Just right off the heels of an intense and long Regional competition weekend, Play! Pokemon has made a huge announcement involving one of the most played Supporters in the current format. It has been decided that the card Lysandre’s Trump Card will be banned from competitive play.
The ban will start on June 15th, 2015 for the United States and most of the world. It will go into effect in Japan on June 20th, 2015 (Same day as the release for Bandit Ring TCG set). This means that Lysandre’s Trump Card will not be played in US Nationals in July or Worlds in August. Pokemon has claimed that Lysandre’s Trump Card has created an undesirable playing environment and with this ban it will promote a better competitive environment. Below are the reasons cited for the ban:
- Eliminates one of your opponent’s victory conditions (running out of cards in your deck)
- Allows repeated use of powerful Trainer cards
- Allows drawing through your deck quickly with minimal repercussions
- Extends the time of battles
If you watched the Madison, Wisconsin Regional stream for the TCG finals then you saw all of these factors come into play. Jason Klaczynski ran though his deck using Shaymin EX (Roaring Skies) while playing countless Crushing Hammer and Hypnotoxic Laser. Jason could have decked himself out but thanks to Lysandre’s Trump Card that didn’t happen. Jason and Dane were able to shuffle their discard back into their deck. This help draw out his match against Dane Schussler who struggled to power up his Pokemon to attack. It also allowed Jason to regain use of his Crushing Hammer and Hypnotoxic Laser and essentially force Match 2 of the finals to a draw and made the winner of the tournament be determine in a sudden death match.
Lysandre’s Trump Card is the first card to be banned since Slowking from Neo Genesis and Sandy Cloak Wormadam from Secret Wonders in a Professor Cup Tournament. Tropical Beach, a Black Star Promo, was also banned by only in Japan due to how difficult it was to obtain. The only way to obtain Tropical Beach was to attend Worlds in 2011 and 2012.
