If my sons play in a league when certain cards are 'no longer playable'. Does this go for his league also or is this just for tournaments.
e.g dark patch.
thanks
e.g dark patch.
thanks
Pokemon League
- Thread starter binthehouse
- Start date
SRTspeed said:
Can you list the names of the formats and what they allow? We are both new at this. Thanks
binthehouse said:
There are three primary formats used for typical play:
Modified: The main format for official tournament play. It "rotates" every year after the World Championships to remove the 3-5 oldest sets so as to keep play fresh. The current modified format includes all sets from from Boundaries Crossed-On, as well as BW Black Star Promos 51-on, and all XY Black Star Promos. All other cards are illegal.
Extended: An alternative format also used for some tournaments, which allows, in addition to the sets legal in the Modified format, all sets from Black and White-On.
Unlimited: A format used almost exclusively for fun/casual play, which allows all cards that have ever been tournament legal (essentially only excluding jumbos and certain unplayable promo cards). Almost all leagues permit this format for casual play, but you must inform your opponent that you are playing out-of-format cards before a match to avoid conflict.
Besides those 3, there are some alternate formats that are more seldom used. There is the general class of Restricted formats, which are used for pre-release tournaments, and only allow cards pulled from packs distributed at the beginning of the tournament. Lastly, there is the Palace format, which includes all sets from Diamond and Pearl-On but places certain restrictions on the number of powerful cards allowed in a deck, which is based on a star system that you can research if you are interested.
Generally, if you're getting into the game, feel free to bring whatever cards you have to leagues and play unlimitted with those who agree to it, but you are encouraged to gradually change your deck (or build an entirely new deck) to satisfy the restrictions of the current Modified format.
Just remember to have fun!
binthehouse said:
Modified (BCR-on) Current tournament legal format.
Extended (B&W-on) Format allowed in 2 day events
Unlimited (All cards played) Format for fun on the side. Most leagues do not have an Unlimited format play.
Translations -> BCR = Boundaries Crossed
B&W = Black & White
If you need help determining what set the cards are in you can visit the Pokemon website and they will show you the symbols for each set. That symbol can be found in the lower right hand corner of each card. Go to the Pokebeach main page after that and on the left you will see the sets listed. Click the "Black & White sets" you there you will see all the cards you can use ordered by set. Above that is the "X&Y sets", which are also legal. I hope this helped you.
There's a list of everything in so far in the bulbapedia article for Rotation (I like their table format for each set, it's easy to read). What you're looking for is the sets listed under Standard Format. Those are the cards that are currently legal. There's also the new Extended Format on the right column, that has even older sets in it as well. And Unlimited Format allows any card.
The league itself decides what people can play at it.
If you have an older card that has been reprinted exactly, you can still use the old card. Like, Dark Explorers has been rotated out, but if you have a Dark Explorers Darkrai EX (with Night Spear and the Night Cloak ability), you can still use it because it was put into Legendary Treasures. Same goes with old items and trainers and stuff. So if there are old cards you really want to still use, doublecheck because they might still be legal after all. The text has to be the same though.
The league itself decides what people can play at it.
If you have an older card that has been reprinted exactly, you can still use the old card. Like, Dark Explorers has been rotated out, but if you have a Dark Explorers Darkrai EX (with Night Spear and the Night Cloak ability), you can still use it because it was put into Legendary Treasures. Same goes with old items and trainers and stuff. So if there are old cards you really want to still use, doublecheck because they might still be legal after all. The text has to be the same though.