Raid Battle (TCG)

The Pokémon Trading Card Game Raid Battle is a cooperative game type of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. It is based on the Max Raid Battles of Pokémon Sword and Shield, allowing up to four players to work together to defeat a powerful Dynamax or Gigantamax Pokémon. It was revealed on July 13, 2020.

Mechanics

Raid Battles utilize Pokémon cards but have altered or removed mechanics from the standard Trading Card Game. The following mechanics have been removed entirely:

• Evolution—any stage of Pokémon can be used
• Energy
• Retreat cost
• Special Conditions
• Costs of attacks and Abilities that involve removed mechanics (coin flips are still required)

The following mechanics function differently in Raid Battles than they do in the standard Trading Card Game:

• Weakness and Resistance may be used or ignored at a group's discretion.
• Knocked Out Pokémon are not removed from the field or able to switch positions.
  • Each Pokémon only counts as one Knock Out; Pokémon that give multiple Prize cards do not count for multiple Knock Outs.
• Despite working together and taking turns together, each party is separate. An attack or Ability effect that specifies an Active Pokémon or Benched Pokémon only affects the party that used the attack or Ability. Additionally, each party may use a GX move once per Raid Battle.

How to play

Raid Battles are conducted by having four pairs of Pokémon team up to battle a Boss Pokémon. The four parties can be controlled by 1-4 players and one player controls the Boss Pokémon; a Boss Pokémon's actions are dictated by Boss Attack cards, so the controlling player can also play as one or more of the parties. A Raid Battle is concluded by the Boss Pokémon being Knocked Out or four of the parties' Pokémon being Knocked Out.

All necessary components, except the players' Pokémon cards, can be downloaded from Pokémon.com and printed out. Alternatively, a Digital Raid Battle Assistant that runs in a web browser is also available here.

Players

Players choose their pair(s) of Pokémon, an Active Pokémon and a Benched Pokémon. The largest attack number of each Active Pokémon is added together to determine the level of the Boss Pokémon. Modifiers and effects are not applied for this, only the number printed on the card. An order for the parties to take their turns in is determined and the game begins on the first party's turn.

A party's turn will play out as follows:

1. If one of the Pokémon is Knocked Out, the player draws a Cheer card, applies its effect, and ends their turn.
2. If no Pokémon is Knocked Out, the player can choose to have their Active Pokémon retreat.
3. The player then chooses an attack.
4. At the end of the four parties' collective turn, Knocked Out Pokémon are revived, if the player drew a Cheer card this turn. Pokémon Knocked Out by self-inflicted damage remain Knocked Out until the end of the next turn.

Boss Pokémon

Boss Pokémon have three levels that affect their HP, the damage of their attacks, and how many attacks they can potentially do in a turn. The sum of the four parties' Active Pokémon's largest attack number determine which level the players will face:

• Level 1 - attack sum is 250-390, maximum of two attacks
• Level 2 - attack sum is 400-590, maximum of three attacks
• Level 3 - attack sum is 600 or greater, maximum of four attacks

If the attack sum is less than 250, it is recommended that more powerful Pokémon are chosen by the players.

On the Boss Pokémon's turn, the player controlling it draws a Boss Attack card and follows its instruction. If the Boss Attack card targets a Knocked Out Pokémon, the card is discarded and another is drawn. If all Boss Attack cards are used, the discard pile is shuffled and reused.

Boss Attack cards

A Boss Attack card

There are 20 numbered Boss Attack cards.

1/20	Use attack 1 against Player 1 Draw one more card
2/20	Use attack 1 against Player 2 Draw one more card
3/20	Use attack 1 against Player 3 Draw one more card
4/20	Use attack 1 against Player 4 Draw one more card
5/20	Use attack 1 against Player 1 Draw one more card
6/20	Use attack 1 against Player 2 Draw one more card
7/20	Use attack 1 against Player 3 Draw one more card
8/20	Use attack 1 against Player 4 Draw one more card
9/20	Use attack 2 against Player 1 Draw one more card
10/20	Use attack 2 against Player 2 Draw one more card
11/20	Use attack 2 against Player 3 Draw one more card
12/20	Use attack 2 against Player 4 Draw one more card
13/20	Use attack 2 against Player 1
14/20	Use attack 2 against Player 2
15/20	Use attack 2 against Player 3
16/20	Use attack 2 against Player 4
17/20	Use attack 3 against Player 1
18/20	Use attack 3 against Player 2
19/20	Use attack 3 against Player 3
20/20	Use attack 3 against Player 4 Draw one more card

Cheer cards

A Cheer card

There are five numbered Cheer cards.

1/5	A Pokémon of your choice does double damage this turn!
2/5	Heal 80 damage from each player's Pokémon!
3/5	Heal all damage from 1 Pokémon!
4/5	The Boss can't play more than one card next turn.
5/5	Attacks from all players' Pokémon do 50 more damage this turn.

List of Boss Pokémon

Card	Type	No.
Pikachu		01
Drednaw		02

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