Pokémon TCG Rotation 2024

What’s poppin’ PTCGL Store readers? You’re probably busy testing all of the new cards available with the release of Scarlet and Violet: Paldean Fates, but there is another big change coming up soon, the 2024 Pokémon TCG Standard rotation. The 2024 Standard Pokémon TCG rotation will go into effect 4月 5 2024, and will effectively rotate all E block cards to leave us with F Block-on. There are countless cards that we will lose to this rotation, like the infamous Battle VIP Pass [Fusion Strike] that has been played in countless decks this past season, or even the Flying Pikachu VMAX [Celebrations] that won the 2022 World Championships. I could have easily written about the most impactful cards that we were losing, or do another mindless list article, but I’m deciding to go on a different path with this article. In this article I will be sharing my top tips to deal with upcoming rotation, and what you can do right now to start preparing! If you need any cards on Pokémon TCG Live for your account, be sure to use code zlesage5 to save 5% on PTCGL code cards here at the PTCGL Store.

We have to start somewhere, and that somewhere is identifying which cards we are losing from Rotation. PTCG Live is going to make that seamlessly easy once Rotation hits, but if you’re managing your cards in real life, you’ll have to look in the bottom left hand corner of each card to see what block it is part of. Besides a few fringe cases, we are effectively losing Battle Styles to Fusion Strike, a few Promo Cards, and a few cards that didn’t properly align with the Japanese release schedule. While there are certainly a lot of other cards to consider, here are some of the more impactful cards that we are losing to the 2024 Pokémon TCG Standard rotation:

That might not seem like the craziest list of cards, but it does affect our Standard metagame a lot! That means we will lose many PTCGL decks that are currently at the top of the rankings without easy replacements! Here are the decks that are fully effected, or are otherwise obsolete post rotation:

As you can see, this list is quite large, and it would definitely affect competitive play if it was implemented tomorrow! We lose many valuable cards, pieces of complete decks, and that certainly shakes things up! What can we do about it? Well, I have some plans!

Some decks remain relatively unscathed, but some of their Trainer cards will need to be adjusted for the Rotation. In this case, I’ll share some tips on how I would approach adjusting the Charizard ex [Obsidian Flames] / Pidgeot ex [Obsidian Flames] deck that Caleb Rogerson used to place finals at the 2024 Charlotte Regional Championships. Here is his list:

2 Charmander MEW 4

1 Charmander PR-SV 47

1 Charmander OBF 26

1 Charmeleon OBF 27

3 Charizard ex OBF 125

2 Pidgey MEW 16

2 Pidgeot ex OBF 164

1 Radiant Charizard CRZ 20

1 Rotom V CRZ 45

1 Lumineon V BRS 40

1 Mew CEL 11

1 Manaphy BRS 41

1 Jirachi PAR 126

4 Arven OBF 186

3 Boss's Orders PAL 172

3 Iono PAL 185

1 Professor's Research SVI 189

4 Rare Candy SVI 191

4 Ultra Ball SVI 196

4 Battle VIP Pass FST 225

2 Super Rod PAL 188

2 Lost Vacuum CRZ 135

1 Counter Catcher PAR 160

1 Level Ball BST 129　

1 Switch SVI 194

1 Forest Seal Stone SIT 156

1 Choice Belt PAL 176

1 Technical Machine: Devolution PAR 177

2 Artazon PAL 171

1 Collapsed Stadium BRS 137

6 Fire Energy 2

While it doesn’t seem like much at first, the rotation leaves us with a few mandatory changes. These are the cards we must cut from the list to make our deck legal as of 4月 5:

We still might want to cut some other cards, like Choice Belt [Brilliant Stars] because we lose a lot of Pokémon V in the format, but I’ll leave those be for this exercise. So we are gonna start with the function of each card, and go from there.

Mew is our answer to extra consistency, and while it is played in every Charizard ex list right now, it isn’t necessary for the deck to function normally. My first thought would be to replace this with a Supporter, or another Pokémon that increases the consistency of the deck. There aren’t too many Pokémon that easily replace Mew, so it's probably best to go the Supporter route. Irida [Astral Radiance] could grab you an Item Card, and Lumineon V [Brilliant Stars] for the following turn, or maybe a generic Supporter, like Professor’s Research [Scarlet and Violet], would be a better choice. You could leave this as a blank spot too, and see if there is something you wanna add to the deck afterwards. With Ace Specs coming out in Temporal Forces, like Prime Catcher [Temporal Forces], that would probably be a better use of this “extra’ space, so don’t forget about stuff like that too.

Battle VIP Pass is slightly easier to replace because we receive Buddy Poffin [Temporal Forces], and that gives us a solid opportunity to search for our Charmander, and Pidgey [Pokémon 151]. Since Buddy Poffin can’t search out Rotom V, we might wanna toss in a few copies of Nest Ball [Scarlet and Violet] to grab that Pokémon as early as turn one. We’ll worry about that once we throw the whole list together!

Level Ball is in the same boat as Battle VIP Pass where it is easily replaceable, but we’ll probably have to replace it with Nest Ball for the above reasons for Rotom V. This spot has been a flex spot for extra consistency, and that is generally pretty easy to replace when it comes to updating the deck. But what does the deck look like? Let’s find out together!

While it might be a little early because Temporal Forces hasn’t been fully released at time of this writing, here is my early take on a Charizard ex / Pidgeot ex decklist. I’ll explain a few things that I’ve changed, and the reasons why. Let’s check out this freshly minted F Block-on list:

2 Charmander MEW 4

2 Charmander OBF 26

1 Charmeleon PAF

3 Charizard ex OBF 125

2 Pidgey MEW 16

2 Pidgeot ex OBF 164

1 Rotom V CRZ 45

1 Lumineon V BRS 40

1 Manaphy BRS 41

1 Jirachi PAR 126

1 Radiant Charizard CRZ 20

4 Arven OBF 186

2 Boss's Orders PAL 172

3 Iono PAL 185

1 Prime Catcher TFO

1 Professor's Research SVI 189

4 Rare Candy SVI 191

4 Ultra Ball SVI 196

4 Buddy Poffin TFO

2 Super Rod PAL 188

2 Lost Vacuum CRZ 135

1 Counter Catcher PAR 160

2 Nest Ball SVI 181

1 Defiance Band SVI 169

1 Forest Seal Stone SIT 156

1 Vitality Band SVI 197

1 Technical Machine: Devolution PAR 177

1 Artazon PAL 171

1 Collapsed Stadium BRS 137

6 Fire Energy 2

1 Mist Energy TFO

Admittedly, I haven’t changed too much about this deck, but there are a couple of changes. Due to Gardevoir ex getting torn apart from the Rotation, I’ve decided to change up the Charmander line to not include the Promo version. I’ve typically run the Promo Charmander to respond to a Gardevoir after it takes some Psychic Embrace damage, but that isn’t going to be a factor anymore. With Roaring Moon ex being a real threat, and 70 HP being ideal against Sableye [Lost Origin], I currently believe the best line is a 2/2 split. I’ve upgraded the Charmeleon [Obsidian Flames] to the newer Charmeleon [Paldean Fates] because I like the Ability, and I don’t see this deck taking down control too often anyways. I ultimately decided to keep Radiant Charizard ex [Crown Zenith] in the deck to deal with Basic Pokémon ex, and I have the option to use Defiance Band to take down a Giratina VSTAR.

Prime Catcher is a must in this deck, and I decided the spot it should take is Boss’s Orders [Paldea Evolved], because it gives us more flexibility. That also allows us to cut Switch from the deck, and gain another spot. Between Mew, and the Switch, I’ve found a few spots for Nest Ball to take care of extra Basic search, and being able to grab a Rotom V turn one. Battle VIP Pass was another easy change with the release of Buddy Poffin, and that naturally fits into this deck with all of the Charmander, and Pidgey [Pokémon 151]. I also cut a Stadium due to Path to the Peak rotating away, and that made space for a Mist Energy [Temporal Forces] that might be clutch in a few scenarios. The list is still a work in progress, but it is a fairly easy process when there are so few cards rotating, that it is virtually the same deck.

Where things might be difficult are if you are used to playing Mew VMAX or Rapid Strike, and you are looking for changes to those decks. Both of those decks have lost most, if not all, key pieces to keep them viable. In those cases it is better to switch to a similar style of deck, or explore new options all together. There are plenty of viable decks in our new F Block-on format, so be sure to explore all of those options with the rest of the Pokémon community!

I hope this article has helped you out on your Pokémon TCG journey, especially as we approach the 2024 Pokémon TCG rotation. There are going to be unbelievable changes to our current metagame, and I can’t wait to share more of that information once we get the full set release of Temporal Forces. I do plan on writing a bunch of articles for PTCGL Store in the near future, so be prepared for a steady new flow of content from me on this sight! And as an added bonus, use code zlesage5 to save 5% here at the PTCGL store! Until next time, happy testing, and I’ll catch up with you really soon!

Zach Lesage is a contributing writer for ptcglstore.com. As a Toronto local, he has been playing the Pokémon Trading Card Game since 2005, and creates Pokémon content as his full-time career. With multiple prestigious accomplishments in the game, such as the 2020 Players Cup 2 Champion and 2020 Oceania International Championships Finalist, he has proven his success in the game. Outside the game, he travels the world, enjoys the culture of designer streetwear, and is a professionally trained chef. You can catch him at most Pokémon events and follow him on Twitter https://twitter.com/ZachLesagePTCG.