Announcement Date: October 17, 2019
Effective Date: November 15, 2019
Standard format
No changes have been made to the banned card list for the Standard format.
Expanded format
Chip-Chip Ice Axe (Sun & Moon—Unbroken Bonds, 165/214) is now banned in the Expanded format.
Flabébé (Sun & Moon—Forbidden Light, 83/131) is now banned in the Expanded format.
Island Challenge Amulet (Sun & Moon—Cosmic Eclipse, 194/236 and 265/236) is now banned in the Expanded format.
Lt. Surge's Strategy (Sun & Moon—Unbroken Bonds, 178/214; Hidden Fates, 60/68) is now banned in the Expanded format.
Marshadow (Shining Legends, 45/73; Black Star Promo, SM85) is now banned in the Expanded format.
Mismagius (Sun & Moon—Unbroken Bonds, 78/214) is now banned in the Expanded format.
Red Card (XY, 124/146; Generations, 71/83) is now banned in the Expanded format.
Reset Stamp (Sun & Moon—Unified Minds, 206/236 and 253/236) is now banned in the Expanded format.
Unown (Sun & Moon—Lost Thunder, 91/214) is now banned in the Expanded format.
The list of banned cards for the Standard and Expanded formats can be found here.
Rule Changes
No new rule changes have been made.
Next Announcement Date: January 23, 2020
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.
Nine cards were banned from the Expanded format. The reasoning for these changes is below:
These card bans were applied in Japan recently. In an effort to maintain a more global experience for the Expanded format, TPCi has also banned these cards.
Most of these card bans are an attempt to weaken strategies that involve disrupting or destroying an opponent's hand. These cards contribute to several combos that result in a player having to discard their entire hand before they get to take a turn.
The Expanded format currently has a reputation for being dominated by hand-disruption decks, which many players dislike. Hopefully these card bans will promote a more enjoyable environment and change that reputation.
Tournament results and community feedback will continue to be analyzed to maintain a healthy play environment. In particular, the Expanded format will be aggressively monitored because there are so many cards and potential combinations available to use.
