Pokémon TCG Formats: Standard vs Expanded, Regulation Marks and Rotation

If you buy a pack today and a pack from five years ago, you cannot always use both cards in the same tournament deck. Which cards are allowed depends on the format, and the format changes once a year in an event called rotation. This guide explains how it works, so you know which cards you can play.

What is a format?

A format is a set of rules saying which cards are legal for deck building. Casual games at home can use any cards you both agree on, but official events, leagues and Pokémon TCG Live ranked play use defined formats. The two main ones are Standard and Expanded.

Standard format

Standard is the main competitive format, used at most official events, including the Pokémon World Championships. It only allows recent cards, usually around the last two to three years of releases.

That keeps the game fresh, keeps the card pool manageable for new players and stops very old, very strong cards from dominating forever.

Expanded format

Expanded allows a much larger card pool: cards from the Black & White series onward, minus a ban list of cards that are too strong or cause problems. It is less common at events, but popular with players who like older cards and with collectors who want to use cards that have left Standard.

Regulation marks

How do you tell if a card is Standard-legal? Look at the regulation mark, a small white letter in a box at the bottom left of the card (see how to read a Pokémon card). Each year, Standard allows a set of letters, and the oldest letter rotates out.

For the 2026–27 season, which began with the rotation on 10 April 2026 for in-person play (26 March 2026 on Pokémon TCG Live), cards with the G mark left Standard. Cards with an H mark or later are legal, including newly released sets with later letters.

A few details:

• New sets usually become legal a short time after release (often about two weeks), not on day one.
• Reprints: Trainer and Energy cards are judged by name. If a Trainer has been reprinted with a legal mark, an older printing with the same name is usually also legal in Standard. Pokémon cards do not follow this rule; each Pokémon card must have a legal mark itself.
• Basic Energy cards are always legal.

Rules details can change from season to season, so check the official Pokémon website before an event.

How rotation works

Rotation happens once a year, usually in spring. When it does:

1. The oldest regulation mark (or marks) leaves Standard.
2. Decks built on those cards are no longer Standard-legal.
3. New strategies appear as players build around the remaining cards.

Rotation dates are announced months in advance, so players have time to adjust.

What rotation means for you

If you are new

Buy recent products. Cards from the newest sets will stay in Standard the longest. Before buying single cards for a deck, check their regulation mark.

If your deck is rotating

• Your cards are still legal in Expanded, so you can keep playing them there.
• They are always fine in casual games with friends.
• Many players keep their favourite rotated decks as “gauntlet” decks to test against.

If you collect

Rotation affects play, not collecting. A card’s value depends on its rarity and demand, not on whether it is Standard-legal, although strong competitive cards can drop in price after rotating.

Other formats you may hear about

• Unlimited: every card ever printed is legal. Rarely played seriously.
• Theme or prerelease formats: limited events using a specific product, such as building a deck from packs opened at the event.
• Casual “anything goes”: whatever you and your opponent agree on.

Tracking tournament games

Whatever the format, official matches are usually best-of-three with a time limit. Read match timer and tournament play for how timing works, and use the timer and Bo3 score in PTCG Companion during the match. Unsure about a word? See the Pokémon TCG glossary.