The weekend is here, but there’s still Pokémon news coming up for the biggest TCG fans. As you already know, the latest Pokémon TCG expansion, Sword & Shield—Lost Origin, arrives on September 9, 2022. But guess what, you can already visit your local store and start playing early!
On August 26, select retailers will sell the Sword & Shield Lost Origin Build & Battle Box, allowing fans to have a Prerelease battle and experience the latest expansion before it's officially out!
According to Pokémon.com, this exciting Prerelease format allows players to compete with a 40-card deck, with four Prize cards set aside at the start of play, instead of a 60-card deck with six Prize cards. The format lets new players introduce themselves in a kinder way to the exciting world of the Pokémon TCG with quick, fun games and for giving seasoned players a window into all that Lost Origin has to offer.
So, what can we expect from the Build & Battle Box?
Each package includes a 40-card ready-to-play deck featuring key cards from current and prior sets and one of four unique foil promo cards to boost your deck. For example, depending on your promo card, you could add Gengar, Machamp, Finneon, or Comfey to your deck and collection:
Finneon (SWSH240)
If you find this promo in your Build & Battle Box, you may also want to see a stream of Pokémon with the Swim Freely attack. Ordinarily, you can only attach 1 Energy card per turn. Still, Finneon’s Oceanic Accompaniment Ability allows you to connect as many Water Energy cards as you like during your turn from your hand to 1 of your Pokémon that has the Swim Freely attack. For example, suppose you’re able to get Dewgong into play. In that case, you’ll be able to hose down your opponents with the powerful Floe Return attack that shuffles any amount of Water Energy from your Pokémon into your deck, doing 40 damage for each card shuffled into your deck in this way.
Gengar (SWSH241)
Gengar is as sneaky as Pokémon can be, and its Netherworld Gate Ability can get it into action in the blink of an eye. Once during your turn, if this Pokémon is in your discard pile, you may put it onto your Bench. If you do, put three damage counters on Gengar. Most Stage 2 Pokémon need to evolve a couple of times before coming into play, but Gengar isn’t hampered in this fashion, even being able to return itself to play after being Knocked Out! Aside from its Ability, Gengar’s Screaming Circle attack can be helpful and delivers significant damage at the cost of only 1 Energy.
Comfey (SWSH242)
Comfey loves to pick flowers as the Posy Picker Pokémon, and it also loves to pick cards off the top of your deck with its Flower Selecting Ability. Once during your turn, if this Pokémon is in the Active Spot, you may look at the top 2 cards of your deck and put 1 of them into your hand and 1 in the Lost Zone. Comfey doesn’t deliver devastating top-tier attacks, but it does help you find the cards you need when it matters most—making it a strong card in a Prerelease format that often has fewer Supporter and Item cards available. Be careful; you don’t want to send too many cards to the Lost Zone without a clear path to winning the game before you run out of cards.
Machamp (SWSH243)
The Superpower Pokémon, Machamp, brings some extra severe bulk with its Crisis Muscles Ability! Machamp leverages your opponent’s Prize count by gaining 150 HP when they have three or fewer Prize cards remaining. Since the Prerelease format uses only 4 Prize cards, this Ability can activate quickly! As a Stage 2 Pokémon, Machamp takes some time to get up and running, but it will reward you with spectacular results from its adrenaline-fueled muscles.
There’s variation between Build & Battle Boxes, so you can add your creative twist!
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