Recently the Pokemon Trading Card Game has announced more changes to the upcoming TCG season. These changes will affect how the game is played and hopefully balance the game to give certain decks a new competitive edge. Below are the changes that will take place on November 8th:
- First Turn: A coin will be flip prior to drawing your hand. The winner of the coin flip will decide who will have the first turn. The person who goes first may not attack during their first turn.
- Pokemon Catcher: There will be a change in text which requires the user to flip a coin. If heads, the user can switch one of opponent’s Benched Pokémon with their Active Pokémon. If tails, nothing happens.
- Professor Sycamore: This Supporter card was given the same effect as Professor Juniper. Due to both Supporters doing the exact same thing, the play may only have up to four copies of one or the other. Either they can have four Professor Juniper or four Professor Sycamore.
The rules concerning the first turn of the game means that decks which rely on early game pressure such as Plasma will want to go second in order to get the first attack of the game. Other decks which may want to go second now will be Darkrai decks that use Sableye’s Junk Hunt. The rule also affects nondamaging attacks. This rule will hopefully allow set up decks the chance to thrive.
Pokemon Catcher has basically became Pokemon Reversal which had the same effect. This will make the powerful card a little less powerful and gives a bit more power back to Stage 2 set up decks. Recently, Pokemon Catcher has become much easier to acquire due to the reprint in Plasma Blast.
Professor Juniper and now Professor Sycamore are consider one of the most powerful draw Supporters in the game. That is why they are limiting the number of either one to four. It is a disappointment that they couldn’t give Professor Sycamore a different draw effect.
All these rules are to hopefully bring balance to the XY format and will go into effect after the Fall Regionals.