We now have a date for Rotation!
The Rotation and date for the 2022-2023 season has been announced. It has officially been revealed that Rotation will take into effect on April 14th, 2023. Only cards with Regulation Mark E and above will be legal for Standard format tournament play.
The purpose of Rotation is to help encourage players to create new strategies. It also encourages new players to get involved in official Play! Pokemon tournaments without worrying about collecting older cards that may be harder to find. Lastly, Rotation helps maintain a healthy tournament format.
What Does It Mean
This means that cards with Regulation Mark D will no longer be legal for Standard format. Cards with Regulation Mark D include cards from Sword & Shield, Rebel Clash, Darkness Ablaze, Vivid Voltage, Champion’s Path and some cards from Shiny Fates.
Though, not all cards with Regulation Mark D will be rotated. Some cards from Set Block D have been reprinted with more recent Regulation Marks. An example of these cards include Boss’s Order, Switch. Rare Candy and Professor’s Research which were all reprinted with new Regulation Marks.
Essentially, any cards that has a Regulation Mark with E and above from Battle Styles to Scarlet & Violet will be legal for Standard Format tournament play.
Important Dates to Remember
March 31, 2023– Release date for Scarlet & Violet TCG expansion
March 31, 2023– When Rotation takes effect on Pokemon TCG Online and Pokemon TCG Live
April 14, 2023– When Rotation takes effect for in-person TCG events
The reason why Rotation will take effect on online platforms first is to give players a platform to practice the new Rotation. Players can try out new decks and see which decks are still viable with the cards that were left after Rotation.
Extra Notes
It is interesting to note that Japan will have Rotation in effect much sooner then the majority of the world. Rotation for Japan will take place on January 20th, 2023. That is the same day that cards from Scarlet & Violet ex (Japanese version of the US’s Scarlet & Violet TCG expansion). If you want to get a leg up on the 2023 Rotation then it may be a good idea to see which decks are successful in February for Japan to see which decks you want to play once Expansion takes place for the rest of the world.
Another thing to note is that from the time period of March 31st, 2023 to April 14th, 2023 will have the most sets legal for a Standard format in recent history. All cards from Sword & Shield to Scarlet & Violet will be legal for Standard format. There will be 13 main sets and 5 mini-sets. That will leave a huge pool of cards for players to play with to build many different decks.
Best of luck for all your future and current tournament play!
