Fusion Strike Booster Box Guide

A Fusion Strike booster box holds 36 packs from Sword & Shield—Fusion Strike, the Pokémon TCG expansion that brought Mew VMAX, Genesect V and a brand-new battle style to English shelves on 12 November 2021. Collectors still ask us about it, so this guide covers how big the set is, how the Fusion Strike style works, which alternate arts people chase, and what you get in a box and a pack.

Good news if you’ve been hunting for one: Fusion Strike is in stock at Obsidia TCG. We have the English Pokemon TCG Fusion Strike Booster Box, the Pokemon TCG: Fusion Strike Elite Trainer Box and the Pokemon TCG: Fusion Strike Build & Battle Stadium, plus the Korean Fusion Arts booster box. Further down, we explain what’s inside each one so you can pick the right format.

What Was Sword & Shield—Fusion Strike?

Fusion Strike was the eighth main expansion of the Sword & Shield era, listed under the code SWSH8 and the abbreviation FST. It arrived in November 2021, after Evolving Skies in August and the Celebrations anniversary set in October, and before Brilliant Stars in February 2022.

At 284 cards it was also unusually large. Bulbapedia’s Fusion Strike page notes that it held the record for the largest English expansion until Ascended Heroes arrived with 295 cards on 30 January 2026. If that newer set interests you, our Ascended Heroes Pokémon Center ETB guide covers its Elite Trainer Boxes.

The English set wasn’t a straight translation of one Japanese release. Its core came from Fusion Arts, the Japanese expansion released on 24 September 2021, and Bulbapedia lists cards from several other Japanese products as well, including High-Class Decks, Eevee Heroes cards that hadn’t appeared in Evolving Skies, and a handful of promos. That’s why the English list is so much longer than the Japanese one.

Fusion Strike Key Facts

• Full name: Sword & Shield—Fusion Strike, code SWSH8, abbreviated FST.
• English release date: 12 November 2021.
• Set size: 284 cards, made up of 264 in the main numbering plus 20 secret rares numbered 265 to 284.
• Japanese basis: Fusion Arts, released on 24 September 2021, plus cards from other Japanese products.
• Pokémon V and VMAX: 20 Pokémon V, 13 full-art Pokémon V and eight Pokémon VMAX.
• Trainers and Energy: 20 Trainer cards, seven full-art Supporters and one Special Energy card.
• Fusion Strike cards: 25 cards carry the new Fusion Strike style.
• Fusion Strike booster box: 36 booster packs.
• Fusion Strike booster pack: 10 cards from the set plus a basic Energy card.

The card counts come from the official launch announcement from The Pokémon Company International, and Limitless TCG’s Fusion Strike list confirms the 284-card total and the release date. The official counts also line up neatly with the numbering: the 13 full-art Pokémon V are cards 245 to 257, and the seven full-art Supporters are 258 to 264.

The Fusion Strike Battle Style Explained

Battle Styles, released in March 2021, introduced Single Strike and Rapid Strike cards. Fusion Strike added a third style. The official announcement describes it as “decorated with a hint of purple and pink”, with attacks that focus on teamwork, and says these Pokémon generally benefit when other Fusion Strike Pokémon are in play. The style also appears on Trainer and Special Energy cards, so you can build a whole deck around it.

A few cards show how it works in practice:

• Mew VMAX: its Cross Fusion Strike attack lets you choose an attack from one of your Benched Fusion Strike Pokémon and use it as this attack.
• Genesect V: once during your turn, its Fusion Strike System Ability lets you draw until you have as many cards in hand as you have Fusion Strike Pokémon in play.
• Fusion Strike Energy: a Special Energy that can only be attached to Fusion Strike Pokémon. It provides every type of Energy, one at a time, and blocks the effects of your opponent’s Pokémon’s Abilities on the Pokémon it’s attached to.
• Power Tablet: an Item that makes your Fusion Strike Pokémon’s attacks do 30 more damage to your opponent’s Active Pokémon that turn.
• Elesa’s Sparkle: a Supporter that finds a Fusion Strike Energy for each of up to two of your Fusion Strike Pokémon and attaches it.

You don’t need to play to enjoy the set, but these cards explain why Mew VMAX, Genesect V and Hoopa V were the Fusion Strike cards Pokémon chose to highlight when it announced the expansion. Elesa’s Sparkle, Power Tablet and Fusion Strike Energy are all uncommons, so they’re among the style cards you’ll see more often when you open a Fusion Strike booster box.

Fusion Strike Chase Cards: Mew VMAX and the Alternate Arts

Most of the cards collectors chase from Fusion Strike are what the community calls alternate arts: full-art cards that show the Pokémon in an illustrated scene. Bulbapedia and PkmnCards list them as Special Full Art cards. There’s no official ranking, so treat this as a list of the cards most associated with the set and the ones people hope for when they open a Fusion Strike booster box. The numbers below come from Bulbapedia’s card pages and PkmnCards, checked against each other.

Mew VMAX 269/264

The Mew VMAX alternate art, illustrated by Akira Egawa, is one of the cards most closely linked with the set. Mew VMAX appears three times in English Fusion Strike: as the regular VMAX, as the rainbow rare at 268/264 and as the alternate art at 269/264. In Japan the same card first appeared in Fusion Arts, where the alternate art is numbered 119/100. For many collectors, it’s the card they most hope to find in a Fusion Strike booster pack.

Gengar VMAX and Espeon VMAX

Two more alternate-art VMAX cards sit next to Mew in the numbering: Espeon VMAX at 270/264, illustrated by Kouki Saitou, and Gengar VMAX at 271/264, illustrated by sowsow. The fourth is Inteleon VMAX at 266/264.

Neither Gengar nor Espeon is in the Japanese Fusion Arts card list. They came from other Japanese products and were added to the English set, which is one of the reasons English Fusion Strike is so much bigger than Fusion Arts. It also means these English versions come from a Fusion Strike booster box or pack, not a Fusion Arts one.

Mew V, Celebi V and Genesect V

The full-art Pokémon V run from 245 to 257, and three of them are alternate arts: Celebi V at 245/264, illustrated by Teeziro, Mew V at 251/264 and Genesect V at 255/264. Mew V and Genesect V also have standard full arts, at 250/264 and 254/264. Like Gengar and Espeon, the Celebi V alternate art isn’t part of the Japanese Fusion Arts list.

Rainbow Rares and the Other Secret Rares

The 20 secret rares are numbered 265 to 284. Alongside the four alternate-art VMAX cards, there are rainbow rare versions of Chandelure VMAX, Boltund VMAX, Mew VMAX and Greedent VMAX, seven rainbow rare Supporters, and five more secret rares: Flaaffy, Power Tablet, Training Court, Grass Energy and Fire Energy. The seven Supporters, among them Elesa’s Sparkle, Shauna and Sidney, also appear as full arts numbered 258 to 264.

What’s in a Fusion Strike Booster Box?

A standard English Fusion Strike booster box contains 36 booster packs. Retailer listings and set databases agree on that count and on 10 cards per pack, which gives you 360 cards from the set in a full box. Bulbapedia adds that each pack also contains a basic Energy card alongside the 10 cards from the expansion, so a Fusion Strike booster box also gives you 36 basic Energy cards.

Pack contents are random, and Pokémon doesn’t promise any particular card in a box. A Fusion Strike booster box is the most complete way to open the set in one go, but no box contains every card, and there’s no guarantee of an alternate art or any other secret rare.

With 284 cards to collect, a single Fusion Strike booster box is unlikely to complete the set, so many collectors pair sealed product with single cards for the gaps. That’s worth knowing before you choose a format.

What Is in a Fusion Strike Booster Pack?

A Fusion Strike booster pack contains 10 cards from the set plus a basic Energy card. The official announcement says the set arrived in booster packs, Elite Trainer Boxes and special collections, so packs turn up inside many different products, not just boxes.

One early product was the Build & Battle Box, available from 30 October 2021, ahead of the main release. It held four Fusion Strike booster packs, a 23-card Evolution Pack with one of four promo cards, and a deckbuilding tip sheet.

If you only want to try the set, a product with a handful of packs is the smallest way in. If you’d like to open a broad spread of the set at once, a full box of 36 packs is the usual format.

Fusion Strike Booster Box, ETB and More: What We Stock

Here’s what each Fusion Strike product contains, so you can match the format to the way you like to open, collect or play. Every product page shows its current stock, and you’ll find the rest of our English range in the English Pokémon cards category.

Pokemon TCG Fusion Strike Booster Box

Our Pokemon TCG Fusion Strike Booster Box is the English Fusion Strike booster box: 36 booster packs, each with 10 cards from the set plus a basic Energy card. It’s the most packs you can open from the set in one go, and the best fit if you’re chasing the alternate arts or want to sort a big pile of cards into a binder.

Pokemon TCG: Fusion Strike Elite Trainer Box

The Pokemon TCG: Fusion Strike Elite Trainer Box is the purple Mew box. Retailer listings for this Elite Trainer Box give the same contents list:

• 8 Fusion Strike booster packs
• 65 card sleeves featuring Mew
• 45 Pokémon TCG Energy cards
• A player’s guide to the Fusion Strike expansion and a Pokémon TCG rulebook
• 6 damage-counter dice, 1 competition-legal coin-flip die and 2 acrylic condition markers
• A collector’s box with 4 dividers
• A code card for the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online

The sleeves, dice and markers make it a good first box for a new player, and the box itself is handy for storing a deck afterwards. Eight packs is also a gentler start than a full Fusion Strike booster box.

Pokemon TCG: Fusion Strike Build & Battle Stadium

The Pokemon TCG: Fusion Strike Build & Battle Stadium is built for two players. Retailer listings describe it as two Build & Battle Boxes, each with a 23-card Evolution Pack that includes one of four foil promo cards, plus four extra booster packs for 12 Fusion Strike booster packs in all. It also holds 121 Energy cards, 6 damage-counter dice, a competition-legal coin-flip die, 2 acrylic condition markers and a collector’s box.

Each of those 12 packs is a standard Fusion Strike booster pack. It suits two people who want to build decks from their packs and play each other straight away, in the style of a prerelease event.

Korean – Fusion Arts – Booster Box

Our Korean – Fusion Arts – Booster Box is the Korean-language edition of Fusion Arts. Retailer listings describe Korean Fusion Arts boxes as 30 packs of five cards, and the cards carry Korean text. Because it’s Fusion Arts rather than Fusion Strike, its card list follows the Japanese set, not the 284-card English one.

It isn’t a Fusion Strike booster box, but it shares the headline Mew VMAX, Mew V and Genesect V cards with Fusion Strike, in a different language and pack format. You can browse more boxes like it in our Korean Pokémon category.

Is Fusion Arts the Same Set as Fusion Strike?

Not quite. Fusion Arts is the Japanese expansion that Fusion Strike was built on, released on 24 September 2021. Bulbapedia and Serebii’s Fusion Arts page both list it at 129 cards: 100 in the main numbering and 29 secret rares. Bulbapedia notes that each Fusion Arts pack contains five cards, and retailers list Japanese and Korean boxes at 30 packs.

The English set combined Fusion Arts with cards from other Japanese releases, which is how it reached 284 cards. So the two overlap heavily but aren’t identical, and a Fusion Arts box isn’t simply a Fusion Strike booster box in another language. Mew V, Mew VMAX and Genesect V, including their alternate arts, are part of Fusion Arts, while the Gengar VMAX, Espeon VMAX and Celebi V alternate arts from English Fusion Strike are not in the Fusion Arts list.

Which Fusion Strike Product Should You Buy?

• You want to open as many packs as possible: the Fusion Strike booster box, with 36 packs.
• You want packs plus sleeves, dice and a storage box: the Elite Trainer Box, with eight packs.
• You want to build decks and play with a friend: the Build & Battle Stadium, with 12 packs and two Evolution Packs.
• You’d like a smaller first taste: the Elite Trainer Box, whose eight packs are the fewest of any Fusion Strike product we stock.
• You prefer Korean cards or the Fusion Arts list: the Korean Fusion Arts booster box.
• You’re chasing the Gengar VMAX, Espeon VMAX or Celebi V alternate arts: choose an English product, because those cards aren’t in Fusion Arts.

There’s no wrong answer. Some collectors open an English box for the alternate arts and add a Korean Fusion Arts box for the different language and artwork.

More From the Same Era

If you’d like to open cards from the sets around Fusion Strike alongside your Fusion Strike booster box, these are worth a look.

Evolving Skies, released on 27 August 2021, was the main set before Fusion Strike. It has 237 cards and focuses on Dragon-type Pokémon such as Rayquaza VMAX and Duraludon VMAX, with every Eeveelution included as a Pokémon V. Our English – Evolving Skies – Loose Booster Pack is a single English pack from the set.

Celebrations marked the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon TCG and was released on 8 October 2021, about a month before Fusion Strike. It’s a 50-card set, with a 25-card main set plus the 25-card Classic Collection of remade classic cards, and each pack contains four cards. Our English – Celebrations – Loose Booster Pack is a single pack, and a lighter open than a Fusion Strike booster pack, with four cards instead of ten.

Darkness Ablaze was the third main Sword & Shield expansion, released on 14 August 2020, with Charizard VMAX among its cards. Our Darkness Ablaze Half Booster Box is, as the name says, a half-size box rather than a full display, and a smaller commitment than a full Fusion Strike booster box.

You’ll find more single packs from older and current sets in our English booster packs category.

Tips for Collecting Fusion Strike

• Read the card number. On cards from a Fusion Strike booster pack, 245 to 264 are full arts, and anything above 264 is a secret rare.
• Learn the alternate arts. Celebi V, Mew V and Genesect V have alternate full arts, and Inteleon, Mew, Espeon and Gengar have alternate-art VMAX cards.
• Don’t mix up numbering. Japanese Fusion Arts cards are numbered out of 100, and Korean Fusion Arts cards follow that list, so their numbers won’t match the English /264 ones.
• Sleeve your best pulls straight away. Put any full art or secret rare in a sleeve, then a toploader or binder. The Elite Trainer Box comes with 65 sleeves to get you started.
• Store sealed product carefully. Keep boxes flat, out of direct sunlight and away from damp.
• Decide before you open. A sealed Fusion Strike booster box can’t be resealed, so choose whether you’re opening or keeping it sealed before you cut the wrapping.
• Fill gaps with singles. With 284 cards, buying the last few singles is usually easier than opening more packs.

Fusion Strike Booster Box FAQs

Where to Buy a Fusion Strike Booster Box in the UK

You can buy Fusion Strike from us. For the full 36-pack experience, start with the Pokemon TCG Fusion Strike Booster Box. For eight packs plus sleeves and accessories, choose the Pokemon TCG: Fusion Strike Elite Trainer Box, and for two-player deckbuilding, pick the Pokemon TCG: Fusion Strike Build & Battle Stadium. Prefer Korean cards? The Korean – Fusion Arts – Booster Box is the Fusion Arts edition.

If you’re weighing up a newer box instead, our Mega Evolution booster box guide explains what’s inside a box from the first Mega Evolution set. You’ll find more guides in our Pokémon TCG guides, and if you have any questions about a product, email us at sales@obsidiatcg.co.uk.