities. Like regular sized V cards they have the stylised V symbol in the top left hand corner.
They cannot be played directly from a player’s hand, instead they must be used from the discard pile.
At the time of writing there are only four V Union cards in existence – Mewtwo, Zacian, Greninja and Pikachu.
The card shown is Greninja V-Union which is the featured card in a special collection box released in September 2021. It has a huge 300 HP, three special abilities and four attack moves. These features make the card very difficult to defeat and give an advantage to any player that has these cards in their deck.
Pokémon VMAX Cards
The VMAX metric is so named because it is the maximum evolution possible. Only V Pokémon can evolve into VMAX form. In the trading card game a player must first place a V card and can then evolve that into VMAX form.
VMAX cards are always full art cards. Like V cards they have a stylised V in the top left corner but are also marked VMAX stage. They display their evolution and the word ‘Gigantamax’ under the card title.
These cards have the highest HP (Health Points) making them more difficult to defeat. They also have very powerful abilities and are able to inflict more damage to your opponent. However, if a VMAX card is knocked out, your opponent will draw three prize cards rather than the usual one.
The Sandaconda VMAX card shown is from the Chilling Reign Expansion Set. On this card the V in the top left corner has been incorporated into the artwork.
Sandaconda VMAX has 320 HP a special attack move and a special ability.
