The Pokemon TCG is going to see some big rule changes with Sword & Shield!
Plenty of new cards are coming to the Pokemon TCG that are making players excited. Though, there will be many new rule changes coming as well. Some of these new changes involve when you can play Supporter cards, new weaknesses and more!
All of these new rules will go in effect on February 21st and during Sword & Shield Prereleases.
Supporter Rule Change

The first new rule to come is that players who go first can not use a Supporter during their first turn.
This new rule change will make going first be less advantageous. Currently there are plenty of powerful Supporter cards such as Lillie and Welder that give trainers huge advantages if they go first. Welder allows players to get three Energy attachments on their first turn plus the ability to draw more cards. This allow the player who goes first the ability to use powerful attacks on their next turn which will be their first turn to attack.
Meanwhile, Lillie allows the player to draw until they have eight cards in hand. This will allow the player to have plenty of options to implement their strategy during their next turn.
It is expected that this new rule will change how players will change their decks and decide if they want to go first. We will surely see players opt to use less Support based draw cards while also be wary of using certain Supporters from now on. Especially if they can’t use them during their first turn.
The new Supporter rule has been used by Japanese players since November 2019. Currently their decks have seen to be using less Supporter cards in their decks.
Weaknesses and Resistances

There will be several changes coming to Sword & Shield involving Weaknesses and Resistances. The biggest one will be coming to Resistances.
A few months ago, we reported that Resistances will be gaining a buff. Instead of subtracting 20 damage from resisted attacks, it will now be 30 damage.
Another change when it comes to resistance will be for the Metal type. Prior to Sword & Shield, Metal type Pokemon were resistant to Psychic type. As of Sword & Shield, this will change to where Metal type Pokemon will resist Grass Pokemon.
There will also be some changes when it comes to which types are Pokemon weak to in the TCG. Below are some of the major changes coming to how weaknesses have changed for certain types.

  • Water-type Pokémon: Weakness to Lightning instead of Grass
  • Psychic-type Pokémon: Weakness to Darkness instead of Psychic
  • Darkness-type Pokémon: Weakness to Grass instead of Fighting

The Water type weakness to Grass may be for balance. That way Grass type Pokemon can hit more things for weakness. The change for Psychic type Pokemon will give Darkness something to hit for weakness outside of Ghost Pokemon which have been classified as Psychic in the TCG. Lastly, Darkness Pokemon gaining a weakness to Grass may refer to their weakness to Bug types.
No More Fairy Pokemon and Type Balancing

One of the biggest changes coming to the TCG with Sword & Shield is the discontinuation of the Fairy type. This change is being done to help balance and simplify the game. Fairy Type Pokemon have mostly been used to counter Dragon type Pokemon in the game. Though, the problem is that it has kept Dragon type Pokemon from being successful in the TCG.
From now on, Fairy type Pokemon will be classified as Psychic type Pokemon. As of right now, there doesn’t seem to be any Fairy type Pokemon coming to Sword & Shield.
Players will also see that Poison type Pokemon will be reclassified as Darkness types. This could be due to how Poison type Pokemon use underhanded tactics such as Poisoning the opponent to do extra damage. It would also make things easier to remember because many Poison type Pokemon are weak to Ground attacks. Normally, Ground type Pokemon are classified as Fighting type Pokemon which is the weakness that Darkness type Pokemon have.
Regulation Marks

Starting with Sword & Shield, there will be a Regulation Mark at the bottom left hand side of cards. For Sword & Shield, this Regulation Mark will be a D in a box. This mark will represent which block cards from certain sets will be in. Regulation Marks will be helpful in the future when it comes to rotations. In a few years, it will simply be easy to say that only cards from Blocks D and beyond will be legal for tournament play.
The Regulation Mark system has been used in Japan since Sun & Moon base set.
There are plenty of other changes starting with Sword & Shield. You can click here to learn about them all. Some of these changes include card erratas and changes to text.
Best of luck to those who are taking part in upcoming Pokemon TCG events!
The post Rule Changes Coming to Pokemon TCG appeared first on Pokémon Crossroads.


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