Announcement Date: March 16, 2023
Effective Date: April 14, 2023
Standard format:
No changes have been made to the banned card list for the Standard format.
Expanded format:
No changes have been made to the banned card list for the Expanded format.
The list of banned cards for the Standard and Expanded formats can be found here.
Rule and Text Changes
As of April 14, 2023, all Pokémon Tool cards will receive errata. Instead of being Item cards, they will be considered their own category of Trainer card: Pokémon Tool. This change applies to all Pokémon Tool cards, including ones from any previous Pokémon TCG Series. The full details of this change can be found in this article.
The language used on card effects that involve switching the opponent's Pokémon will change slightly for the Scarlet & Violet Series in order to make it clearer which Pokémon is being affected. For example, Pokémon Catcher from the Sword & Shield Series said:
Flip a coin. If heads, switch 1 of your opponent's Benched Pokémon with their Active Pokémon.
For the Scarlet & Violet Series, Pokémon Catcher will now say:
Flip a coin. If heads, switch in 1 of your opponent's Benched Pokémon to the Active Spot.
The phrase “switch in” will be used when the card effect is affecting an opponent's Benched Pokémon. When the card effect is affecting the opponent's Active Pokémon, the phrase “switch out” will be used instead. This doesn't change how the cards work, but hopefully, it leads to a clearer understanding of how they're supposed to be used.
Details of Changes
No cards were banned from the Standard format. It will be an extremely rare occurrence for cards to be banned from the Standard format.
No cards were banned from the Expanded format.
Tournament results and community feedback will continue to be analyzed to maintain a healthy play environment.
