Time for a ban list update!
And just in time for the release of Shining Fates! Plenty of shining and new cards are coming into the Pokemon TCG! Which means it is time for the ban list to be updated!
This time you are going to see for one of the rare times cards being remove from the ban list. Below are what you can see become legal to an Expanded Format near you!
Lusamine (Sun & Moon—Crimson Invasion, 96/111 and 110/111; Sun & Moon—Ultra Prism, 153/156 and 153a/156) is no longer banned in the Expanded format.
Wally (XY—Roaring Skies, 94/108 and 107/108; Generations, RC27/RC32) is no longer banned in the Expanded format.
Details of the Decision
The main reasons why these two cards were removed were from the ban list was to mirror the Japanese Ban List. As Play! Pokemon said, “an effort to maintain a more global Expanded format experience”. That means removing some cards that are not on the Japanese ban list.
To go into more details, let’s look at Lusamine. The main reason why we saw Lusamine put on the ban list was because it help brought create combos that were limiting the opponent’s decisions. One of those combos would have included Lt. Surge’s Strategy. Now that Lt. Surge’s Strategy is banned in Expanded, the uses for Lusamine has been limited. Especially in Expanded where cards like VS Seeker can do the same job as Lusamine as an Item. Thus, players do not have to waste the use of Supporter card. Previous, player could have used Lt. Surge’s Strategy to use Lusamine to grab a powerful Supporter under unwanted conditions on the opponent or set up for a control play.
Meanwhile, Wally was removed from the ban list due to the new “No Supporter on Turn 1” rule. Wally’s ban was place because players who would go first would set up Item Lock using Trevenant. Thus, the opponent going second would not have the chance to use Items on their first. Now that the First Turn Supporter rule has been put into effect, that means that both players now have a turn where they can use Items to set up if needed.
Pokemon has stated that both cards will be monitor to ensure that the Expanded Format reminds healthy. If either or both cards prove to be problematic then they may see a banning in the future.
Best of luck in your pulls with Shining Fates!
Source: Pokemon
