The prerelease for the next Pokémon TCG set, Phantasmal Flames, is fast approaching. Starting on November 1st, Pokémon Trainers looking to get early access to all of the Charizardy goodness of this fiery new expansion will be able to crack open Phantasmal Flames Build & Battle Boxes and take part in a prerelease tournament. Thanks to a unique quirk of the way that these events operate, the promo card Zacian 015 will be available to many players and will be much more powerful than normal. Let's explore why…
So here's how prerelease tournaments work. Every player is given a Build and Battle Box. This box contains four booster packs and a pre-built deck based around one of four promo cards. Pulls from the boosters and cards from the pre-made list can then be mixed together in order to create a new 40 card deck. Then everyone is paired up for a tournament, where games feature four prize cards, rather than the usual six.
Zacian 015 is one of the four promos that will be available inside prelease kits. The other three options are Ceruledge 014, Flygon 016, and Toxtricity 017. From this selection, Zacian looks to be the clear frontrunner.
What sets the Warrior Pokémon apart from the competition? Well, it's only attack Limit Break (yes, this is still the Pokémon TCG and not Final Fantasy), typically only deals an unremarkable 50 damage. If the opponent has three or fewer prize cards remaining, however, the damage gets ramped up to a much more impressive 140. In most games, it would be difficult to get this attack to full power, as it only comes fully online when the opponent is halfway to victory. Fortunately, at a four prize card event like a prerelease, your opponent only needs to claim one prize before Zacian is ready to break its limits.
Out of the four promos available, Zacian is the only basic Pokémon. This means that it can take to the field from turn one, while its rivals need to evolve before they're ready to fight. Limit Break, when powered up, also deals enough damage to KO Ceruledge and Toxtricity immediately and leaves Flygon on only 10 hp.
The competition at these events is also less fierce than at other Pokémon TCG tournaments. Everyone only has access to a handful of cards, so there won't be too many powerful EX cards or Mega Evolved Pokémon to steal the spotlight. Zacian's reign may not last long, but during the Phantasmal Flames prerelease, it will be king.
What cards from Phantasmal Flames are you hoping to crack? Let us know in the Wargamer Discord.
If you're hoping to look back over some memories of prereleases past, head on over to our list of all Pokémon sets in order of release.