Pokémon-ex cards return to the Pokémon TCG in 2023 with Scarlet & Violet series

The 2022 Pokémon World Championships might be over, but that hasn’t stopped fresh news from rolling in. The inaugural Scarlet & Violet series for the Pokémon Trading Card Game, set to release in 2023, will reintroduce ex cards with a shiny crystal makeover. Ex cards first appeared in the Pokémon TCG back in 2003 as the main mechanic of EX Ruby and Sapphire. Sixteen EX sets and expansions followed over the next four years, ending with 2007’s EX Power Keepers. More powerful than regular Pokémon, ex cards boasted a higher HP and harder hitting attacks that were balanced out by the rule that an opponent collected two prize cards whenever knocking out a Pokémon-ex. When Pokémon TCG’s Scarlet & Violet Series launches in 2023, it will bring back Pokémon-ex flavoured with some crystalline aesthetics to match the terastel phenomenon present in the franchise’s upcoming video game entries. Five Pokémon-x were teased during the announcement video, which aired during the 2022 Pokémon World Championships. Players will be able to find Lucario, Magnezone, Mimikyu and the two new legendary dragons - Miraidon and Koraidon - in their ex forms. Ostensibly, any Stage 1 and Stage 2 evolutions will also come in the ex flavour, as they have previously been needed to evolve a Pokémon-ex. Read more