During every Championship Series season, Pokémon Organized Play removes older expansions from competition in the Standard format with the goal of maintaining a healthy competitive environment. This rotation challenges existing players to create new strategies and enables new players to get involved in Play! Pokémon events using the most recent releases.
The Standard Format for 2023
From this rotation onwards card legality will be linked to regulation mark rather than expansion release. Starting with the Sword & Shield Series, cards have a letter on the bottom of the card (the regulation mark) that signifies whether or not a card is legal for tournament play. Note that not all cards from the same expansion will necessarily have the same regulation mark.
In April 2021, cards with the “D” regulation mark will no longer be legal for play in the 2023 Standard format. Cards with “E” and “F” regulation marks will be legal to use (as will any future regulation marks that may be released). A card’s legality status is no longer based on which expansion it’s from. Even if a card is from a recently released expansion, players will need to refer to the regulation mark on the bottom of the card to see whether that card is legal for play. New cards still must follow the appropriate waiting period to become tournament legal, which is typically two weeks after their release.
For in-person Play! Pokémon events, the Standard format rotation will go into effect on April 14, 2023. For digital play on Pokémon TCG Live, the Standard format rotation will go into effect on March 30, 2023. This will give players an official platform to test out the new Standard format before participating in any in-person events.
Older versions of cards that don’t have a regulation mark can still be used if the card is currently legal for play. For example, the card Rare Candy from the Sun & Moon expansion can still be used because the card Rare Candy from the Pokémon TCG: Pokémon GO expansion has an “F” regulation mark. And even though the card Boss’s Orders (Giovanni) from the Sword & Shield—Rebel Clash expansion has a “D” regulation mark (which is rotating out of the Standard format), it can still be used because the card Boss’s Orders (Cyrus) from the Sword & Shield—Brilliant Stars expansion has an “F” regulation mark. Be sure to check the Play! Pokémon Tournament Rules Handbook for further clarification on which reprints are OK to use.
The Expanded Format for 2023
The Expanded format will remain unchanged, maintaining the Black & White Series and forward. Players should double-check what format is being used before choosing a deck to bring to their events. Just like the Standard format, new expansions become legal for tournament play two weeks after release.
Please note that several cards are currently banned from the Expanded format. You can find the list of banned cards here.
For in-person Play! Pokémon events, the Standard format rotation will go into effect on April 14, 2023. For digital play on Pokémon TCG Live, the Standard format rotation will go into effect on March 30, 2023. This will give players an official platform to test out the new Standard format before participating in any in-person events.
Older versions of cards that don’t have a regulation mark can still be used if the card is currently legal for play. For example, the card Rare Candy from the Sun & Moon expansion can still be used because the card Rare Candy from the Pokémon TCG: Pokémon GO expansion has an “F” regulation mark. And even though the card Boss’s Orders (Giovanni) from the Sword & Shield—Rebel Clash expansion has a “D” regulation mark (which is rotating out of the Standard format), it can still be used because the card Boss’s Orders (Cyrus) from the Sword & Shield—Brilliant Stars expansion has an “F” regulation mark. Be sure to check the Play! Pokémon Tournament Rules Handbook for further clarification on which reprints are OK to use.
The Expanded Format for 2023
The Expanded format will remain unchanged, maintaining the Black & White Series and forward. Players should double-check what format is being used before choosing a deck to bring to their events. Just like the Standard format, new expansions become legal for tournament play two weeks after release.
Please note that several cards are currently banned from the Expanded format. You can find the list of banned cards here.
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