The Sword & Shield sets on our shelf run from Shiny Star V in November 2020 to VSTAR Universe in December 2022, the last big set of the era. They are older than anything from Scarlet & Violet or the Mega era, so sealed boxes are harder to come by. Each one also uses the rarities of its time, which look quite different from the codes on newer cards.
Every Sword & Shield set on our shelf
| Set | Code | Out in Japan | English set | Headline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VSTAR Universe | S12a | December 2022 | Crown Zenith | Pokémon VSTAR |
| Incandescent Arcana | S11a | September 2022 | No English set of its own | Character Rares, led by Serena |
| Time Gazer | S10D | April 2022 | Astral Radiance | Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR |
| Space Juggler | S10P | April 2022 | Astral Radiance | Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR |
| Shiny Star V | S4a | November 2020 | Shining Fates | Shiny Pokémon |
The rarities of the era
Sword & Shield cards use Super Rares (SR) for full art Pokémon V and trainers, rainbow Hyper Rares (HR) and gold Ultra Rares (UR). Some sets add their own extras. Shiny Star V has Shiny Super Rares, while Incandescent Arcana has Character Rares that show a Pokémon alongside its trainer. VSTAR Universe already uses the Art Rare and Special Art Rare rarities that every Scarlet & Violet set later carried. Our rarity guide explains each code.
Box formats
Time Gazer and Space Juggler are standard boxes of 30 packs of 5 cards, released as twins on 8 April 2022. Incandescent Arcana comes as 20 packs of 6. VSTAR Universe and Shiny Star V are high class sets of 10 packs of 10 cards with huge secret runs, 90 secret rares in VSTAR Universe and 140 in Shiny Star V.
The top cards of each set
Trainers lead two of these sets. Serena tops Incandescent Arcana and Irida tops Space Juggler, while the Pikachu Art Rare leads VSTAR Universe and the Charizard VMAX Shiny Super Rare leads Shiny Star V. These are ranked by Japanese market prices in October 2026.
| Set | Top hit | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| VSTAR UniverseS12a | PikachuAR 205/172 | IridaSAR 236/172 | Giratina VSTARUR 261/172 |
| Incandescent ArcanaS11a | SerenaSR 081/068 | Serperior VCSR 084/068 | SerenaHR 089/068 |
| Time GazerS10D | Origin Forme Dialga VSA 075/067 | Machamp VSA 073/067 | Gardenia's VigorSR 078/067 |
| Space JugglerS10P | IridaSR 077/067 | Origin Forme Palkia VSA 071/067 | IridaHR 083/067 |
| Shiny Star VS4a | Charizard VMAXSSR 308/190 | MarnieSR 198/190 | Charizard VSSR 307/190 |
For the same tables across every era, see the top hits guide. The Scarlet & Violet guide and the Mega era guide cover the newer sets.
Ready to open one?
Every box here is sealed Japanese stock on the shelf in Sydney, dispatched in 1 to 3 business days with flat $14 tracked shipping.
Shiny Star V
Incandescent Arcana
Time GazerKai Chai is a Pokémon card collector in Sydney and the founder of WOOPR, a shop that sells only sealed Japanese product. More about WOOPR.
Sources
- Pokémon Card Game official site, Japanese expansion list
- Pokellector, Japanese set lists
- pokemoncard.io, all secret rares from Incandescent Arcana
- pokemoncard.io, secret rares from Time Gazer
- TCG Collector, Zamazenta V (Shiny Star V 330/190)
- Gamepedia Pokéca, pull rates and rarities by box (Japanese)
More guides
- Japanese Pokémon set list with English namesSet codes, Japanese release dates, English names and box contents in one table.
- The Mega Evolution era: every Japanese set so farEvery Mega era set with its English name, release date and headline card, plus the new rarities.
- The Scarlet & Violet era: every Japanese set we carryEvery Scarlet & Violet set we carry with its English name, release date and headline Pokémon.
- Japanese Pokémon pull rates and box guaranteesThe typical box structure, collector pull rates for SAR, UR and MUR plus what that means for bundles.
- Japanese Pokémon card rarities explainedEvery rarity code from C to MUR with its English name, plus the older Sword & Shield codes.
- Master Ball mirror cards explainedWhat Poké Ball and Master Ball mirrors are, how to spot one and which sets have them.