Pokemon has made some changes to how reprints are going to be handled in the future.
Just in time for the release of the Mega Powers Collection, Pokemon has made clear how they will handle future reprints for current cards. This was shown by clearer images for cards that will be release in the Mega Power Collection.
As shown in the images above, a Yellow A Alternate symbol is going to be printed next to the set symbol on the cards. This Yellow A will indicate that the card is a reprint from a previous set but is an alternative print of it and is still included in the set that the card was originally printed. If the card is reprinted again with new art then it will be numbered with b, c, d and so on.
For example (as seen above), M Lucario EX was originally printed in Furious Fist as #55/111. Currently the card is out of the Standard format and can’t be played in Standard format tournaments. In a few weeks M Lucario EX will be reprinted through the Mega Powers Collection with brand new art and a Yellow A Alternate For this printing, it will be reprinted with #55a/111 under the Furious Fist set.
Prior to this change, reprints were given a brand new number as a Black Star Promo. This way would expand the lifespan of the original card in the Standard format. If card was going originally planned to be rotated out of the format then it would stay in the format because of the Black Star Promo printing of the card.
An example of this would be Yveltal EX which was reprinted in XY Base Set which has been rotated out. Yveltal EX is allowed to stay in the format thanks to a Black Star promo that reprinted the card as brand new number. Because of the addition of the Yellow A to a number to indicate a new version, this will ensure that certain cards will be rotated when it was suppose to be rotated. According to Pokemon, this may be an option for cards who get sudden reprints from special sets.
This change is quite timely due to a set called Best of XY that was released last April in Japan. This set reprinted a lot of cards from the XY era with brand new art. Some of these cards includes Blacksmith which was rotated out in 2016 and Shaymin EX which is predicted to be rotated out this year. These new changes could ensure that these cards status in the format will stay as is. Only time will tell.
The Mega Powers Collection will be released in America on May 19th.
EDIT: Pokemon has recently just announced that they will be releasing quarterly card ruling or legality reports. They will do this right before the release of a new set to declare which cards will be banned in Standard or Expanded format. They will also make rulings regarding how certain cards will interact with each other. That way a healthy playing environment can be maintained while keeping things consistent. The first Ruling and Legality Report for Guardians Rising has been released and goes over how “any effects” will no longer include effects that alter Weakness and Resistance. You can read the report here.
Source: Pokemon
