King Piplup
Active Member
Wish I'd known about this earlier. Would've had plenty of packs to record :-/... Sorry. Look forward to seeing the printrun though.
Next Destinies Print Run (plus data from previous sets!)
- Thread starter Nick15
- Start date
- Status
Nick15
Member
That's OK! There's always next time, and it's also my fault for not posting about this earlier.
.....
OK, so I got the Common Print Run finished. Here's what I've noticed about it:
* Like always, it's a 121 card print run.
* All cards appear at least four times on the sheet, with only five cards appearing five times. Those cards are: Kricketot #3, Darumaka #17, Litwick #18, Ferroseed #77 and Pidove #83. WHY Nintendo chose to print these guys five times, I haven't the foggiest clue!
* The average distance between two copies of a card is 29; this is also the number of commons in the set!
* The minimum distance between two copies of a card is 9; between two Litwick #18. The max is 48; between two Mienfoo #67.
* According to the data, the following cards have been found disproportionate amount of times:
---- OVER: Pikachu #39 (+0.32%), Ferroseed #77 (+0.31%), Seeddot #2 (+0.23%), Growlithe #11, Panpour #28 and Hippopotas #65 (+0.18%)
---- UNDER: Pansear #15 (-0.39%), Munna #58 (-0.35%), Growlithe #10 (-0.25%) Bronzor #75 and Mienfoo #67 (-0.20%)
The Common Print Run can be found here: http://www.pokemonaaah.net/tcg/printrun/04nde-final/
Next, I'll have the Uncommon Print Run finished, and then I'll try to start work on the Reverse-Holo Print Run and see if there are any patterns in the Rares. Yay!
Thanks again to everyone who posted their pack data!
TheRolesWePlay
New Member
A few similarities I notice between the cards is that Ferroseed and Pidove have no evolutions in this set, and Litwick and Darumaka have both been printed more than three times (including promos), of course by that logic Panpour, Pansage, and Pansear should have gotten the spot over them. And Kriketot...well...he's number 3 in the set? Yeah that one was simply random.
Nick15
Member
Okey dokey... the Uncommon Print Run was harder to pull together (due to too many cards which are too similar in order), but I finally managed to get it done. The list is in the link above; just scroll down a bit.
For the Uncommon Print Run, many card appeared four times on the sheet, and many cards appeared five times. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to why a card appears four or five times... however, all Trainer and Energy cards appear five times on the sheet.
Next, the Reverse-Holo run... that's gonna be a doozy...!
---------- Post added 02/15/2012 at 12:33 AM ----------
OK, here's an update on the Reverse Holo Print Run.... I don't have enough to compile the FULL list, but I DID find something quite interesting!
Look at the list of reverse holos in both SMP88's "Double Mewtwo" box and (coincidentally!) SmeargleMe's "Box #2:" beneath it. You may notice that that the reverse holos of both box's left side and the ones of both box's right side ALMOST EXACTLY MATCH. They're kinda out of order, but "blocks" of them still ARE in order. Take a look!
http://www.pokemonaaah.net/images/20120215.rh.png
Again, it's somewhat out of order, probably done before packing in the booster box in order to prevent someone like me from easily figuring out how to get whatever reverse-holo rare they wanted. However, there aren't enough booster boxes to determine any specific order OR system of "shuffling"... yet. But this info is still onto something nifty!
For the Uncommon Print Run, many card appeared four times on the sheet, and many cards appeared five times. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to why a card appears four or five times... however, all Trainer and Energy cards appear five times on the sheet.
Next, the Reverse-Holo run... that's gonna be a doozy...!
---------- Post added 02/15/2012 at 12:33 AM ----------
OK, here's an update on the Reverse Holo Print Run.... I don't have enough to compile the FULL list, but I DID find something quite interesting!
Look at the list of reverse holos in both SMP88's "Double Mewtwo" box and (coincidentally!) SmeargleMe's "Box #2:" beneath it. You may notice that that the reverse holos of both box's left side and the ones of both box's right side ALMOST EXACTLY MATCH. They're kinda out of order, but "blocks" of them still ARE in order. Take a look!
http://www.pokemonaaah.net/images/20120215.rh.png
Again, it's somewhat out of order, probably done before packing in the booster box in order to prevent someone like me from easily figuring out how to get whatever reverse-holo rare they wanted. However, there aren't enough booster boxes to determine any specific order OR system of "shuffling"... yet. But this info is still onto something nifty!
PidgeyCornerFTW
New Member
From a 3-pack blister
* 11 69 83 75 15 / 19 81 / 66 45 90 #
* 58 15 55 17 61 / 20 22 / 84 78 56 #
* 77 65 80 43 6 / 44 64 / 40 92 4 #
Posted with Mobile style...
* 11 69 83 75 15 / 19 81 / 66 45 90 #
* 58 15 55 17 61 / 20 22 / 84 78 56 #
* 77 65 80 43 6 / 44 64 / 40 92 4 #
Posted with Mobile style...
Nick15
Member
Thanks! I'll add it to the list AND see if the info confirms what I already have!
....
PS: I think I'm onto something here with the Rare Print Run....
http://www.pokemonaaah.net/images/20120215.rares.png
In the above graphic, you'll notice some numbers matching up properly, while others are skipped over. The numbers that match are regular, non-holo Rares, while the ones that don't have a match (#54, #94 and #46) are instead either holo-rares or ultra-rares.
I suspect that there is an actual non-holo rare print run, and holo-rares/ultra-rares are stuffed in between them during packing. I'm still trying to sort this out but I suppose it's only a matter of time before the method of how this is done is revealed!
Hey Nick, I don't have time to go through and record all the cards I pulled, but here's a video of my box opening if it's of any use to you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKn0zbQtBPI
Mainejuggalo
New Member
Dang. I opened three booster boxes before I saw this thread. I'll have another one on Saturday, I'll try to get it up here asap.
Nick15
Member
espeon600: As long as you opened them in order (and didn't shuffle the packs or anything) then that'll actually be quite useful! Especially since, at this point, I'm now focused on the RH and Rare data from a booster box. Anyways, thanks!
Mainjuggalo: Sweet! As long as you CAN get them in at some point, that's good enough for me! Thanks!
......
OK so... I'm noticing another pattern. This time it comes from the PACK FOIL themselves. For example, generally I've noticed that packs are inserted into booster boxes in order: Zekrom pack, Regigigas pack, Mewtwo pack and Reshiram pack, then back to Zekrom pack. However, sometimes that order is messed up (like it goes Zekrom, Regigigas, Zekrom Regigigas...) AND... I've noticed that, the first pack that breaks this order is something good (like a FA Kyurem-ex in my case).
To which... I don't expect people to record the pack cover this time, but next time I'm gonna ask for it... just to see if this theory holds true. To which, those of you who HAVE posted the pack design in their lists... THANKS!! It was something I didn't think we would need but now I'm glad it's there!
Mainjuggalo: Sweet! As long as you CAN get them in at some point, that's good enough for me! Thanks!
......
OK so... I'm noticing another pattern. This time it comes from the PACK FOIL themselves. For example, generally I've noticed that packs are inserted into booster boxes in order: Zekrom pack, Regigigas pack, Mewtwo pack and Reshiram pack, then back to Zekrom pack. However, sometimes that order is messed up (like it goes Zekrom, Regigigas, Zekrom Regigigas...) AND... I've noticed that, the first pack that breaks this order is something good (like a FA Kyurem-ex in my case).
To which... I don't expect people to record the pack cover this time, but next time I'm gonna ask for it... just to see if this theory holds true. To which, those of you who HAVE posted the pack design in their lists... THANKS!! It was something I didn't think we would need but now I'm glad it's there!
Okey dokey... the Uncommon Print Run was harder to pull together (due to too many cards which are too similar in order), but I finally managed to get it done. The list is in the link above; just scroll down a bit.
For the Uncommon Print Run, many card appeared four times on the sheet, and many cards appeared five times. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to why a card appears four or five times... however, all Trainer and Energy cards appear five times on the sheet.
Next, the Reverse-Holo run... that's gonna be a doozy...!
---------- Post added 02/15/2012 at 12:33 AM ----------
OK, here's an update on the Reverse Holo Print Run.... I don't have enough to compile the FULL list, but I DID find something quite interesting!
Look at the list of reverse holos in both SMP88's "Double Mewtwo" box and (coincidentally!) SmeargleMe's "Box #2:" beneath it. You may notice that that the reverse holos of both box's left side and the ones of both box's right side ALMOST EXACTLY MATCH. They're kinda out of order, but "blocks" of them still ARE in order. Take a look!
http://www.pokemonaaah.net/images/20120215.rh.png
Again, it's somewhat out of order, probably done before packing in the booster box in order to prevent someone like me from easily figuring out how to get whatever reverse-holo rare they wanted. However, there aren't enough booster boxes to determine any specific order OR system of "shuffling"... yet. But this info is still onto something nifty!
In the 2 Noble Victories boxes I got before my RHs were the exact same among the 2 boxes, except for when a FA would replace a RH. They were even in the same order.
keniselvis
New Member
Not sure if this helps the conversation. I hope it does. When I bought a box of Black and White, and I was opening up packs, there was something different about the arrangement of cards in the packs that had full arts. I still can't put my finger on it, but when I opened up one pack and it was a little wierd there was a FA Zekrom. Then I'm opening up packs...get another weird one...FA Resh...and then the next times that the order was weird I'd be all, "I bet I got a FA" and I did.
Has anyone noticed this kind of thing?
I have opened up packs of Next Destinies and pulled a FA Kurem EX and a FA Regegigas EX and right away I knew I had something, but I think it's because I caught a glimpse of a double black edge (as in, black edge of the code card and the black edge of the EX).
Has anyone noticed this kind of thing?
I have opened up packs of Next Destinies and pulled a FA Kurem EX and a FA Regegigas EX and right away I knew I had something, but I think it's because I caught a glimpse of a double black edge (as in, black edge of the code card and the black edge of the EX).
Mainejuggalo
New Member
I tried the picking out of order packs strategy last night and it didn't work. No good pulls.
I just opened two boxes, noting down every card in each pack, with the packs in the order they appeared in each box. I also noted down the art on the front of each booster pack. Interestingly, both boxes had two regular EXes and one full art, and in both boxes the full art was the same pokémon as one of the two regular EXes. Also, in each box, two of the boosters that had EXes had Zekrom art on the outside, while one had Mewtwo art. This, of course, is nothing but a statistical anomaly - I just found it interesting
------
BOX 1:
------
Left:
1 (Mewtwo): 8 31 43 58 15 / 12 9 / 13 68 73 #
2 (Reshiram): 10 55 15 31 58 / 67 33 / 91 86 93 #
3 (Zekrom): 77 55 17 67 11 / 73 48 / 34 89 91 #
4 (Zekrom): 69 39 10 75 77 / 71 59 / 68 71 90 #
5 (Regigigas): 80 11 65 77 47 / 55 46 / 56 78 69 #
6 (Mewtwo): 6 52 23 18 36 / 4 62 / 91 26 92 #
7 (Reshiram): 61 3 63 77 65 / 70 81 / 92 26 88 #
8 (Reshiram): 36 6 52 80 47 / 26 29 / 71 88 87 #
9 (Zekrom): 83 8 67 69 75 / 10 53 / 89 44 4 #
10 (Regigigas): 10 42 31 47 8 / 7 35 / 19 66 87 #
11 (Mewtwo): 80 43 6 52 23 / 56 57 / 93 44 4 #
12 (Reshiram): 23 67 3 69 36 / 35 20 / 84 93 56 #
13 (Zekrom): 28 2 63 42 65 / 61 25 / 19 26 30 #
14 (Regigigas): 67 42 83 18 11 / 13 1 / 19 78 30 #
15 (Mewtwo): 23 39 43 52 6 / 48 38 / 89 24 4 # -- Kyurem EX (regular EX)
16 (Reshiram): 63 77 65 80 43 / 45 16 / 45 92 84 #
17 (Regigigas): 18 36 10 42 31 / 25 76 / 71 87 34 #
18 (Mewtwo): 11 75 8 83 18 / 37 14 / 44 78 32 #
Right:
1 (Zekrom): 58 2 39 17 28 / 18 50 / 49 86 40 #
2 (Regigigas): 58 15 55 17 61 / 49 85 / 45 93 56 #
3 (Mewtwo): 17 63 23 2 65 / 62 12 / 90 32 86 #
4 (Reshiram): 2 36 42 3 63 / 33 60 / 45 90 73 #
5 (Zekrom): 39 17 28 61 3 / 92 96 / 40 84 30 # -- Kyurem EX (full art)
6 (Regigigas): 47 6 43 15 83 / 8 70 / 24 66 40 #
7 (Regigigas): 47 83 8 67 69 / 30 7 / 89 44 4 #
8 (Zekrom): 15 58 18 61 28 / 86 27 / 88 49 91 #
9 (Regigigas): 43 15 83 58 2 / 69 64 / 68 87 32 #
10 (Mewtwo): 17 31 3 55 80 / 91 76 / 66 73 13 #
11 (Reshiram): 75 77 36 6 52 / 53 41 / 13 68 73 #
12 (Zekrom): 75 10 55 15 31 / 40 72 / 88 13 34 #
13 (Mewtwo): 80 47 8 31 43 / 88 9 / 89 24 66 #
14 (Reshiram): 58 3 28 61 18 / 52 48 / 86 49 90 #
15 (Regigigas): 67 11 69 83 75 / 58 29 / 34 89 91 #
16 (Mewtwo): 3 55 80 47 6 / 24 37 / 71 87 34 #
17 (Reshiram): 18 39 77 10 52 / 9 53 / 30 71 86 #
18 (Zekrom): 18 11 69 39 10 / 74 51 / 71 88 87 # -- Zekrom EX (regular EX)
------
BOX 2:
------
Left:
1 (Zekrom): 23 18 36 10 42 / 43 54 / 91 26 92 # -- Mewtwo EX (regular EX)
2 (Regigigas): 18 39 77 10 52 / 78 12 / 32 19 40 #
3 (Zekrom): 17 31 3 55 80 / 47 37 / 78 32 91 #
4 (Regigigas): 77 36 6 52 80 / 26 53 / 84 93 56 #
5 (Mewtwo): 83 18 11 69 39 / 85 72 / 92 4 84 #
6 (Reshiram): 42 3 63 23 39 / 57 81 / 66 87 44 #
7 (Zekrom): 67 69 75 10 55 / 19 62 / 73 24 88 #
8 (Regigigas): 75 15 58 18 61 / 3 46 / 88 49 91 #
9 (Mewtwo): 58 2 39 17 28 / 87 9 / 68 87 32 #
10 (Reshiram): 15 55 17 61 28 / 59 25 / 45 13 30 #
11 (Zekrom): 52 80 47 8 31 / 84 98 / 13 68 73 # -- Mewtwo EX (full art !!)
12 (Regigigas): 65 77 47 83 8 / 80 76 / 88 13 34 #
13 (Mewtwo): 17 67 11 69 83 / 71 79 / 34 92 78 #
14 (Reshiram): 47 6 43 15 83 / 27 29 / 71 87 34 #
15 (Zekrom): 47 8 31 43 58 / 86 85 / 30 71 86 #
16 (Regigigas): 10 75 77 36 6 / 28 27 / 86 93 4 #
17 (Mewtwo): 43 52 6 80 11 / 73 7 / 89 44 4 #
18 (Reshiram): 31 47 8 77 55 / 12 64 / 78 56 93 #
Right:
1 (Reshiram): 43 58 15 55 17 / 14 59 / 89 24 66 #
2 (Mewtwo): 61 28 2 63 42 / 79 48 / 26 89 87 #
3 (Reshiram): 15 31 58 3 28 / 89 16 / 90 32 86 #
4 (Zekrom): 28 2 36 42 3 / 16 70 / 45 90 73 #
5 (Regigigas): 61 3 63 77 65 / 39 21 / 90 49 66 #
6 (Mewtwo): 2 63 42 65 23 / 66 5 / 24 66 40 # -- Shaymin EX (regular EX)
7 (Mewtwo): 47 8 77 55 17 / 34 81 / 78 56 93 #
8 (Reshiram): 77 10 52 17 31 / 6 74 / 93 44 4 #
9 (Zekrom): 36 11 75 8 83 / 68 79 / 84 93 56 #
10 (Regigigas): 2 65 67 42 83 / 50 12 / 92 4 84 #
11 (Mewtwo): 6 80 11 65 77 / 93 33 / 56 78 68 #
12 (Reshiram): 18 36 10 42 31 / 29 35 / 91 26 92 #
13 (Zekrom): 75 8 83 18 39 / 65 25 / 32 19 40 #
14 (Regigigas): 65 23 67 3 69 / 44 60 / 19 26 30 #
15 (Mewtwo): 61 18 17 63 23 / 64 14 / 19 78 30 #
16 (Reshiram): 63 23 39 43 52 / 90 57 / 91 44 68 #
17 (Zekrom): 80 43 6 52 23 / 77 1 / 45 92 84 #
18 (Regigigas): 67 3 69 36 11 / 32 20 / 49 86 40 #
The EXes take the spot of the rare card, which means the reverse foil spot is left for a reverse holo card to fill. I didn't get any shinies, but I assume the same is true for those.
------
BOX 1:
------
Left:
1 (Mewtwo): 8 31 43 58 15 / 12 9 / 13 68 73 #
2 (Reshiram): 10 55 15 31 58 / 67 33 / 91 86 93 #
3 (Zekrom): 77 55 17 67 11 / 73 48 / 34 89 91 #
4 (Zekrom): 69 39 10 75 77 / 71 59 / 68 71 90 #
5 (Regigigas): 80 11 65 77 47 / 55 46 / 56 78 69 #
6 (Mewtwo): 6 52 23 18 36 / 4 62 / 91 26 92 #
7 (Reshiram): 61 3 63 77 65 / 70 81 / 92 26 88 #
8 (Reshiram): 36 6 52 80 47 / 26 29 / 71 88 87 #
9 (Zekrom): 83 8 67 69 75 / 10 53 / 89 44 4 #
10 (Regigigas): 10 42 31 47 8 / 7 35 / 19 66 87 #
11 (Mewtwo): 80 43 6 52 23 / 56 57 / 93 44 4 #
12 (Reshiram): 23 67 3 69 36 / 35 20 / 84 93 56 #
13 (Zekrom): 28 2 63 42 65 / 61 25 / 19 26 30 #
14 (Regigigas): 67 42 83 18 11 / 13 1 / 19 78 30 #
15 (Mewtwo): 23 39 43 52 6 / 48 38 / 89 24 4 # -- Kyurem EX (regular EX)
16 (Reshiram): 63 77 65 80 43 / 45 16 / 45 92 84 #
17 (Regigigas): 18 36 10 42 31 / 25 76 / 71 87 34 #
18 (Mewtwo): 11 75 8 83 18 / 37 14 / 44 78 32 #
Right:
1 (Zekrom): 58 2 39 17 28 / 18 50 / 49 86 40 #
2 (Regigigas): 58 15 55 17 61 / 49 85 / 45 93 56 #
3 (Mewtwo): 17 63 23 2 65 / 62 12 / 90 32 86 #
4 (Reshiram): 2 36 42 3 63 / 33 60 / 45 90 73 #
5 (Zekrom): 39 17 28 61 3 / 92 96 / 40 84 30 # -- Kyurem EX (full art)
6 (Regigigas): 47 6 43 15 83 / 8 70 / 24 66 40 #
7 (Regigigas): 47 83 8 67 69 / 30 7 / 89 44 4 #
8 (Zekrom): 15 58 18 61 28 / 86 27 / 88 49 91 #
9 (Regigigas): 43 15 83 58 2 / 69 64 / 68 87 32 #
10 (Mewtwo): 17 31 3 55 80 / 91 76 / 66 73 13 #
11 (Reshiram): 75 77 36 6 52 / 53 41 / 13 68 73 #
12 (Zekrom): 75 10 55 15 31 / 40 72 / 88 13 34 #
13 (Mewtwo): 80 47 8 31 43 / 88 9 / 89 24 66 #
14 (Reshiram): 58 3 28 61 18 / 52 48 / 86 49 90 #
15 (Regigigas): 67 11 69 83 75 / 58 29 / 34 89 91 #
16 (Mewtwo): 3 55 80 47 6 / 24 37 / 71 87 34 #
17 (Reshiram): 18 39 77 10 52 / 9 53 / 30 71 86 #
18 (Zekrom): 18 11 69 39 10 / 74 51 / 71 88 87 # -- Zekrom EX (regular EX)
------
BOX 2:
------
Left:
1 (Zekrom): 23 18 36 10 42 / 43 54 / 91 26 92 # -- Mewtwo EX (regular EX)
2 (Regigigas): 18 39 77 10 52 / 78 12 / 32 19 40 #
3 (Zekrom): 17 31 3 55 80 / 47 37 / 78 32 91 #
4 (Regigigas): 77 36 6 52 80 / 26 53 / 84 93 56 #
5 (Mewtwo): 83 18 11 69 39 / 85 72 / 92 4 84 #
6 (Reshiram): 42 3 63 23 39 / 57 81 / 66 87 44 #
7 (Zekrom): 67 69 75 10 55 / 19 62 / 73 24 88 #
8 (Regigigas): 75 15 58 18 61 / 3 46 / 88 49 91 #
9 (Mewtwo): 58 2 39 17 28 / 87 9 / 68 87 32 #
10 (Reshiram): 15 55 17 61 28 / 59 25 / 45 13 30 #
11 (Zekrom): 52 80 47 8 31 / 84 98 / 13 68 73 # -- Mewtwo EX (full art !!)
12 (Regigigas): 65 77 47 83 8 / 80 76 / 88 13 34 #
13 (Mewtwo): 17 67 11 69 83 / 71 79 / 34 92 78 #
14 (Reshiram): 47 6 43 15 83 / 27 29 / 71 87 34 #
15 (Zekrom): 47 8 31 43 58 / 86 85 / 30 71 86 #
16 (Regigigas): 10 75 77 36 6 / 28 27 / 86 93 4 #
17 (Mewtwo): 43 52 6 80 11 / 73 7 / 89 44 4 #
18 (Reshiram): 31 47 8 77 55 / 12 64 / 78 56 93 #
Right:
1 (Reshiram): 43 58 15 55 17 / 14 59 / 89 24 66 #
2 (Mewtwo): 61 28 2 63 42 / 79 48 / 26 89 87 #
3 (Reshiram): 15 31 58 3 28 / 89 16 / 90 32 86 #
4 (Zekrom): 28 2 36 42 3 / 16 70 / 45 90 73 #
5 (Regigigas): 61 3 63 77 65 / 39 21 / 90 49 66 #
6 (Mewtwo): 2 63 42 65 23 / 66 5 / 24 66 40 # -- Shaymin EX (regular EX)
7 (Mewtwo): 47 8 77 55 17 / 34 81 / 78 56 93 #
8 (Reshiram): 77 10 52 17 31 / 6 74 / 93 44 4 #
9 (Zekrom): 36 11 75 8 83 / 68 79 / 84 93 56 #
10 (Regigigas): 2 65 67 42 83 / 50 12 / 92 4 84 #
11 (Mewtwo): 6 80 11 65 77 / 93 33 / 56 78 68 #
12 (Reshiram): 18 36 10 42 31 / 29 35 / 91 26 92 #
13 (Zekrom): 75 8 83 18 39 / 65 25 / 32 19 40 #
14 (Regigigas): 65 23 67 3 69 / 44 60 / 19 26 30 #
15 (Mewtwo): 61 18 17 63 23 / 64 14 / 19 78 30 #
16 (Reshiram): 63 23 39 43 52 / 90 57 / 91 44 68 #
17 (Zekrom): 80 43 6 52 23 / 77 1 / 45 92 84 #
18 (Regigigas): 67 3 69 36 11 / 32 20 / 49 86 40 #
The EXes take the spot of the rare card, which means the reverse foil spot is left for a reverse holo card to fill. I didn't get any shinies, but I assume the same is true for those.
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wow this is amazing, read everything in this thread but still not sure how all this works even after visiting your site. Im not really sure how to read the whole print list on your website lol. Also i will definitely help you out ill record any boosters/boxes me and my friends buy and post them up on here Thanks for all your hard work!
Thanks for all your hard work!
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Nick15
Member
wow this is amazing, read everything in this thread but still not sure how all this works even after visiting your site. Im not really sure how to read the whole print list on your website lol. Also i will definitely help you out ill record any boosters/boxes me and my friends buy and post them up on here
OK, lemme see if I can sum it all up for you (and anyone else reading this who still have questions about what a print run is all about...)!
TL;DR VERSION:
The print run is the order of cards when they're printed, cut and stuffed into packs. Knowing this information can uncover all kinds of important and useful information, such as relative rarity of cards, what cards someone took during a Pass Draft, or possibly even allowing people to find specific (kinds?) of rares easier versus relying on blind luck.
Unfortunately, I haven't cracked the code that allows players to find specific (kinds?) or rares yet, so the Secondary Market is safe.... for now. >
Of course, there could be more things that can be learned by determining the print run o a set, but a print run for a single set has yet to be completed, so the total amount of knowledge we can acquire from knowing a set's print run is still unknown.... for now. (But there's only one way to find out!
).........
LONGER VERSION:
When cards--Pokémon, Magic, etc--are printed, they're not printed one by one, but on a HUGE sheet of X by Y cards. Individual cards are then cut from that sheet and put into packs. Here's an example of a sheet of uncut Pokémon cards:
* http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lprr4zKRAg1qdhp4ao1_400.jpg
Sheets of cards are separated by rarity. So for any given set of cards, there is at least one sheet for the Commons, one sheet for the Uncommons, one for nonholo Rares, one for Holo-rares (like in that image above) and one for Reverse holos. Generally/lately these sheets have been eleven by eleven cards, making for a total of 121 cards per sheet; however this format is not always followed, for example, that sheet in the image above is only ten by eleven cards, or 110 cards total.
The number of cards on a sheet of uncut cards is relatively consistant--lately they have been 121 cards total for all of them. But since there are only, like, 99 cards in a Pokémon set (and thus about 33 commons in it), cards need to be duplicated several times on the card sheet. By doing so, the designers can also control the relative rarity of a certain card. For example, when Emerging Powers was released, people had noticed a relative scarcity of Pokémon Catchers relative to other Uncommons, even though technically Uncommons were supposed to be equally available. I later discovered why; on the 121-card Uncommon sheet, most cards appeared four or five times, while Pokémon Catcher (and Max Potion) appeared only three times. That way, it's still technically an Uncommon--in that, it appears in the Uncommon slot in a pack of cards--but your chances of getting on is considerably less than some other Uncommon.
If a set has like 400 cards in it--and thus more than 121 commons, uncommons, rares, etc in it, or if the number of cards of a single rarity make it hard to give them an even rarity on the sheet (for example, if there were 90 commons, that means most will only appear once on the sheet while 31 of them will, unfairly, appear twice), then there may actually be two unique sheets of cards for that single rarity. Fortunately this doesn't happen in Pokémon due to the relatively small size of each set, but it doesn't mean it couldn't happen in the future...
Now the order of cards on a sheet of Pokémon cards can be determined by simply opening a pack of cards and recording the order the commons and uncommons appear in. For example, if you open a pack of Next Destinies and see Sneasel #69 as the first common, then most likely it'll be followed by either:
* Cubchoo #36,*Growlithe #11,*Bronzor #75,*Pansage #8
* Pidove #83,*Bronzor #75,*Pansear #15,*Munna #58
* Bronzor #75,*Growlithe #10,*Ralts #55,*Pansear*#15
* Pikachu #39,*Growlithe #10,*Bronzor #75,*Ferroseed*#77
...AND they will appear in that order. Of course, which one you get will vary, and this is by virtue of the fact that Sneasel #69 appears four times on the Next Destinies' Common card sheet.
The idea here is that we can record this order from multiple packs and find common links between cards, thus allowing us to figure out the order that they appeared on their respective card sheets. And this is because, when cards are cut and put into packs, they are cut in the order they appear on the card sheet.
The same applies to cards on the nonholo-rare, holo-rare, reverse holo and other rare card sheets. However, their order can be determined by the order of packs found in a booster box.
The thing is though, sorting out a set's print run is a HUGE undertaking. I've determined that it takes data from about 250 packs to sort out the Common Print Run, at least 400 packs for the Uncommon Print run, and perhaps 1000+ for just the nonholo-rare print run alone. Sorting out the holo-rare print run may require three times as much. But I'm sure that, just like the common and uncommon print run, the print runs for the various rares can be easily determined, it's only a matter of time and effort... something that I've noticed grows with each new set.
Knowing the print run of a set can have all kinds of positive (and potentially negative) effects. For example, if you're playing in a Pass Draft, you can KNOW which cards were taken by your neighbors and adjust your strategy accordingly. For example, if you get packs and notice that all the Pikachu have been taken, then you can bet someone pulled a Raichu from their pack and thus adjust your strategy accordingly.
Knowing the print run can also help us to understand the relative rarity of cards, as explained above. This way we can know for sure if a card is as relatively rare as people think they are, or if rumors of their rarity is one that has no basis in reality. Again, the rumor was that Pokémon Catcher was specifically limited by Nintendo to be found twice in a box, but in reality it was more like 2.67 times in a box, and not including the chance of getting a reverse holo version.
Now it MAY also be possible to determine what rare--or at least what KIND of rare--will appear. For example, if you open the top two packs and see a Musharna nonholo-rare and a Simipour nonholo-rare, then you can use that key data to determine that the Weavile nonolo-rare is only two packs below. The same thing can be done concerning reverse holos; if the top two packs have a Munna reverse and a Panpour reverse, then perhaps a Sneasel reverse is two packs below. .... Of course this is a guesstimation, and one which so far the pack data have NOT been able to corroborate... it may just be because I don't have enough pack data to determine any order, or Nintendo deliberately shuffles packs before they are put into boxes in order to prevent this sort of cherry picking from happening. In any case, the jury is still out. However, if it IS possible to literally cherry pick specific rares (or specific kinds of rares) from packs without opening them, then it may be a negative effect of knowing a set's print run. But I'm not going to let that potential stop me from finding it out; if anything it may encourage Nintendo to fix that gaping hole in their system... because if *I* figured it out, that means someone else can/did too!
Eventually though, I hope that sooner or later the print run of *A* set can be cracked and the impact of this knowledge can finally be seen. But I suspect it'll be a long time before that happens, and thus the full list off potential lessons that a print run can teach us is still unknown.
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READING THE PRINT RUN LIST:
BTW, here's how to figure out how to read the list that's on my site:
* L# = List number.
--- The order of the list is the order these cards can appear in a pack. For example, for Next Destinies commons, that particular Elgyem #61 will ALWAYS be followed by a Panpour #28, and those will ALWAYS be followed by a Seedot #2, and all three of those will ALWAYS be followed by a Riolu #63. Now, where this list starts is completely arbitrary; even though the list ends with Darumaka #17, it'll just loop right back up to Elgyem #61.
* ##, Type, Name = Card number, card type, card name
--- This is simply the info about the card.
* Version = Version of the card
--- Because some Pokémon appear twice, this is where I determine which version of it that this entry is; such as, whether it's the Growlithe with one or two attacks.
* C# = Count number
--- This is the number of times this specific card appears on the card sheet. You'll notice that many times a card appears four times, but sometime's it's five times, other times a card appears only thrice.
* DIS = Distance
--- This info shows the distance between one card and another copy of the same cards. For example, if one card has "DIS = 24", that means another copy of that specific card will appar 24 cards below it. Try it for yourself; just find a card and count down until you see that card again.
* DIFFER = Difference
--- Some of the lists have this; it's similar to the Distance number, except that it lists the difference between the card's number. For example, if you have a Kricketot #45 and a Joltik #81, the DIFFER number is 36 (because 81-45=36).
But that's how you can read the print run list. Again, the order they appear on the list is the order they appear in a fresh pack of cards. Yah dig??
............
Anyways, that's what a print run is all about! Well, for the most part.
Hopefully you found this enlightening (albeit a little lengthy...)!
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Of note this is incorrect.
Nick15
Member
TL;DR VERSION:
I'm not going to be the kind of idiot who says "youre wrong!", simply because you know 100% more about how cards are printed and what number they're printed at than I do. All I'm doing is drawing conclusions based on the data I've received from people's packs. While I assume the data and my conclusions are accurate, I also EASILY accept that they may not be for any number of reasons (poor sample size, sample isn't randomized enough, etc). As such, while I believe that the conclusion that Pokémon Catcher appears three times on the 121 card Uncommon sheet is accurate, I openly accept that it could be incorrect.
Now, short of you personally sharing with the community the exact details of what the Print Run entails, this is all any of us have to go on. Again, all I can (and, honestly, should) state is that:
* the data shows that Pokémon Catch appeared 17 out of 669 Uncommons, which is 2.541%
* a card that appears three times on a 121 card sheet appears 2.479%
This could be a coincidence. I personally don't think it is, but I also openly recognize that my conclusion is based on incomplete data and thus am completely open to any holes people can poke in my data and conclusion. In any case, I will leave the final conclusion up to the readers.
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LONGER VERSION (as in, you can skip this if you want):
I will admit that the Emerging Powers Uncommon print run is incomplete. My rationalle for why Catcher only appears three times on the 121 card seet is based on:
* That--if I recall correctly--Catcher only appears in two unique locations in the data; obviously this is due to a hole in the data, but, conversely, it also didn't appear in four unique locations like other cards have
* The percentage it appears in the data (17/669, or 2.541%) is closer to the percentage of a card appearing three times on a 121 card sheet (2.479%, or 16.58/669) than a card appearing four times on a 121 card sheet (3.305%, or 22.11/669).
* Furthermore, I felt that 223 packs--and thus 669 Uncommons--was a large enough sample size to be able to draw accurate-enough conclusions about the availability of individual cards. (I openly accept that I am wrong about that.)
All in all, I felt that the data I had was enough to led me to the conclusion that Catcher appeared only three times on the 121 card sheet. But, again, this is a conclusion that is based on the idea that the data I received from everyone was a random-enough sample, that is was accurately recorded, that the Uncommon card sheet was 121 (eleven by eleven), that there was only one sheet of Uncommons, and that the printers properly cut and packaged the Uncommon card sheet.
If, on the other hand, Catcher does NOT appear on a card sheet three times and instead appears twice, four or five times, then this could mean any number of things... such as (but not limited to) I didn't have a random enough sample, that people didn't accurately record their data, that the Uncommon sheet was not 121 card large, that there is more than one Uncommon sheet and/or the printers didn't properly cut and package the Uncommon sheet.
In any case, the only thing I can TRULY and ACCURATELY state about my conclusions is that it is based on the data of the 223 packs I received. If my conclusions about Pokémon Catcher is wrong--which, again, I'm completely open to--it's for the same reason ANY and ALL statistical data is wrong: the data was, among other things, not a random sampling, that the samples were not independent enough from the rest (assuming many packs came from booster boxes, then perhaps booster boxes aren't completely random?), that this data sample has only been analyzed by one person (me) and thus have not been independently verified by someone else, and/or I simply did not have enough random samples.
Again, the only thing I feel that I CAN conclude is that, according to my sample of 223 packs (and thus 669 Uncommons), Pokémon Catcher appears 17 times, which is 2.541%. It may be a coincidence that other card sheets are 121 cards large and a card that appears 3 times on that sheet has a percentage of 2.479%. It is my personal opinion that it isn't a coincidence, but, having said all that I have, I'll finally leave it up to the reader to determine their own conclusions.
....
Of course, if you were talking about something else being incorrect, then... Well, at least I reminded myself of what my duties are as someone studying statistical information and is trying to draw conclusions from them.
(And just fyi, I write a lot because I want to try to make sure I cover everything. I prefer people to feel that I overthink than have them feel that I underthink.)- Status