Facebook
Reddit
Email
Learn about card rotation in the Pokemon TCG and how it pushes out old cards to help maintain balance in the competitive meta.
In the Pokemon TCG, the removal of older cards from the Standard format is referred to as rotation. At any given moment, only certain cards are allowed to be played in tournaments, which usually follow the Standard Format. The other cards are not exactly banned, but are only allowed in other formats which are not focused on in tournament play. These other formats include the Expanded and Unlimited formats.
What Does Rotation Mean in Pokemon TCG?
The word rotation is used in reference to rotating out older sets of the Pokemon TCG. The reasons for these vary. Nevertheless, they mostly boil down to ensuring that newer sets are more compatible with existing ones. These rules are applied in tournaments like Worlds 2025, which use a fixed number of sets that are considered Standard.
Players can continue to use their older cards in the Expanded format. This format is also sanctioned by Play! Pokemon as they deploy them in their own events. However, there are fewer official tournaments compared to the Standard format.
There is another format, which encompasses cards that are banned even in Expanded or were never legal to begin with. Appropriately, this format is called Unlimited and does not record a use in any official tournament play. This is because this format has multiple decks that prevent players from properly playing, like “locking” them out of taking any action or ending games on turn one.
If a Card Is Rotated Out, Is It Banned From the Standard Format Forever?
In the case of Trainer cards, it is legal to use older versions as long as a version of that card is in the Standard format. This means players can use their old Item cards as they are still legal in the format.
However, if the effect of the card changes, then the newer effect will be in play. In that case, if a player brings an older version to the tournament, they have to have at least one newer version in their deck to use it.
The same also applies to Basic Energy cards, except for Basic Fairy Energy, which has been removed from the game.
Thank you for reading the x Guide. We provide the latest news and create guides for Pokemon TCG Pocket. Also, watch Deltia play games on Twitch or visit the YouTube channel!
