Huge changes coming with the 2019-2020 TCG Format!
The format and rotation for the 2019-2020 TCG format has been announced! The format for the 2020 Season will be Ultra Prism-on!
We now know for the 2019-2020 TCG season format will be Ultra Prism-on. That means that cards printed after Ultra Prism and Black Star Promos #SM94 and above will be legal in the 2019-2020 TCG format. The mini-sets Dragon Majesty and Detective Pikachu will also be legal.
This means that cards from Sun & Moon Base to Crimson Invasion and Shining Legends will no longer be legal in the Standard format. A lot of fan favorites from these sets will be leaving the format such Buzzwole GX, Zoroark GX, Oranguru, Marshadow (Shining Legends), Tapu Koko and more. We will also see a lot of long time staples leave the format such as Ultra Ball and Double Colorless Energy.
Also, starting in 2020, there will be a change in how McDonald Promos will work with the format. McDonald’s Collections will be legal in the Standard format if they’re functionally identical to a card that is currently legal in the Standard format. For example, Magnemite (McDonald’s Collection 2018, 8/12) is functionally the same card as Magnemite from Sun & Moon—Ultra Prism, so it can still be used in the Standard format.
The Expanded format will see no changes.
Below are the full details for the 2019-2020 format.
- Sun & Moon—Ultra Prism and any expansions released afterward
- Black Star Promo cards numbered SM94 and up
- Cards from the following products are also legal:
- Dragon Majesty
- Pokémon TCG: Detective Pikachu
The 2019-2020 season will start on July 1st, 2019. However, the rotation will not go into effect until August 15th, 2019.
This is rather interesting because Worlds 2019 will start on August 26th, 2019. That means that the Worlds format will be the first tournament that will be using the Ultra Prism-on format. This is a first because Worlds usually is the last tournament to use the old format. World Competitors will have a huge challenge this year as they will need to master cards and strategies from Unified Minds (August’s new TCG set) and a new Ultra Prism-on format.
Best of luck to those chasing an Worlds Invite for the current and future seasons!