Pokemon Sword & Shield TCG, Ranked Multiplayer Announced at Pokemon World Championships 2019
At the time of publishing this, the Pokemon World Championships 2019 are going on right now. This is the single biggest esports event of the year for everything Pokemon; from the trading card game to the spin-off fighting game to the mainline video games, there is a lot going on this weekend in Washington, DC.
Given how important the World Championships are to the online community, The Pokemon Company made the smart decision to kick off the festivities with some major announcements for the future of the video games and the trading card game. These announcements, specifically, address the upcoming eighth generation of main series games.
Pokemon Sword & Shield TCG Announced
As part of this, the Pokemon Sword & Shield TCG was formally announced. This was no surprise since there is always a string of new card releases and expansions with the release of each new game but this is the first that we’ve officially heard of the TCG expanding to the eighth generation of games.
But the announcement of the Pokemon Sword & Shield TCG happening (likely later this year or early next year) isn’t the only news to come for fans of the tabletop and digital trading card game. There are some new cards that were teased called Pokemon V cards that are going to be part of the series.
The “V” in the name is a little weird as we aren’t sure what that is supposed to mean for the trading card game as well as the mainline Pokemon Sword & Shield games that it is based on. However, what we do know is that it will be a possible replacement or evolution of the GX cards that fans know well.
These cards are similar to the GX cards in that they allow the player to pick up two prize cards instead of the normal one if they are able to successfully defeat a V pocket monster. As of right now, there are only two Pokemon V cards that we know about at this time and they were previewed at the event.
Zacian V and Zamazenta V Revealed
Those two cards are Zacian V and Zamazenta V who will both be available in the Pokemon Sword & Shield TCG series’ first expansion. If you didn’t know already, Zacian and Zamazenta are the two wolf legendary Pokemon that are the box art legendaries for the upcoming Pokemon Sword & Shield games.
As such, we can fully expect them to likely be the featured cards on one or two decks in the first expansion of the upcoming Pokemon Sword & Shield TCG series. Oddly enough, though both Zacian V and Zamazenta V were shown off, there are only a few slight details that we know about their cards.
For one, only the names, artwork, and their normal attack abilities were shown as well as the fact that the V Rule allows the player to pick up two prize cards. Things like the weaknesses, resistances, and retreats were not hidden but just completely blank for some sort of reason.
The retreat requirements is an odd one for sure but maybe it was hidden to keep consistent with the fact that weaknesses and resistances weren’t shown. Those latter two make more sense since we don’t actually know what the typings of the two legendary Pokemon are at this time and that would likely reveal it.
We also don’t know what the health of each of them is, most likely because the symbol next to it would possibly reveal their typing as well. Thankfully, though, we can see both Zacian V and Zamazenta V’s attacks that are, quite frankly, extremely powerful.
Starting with Zacian who is the one with the sword in his mouth, he is likely going to be the more offensive fighter of the two and this is proven in his attack. His attack is Brave Blade which does a massive 230 attack but forces the Pokemon to not be able to move on the next turn.
It is worth noting that the energy required for this attack isn’t shown either, most likely to avoid spoiling the typing of this particular legendary. The same can be said for Zamazenta V who we just see their normal attack. In the case of Zamazenta, though, he has an attack that is more on the lighter side of things.
It is likely that Zamazenta is more of the defensive Pokemon and its normal attack lends credence to this theory. Its main attack is Assault Tackle that does 130 damage, quite a bit less than Zacian’s attack. However, it also will let you discard special energy from your opponent’s attack Pokemon.
That is an impressive defensive move because it could possibly stop another Pokemon like Zacian, for instance, from using their potentially instant killing move Brave Blade on the next turn. It is likely that these two legendary Pokemon will be built as rivals that can defeat one another in battle, depending on how they’re used.
New Tag Team Trio Cards Unveiled
Those weren’t the only cards that were revealed for the Pokemon Sword & Shield TCG, though. Besides the two box art legendaries, two tag team cards were shown off for the first time that will keep the GX name alive in this regard at least. Those two are both trio tag team cards.
The first is the trio of legendary Pokemon from the generation four games: Arceus & Dialga & Palkia GX trio tag team. As you would expect from this trio of basically literal gods, this card is going to be a powerful one that will be a nice addition to some players’ decks.
Unlike with Zacian and Zamazenta, though, we actually get to see the full card in its entirety since we already know these three legendary Pokemon well. To begin with, the generation four trio has a whopping 280 health that ensures that Zacian V won’t be able to take it out in one hit.
Arceus & Dialga & Palkia GX Tag Team Details
The normal attack for the tiro of Arceus & Dialga & Palkia is Ultimate Ray that requires only one water, steel and another energy type to use. This ray is a mix of all three of the Pokemon and deals a nice crisp 150 damage. It also has the additional ability to allow you to search your deck for up to three basic energy cards and placing them on your trio in whatever way you like.
This feeds into the GX ability that the trio has called Altered Creation. What it does is permanently give the trio plus 30 to damage to the enemy’s active Pokemon before applying resistances and weaknesses. In addition, if the Pokemon has one extra water energy besides any necessary for the attack, you get to take an extra prize card when you knock out the Pokemon.
Essentially, this card allows you to possibly end the game much earlier if used correctly. However, it is worth noting that only one GX ability can be used like this per game. It is currently unknown if this will overlap with V abilities or not, or if they have a separate rule to them.
Togepi & Cleffa & Igglybuff GX Tag Team Details
The other trio tag team card that was revealed is a lot more cutesy and wild. It features a trio of adorable baby Pokemon that are Togepi & Cleffa & Igglybuff GX. These baby Pokemon have a solid 240 health as well as one of the most unique abilities that we have ever seen period.
First and foremost, though, it has a surprisingly strong attack ability called Rolling Panic that costs three energy: two fairy type energy and one that can be anything. It does a base damage of 120 and then has the player flip a coin until they get tails. For every heads that happens, the attack does 30 more damage.
What makes the trio of Togepi & Cleffa & Igglybuff GX so wild is its GX ability called Supreme Puff GX. There really is no ability quite like this one and it is a hilarious one that will surprise your opponent to say the least. The base ability requires two fairy type energy and allows you to immediately take another turn after this one.
That alone is rather useful as you skip your opponent’s next turn and go straight to doing your own again. This means attacking a second time, likely drawing another card, and so on. However, that doesn’t end of this card’s ability as it can possibly end the entire match in one turn if given the chance.
Though it requires two fairy type energy cards to use the GX ability if you happen to have at least 14 extra fairy type energy cards on this trio, you force your opponent to shuffle all benched Pokemon and their attached cards into their deck.
As you may already know, one way to win a match in the TCG is to defeat your opponent’s active Pokemon and they have no benched Pokemon to replace it. So, you can already start to see how this card could end the match easily. You could use the GX ability, leave them with only one Pokemon, and then immediately take another turn.
All you need to do after that is defeat the remaining Pokémon with this trio or another card like Zacian V and the game is over already. It’s a fun idea in practice but it will rarely, if ever, be possible in the pro scene as getting that much energy on one Pokemon is quite close to impossible.
Regardless, the ability to take an extra turn could make this card useful enough for some pro players to try out when the Pokemon Sword & Shield TCG series releases. And we also got hints of a possible Dynamaxed Pokemon card in the trailer. But that wasn’t all of the news to come out of the Pokemon World Championships this weekend either.
Pokemon Sword & Shield Online Multiplayer Details Revealed
The mainline Pokemon Sword & Shield games on Nintendo Switch also got some new details, specifically, about how the online multiplayer functionality will work for it. For starters, there is going to be a dedicated ranked multiplayer mode for the games called the Battle Stadium.
The Battle Stadium is where players will want to go to find out if they truly are the very best like no one ever was. Players can participate in either single or double battle match formats in the ranked mode. You can face people from around the world and will be matched up with those of similar skill.
We got a fantastic new trailer for the game as well!
Like with other games’ ranked modes, you will earn points based on how you do in each of the ranked matches. Then those points will determine if you climb up the ranks and the tiers that are available in the mode. For those who aren’t interested in rankings, there is the casual mode.
Casual Battles are all about just having fun with no limitations and is great for practicing, too. Players who use the casual mode will even be able to use certain legendary and mythical Pokemon that aren’t normally allowed in the Battle Stadium.
In addition to those multiplayer offerings, it looks like players will have access to tournaments in the form of Online Competitions. There are two types of competitions, the first being Friendly Competitions. You can host your own tournament or join another player’s for a friendly event.
On the other hand, there are Official Competitions that will be hosted by The Pokemon Company where it will have special rules and regulations. If you aren’t prepared for multiplayer online just yet, there is a solution for this in the Rental Teams feature.
Starting with the new games, players will be able to rent out their teams for other players to use by sharing a specific ID. On the other hand, you can use an ID to find someone else’s rental team and borrow it for competitive play. The crazy part is that these are even available for ranked battles.
This allows the player to utilize a fan-favorite pro’s team for your own so you can learn from and be like them. In addition, the multiplayer will have access to Dynamaxing, the new items, abilities, and more that are offered in Pokemon Sword & Shield. The games release later this fall on November 15, 2019.
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