With Cosmic Eclipse being our final Sun & Moon series set, I thought it would be a great time to take a look back at some of the best (and worst!) sets from Gen 7, before we get our first Sword & Shield set next February!
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Since Sun & Moon base set was released in early 2017, we've had a whopping 11 more Sun & Moon series main sets, as well as many more subsets and mini sets.
This list is mainly focused on coolness, theme and value of the set for collectors, but will also have brief mentions of sets containing powerful cards for tournament players and other relevant pieces of information. This list only will contain main series sets otherwise Shining Legends and Hidden Fates would definitely feature highly on this Top 5!
#5 – Lost Thunder
https://torrentzee.mystrikingly.com/blog/rss-reader-2-0-rss-reader-for-os-x. There is a lot to love about the last set before we begun the current Tag Team block. The name 'Lost Thunder' is simple and effective and matches up with many of the Pokemon featured, such as lightning-type Zeraora who received his first card in the set (Zeraora-GX), as well as more popular Pokemon such as fan-favorite Lugia-GX.
From the competitive side of the TCG, Lost Thunder had many incredible GX's including the beautiful Alolan Ninetales-GX, Ultra Beast Blacephalon-GX, and the previously mentioned Zeraora-GX. A whole ton of useful trainers in addition, made Lost Thunder one of my strong favourites.
#4 - Cosmic Eclipse
The most recent (and biggest of all time) set, Cosmic Eclipse, definitely deserves a place on this list. There is so much to love, but the full art Character Rare (CHL in Japan) cards are a good start. Featuring a huge range of Pokemon alongside some of their famous trainers, these 'secret rares' can be found in the reverse holo space in the booster packs, and will be popular amongst players and collectors alike.
The final Sun & Moon series set also contains a ton of strong and beautiful looking GX cards including Reshiram & Zekrom-GX, Charizard & Braixen-GX (rainbow rare already selling for $150+), and Silvally-GX. Cosmic Eclipse will definitely be a big seller when it gets its official release on November 2nd 2019.
#3 – Unbroken Bonds
The third set on our list also contains another Charizard card in the form of Reshiram & Charizard-GX, but there is so much to love about Unbroken Bonds outside of the aforementioned fire-type.
The set contained the extremely popular pairing of Gardevoir & Sylveon-GX, as well many other favourites such as Greninja & Zoroark-GX and Lucario & Melmetal-GX.
Kickoff 2 0. Alongside the Tag Teams, Unbroken Bonds is also defined by some powerful (and occasionally beautiful) tournament cards. Dedenne-GX sees play in a ton of decks, and the full art versions of Welder and Green's Exploration are absolutely stunning and are popular amongst collectors and players alike.
#2 – Guardians Rising
Our second set on the list is also the second Sun & Moon series set released, Guardians Rising. Thematically the set is probably one of the strongest, featuring two of the Alolan island guardians (Tapu Koko-GX and Tapu Lele-GX) making their debuts, and introducing us to a bunch more Sun & Moon Pokemon for the first time on beautiful cards such as Alolan Ninetales-GX, Lycanroc-GX. Eevee fans and players alike also LOVED Sylveon-GX, with the full art print ranking amongst my favourites.
Speaking of the players, Guardians Rising possibly had the best line-up of trainer cards amongst the early Sun & Moon sets. Choice Band, Aqua Patch, Brooklet Hill, Field Blower, Max Potion and Rescue Stretcher all were staples in many of the decks for the next two years. Tapu Lele-GX as well being a popular Island guardian Pokemon, also had an incredibly powerful ability that searched your deck for a Supporter card, making it quickly the chase card for the set.
#1 – Burning Shadows
Speaking of chase cards, my number one set needs very little introduction on that side of things. Burning Shadows was an incredible follow-up to Guardians Rising, and ignoring the hype surrounding the rainbow Charizard-GX, there is a LOT more going on with this set.
Thematically once again this set was strong, featuring many 'Burning' Pokemon old and new including Charizard-GX, Ho-Oh-GX and Salazzle-GX, as well as Alolan Muk-GX and the always popular and present Darkrai-GX providing the shadows. Additionally this set has some of the best full art trainer cards from the early SM sets, including Kiawe, Acerola and Guzma.
Speaking of Guzma, Burning Shadows introduced him as a powerful Supporter card that dominated tournaments for the next two years, as well as Gardevoir-GX and Golisopod-GX which saw immediate success at the 2017 World Championships shortly after the set was released. Burning Shadows was an easy choice for my number one Sun & Moon series set!
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There is always something to love in a Pokemon set, but some are obviously a lot more exciting for many reasons! Casino winners stories. Here's a quick look at my personal bottom three from the past 12 sets.
#3 – Ultra Prism
Despite having the beautiful gold Solgaleo-GX and Lunala-GX cards, as well as the full art Cynthia card, the set as a whole suffered from a bit of an identity crisis and I didn't enjoy it as much as other sets in that block.
#2 – Crimson Invasion
Players despise Crimson Invasion due to the lack of playable tournament cards and small set size, but its a nice easy set for collectors to finish and has an incredibly strong branding, featuring the debut of the Ultra Beasts and Silvally.
#1 – Celestial Storm
I really didn't enjoy Celestial Storm. Despite the set being the last to contain less than 170 cards (excluding secret rares), there really wasn't much for collectors to love outside of the Rayquaza-GX and that's even been reprinted in the recent Battle Arena boxes. Shrine of Punishment and Steven's Resolve aside, there hasn't been many cards that see regular tournament play also. Definitely not a set I'll be rushing to purchase in the future!
#GottaCatchEmAll!
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This year, in a rarity, you may notice that we have two plays tied for the number one slot on our top 10 most-produced play list: A Doll's House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Simon Stephens. (For a list of this season's Top 20 Most-Produced Playwrights, go here.)
Why those two plays? I can venture a few guesses. Both have made our Top 10 lists before and it is probably a variety of factors. Both plays had well-received runs on Broadway (a Broadway run is usually a good guarantee of a future life for a play). One, A Doll's House, is a riff on a classic play by Ibsen, which makes it particularly popular for classical theatre companies looking to zhoosh up their season. The other, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, is a more surprising choice since it's a large-cast play with numerous set changes that features a hero on the autism spectrum. But it is a play that both parents and their kids can enjoy (its based on the young adult book of the same name), and in the American theatre, anything that is family friendly is almost guaranteed to sell well.
Do you have any theories as to why these two plays are on the top of this list? Let us know. Below is our annual list of the most-produced plays of the new season across the U.S.
The Top 10* Most-Produced Plays of the 2019-20 Season
- A Doll's House, Part 2 by Lucas Hnath: 12(TIE)
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Timeby Simon Stephens, based on the book by Mark Haddon: 12(TIE)
- Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan Macmillan with Jonny Donahoe: 10
- Bright Star with music by Steve Martin (also book) and Edie Brickell (also lyrics) 9 (TIE)
- Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau: 9(TIE)
- Tiny Beautiful Thingsadapted by Nia Vardalos from the book by Cheryl Strayed: 8(TIE)
- Admissions by Joshua Harmon: 8 (TIE)
- Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee: 8 (TIE)
- The Children by Lucy Kirkwood: 8(TIE)
- The Great Leap by Lauren Yee: 8(TIE)
- Murder on the Orient Expressadapted by Ken Ludwig from the book by Agatha Christie: 8(TIE)
- School Girls or, The African Mean Girls Play by Jocelyn Bioh: 8(TIE)
- The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse: 8(TIE)
- The Wolvesby Sarah DeLappe: 8(TIE)
*Actually 14 because of ties.
Methodology
Each year we collect season programming information from Theatre Communications Group's member theatres; from those listings, which totaled 2,229 entries at 385 theatres playing Sept 1, 2019, to Aug. 31, 2020, we set aside all Shakespeare productions and Christmas Carols. We also removed any productions with fewer than two weeks of performances.
Misc. Observations
Split decision! It seems the American theatre can't decide if it loves Lucas Hnath or Simon Stephens more: Both have made Top 10 lists before, and this year they're tied for the top spot. The last time U.S. theatres made such a split decision was in 2011-12, when Red by John Logan tied with God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza.
A Christmas Carol continues to be a holiday favorite, with 39 productions.
It's rare to write a play so popular it's on the Top 10 list for two years in a row. But Hnath did just that; this is the second year in a row that A Doll's House, Part 2 has made it to the top (even if he shares this year with Stephens). The last time a play was that popular for two years running was Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, which was the most popular play in 2007 and 2008; before that, Yasmina Reza's Art topped in both 2000 and 2001.
It's also rare that the top spot is a tie. https://software-video.mystrikingly.com/blog/is-elder-scrolls-down. It's only happened 3 times before: God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza and Red by John Logan tied in 2012; Doubt by John Patrick Shanley and The Santaland Diaries by Joe Mantello, adapted from David Sedaris, in 2008; and in 2001, when Art by Yasmina Reza tied with Dinner With Friends by Donald Margulies.
Lauren Yee makes her debut not only on our Top 20 but on our Top 10 list with not one but two titles. Getting multiple most-produced plays is a rarity. The last (and only other) time that happened was in the 1999-2000 season, when Martin McDonagh had two on the list. Says Yee: 'The fact that Cambodian Rock Band and The Great Leap are two of the most produced plays in the country this season demonstrates the hunger audiences have for thrilling new narratives that cast actors of color as unlikely heroes in their own stories. It also speaks to the incredible depth and breadth of the Asian American community. They are rock stars, they are sports legends, and they will break your heart and dazzle you with virtuosic performances. It's an incredible honor.'
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With The Thanksgiving Play, Larissa Fasthorse becomes the first Native American playwright to make our Top 10 list.
Both photos above are from productions at Actors Theatre of Louisville. 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' was directed by Meredith McDonough, with scenic design by Kristen Robinson, lighting design by Paul Toben, costume design by Kathleen Geldard, sound design by Christian Frederickson, media design by Philip Allgeier, and movement direction by Sam Pinkleton. The access and inclusion consultant was Talleri McRae, production stage manager was Paul 'Pablo' Mills Holmes, assistant stage manager was Jessica Kay Potter, and Jenni Page-White was the dramaturg. 'A Doll's House, Part 2' was directed by Pirronne Yousefzadeh, with scenic design by Reid Thompson, lighting design by Cecilia R. Durbin, costume design by Valérie Thérèse Bart, sound design by Kate Marvin, projection design by Philip Allgeier, stage management by Katie Shade, and dramaturgy by Jessica Reese.
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