Livescore
The Standard Rotation for the Pokémon Trading Card Game takes place on April 11, 2025. It will shake up the competitive meta significantly, changing which cards can be used in an official tournament space and altering which decks get entered into events.
Below, we’ve picked out the most crucial cards with the ‘F’ Regulation Mark that are being swapped out in the 2025 Pokémon TCG Standard Rotation, including what they do, which decks will be mainly affected, and what players might see as the year unfolds.
Key cards leaving in the 2025 Standard Rotation
Many of the entries in this list are Pokémon V or Pokémon VSTAR cards, as they are from the Sword and Shield era and feature the ‘F’ Regulation Mark. If you play a deck with any cards like this, expect to be swapping them out shortly.
If you’re competing in Expanded Pokémon TCG events, you won’t need to worry about these changes as they’re purely for Standard matches.
As noted in the official Play! Pokémon announcement about the changeover period, no changes are being made to the Expanded format. Players should still be mindful of the format’s current ban list, though, as well as the expansion sets currently included in its eligible list.
Comfey (Lost Origin)
Almost all of the Lost Zone Box toolkit is being swapped out in April’s Standard Rotation, meaning fans of the Posy Picker Pokémon won’t have long left to use this critical Lost Origin card.
Outside of Lost Zone Box, Comfey doesn’t have much use, as its main selling point is the Flower Selecting ability. If Active, it allows the player to look at their top two cards, put one in their hand, and send the other to the Lost Zone.
Giratina VSTAR (Lost Origin)
We’ve included several VSTAR cards in our list as some of the most noticeable losses with the ‘F’ Regulation Mark fall into this category.
The associated Pokémon V for each listed VSTAR will be getting swapped out too—in this particular case, Giratina V—but the VSTARs are more significant thanks to the VSTAR Powers and impressive stats they offer.
Giratina VSTAR is often associated with Lost Zone Box deck lists but plays a crucial part in Regidrago VSTAR and Arceus deck lists. It’s a surprisingly versatile card that interacts with the Lost Zone beautifully and has a powerful Knock Out VSTAR Power with Star Requiem.
Kirlia (Silver Tempest)
If you’re unfamiliar with how Gardevoir ex works, this card may seem a little underwhelming at first. With a 30 damage Slap and mediocre health, the Silver Tempest Kirlia looks like a regular Stage One card.
It’s actually one of the most useful tools in the setup phase of a Gardevoir ex deck, thanks to the Refinement ability. This allows you to discard one and then draw two cards once during your turn, offering almost unparalleled draw power without having to rely on Supporters or Items.
Other Kirlia cards do exist, with one from base set Scarlet and Violet and another from Paldean Fates, but they’re much more damage-oriented. Gardevoir ex will still be playable post Rotation with alterations, but it won’t have as much draw power as it does at the time of writing.
Lugia VSTAR (Silver Tempest)
Lugia VSTAR is a divisive deck that’s seen a high level of success in the competitive scene, appearing at a wide array of events since its release. It can be tricky to set up in places, but once this deck gets rolling, it can be almost unstoppable without a hard counter.
This card and its associated deck were represented well at LAIC, Toronto Regionals, Stuttgart Regionals, and plenty of other events in the competitive calendar. Much like Regidrago VSTAR, its absence in competitive tournaments past Rotation will be noticeable.
Lumineon V (Brilliant Stars)
Lumineon V isn’t a card tied to any particular deck list, but it will still be sorely missed by countless players for its utility once Rotation rolls around.
The Luminous Sign ability notes that when Lumineon V is played from the hand to the Bench, the player may search their deck for a Supporter, reveal it, then add it to their hand and shuffle their deck.
The sparkly fish also has Aqua Return, which acts as a get-out-of-jail-free card, dealing 120 damage before popping back into the deck with all its attached cards. This synergy with Luminous Sign makes it an invaluable tool for many decks.
While there will likely be new cards with a similar structure or playstyle, Lumineon V will be hard to replace right out of the gate.
Origin Forme Dialga and Palkia VSTAR (Astral Radiance)
Is it cheating to include these as one listing? Possibly. It’s hard to talk about one Origin Forme VSTAR without mentioning the other, though, as these cards had plenty of time in the sun and made waves in the competitive scene.
Origin Forme Dialga VSTAR has access to one of the most unique VSTAR Powers in the game with Star Chronos. It deals 220 damage, then allows the user to take another turn immediately after this attack, skipping the Pokémon Check-Up phase—well-worth the expensive price.
Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR’s strongest tool is arguably its attack, not its VSTAR Power. The Power is Star Portal, letting the user attach three discarded Water Energy to Water-type Pokémon in any way they’d like. It’s useful but not the strongest option out there.
Subspace Swell, however, can be immense in the right circumstances. It only costs two Energy, dealing 60 base damage but stacking up an extra 20 damage for both players’ Bench.
Radiant Greninja (Astral Radiance)
Out of all the Basic Pokémon affected by Rotation this year, Radiant Greninja is arguably the most influential. This 130 HP frog offers immense value through easy draw power and Bench sniping capabilities.
The Concealed Cards ability requires an Energy card to be discarded from the user’s hand first. Then, the user can draw two, allowing for quick set-ups. Moonlight Shuriken requires an Energy discard from the Pokémon, then deals 90 damage to two Benched opponents.
Despite only being a Basic Pokémon with middling HP, Radiant Greninja has proven to be one of the most valuable Greninja cards in the game, rivaling cards like the Twilight Masquerade version of Greninja ex for sheer usability.
Radiant Greninja can currently be found in several decks, like Gardevoir ex, Palkia-Dusknoir, Raging Bolt-Ogerpon ex, and even Lost Zone Box.
Regidrago VSTAR (Silver Tempest)
Regidrago decks come in all shapes and sizes, but generally, this beast of a VSTAR is paired with other Dragon-types like Giratina VSTAR, Dragpult ex, and Kyurem to make the most of its Apex Dragon attack.
This attack allows it to copy the move of any discarded Dragon-type Pokémon, opening up the floor for attacks like Dragapult ex’s Phantom Dive (dealing 200 damage and applying six damage counters to Benched ‘mons) or Kyurem’s Trifrost (requiring an Energy discard to deal 110 damage to three enemy Pokemon).
Alongside this attack, its VSTAR Power allows the user to discard their top seven before adding up to two cards from their discard into their hand. This has perfect synergy with Apex Dragon and can make for exciting combos, pulling in brilliant tournament results.
Rotom V (Lost Origin)
One of the major changes we’re likely to see with April’s Rotation for Standard is a change in tempo and pacing for matches.
There will be exceptions, and new cards are bound to fill in the gaps, but a lot of ‘F’ Regulation cards offer quick setup and easy draw. Cards like Rotom V allow players to set up incredibly fast, using Instant Charge to draw three and end their turn.
With a discard-based attack and decent enough HP, Rotom V proved its worth in decks like Charizard-Pidgeot ex, acting as a handy draw engine and alternate source of damage in a pinch.
Snorlax (Pokémon Go)
Stall decks are fairly polarizing with the player base, with some players loving them and others finding them incredibly annoying.
Out of all the stall lists that existed throughout the Pokémon TCG, arguably the best-known one is Snorlax Stall. This Pokémon Go Snorlax card has been terrorizing the community with its Block ability ever since its release, preventing any Active movement from the opponent.
It’s not an overly offensive card, with its only attack being Collapse, which deals 150 damage before putting Snorlax to sleep. It doesn’t have to be strictly offensive with its ability, though. The ability puts it in an incredible position to soak up damage and drastically slow the pace of the game.
While a handful of players will likely be sad to see this card going in 2025’s Rotation, others will undoubtedly be celebrating the fact they won’t be playing against many Stall decks in the foreseeable future.
Other notable cards swapping out
The cards we mentioned above are the heavy hitters swapping out in April, but it’s by no means an exhaustive list. The ‘F’ Regulation Mark features a slew of competitive staples, with other key losses being:
- Tools like Forest Seal Stone, offering the ability to search your deck for one particular card and put it straight in your hand.
- Radiant Pokémon cards like Radiant Alakazam and Radiant Charizard with unique abilities that contribute to popular decks like Charizard-Pidgeot ex.
- Pokemon V or VSTAR cards, like Raikou V and Hisuian Zoroark VSTAR, that found success as solo decks in the competitive scene.
As a general rule, if there are any Sword and Shield cards in a deck you’re hoping to use after April 11, you’ll need to swap them out and find something new.
The official Pokémon TCG database is a great tool to help you look for alternate cards to bring to your next matches. You can search for cards based on the text they contain, making it easier to find new picks, and each card in the database has a high-quality image so you can check the Regulation Mark.
If you’re unsure about any of the cards in your deck list for a tournament—for example, if you have an older version of an Item that’s still in Rotation—it’s best to contact the host or organization managing the event to double check.
You’ll also have time to test out new deck lists on Pokémon TCG Live, as Standard Rotation will be happening a little earlier on March 27, 2025.
The PTCG Rotation can be turbulent for the community, but it’s also one of the most exciting times to be a player. Fan-favorite deck lists will go through several changes as the months roll on, and it’s likely we’ll see new favorites emerge in the meta.
Read the full article here
Discussion about this post