Obsidians and pearls have been debuted. It’s pretty difficult to get the feel of these cards across through a screen. The digital screen shots of the art are very white or very black, and can’t shot you the foil process these cards went through. So in this article, I’ll do my best to convey what you can expect from the new alternate arts of our rarest cards.

https://clips.twitch.tv/TriangularLongBorkNerfBlueBlaster-uWN5-cAuMU1P_vju

I hope that video loads for you, but if it doesn’t the link to the clip is there as well. This video is from Levi’s Scout Expedition. At his latest stop last week, they showed off a ton of new cards from AoT and gave us a great preview of how the pearls and obsidians look in real life.

Now, I’ve only held an unfinished product of a pearl in my hands, so my opinion will be a little skewed from what shows up on store shelves on August 16th.

The pearls almost play a trick on your brain. The shine, color, and detail make you feel like you’re holding metal instead of a card, but it feels just like any other card so it’s a bit of a trippy experience. I would liken it to a chrome, but Chromes pop off the card with their 3D nature. These cards don’t do that. They almost blend the background and foreground together making the action pose of the Titan (or whoever it is) more impactful, bolstered by its surroundings. 

No matter who you are, you have to admit these alts are a risk. We haven’t seen anything like them before, and I’ve looked pretty hard. I think every player will admit there is a beauty to them and some players, like myself, are going to absolutely love them. They feel incredible to snap down on the table and they’re natural contrast to other cards is going to make binders pop! Others will find it’s just not their cup of tea and they’ll enjoy something more colorful and joyous, similar to Girl Power. I think that’s why girl power was what it was. They knew we were going to take this detour so we got this happy colorful set right before we dove into the world of Attack on Titan.

And all that brings me to my reveal today. Increased Hostility. With all the 10 difficulty attacks so far this set, this fire attack is on the low end at a 3. Would I throw this into Endeavor 3? I mean it probably doesn’t make the cut, but having a 6-low for 5, 3-diff with a good block mod is pretty awesome. Plenty of decks are going to be tempted to find a spot this guy, especially on the Fire symbol.

This card has been showed off on stream, but this is the first place you can see it in it’s proper glory. As we get into August, we’ll be reviewing a lot of cards from Battle for Humanity, now that we have context. Until then, I’ll see you on the tables!