Nathan: 4

 Fucking Brice of course trying to steal my thunder on MY BLOG DAY!!! Get your shit done on time Bryce its not hard to write a blog once every 10 days…. I will never allow this to happen again... I do not want to share the spotlight (none of you read these anyway)

Hello friends, and welcome back to the blog!
Today, I’m diving into a topic that’s always a big deal in the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Rotation. If you’re not familiar, rotation happens once a year when certain cards become illegal for Standard play. It’s all part of keeping the game fresh and balanced, and while it can be a little sad to say goodbye to some of our favorite cards, it’s an important part of the TCG experience. Take a look at this VS Seeker and see if you can tell how broken it is. (If it were legal it would be in every single deck and would be the best card in the game)

Rotation usually kicks in 2 weeks after the release of the first big set of the year, and this year, that set is Journey Together. The cards from the Sword & Shield era, marked with the "F" regulation mark, will no longer be legal starting April 11th. This means that, for the first time, cards like Lost Vacuum and Comfey (Rest in Piss LZB you will not be missed) will be banned from Standard play. An easier way to visualize is that all legal cards post-rotation will have silver borders because all yellow border cards are rotating out. But don’t worry, if you still have old cards with yellow borders that match reprints, you can still use them as long as their function is the same. For example, the Boss’s Orders from Sword & Shield will still be legal in Standard, even though it originally had a yellow border.

If you’re wondering how to tell if a card is rotating out, look for the regulation mark in the bottom-left corner. You’ll see an "F" for cards from the Sword & Shield era, like Radiant Greninja. On the other hand, Flutter Mane has the "H" mark, meaning it’s still good for two more years.

Now onto why it hurts my deck, Ancient Box. The loss of Radiant Greninja is a huge blow to my deck. You should be familiar with how important Radiant Greninja is to my deck. Allowing me to get energy is the discard pile, and draw extra cards on every single turn. Losing that card is tough, but there’s another card I’m really going to miss—Pokéstop. This card has been crucial for digging deeper into my deck, letting me see three more cards each turn, grab items, and continue to thin my deck out of useless ancient cards.

Now, while you might think losing just two cards won’t destroy my deck, trust me—it’s crippling. I’ve spent a lot of time playing this deck, and with these two key cards rotating out, Ancient Box just won’t work the same way anymore. It’s dead, and I’ll have to find a new deck to play.

Another thing to note is that rotation happens a bit earlier online than in person. On March 27th, Journey Together will be legal in PTCG Live (the online game client), and all the F-block cards will be out of the picture. This means I’ve only got one more day to play Ancient Box online before it’s over. I can’t even begin to tell you how sad I am about this.

Honestly, I’m not too excited for rotation to hit. It’s always a tough time for players, especially when you have to say goodbye to cards that have been staples in your deck. I’ll miss Pokéstop, but Radiant Greninja? I’m genuinely mourning the loss of this card. The thought of not being able to play Nest Ball for it on my first turn is enough to bring me to the brink of tears.

The good news is, I still have two weeks to enjoy Ancient Box in person before it’s gone for good. I’ll savor every turn I have left with it. 

Even better news is that several decks, primarily consisting of F-block cards, will be leaving the Standard format for good. Lugia VSTAR, Lost Zone Box, and Regidrago VSTAR are all decks that will never see play again, and I won’t miss them. However, I know thousands of players around the world will be mourning their departure, much like how I’ll miss Greninja.

Thanks for sticking with me through this little rant about rotation. I hope this post helped you understand what rotation is all about and why it’s such a big deal for TCG players.

GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN

RADIANT GRENINJA

5/27/22 - 4/11/25