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Heracross card art from Triumphant Light A2a

Image courtesy of TCGdex.net

Overview

Derived from the Triumphant Light collection, the card depicts a Grass-type Basic Pokémon renowned for its horn and nectar-obsessed behavior. The artwork is credited to Satoshi Shirai, a contributing illustrator for several entries in the Triumphant Light lineup. With a modest 100 hit points and a direct, coin-flip-dependent attack, the card embodies a straightforward, high-variance offense that appeals to collectors and players who value unique attack mechanics and flavor text. Its rarity, listed as Two Diamond, marks it as a relatively desirable variant within the set’s distribution. While its theme centers on nectar devotion and rival deterrence, the card also stands as a snapshot of card design and illustration trends within the Triumphant Light era.

Card Information

Name: Heracross
Set: Triumphant Light (A2a)
Card Number: A2a-001
Rarity: Two Diamond
Type: Grass
Stage: Basic
HP: 100
Illustrator: Satoshi Shirai
Flavor Text: It loves sweet nectar. To keep all the nectar to itself, it hurls rivals away with its prized horn.
Evolution: Basic Pokémon (no pre-evolution in this card’s line)
Attacks:

Single-Horn Throw — Cost: Grass, Colorless, Colorless
Effect: Flip 2 coins. If both are heads, this attack does 70 more damage.
Damage: 50+

Weaknesses: Fire (+20)
Retreat Cost: 2
Legal Formats: Standard: False, Expanded: False
Variants: Normal, Reverse, Holo (as indicated by set details)
Set Details: Card Count — Official: 75, Total: 96; Set ID: A2a
Set Logo: https://assets.tcgdex.net/en/tcgp/A2a/logo
Set Symbol: https://assets.tcgdex.net/univ/tcgp/A2a/symbol
Image: https://assets.tcgdex.net/en/tcgp/A2a/001

Gameplay and Strategy

Heracross presents a straightforward offensive profile tempered by a highly variable outcome due to its coin-flip mechanic. The attack, Single-Horn Throw, requires a Grass Energy plus two Colorless Energies and deals a base 50 damage. The added dynamic comes from flipping two coins, with the potential to add up to 70 extra damage if both flips land heads. This creates a damage ceiling of 120 on a single attack, but only if the coin results cooperate. In practice, this makes the card a high-risk, high-reward play that hinges on probability rather than consistent output.

Because the card is designated as Basic Grass and has no evolution line, it serves as a potential early setup piece in decks that can accelerate Grass Energy to facilitate the attack. However, the card’s legal status—listed as not legal in standard or expanded formats—restricts its use to non-competitive environments or historical/collector-focused play. In formats where this card is not permitted, its strategic value is primarily decorative or experiential for players studying coin-flip-based mechanics rather than competing in current tournaments.

Key strategic considerations include the following:

Coin-flip dependency: The attack’s potential to reach 120 damage rests entirely on achieving two heads in two flips. Players must assess the risk-reward balance when planning early-game trades and bench setup.
Energy requirements: The Grass + Colorless + Colorless cost requires careful energy placement. Decks that favor Grass interactions or energy acceleration can better realize an opening assault with Heracross, though limited legality may constrain such builds.
Weakness and protection: With Fire-type weaknesses that increase damage received, positioning Heracross against opponents carrying Fire-type threats requires consideration of stamina, retreat cost, and bench support to mitigate risk.
Deck archetypes: While not standard-legal, historical or themed decks could feature Heracross as a novelty slot illustrating coin-based damage mechanics or as part of a broader Grass-type nostalgia collection.

In the larger scope of the game’s history, cards like this one illustrate design experiments—balancing straightforward attack costs with probabilistic outcomes and flavor text that emphasizes the Pokémon’s ecology and temperament. As such, Heracross offers insights into how early- and mid-era sets explored risk-reward paradigms within a single-card framework.

Collector and Market Information

The rarity designation Two Diamond places this card within a tier that collectors often seek for completion of the Triumphant Light set and for its holo variants. Triumphant Light is described by its card count distribution, with an official card tally of 75 and a total of 96 cards across all printings and variants. The A2a subset is identified by its unique set identifier and accompanying logo and symbol assets, underscoring its place in the broader expansion sequence.

The card’s holo and reverse-holo variants contribute to its appeal among collectors, particularly for players and enthusiasts who value holographic treatments as a sign of rarity and display value. First Edition status is indicated as false in the provided dataset, which can influence nostalgia-based pricing and provenance considerations. Market values for this card—like many collectible Pokémon cards—tend to reflect condition, variant, and whether the card appears in a graded collection. Users should consult current price guides and marketplace listings for up-to-date valuations, noting that the card’s non-legal status in current competitive formats can affect demand in casual collections and display-focused markets.

As with other historical entries, high-grade copies, especially holo variants, may command premium relative to regular prints. The set’s overall collector interest is often driven by the artwork, embossing quality, and condition of the holofoil surface, as well as the perceived completeness of the Triumphant Light collection.

Art and Lore

Satoshi Shirai’s illustration brings the herbivorous, nectar-loving motif to life, aligning with the flavor text that describes Heracross’s affinity for nectar and its horn-driven behavior toward rivals. The artwork complements the card’s mechanical concept by visually conveying both the strength and the territorial tendencies of the species. In the Pokémon world, Heracross is commonly associated with beetle-like aesthetics and a horn that doubles as a tool for defense and competition. The Triumphant Light edition couples this aesthetic with a more stylized, modern card frame and foil treatments that accentuate the horn’s silhouette and the creature’s muscular form.

The flavor text situates Heracross within a simple ecological narrative—nectar as a resource it guards, and a horn as the instrument by which it ensures access. This aligns with broader Pokémon lore in which many creatures’ traits are tied to their environmental niches, shaping both in-game behavior and the storytelling surrounding the character. The card’s lore is intentionally compact, functioning as a touchstone for collectors who value a card’s thematic cohesion alongside its mechanical properties.

Trivia

The card’s number in the A2a subset is A2a-001, indicating an early-position print within the Triumphant Light block.
Illustrator Satoshi Shirai is credited with the artwork for this card, reflecting Shirai’s broader contributions to the Pokémon TCG across multiple sets.
The set Triumphant Light is presented with a themed collection structure, featuring normal, holo, and reverse holo variants—options that appeal to collectors seeking diverse foil treatments.
Notable for its high-variance attack, the card exemplifies a design philosophy in which simple energy costs can yield powerful effects under favorable coin outcomes, emphasizing luck-based dynamics in damage calculation.
The card’s non-eligibility for Standard or Expanded play places it within the historical or casual collectible niche, where players explore older mechanic concepts outside current tournament formats.

CTA & NETWORK LINKS

Heracross (Triumphant Light A2a)

📘 Heracross — Pokémon TCG