Pokémon TCG Pocket’s Deluxe Pack: ex Sparks Outrage — 353 Cards, One-Month Window, No Cross-Set Credit

Pokémon TCG Pocket’s one-year anniversary expansion, Deluxe Pack: ex, has upset many players by breaking the usual rules for how expansions and collections work. The pack launched Sept. 30 and introduced a large, unusual bundle of cards — but its design choices and a one-month availability window have created confusion and frustration.

1. What is Deluxe Pack: ex?
2. How the pack works (key mechanics)
3. Why players are upset
4. Developer statement and Pack Points
5. Player reactions and examples
6. Conclusion

What is Deluxe Pack: ex?

Deluxe Pack: ex is a single booster pack released for Pokémon TCG Pocket on Sept. 30, 2024. Unlike typical expansions that add 100–200 new cards across one or two booster types, this pack lists 353 cards in its collection. However, most of those cards are duplicates of cards already released in prior expansions.

Additionally, the Deluxe Pack: ex collection is treated as its own set. That means if you obtain a card from this pack, it only counts toward the Deluxe Pack: ex collection and not the original expansion where that card first appeared.

How the pack works (key mechanics)

There are a few notable mechanical differences from usual packs:

• Each Deluxe Pack: ex pull contains four cards instead of the usual five.
• Every pack guarantees at least one card of four-diamond rarity or higher, increasing chances for full-art or ex cards in each pull.
• The expansion is time-limited and will become unavailable on Oct. 30, 2024.
• Pack Points earned from opening packs can only be spent on packs in the expansion you earned them from.

Why players are upset

Players have raised three main complaints.

1) Collection tracking

Because cards pulled from Deluxe Pack: ex only count toward that set, they do not fill gaps in the original expansions. For example, if you still need Lugia ex from the Wisdom of Sea and Sky set, getting Lugia ex from Deluxe Pack: ex will not mark it as collected in Wisdom of Sea and Sky.

2) Time-limited availability

Expansions in TCG Pocket historically do not expire. So the Oct. 30 deadline is a new change. Even though most cards remain available in older expansions, the hard deadline for this set forces players who want the Deluxe Pack: ex collection to act quickly.

3) Monetization and access

Free-to-play players note that earning all 353 distinct cards via the provided free pulls is mathematically impossible before the set expires. Opening two free packs per day at four cards each does not come close to covering 353 unique cards, even if you were somehow never to pull duplicates. That leaves paying options — Poké Gold or Hourglasses — as the realistic route to completion for most collectors.

Developer statement and Pack Points

Developers Creatures Inc. and DeNA posted an update on X about Pack Points. Their exact wording was: “Points earned won’t expire even if the provision period for that set ends.”

However, because Pack Points can only be spent on the set where they were earned, players wonder how useful those points will be once the pack becomes unavailable on Oct. 30.

⚠️ Notice ⚠️

Regarding Pack Points for the Deluxe Pack: ex and all other expansions:

Points earned won't expire even if the provision period for that set ends. You can still use these points to exchange for cards from that set. pic.twitter.com/ij6e8GUR5w

— Pokémon TCG Pocket (@PokemonTCGP) October 3, 2025

Player reactions and examples

Players have voiced concerns across the community. Some turned to Reddit to explain how Deluxe Pack: ex has affected their enjoyment and collection goals; others called for system changes like universal Pack Points.

A free-to-play player wrote that “The Deluxe ex set is ‘breaking the spell’ of chasing a complete collection and might be an off-ramp out of the game for players like me,” which they posted on Reddit here: this subreddit thread.

Another player described the deck-building friction caused by the set being treated as the newest expansion, noting that default views now surface many cards players already owned. That discussion appears in this Reddit thread: this post, with one reply bluntly calling the set “a dumpster fire” (linked comment).

When the developers’ Pack Points clarification was reshared, the post generated sarcastic responses and calls for universal Pack Points. That thread is here: regarding Pack Points. One pointed comment from user Whale0Fate summed up anger more tersely: “‘From that set’ FUCK YOU DENA.” The original comment is preserved here: quoted comment.

Overall, many players say the set favors spenders and undermines the collecting experience for those who play casually or only to complete collections.

Conclusion

Deluxe Pack: ex changes how cards count toward collections, shortens the time window to earn a specific set, and alters pack pull mechanics. Consequently, a portion of the community feels locked out of completing collections without spending money.

For now, the developers’ statement about Pack Points addresses expiration, but not how players will practically use those points if the set disappears from the shop. Meanwhile, community threads and posts continue to call for clearer systems — including universal Pack Points or retroactive collection credit — to avoid similar issues in future expansions.