Expanded format (TCG)
The Expanded format (Japanese: エクストラレギュレーション Extra Regulation format) of the Pokémon Trading Card Game is one of two formats used in officially-sanctioned Play! Pokémon events. It was added to the Standard format in the 2014-2015 season. It allows a greater number of expansions than Standard format but is not as unpredictable in card combinations as Unlimited format. Currently, the Expanded format allows use of all cards printed from Black & White onwards, minus a short ban list.
Expanded is one of the formats playable in Pokémon Trading Card Game Live. In this game, it is called the Expanded (Beta) format and only allows cards printed from Sun & Moon onwards. While all cards from the Black & White Series and XY Series can be collected in the game, only those that have been reprinted in later series are currently usable. Additional support for older cards is planned to begin in waves in 2026.[1] Prior to its discontinuation, the Expanded format was also used in the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online. Pokémon TCG Online always supported every card in the full Expanded format.
The rulebook allows for the Expanded format to undergo rotations, but none have ever occurred. New cards are added to the format at the same time as Standard, usually two weeks following their official release.
If an Expanded-legal card is a reprint of an older card, all prints of the card are typically able to be played in an Expanded-legal deck. Some cards significantly differ in wording between older prints and newer prints (e.g. Pokémon Fan Club from Aquapolis compared to its Ultra Prism iteration); those cards cannot be used in sanctioned tournaments unless they have received official errata.[2] In Japan, cards released prior to the ADV Expansion Pack are explicitly disallowed.[3]
Play! Pokémon requires players to play with cards printed in their region's official language (for example, players in the United States are restricted to English cards only, whereas players in Canada can use both English cards and French cards).
As of 2026, there has not been an official Expanded tournament in Play! Pokémon regions since before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the format remains not yet fully supported in Pokémon TCG Live. The ban list continues to be maintained alongside the release of new expansions, but it is unknown if Play! Pokémon will return to meaningfully supporting the format. In Japan, the Extra Regulation format does still see occasional tournament support. A single regional-level tournament, the Champions League Aichi May, annually runs an Extra Regulation side-bracket along with the main Standard Regulation event.
List of Expanded formats
- 2014-15 — Black & White onward
- 2015-16 — Black & White onward
- 2016-17 — Black & White onward
- 2017-18 — Black & White onward
- 2018-19 — Black & White onward
- 2019-20 — Black & White onward
- 2020-21 — Black & White onward
- 2021-23 — Black & White to Cosmic Eclipse, and all Regulation Marks
- 2023-24 — Black & White to Cosmic Eclipse, and all Regulation Marks
- 2024-25 — Black & White to Cosmic Eclipse, and all Regulation Marks
Banned cards
Certain cards[4][3] are banned from the Expanded format due to the large number of available cards causing unintended combos. Several of these bans are in response to strategies that allow the player going first to win before their opponent performs an action.[5] Strategies involving hand disruption have also been a cause for bans.[6]
In addition to the above cards, Blaine's Quiz Show is banned exclusively in Pokémon Trading Card Game Live.
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| Danish | Udvidet | |
| Dutch | Uitgebreid | |
| Finnish | Laajennettu | |
| European French | Étendu | |
| German | Erweitert | |
| Indonesian | Luas | |
| Italian | Esteso | |
| Norwegian | Utvidet | |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Expandido | |
| Russian | Расширенны Rasshirenny | |
| European Spanish | Expandido | |
| Swedish | Utökadе | |
References
- ↑ 2026 Pokémon TCG Standard Format Rotation Announcement | Pokémon.com, Jan 9, 2026
- ↑ Pokémon TCG Tournament Handbook, section 4.1.3. Retrieved Feb 25, 2026
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Extra Regulation Rules (Japanese)
- ↑ Pokémon TCG Banned Card List (English)
- ↑ Team Up ban list announcement
- ↑ Cosmic Eclipse ban list announcement
See also
| |||||||||||||||||||
|
This article is part of Project TCG, a Bulbapedia project that aims to report on every aspect of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. |