Announcement Date: June 3, 2021
Effective Date: July 2, 2021
Standard format
No changes have been made to the banned card list for the Standard format.
Expanded format
No changes have been made to the banned card list for the Expanded format.
The list of banned cards for the Standard and Expanded formats can be found here.
Rule Clarification
Starting with the Sword & Shield—Battle Styles expansion, the term “Rule Box” was introduced to the Pokémon TCG. A Pokémon with a Rule Box refers to any Pokémon that has a text box that says the word “rule,” such as “V rule” or “TAG TEAM rule.” This will also apply to any potential future Pokémon that may have new rules that don't exist currently. As of right now, here is the list of Pokémon that are considered to have a Rule Box:
Pokémon V
Pokémon VMAX
Pokémon-GX
Prism Star Pokémon
TAG TEAM Pokémon
Pokémon-EX
Mega Evolution Pokémon
Pokémon BREAK
Next Announcement Date: August 12, 2021
Details of Changes
No cards were banned from the Standard format. It will be an extremely rare occurrence for cards to be banned from the Standard format.
No cards were banned from the Expanded format. The effects of the previous card bans are still being determined.
Tournament results and community feedback will continue to be analyzed to maintain a healthy play environment. In particular, the Expanded format will be aggressively monitored because there are so many cards and potential combinations available to use.
