Image courtesy of TCGdex.net
Unlocking the Light: The Allure of Electromagnetic Radar Variants
In the bustling world of Pokémon TCG collecting, some cards transcend their gameplay role to become artifacts of mood, memory, and meticulous cataloging. Electromagnetic Radar, an Item Trainer from the Unbroken Bonds era, sits squarely in that category. Its power—discard two cards to search your deck for up to two Lightning Pokémon-GX or Lightning Pokémon-EX—lays out a dramatic strategic lane: accelerate your board presence while compressing your hand into a handful of musical, crackling energy. But the real fascination for collectors lies not only in what the card does, but in how its variants—normal, holo, and reverse—signal different eras, print runs, and collector priorities. ⚡🔥
Electromagnetic Radar (sm10-169) hails from the Unbroken Bonds set, a Sun & Moon installment that stitched together tag-team energy with a modern trainer focus. The card’s rarity is Uncommon, a sweet spot that often draws both gameplay-minded collectors and set completists. The artwork by Yoshinobu Saito captures a crisp, technical aesthetic—think polished lines, metallic glints, and a sense of circuitry that fits the “radar” ethos. For fans who appreciate the tactile experience of different finishes, this card offers a tangible thread through the broader tapestry of the era’s print runs. 🎨
A closer look at the card: how it fits into gameplay and collection
- Name and Type: Electromagnetic Radar, a Trainer—Item card.
- Set and Rarity: Unbroken Bonds (SM10), Uncommon.
- Variants: Normal, Holo, and Reverse Holo are available; First Edition is not listed for this print.
- Illustrator: Yoshinobu Saito. The art carries a precise, technical feel that resonates with players who love the gear-head vibe of Lightning-type strategies.
- Legal Format: Expanded format (not Standard). The card’s power interacts with a toolbox mindset—you discard two cards to fetch up to two Lightning Pokémon-GX or EX, a trope that leans into fast, explosive lines rather than grindy, attrition-heavy play.
- Pricing snapshot: CardMarket shows a typical base range around a few cents to under a euro for common copies, while TCGPlayer reveals a wider spectrum: standard copies often hover under a dollar in market pricing, with holo and reverse holo variants commanding higher values. Some listings reach into the high single digits or beyond for pristine or heavily sought-after prints. This spread is a hallmark of variant chasing—collectors seek the look and feel that each foil or finish provides, even when the function remains the same. 💎
What makes this card a magnet for variant-hunters is not just its play—it's the way the card’s foil treatment marks a moment in time. The holo and reverse holo versions, in particular, amplify the tactile thrill: a glint on the circuitry, a shimmer on the border, and the sense that you own a snapshot of the print run. For many, the appeal is partly nostalgia—remembering the thrill of opening booster packs, hoping for that coveted holo in a familiar silhouette. The fact that Electromagnetic Radar fetches two Lightning Pokémon-GX or EX also primes collectors to chase iconic supports and hitters like the era’s lightning archetypes, which intensifies the desirability of multiple print finishes. ⚡🎴
“In the hands of a disciplined trainer, Electromagnetic Radar is a flashlight beam through the labyrinth of a Lightning deck—pointing you toward the big hits when you need them most.”
From a collector’s lens, the variants tell a micro-story of the set’s life cycle. Normal copies are abundant and affordable, appealing to players and budget-minded collectors. Holo versions glow with a signature sheen that’s instantly recognizable, often becoming a centerpiece of a binder page. Reverse holo prints offer the opposite foil treatment, giving the card a reverse light-show that many players adore for its dramatic effect in display and in-game suspense. The absence of a First Edition print for this particular card can actually amplify interest in the existing variants, as collectors seek the earliest holo or reverse holo finishes rather than a hypothetical first edition. 🔍
Art, lore, and the tactile moment
The artwork credits go to Yoshinobu Saito, whose lines evoke clean modernity while conveying a sense of hardware sophistication. This aligns well with the card’s mechanical instruction: discard two cards, then search your deck to bring two Lightning Pokémon-GX/EX into your hand. It’s a mechanic that rewards precise deck construction and thoughtful tempo—an invitation to plan several moves ahead, even as you lean into the card’s thematic polish. The Unbroken Bonds set itself feels like a bridge—blending old-school energy with new-school card design—and Electromagnetic Radar stands as a crisp, bright signal of that era’s ambition. 🎮🎨
Market trends and how to chase them
For the serious variant hunter, price is only one axis. Availability, condition, and print finish can tilt the value curve dramatically. As noted in market data, standard copies of Electromagnetic Radar tend to sit at modest price points, but holo and reverse holo variants can fetch higher market values depending on condition and listing. The wide price range in online marketplaces—from a few cents to the upper end of single digits for certain listings—means that collectors often balance practical play value with the joy of owning a glossy, different-faced version of a card that supports a lightning-fast strategy. If you’re building a Lightning-focused deck, the card’s ability offers strategic flexibility: you can choose two Lightning Pokémon-GX or EX to accelerate your board state, potentially turning the late-game into a rapid, electrifying sprint. ⚡💎
When evaluating whether to chase this variant, consider your binder’s narrative arc: do you want a pristine holo that gleams on display, or a budget-friendly normal copy to keep in your tournament-ready deck sleeve? Either way, Electromagnetic Radar embodies the intersection of strategy, art, and set history that makes variant collecting so enduring. And for players who love the mechanical elegance of trainer cards, it’s a reminder that sometimes two cards in, you can reach for two more out—setting up a two-step plan that lands a decisive tempo swing. 🔥
As you explore the card’s footprint in the Unbroken Bonds era, you’ll find that the thrill of variants is not only about what you can pull from a pack, but what you can curate in your personal collection. Electromagnetic Radar stands as a bright beacon of that ideal—a card that plays well, looks compelling in multiple finishes, and carries a story told by its illustrator, its set, and the fans who chase its shimmering forms across the binder pages. 🎴
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