Opening Pokémon Slabs Onchain
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Last year, I did a quick dive on 10 of the most popular tokenized Pokémon platforms at the time.
I toured the big names, like Courtyard and Collector Crypt, but I found a small platform called Emporium to be my favorite then.
Why? Really streamlined, Pokémon-only UX. There's nothing wrong with the larger platforms, but their interfaces tended to be busier and harder to navigate. I liked the simplicity of Emporium's gacha-lite approach.
Unfortunately, however, Emporium is winding down this month. This got me looking around for a new alternative that was:
- Simple to use + mostly focused on Pokémon (instead of also offering sports cards, comics, etc.)
- And deployed as an Ethereum Virtual Machine app (as Emporium was on Solana, which is fine; personally I just prefer EVM stuff as it's where I base my onchain resources)
All that said, I didn't have to look for long. I recently came across Slab via nobi, one of the Flaunch builders who's now also helping to build out this onchain Pokémon platform.
The underlying cards on Slab are insured + managed through Collector Crypt, which is on Solana. As such, Slab is like a simplified overlay that brings these cards to EVM networks, namely Base, ApeChain, and Monad so far.
The pack rips available depends on which chain you're on. Base currently has Collector Packs ($50), ApeChain has Collector Packs and Legendary Packs ($250), and Monad has Master Packs ($75).
As you can imagine, the pack tier you choose defines the rarity probabilities of your pulls.
If you opt for a Collector Pack on Slab, you have a 75% chance of pulling a common card worth somewhere between $30 and $60, while rare rips here can run up to $2,000.
Master Packs offer slightly better odds for their slightly higher price, while Legendary Pack pulls grant you a card worth no less than $150 and a 5% chance of pulling a card in the $1,500 to $5,000 range.
As for the actual opening UX, it's straightforward. Pick your chain + pack tier, pay the mint transaction with your wallet, reveal your card, then decide if you want to hold it, instantly resell it or list it, or redeem the physical version.
My two gwei is that Slab reminds me of Emporium with regard to its focus and ease, but I also find it better in some ways, e.g. its EVM support and its multiple L2 integrations.
It's not some grand revolution, but I do think the app is built and positioned well for what nobi calls the incoming NostalgiaFi wave, i.e. the idea that onchain NFT infra is perfect for modernizing physical collectibles markets, and that people will eventually figure this out.
Just some food for thought, plus a resource to try if you're on the hunt for something new.
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