What's New in the Pokémon-e TCG: EX Ruby and Sapphire Expansion?
The Pokémon-e TCG: EX Ruby and Sapphire Expansion introduces Pokémon-ex. Pokémon-ex are a stronger form of Pokémon possessing better attacks, but with a special drawback: when an opponent defeats your Pokémon-ex, they take two Prize cards, instead of one. Pokémon-ex can show up in a variety of forms: most are Basic Pokémon, but there are legends of evolved forms. Because Pokémon-ex are different, they don't evolve into "normal" Stage 1 or Stage 2 Pokémon.
In addition, some of the basic rules have changed from previous editions, allowing the game to improve while working with all of the earlier cards.
When you start a game without Basic Pokémon in your hand, show your hand to your opponent, shuffle it back into your deck, and draw seven new cards. Your opponent can then choose to draw an extra card.
When you start a new game, the player who goes first skips his or her first draw card step.
The Special Condition Confused now only affects a Confused Pokémon when it attacks. As it attacks flip a coin as usual, but on a tails, the Confused Pokémon receives three damage counters, instead of the previous 20 damage. Confused Pokémon can now retreat normally.
Retreating your Active Pokémon is now an action that can only be done once per turn.
Darkness and Metal Energy are now easier to play. They still count as special energy, giving their special effects only to Pokémon of the matching type. As they give effects strictly to those Pokémon, the other drawbacks to those energy types have been removed.
Players are now limited to playing one Stadium card each turn.
Finally, there's a new way to play the Pokémon trading card game, 2-on-2 Battle. It's fun, but tricky…make sure you master the basic game before trying this extra game. Click here for the rules of a 2-on-2 battle.
What's New
in the Pokémon-e TCG: EX Sandstorm Expansion?
EX Sandstorm dives headlong into the desert winds with this latest
expansion. New kinds of Fossils have been uncovered in the shifting
sands, while elsewhere Trainers have spotted evolved forms of Pokémon-ex
deep in the desert.
Pokémon-ex now receive a huge boost in power as they evolve. Players can
evolve their normal Pokémon into Stage 1 and Stage 2 forms of special
Pokémon-ex. The stakes get even higher though, with nearly twice of the
normal HP, but double the Weaknesses.
New kinds of Fossil Pokémon evolve from special Trainer cards, such as
Claw Fossil. These Trainer cards act exactly like Basic Pokémon cards,
once they are in play. In addition, if you start a game without Basic
Pokémon in your hand, but have any number of Fossil Trainer cards, you
have the choice of whether or not to shuffle your hand back into your
deck and draw 7 new cards. (If you choose to re-draw a hand of 7 cards,
your opponent still chooses whether or not to draw an extra card.)
Baby Pokémon are making a comeback! They’ve been simplified as Basic
Pokémon, with a Poké-Power, “Baby Evolution”. This kind of Poké-Power is
unique – it can even be used if the Pokémon is affected by a Special
Condition! What they’ve lost in defense, they make up for in tricks!
2-on-2 Battle becomes even more exciting with a larger variety of cards
that improve this game play variant. Be sure to read your new cards
carefully – some of the cards get much more powerful when they refer to
“each Defending Pokémon”! Complete rules for this new way to play the
game can be found in Appendix A, found in the back of the rulebook.
What's New in the Pokémon-e TCG: EX Dragon Expansion?
The Pokémon-e TCG: EX Dragon Expansion unleashes a flight of powerful
Dragon-type Pokémon, challenging players to whole new level of play.
Also, some Pokémon-ex of this set have twice the number of Resistances,
making them tough foes to beat – you’ll need to play smart to win!
EX Dragon also introduces a new Weakness – Colorless! Fortunately it
means that only Colorless Pokémon do double damage against your Pokémon
with that Weakness, not every kind of Pokémon.
There are also new Stadium cards, like High Pressure System. A Stadium
card stays in play until another Stadium card replaces it. Players are
still limited to playing only one Stadium card each turn, making for
some hard decisions!
The 2-on-2 Battle game option gets even more exciting! In this variation
of the game, each player can have up to 2 Active Pokémon. Certain cards
printed in the EX series will have greater effect – either affecting
both Defending Pokémon or sometimes drawing upon the power of all of the
Active Pokémon in play! In the EX Dragon expansion, players will find
plenty of attacks on their new Pokémon, that get even better during
2-on-2 Battle! Complete rules for this extra game variant can be found
in Appendix A of the rulebook.
How Do Special Conditions Work?
Some attacks cause the Defending Pokémon to be Asleep, Burned, Confused, Paralyzed, or Poisoned. These conditions are called "Special Conditions." They don't happen to a Benched Pokémon, only to an Active Pokémon - in fact, if a Pokémon goes to the Bench, Special Conditions are removed from it. And evolving a Pokémon also means it's no longer affected by a Special Condition.
Asleep
If a Pokémon is Asleep, it can't attack or retreat. As soon as a Pokémon is Asleep, turn it sideways to show that it's Asleep. After each player's turn, flip a coin. On heads, the Pokémon wakes up (turn the card back right-side up), but on tails it's still Asleep, and you have to wait until after the next turn to try to wake it up again.
Burned
If a Pokémon is Burned, place a "Burn marker" on it to show that it's Burned. As long as it's still Burned, flip a coin after each player's turn. If tails, place two damage counters on it, ignoring Weakness and Resistance. If an attack would Burn a Pokémon that's already Burned, it doesn't get doubly Burned; instead, the new Burn condition replaces the old one. Make sure whatever you use for a Burn marker looks different from a damage counter.
Confused
If a Pokémon is Confused, you have to flip a coin whenever you try to attack with that Pokémon. Turn a Confused Pokémon with its head pointed toward you to show that it's Confused.
A Confused Pokémon can retreat to the Bench normally, where it loses all Special Conditions.
When you attack with a Confused Pokémon, you flip a coin. On heads, the attack works normally, but on tails your Pokémon receives three damage counters. (Only apply Weakness and Resistance for actual damage, not damage counters.) The Active Pokémon receives three damage counters even if its attack normally doesn't do damage (like Treecko's Poison Breath attack).
Paralyzed
If a Pokémon is Paralyzed, it can't attack or retreat. Turn the Pokémon sideways to show that it's Paralyzed. If an Active Pokémon is Paralyzed, it recovers after its player's next turn. Turn the card right-side up again. What this means is that if your Pokémon gets Paralyzed, it will be out of action on your next turn, and then it will be okay again.
Poisoned
If a Pokémon is Poisoned, put a "Poison marker" on it to show that it's Poisoned. As long as it's still Poisoned, place a damage counter on it after each player's turn, ignoring Weakness and Resistance. If an attack would Poison a Pokémon that's already Poisoned, it doesn't get doubly Poisoned; instead, the new Poison condition replaces the old one. Make sure whatever you use for a Poison marker looks different from a damage counter.
Can Your Pokémon be Asleep and Confused at the Same Time?
If a Pokémon is Asleep, Confused, or Paralyzed, and a new attack is made against it that makes it Asleep, Confused, or Paralyzed, the old condition is erased and only the new one counts. But these three conditions are the only attack effects that erase each other. So, for example, a Pokémon can be Confused and Burned at the same time.
How Do You Make a New Deck?
Your deck has to have exactly 60 cards, and you can't have more than four of any one card other than basic Energy cards in your deck (the basic Energy cards are G, Fr, W, L, P and Ft). A card counts as the same as another card if it has the same name - it doesn't matter whether the cards have different art or come from different sets. So, for example, you could have four Brock's Sandshrew and 4 Sandshrew in your deck, but you can't have more than four Pokémon named Sandshrew total even if they were different versions of Sandshrew.
To make a new deck, first notice that all of the cards other than the Trainers have different Energy types on them. Your deck should probably include one or two of the basic Energy types, and you can choose to add some Colorless Pokémon if you like. If you just choose one Energy type, you will always have the right kind of Energy for your Pokémon but not as much variety. If you have several Energy types, you'll have more Pokémon to choose from, but you'll run the risk of sometimes not drawing the right type of Energy for your Pokémon. And be sure your deck has enough Energy cards (most decks need 20 to 25).
Once you choose your Energy types, pick Pokémon and Trainer cards that work well together. Do you want to build up big Pokémon to crush your opponent? Then put in a lot of Evolution cards and some Trainer cards, like Poké Ball, that help you find those Evolution cards.
After you make your deck, play it as often as you can against as many other decks as you can. See what works and what doesn't, and then make changes. If you keep working at it, you'll have a deck that will show everyone you're the greatest Pokémon Master of all time!
What Counts as an Attack?
Anything written on a Basic Pokémon or Evolution card under the picture where attacks are found (except for a Poké-Power or Poké-Body) is considered an attack even if it doesn't do anything to your opponent's Pokémon. So, for example, Linoone's Seek Out and Poochyena's Knock Off would be prevented by an effect like Magmar ex's Smokescreen.
In What Order Do You Do Your Attack?
The exact steps to go through when attacking are listed here. For most attacks, it won't matter what order you do things in, but if you have to work your way through a really complicated attack, follow these steps in order and you should be fine.
If the Defending Pokémon is a Baby Pokémon, flip a coin to see if your turn ends without an attack. (If your turn ends without an attack, don't do any of the other steps. You're done now.)
Announce which attack your Active Pokémon is using. Make sure your Pokémon has enough Energy attached to it to use this attack.
If necessary, make any choices the attack requires you to make. (For example, Swampert's Water Arrow attack says "Choose one of your opponent's Pokémon." So you choose now.)
If necessary, do anything the attack requires you to do in order to use it. (For example, discard Energy cards, as in Camerupt's Fire Spin attack, which makes you discard 2 basic Energy cards attached to Camerupt in order to use it.)
If necessary, apply any effects that might alter or cancel the attack. (For example, if your Pokémon was hit last turn by Magmar ex's Smokescreen attack, that attack said that if you tried to attack with that Pokémon during your next turn, you should flip a coin. If tails, your Pokémon's attack does nothing.)
If your Active Pokémon is Confused, check now to see if the attack fails.
Do whatever the attack says. Do any damage first, then do any other effects, and finally, Knock Out any Pokémon that have damage greater than or equal to their Hit Points.
How Do You Figure Out the Damage?
Usually the amount of damage an attack does won't depend on the order in which you do things. But if you have to figure out an attack in which a lot of different things might change the damage, follow these steps in order (skip any steps that don't apply to that attack).
Start with the base damage. This is the number written to the right of the attack, or, if that number has an Ą, -, +, or ? next to it, it's the amount of damage the attack text tells you to do.
Figure out damage effects on the Attacking Pokémon (for example, Darkness Energy effect, or Ralt's Link Blast). Then if the base damage is 0 (or if the attack doesn't do any damage at all), just stop figuring the damage. You're done now. Otherwise, keep going.
Double the damage if the Defending Pokémon has Weakness to the Attacking Pokémon's type.
Subtract 30 damage if the Defending Pokémon has Resistance to the Attacking Pokémon's type.
Figure out damage effects of Trainer cards and Energy cards on the Defending Pokémon (like Metal Energy).
Apply any relevant effects resulting from the Defending Pokémon's last attack (for example, Aron's Teary Eyes) or relevant Poké-Powers and Poké-Bodies.
For each 10 damage the attack ends up doing, place one damage counter on the Defending Pokémon. (If at this point the damage done turns out to be less than 0, don't do anything.)
Now that damage has been done, if the attack does anything other than damage, do all of that.
Flip a coin to see if Pokémon with Burn markers get damage counters placed on them.
Flip a coin to see if Asleep Pokémon recover, and have eligible Paralyzed Pokémon recover.
If a Pokémon has a Pokémon Tool card attached to it and that card does something between turns, that card can be used at any time between turns that the person who played the Pokémon wants.
If your Pokémon and your opponent's Pokémon are Knocked Out at the same time between turns or during an attack, the player who is about to take a turn replaces his or her Pokémon first (and chooses his or her Prize card first as well).
Pokémon that Refer to Themselves
Sometimes a Pokémon refers to itself by name. For example, Goldeen's Flail attack says "Does 10 damage for each damage counter on Goldeen." Read the name as "this Pokémon" if the attack somehow gets used by another Pokémon. So if Togetic copies Goldeen's Flail with Mini-Metronome, Togetic would do 10 damage for each damage counter on it, just as if Togetic said "Does 10 damage for each damage counter on this Pokémon" on it.
Illegal Evolutions
Whenever you evolve a Pokémon, the Evolution card has to say it "Evolves from" the name of the Pokémon it goes on top of. Special Trainer Pokémon (such as Erika's Oddish) or Pokémon-ex (like Scyther ex) don't evolve into normal versions. A Pokémon card would have to state "Evolves from Scyther ex" to allow for that evolution.
How Do You Retreat Using Double Energy Cards?
Paying Retreat Costs can get confusing with Double Energy cards. Here's the way it works: Discard Energy cards one at a time until you've paid the Retreat Cost (or maybe more). Once you've paid the cost, you can't discard any more cards.
For example, suppose your Pokémon has a Retreat Cost of CC and it has two Fr Energy cards and a CC Energy card attached. You can pay the Retreat Cost in several ways - by discarding CC, by discarding two Fr, or by discarding Fr first and then CC. You can't discard all three cards, though.
What Happens if a Card Tells You to Draw More Cards than You Have Left?
If a card tells you to do something to a certain number of the top cards of your deck, and you have fewer cards than that left in your deck, do whatever you're supposed to do to the cards that you have left and continue play as normal. For example, if a card tells you to draw seven cards or to look at the top five cards of your deck, and you have only three cards left in your deck, you draw the top three or look at the top three. Remember, you lose if you can't draw a card at the beginning of your turn, not if you can't draw one because a card told you to.
What Happens if Neither Player Gets a Basic Pokémon Card in His or Her First seven Cards?
Sometimes neither you nor your opponent get any Basic Pokémon cards in your first hands of seven cards. If this happens, both players shuffle and draw seven new cards. In this case, neither player gets to draw an extra card. Repeat this process until at least one of the players has a Basic Pokémon card in his or her hand of seven cards. If the other player still doesn't have a Basic Pokémon card in his or her hand, that player can shuffle and draw seven new cards, but the player who already has a Basic Pokémon card can draw an extra card as usual. Continue this process until each player has a Basic Pokémon card in his or her hand of seven cards.
What Happens if Both Players Win at the Same Time?
You win if you take your last Prize or if your opponent has no Benched Pokémon to replace his or her Active Pokémon if it gets Knocked Out or otherwise removed from play. But it might happen that both players "win" in one of these ways at the same time. If this happens, play Sudden Death. However, if you win in both ways and your opponent wins in only one way, you win!
What's Sudden Death?
If Sudden Death occurs, play a new Pokémon game, but have each player use only one Prize instead of the usual six. Except for the number of Prizes, treat the Sudden Death game like a whole new Pokémon game: Set everything up again, including flipping a coin to see who goes first. The winner of this game is the overall winner. It may happen that the Sudden Death game also ends in Sudden Death; if that happens just keep playing Sudden Death games until somebody wins.
2-on-2 Battle Rules
There's a new challenge in the Pokémon trading card game, and it's 2-on-2 Battle! Each player has two Active Pokémon on the battlefield at a time, doubling the excitement. The game is played like a regular game of Pokémon, except for a couple of rules listed below.
Starting the Game
You and your opponent will each need your own deck of 60 cards. If you have at least two Basic Pokémon cards when you draw a starting hand of seven cards, put two Basic Pokémon into play as your Active Pokémon. You can start the game with only one Basic Pokémon in play, and still play 2-on-2 Battle, if that is the only Basic Pokémon in your hand. When a player has two Active Pokémon, he or she may choose up to four Basic Pokémon cards from his or her hand and put them on the Bench (where the Pokémon wait until they become one of the Active Pokémon).
Only One Active Pokémon?
Even if you only have one Active Pokémon, you can still continue 2-on-2 Battle. At any point during the game, if you only have one Active Pokémon, but still have a Pokémon on the Bench, choose a Benched Pokémon to go into the battlefield.
Attack!
During 2-on-2 Battle, you choose one of your Active Pokémon to attack, and then select the attack you want to use. You choose one of your opponent's Active Pokémon to attack, and finish the attack normally. Attacks that refer to "each Defending Pokémon" will affect both of the Defending Pokémon for that player.
Retreat!
As in the basic game, you can only retreat once per turn, even if you have two Active Pokémon in play. Choose wisely!
Pokémon with Special Conditions
When both of your Pokémon are Asleep, Burned, Confused, or Poisoned, you can make an attempt to recover or avoid damage in whatever order you would like. When one of your Active Pokémon gets Paralyzed, it will be out of action on your next turn, and then it will be okay again. You can still attack with your other Pokémon.
Trainer Cards
If the Trainer card has an effect on your Active Pokémon, you choose only one of your Active Pokémon for that card's effect (unless the card tells you to apply the effect to two or more of your Pokémon). For example, Potion allows you to remove two damage counters from one of your Pokémon, but it would not allow you to remove one damage counter from two of your Pokémon.
Special Energy Cards
When a Special Energy card is attached to one of your Active or Benched Pokémon, its effect is only applied to that Pokémon.
Baby Pokémon
When your Pokémon makes an attempt to attack an opponent's Baby Pokémon, you flip a coin. The rule for Baby Pokémon is applied only when your Pokémon tries to attack a Baby Pokémon.
Benched Pokémon
You can have up to 4 Pokémon on your Bench.
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