Tyranitar V and Empoleon V are the two promo tins released in 2021 as part of the Sword and Shield “Battle Styles”. The content of both tins is the same other than the promo card that matches the subject on the tin. As you can also see from the pictures, the Tins have a shared graphics showing a matching pose of the Pokémon’s depicted on the lid.

Looking to the promo cards, both Tyranitar V and Empoleon V black-star promo cards are showing an alternative pose with respect to both the Tin lids and the standard card from the original set. The promo Tyranitar V feels the more dynamic of the two with the Pokémon frozen in a very aggressive pose. Empoleon alternative pose is not bad but it does not look too much different from the standard art one. The colour tones of the image are much darker on the promo cards, but I think they match much better the water Pokémon, thus overall the promo card still look quite cool. The rest of the art on the Tin is also quite nice with an embossed version of Tyranitar and Empoleon on a corner and a type-matching coloured area on the opposite sides. The graphic choice is well thought as the two tins can be placed side by side to show the matching graphic. Once placed this way, the two Pokémon’s seem to fight back-to-back against imaginary foes while the black band on the tins creates a reverted “V” that matches the small ones depicted close to the Pokémon.

What’s inside the Tin? Any good cards I can pull?

Once the lid lifted, the first thing you will find inside each of the two Tins are the Beautiful Promo cards together with the usual online code. Each Tin will also come with 4 booster packs of 10 cards each: 2 booster packs of the 2021 “Battle Styles” set, one pack of the 2020 “Darkness Ablaze” set and, finally, one pack of the 2016 “Steam Siege” set. Yes, you read it correctly: that’s really an 8 years old booster pack! I do appreciate the selection of booster packs may seems a bit odd but it should be reminded this is a 2021 product. On the other hand, finding these booster was really a surprise for me and a big trip down memory lane.

In addition to the nostalgic value, the booster packs included here are starting to have some interesting collectible value that should definitely be considered. For example, the oldest set picked for this Tin, Steam Siege, can sell for around £10 at the time of writing. It should be noted that being from the XY era, this set still uses the old card format thus they can not been played in competitive events using the standard format although they may be still allowed in other formats or in casual games.

As Darkness Ablaze and Battle Styles boosters are more recent, their collectible value is sensibly lower than the one of Steam Siege. However, there are some very interesting cards you can pull from them like an amazing Charizard VMAX full art card that is one of my favourite version of this Pokémon. If you are lucky, you can also pull a full art version of Tyranitar V and Empoleon V from the two Battle Styles booster packs that can be an amazing find coming from their Tin. I was not so lucky when I opened mine but I managed to get a Necrozma and a Necrozma alternate art from the two Tins which was quite fun.

Are Tyranitar V and Empoleon V Tins worth it?

I think overall the two Tins are more suited for collectors than they may be for actual players. Being a 2021 product and including some even older sets, all the cards you can pull from opening the booster packs will be not allowed in competitive events in 2024. This is mainly due to recent changes in the regulation for the standard format games that rotated out Battle Styles sets from those allowed in the events. Players should consider the sets you will find in the Tin may be allowed in other formats and when playing casually with friends, but newer sets will be more suitable to make competitive decks if you are looking to attend any event.

On the other hand, both the Tyranitar V and Empoleon V Tins have some collectible value because of the age of the sets they comes with. In particular, the Steam Siege set cannot be found on the market any more and thus it already has a nice re-selling value. Considering this aspect, these Tins can offer some interesting packs for a very reasonable price if you are looking to start collecting sealed booster packs. There is also the possibility that you may be able to get a few valuable rare cards from these sets if you want to push your luck and open the packs.

Finally, you should consider how the Tins themselves look once placed on a shelf. I know there are people collecting Tins for various reasons and I am among those that uses them for storing spare Pokémon cards and other Pokémon products. I don’t have many Tins in my collection but I love to keep them on my board game shelves as the art is so beautiful that is a shame to not show them off. Empoleon V and Tyranitar V are quite nice Tins to have for this purpose due to their matching art and nice style