The latest Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion, Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade, arrives May 24, 2024, but you can visit your local game store to play with it early! Starting May 11, 2024, select retailers will begin selling the Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade Build & Battle Box, giving fans a chance to have a Prerelease battle and experience the latest expansion before its official release date. To find a Prerelease event near you, be sure to use the Event Locator.

The Prerelease format allows players to compete using a 40-card deck with four Prize cards set aside at the start of play, as opposed to a 60-card deck with six Prize cards. This format is perfect for introducing new players to the exciting world of the Pokémon TCG with quick, fun games, and it also gives seasoned players a window into all that Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade has to offer. Due to the limited card pool and the variance of cards that can be acquired in a Build & Battle Box, Prerelease events are also a great opportunity to flex your creative deck-building muscles.

Each Build & Battle Box includes four Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade booster packs, a 40-card ready-to-play deck featuring key cards from current and prior sets, as well as one of four unique foil promo cards to boost your Prerelease deck. Depending on which promo card you get, you could add the wacky Thwackey, the fiery Infernape, the chilling Froslass, or the cunning Tatsugiri. Whichever promo card you end up with, it will certainly shape your Prerelease strategy!

March to the beat of Thwackey’s drum in your next Prerelease battle! Once during your turn, you may use its Boom Boom Groove Ability to search your deck for any card—with the caveat that your Active Pokémon must have the Festival Lead Ability. Plenty of Pokémon are getting down with the festival vibes in Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade, but Dipplin may just be the best partner for Thwackey given their shared Grass typing and Dipplin’s powerful (and thematically appropriate) Do The Wave attack.

Infernape is dancing along to the Kitakami festival beat with blazing passion. With its Pyro Dance Ability, Infernape is certain to be the perfect kindling for any Fire- or Fighting-type Pokémon that you wish to use in your Prerelease battles. Once per turn, you can attach a Basic Fire Energy, Basic Fighting Energy, or 1 of each from your hand to your Pokémon in any way you like. Infernape can also show off its fiery fury by powering itself up—its Scorching Fire attack does an astounding 200 damage for 2 Fire Energy and 1 Colorless Energy.

Between powerful percussion and blazing displays of dance, the festival vibes are in full swing in Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade. If you’re looking to chill out and slow things down during a Prerelease battle, you’ll want to see Froslass and its serenely colored background in your Build & Battle Box. Its Freezing Shroud Ability puts 1 damage counter on each of your own and your opponent’s Pokémon that has an Ability during Pokémon Checkup (which happens between each player’s turn), which slowly whittles down their HP. For example, if your opponent’s Thwackey is in play for four turns while Froslass’s Freezing Shroud is in play, it will only have 60 HP remaining—making it a perfect target for a timely Knock Out with Froslass’s Frost Smash!

Do you remember Jirachi or the more recently released Mew? Cards that allow a player to look at the top cards of their deck and fish out any Trainer card have traditionally been strong in the Pokémon TCG, and Tatsugiri is no different. Its Attract Customers Ability allows you to look at the top 6 cards of your deck and add any Supporter card you find there to your hand. Tatsugiri may not have the highest HP or the strongest attack, but having this Pokémon as your Prerelease promo makes it much more likely that you’ll reel in one of your limited Supporter cards and get your game on a roll.

There are variations among Build & Battle Boxes, so you can add your own creative twist when building your deck. Whether you’re heading to a local game store or just playing with a friend, you’re in for some quick and fun battles with cards from the new Scarlet & Violet—Twilight Masquerade expansion! If you’re not able to make it to a Prerelease event, these Build & Battle Boxes will be available for purchase when the expansion officially launches.