ACE SPEC card (TCG): Difference between revisions

ACE SPEC cards as of the Scarlet & Violet Series

ACE SPEC cards (Japanese: ACE SPEC(エーススペック) ACE SPEC) are a classification of Pokémon Trading Card Game cards first introduced in the Boundaries Crossed expansion. ACE SPEC cards are powerful cards with the restriction that a deck is limited to at most a single ACE SPEC card of any sort.

Information

An example of an ACE SPEC card from the Black & White Series

An example of an ACE SPEC Special Energy card

An ACE SPEC card has a powerful effect which can completely change the course of a game, such as searching the deck for any card, switching in the opponent's Benched Pokémon, adding large amounts of attack damage or HP, and so on. Due to their power, a player is limited to only one ACE SPEC card of any kind when building a deck. For example, if a deck includes Prime Catcher, any other ACE SPEC cards like Hero's Cape or Maximum Belt may not be included.

ACE SPEC cards were first introduced in the Boundaries Crossed expansion of the English Black & White Series (the Japanese BW Era). In total, there are 13 ACE SPEC cards introduced during the Black & White Series, all of which are Item cards or Pokémon Tool cards.

There were no more ACE SPEC cards released after the Black & White Series (except for reprints) until the English Scarlet & Violet Series (the Japanese Scarlet & Violet Era), in which ACE SPEC cards make their return. The return of ACE SPECs into the TCG format was first announced on August 13, 2023,^[1] and further elaborated on during the Kyoto Championships League 2024 tournament held on December 23-24, 2023.^[2][3][4] The first batch of the new Scarlet & Violet Series ACE SPEC cards were released on January 26, 2024, in the Japanese expansions Wild Force and Cyber Judge, and the Japanese Starter Deck & Build Sets. These ACE SPEC cards are included in the English Temporal Forces expansion, released on March 22, 2024.

Beginning with the release of these products, all ACE SPEC cards have a unique magenta colored design and, when applicable, a unique "ACE SPEC Rare" () rarity in English; the equivalent rarity in Japanese is "ACE" (). As of the Scarlet & Violet Series, besides being Item cards or Pokémon Tool cards, ACE SPEC cards can also be Special Energy cards or Stadium cards. There are currently 15 ACE SPEC cards introduced during the Scarlet & Violet Series, two of which are reprints of cards from the Black & White Series (namely, Master Ball and Scoop Up Cyclone).

List of ACE SPEC cards

ACE SPEC cards Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card	Type	Mark	English Expansion		Rarity	#	Japanese Expansion		Rarity	#
Computer Search	I		Boundaries Crossed			137/149	Cold Flare			058/059
							Extra Regulation Box			046/048
							S-P Promotional cards			350/S-P
Crystal Edge	PT		Boundaries Crossed			138/149	Cold Flare			059/059
Crystal Wall	PT		Boundaries Crossed			139/149	Freeze Bolt			059/059
Gold Potion	I		Boundaries Crossed			140/149	Freeze Bolt			058/059
Dowsing Machine	I		Plasma Storm			128/135	Plasma Gale			069/070
							S-P Promotional cards			349/S-P
Scramble Switch	I		Plasma Storm			129/135	Plasma Gale			068/070
Victory Piece	PT		Plasma Storm			130/135	Plasma Gale			070/070
Life Dew	PT		Plasma Freeze			107/116	Thunder Knuckle			050/051
							Extra Regulation Box			048/048
Rock Guard	PT		Plasma Freeze			108/116	Spiral Force			050/051
G Booster	PT		Plasma Blast			92/101	Megalo Cannon			075/076
G Scope	PT		Plasma Blast			93/101	Megalo Cannon			074/076
Master Ball	I		Plasma Blast			94/101	Blastoise + Kyurem-EX Combo Deck			017/018
			Temporal Forces			153/162	Ancient Koraidon ex Starter Deck & Build Set			032/053
							Future Miraidon ex Starter Deck & Build Set			032/053
Scoop Up Cyclone	I		Plasma Blast			95/101	Megalo Cannon			073/076
							Extra Regulation Box			047/048
			Twilight Masquerade			162/167	Transformation Mask			093/101
Awakening Drum	I		Temporal Forces			141/162	Wild Force			062/071
Hero's Cape	PT		Temporal Forces			152/162	Cyber Judge			064/071
Maximum Belt	PT		Temporal Forces			154/162	Wild Force			066/071
Prime Catcher	I		Temporal Forces			157/162	Cyber Judge			062/071
Reboot Pod	I		Temporal Forces			158/162	Cyber Judge			063/071
Neo Upper Energy	E		Temporal Forces			162/162	Wild Force			071/071
Hyper Aroma	I		Twilight Masquerade			152/167	Crimson Haze			055/066
Secret Box	I		Twilight Masquerade			163/167	Transformation Mask			092/101
Survival Brace	PT		Twilight Masquerade			164/167	Crimson Haze			059/066
Unfair Stamp	I		Twilight Masquerade			165/167	Crimson Haze			053/066
Legacy Energy	E		Twilight Masquerade			167/167	Transformation Mask			101/101
Poké-Vital A	I						Night Wanderer			055/064
Neutral Center	St						Night Wanderer			063/064

Cards that interact with ACE SPEC cards

• Spiritomb from Legendary Treasures prevents both players from playing any ACE SPEC cards from their hand.

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese ACE SPEC Mandarin ACE SPEC French HIGH-TECH German ASS-KLASSE Indonesian ACE SPEC Italian ASSO TATTICO Korean ACE SPEC Spanish AS TÁCTICO Thai ACE SPEC

References

This article is part of Project TCG, a Bulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.