Highlights
- Some cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game are too powerful for competitive play, resulting in them being banned in certain formats.
- There are no banned cards in Standard and Unlimited formats, so players are free to create decks with any cards they want.
- The expanded format includes 23 banned cards, including powerful supporters and Pokémon with game-deciding abilities.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game has a long history as a competitive game, with some ups and downs over the years. As more and more cards are added to the playable card pool that decks can be built around, there are inevitably some that are a bit too powerful to allow in the meta.
Related
Pokémon Trading Card Game: All upcoming sets
There are plenty of sets, bundles, and more coming to the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and we have the full calendar for you.
Among these cards are some very powerful Supporters, Stadiums, Items, and even Pokémon. Not every card is immediately clear why it was banned, but it was done after careful consideration of the competitive scene meta. If you’re looking for the complete Pokémon TCG banned list, you’ve come to the right place.
What are the formats of the Pokémon Trading Card Game?
Just a quick refresher
There are three main formats in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, each with its own banned list. The three formats are Standard, which consists of sets released in (roughly) the last few years, Expanded, which includes all sets since the Black & White Base Set released in 2011, and Unlimited, which allows players to play with any card in the game.
Related
Pokemon TCG: The 10 most valuable Pikachu cards
Pikachu is the most famous Pokémon character. Some of his cards are worth a lot…
There are no banned cards for either Standard or Unlimited. Players can build their decks out of any cards they want, using any combination or synergy they want. That’s not to say that all is well in the Pokémon Trading Card Game meta, but it’s healthy enough to not require a ban on a specific card in those formats. There’s always the chance that a new card will be released in an upcoming set that completely shakes up the meta, forcing The Pokemon Company to revise the banned list again.
Once we reach “Expanded,” the ban list comes into effect.
What are the banned cards in Expanded?
There may not be many, but they are needed
Looking at Expanded, the Pokémon Trading Card Game includes 23 cards that the game developers believe are either too powerful or too game-deciding to be allowed in competitive play.
Related
Pokémon Trading Card Game: What are Pokémon Professors?
Pokémon Professors keep the Pokémon Trading Card Game running smoothly. But how do you become one?
Sometimes the decision is made to reflect changes in a meta too heavily in one direction or the other. However, other times these decisions are preemptive and the team recognizes what might and might not be a problem in the near future.
|
Card name |
Set It Published in |
|---|---|
|
Archaeops |
Black & White – Noble Victories67/101; Black & White – Dark Explorers110/108 |
|
Chip-Chip Ice Pick |
Sun & Moon – Unbroken Bonds165/214 |
|
delinquent |
XY – Breakpoint98/122, 98a/122 and 98b/122 |
|
Flabebe |
Sun & Moon – Forbidden Light83/131 |
|
Forest of giant plants |
XY – Origins of Antiquity74/98 |
|
Ghetsis |
Black-and-white – Freezing plasma101/116 and 115/116 |
|
Hex-Maniac |
XY – Origins of Antiquity75/98 and 75a/98 |
|
Amulet of the Island Challenge |
Sun & Moon – Cosmic Ellipse194/236 and 265/236 |
|
Jessie and James |
Hidden fates58/68 and 68/68 |
|
Lt. Surge’s Strategy |
Sun & Moon – Unbroken Bonds178/214; Hidden fates60/68 |
|
Lysandre’s trump card |
XY – Phantom Powers99/119 and 118/119 |
|
Marshadow |
Shining legends45/73; Black Star PromotionSM85 |
|
Maxie’s hidden ball trick |
XY – Primal Collision133/160 and 158/160 |
|
Milotic |
XY – Flash Fire23/106 |
|
Mismagius |
Sun & Moon – Unbroken Bonds78/214 |
|
Oranguru |
Sun & Moon – Ultra Prism114/156 |
|
Puzzle of time |
XY – Breakpoint109/122 |
|
Red card |
XY124/146; Generations71/83 |
|
Reset stamp |
Sun & Moon – Unified Spirits206/236, 206a/236 and 253/236 |
|
Sable Eye |
Black & White – Dark Explorers62/108 |
|
Shaymin –EX |
XY – Roaring Sky77/108, 77a/108 and 106/108 |
|
Unknown |
Sun & Moon – Lost Thunder90/214 |
|
Unknown |
Sun & Moon – Lost Thunder91/214 |
Why are some of these cards banned?
I’m looking at you, Maxie and Lysandre
Some cards are immediately obvious why they were banned. Let’s quickly look at two Supporters, Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick from XY Primal Clash and Lysandre’s Trump Card from XY Phantom Forces. Maxie’s Hidden Ball Trick returns a Fighting-type Pokémon from your discard pile directly to your Bench and then lets you draw five new cards. This is a huge catch-up ability that can easily be abused to get free Pokémon onto your Bench and still end the turn with a solid number of cards.
Likewise, Lysandre’s trump card ensures that the game never ends by continually returning cards to your library. The ability to return any cards you’ve discarded, played, or become weak over the course of the game virtually ensures that you’ll never run out of resources.
Other cards, like the Basic Pokémon Unknown 91/214 from Lost Thunder, have a powerful Ability that may not be fun to play against. Unknown’s unique Ability, called HAND, states that once during your turn, before you attack, if Unknown is in your active spot and you have 35 or more cards in your hand, you can use this Ability to easily win the game.
This ability has the potential, under the right circumstances, to end a game before your opponent can even draw a card. To avoid this scenario, the card was preemptively banned before it became too reliable.
Next
Pokémon Trading Card Game: Card rarities explained
Wait, Rare Rainbow? Secret Rare Holo? What’s going on here? Yes, the Pokémon Trading Card Game has more rarity levels than most people realize.
