This Pokémon TCG Surging Sparks Pre-Release Card Is Broken

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A new card is a clear-cut favorite in upcoming pre-release tournaments. The set for the is due to come out in November 2024, and pre-release tournaments are set to begin at local game stores starting on October 25. These pre-release tournaments will let players open a few packs early and use those cards to augment one of four kinds of pre-constructed decks. However, one of those decks is headlined by a card that could plow through the competition in these tournaments.

A new Gouging Fire is one of the pre-release promo cards found in Build and Battle boxes. While this Gouging Fire is typically a Rare card found in the set, it has a move that becomes much more powerful in pre-release tournaments due to their specific ruleset. While Gouging Fire won't impact the overall meta – although has other powerful cards too – it's certainly a card that will make a splash in pre-release tournaments.

Every standard release set (not including special set releases like the upcoming ) includes a Build and Battle box product that stores typically use in pre-release tournaments. Each Build and Battle box contains one of four pre-constructed 40-card decks built primarily from cards in the new set. Each kind of deck usually revolves around a couple of card synergies to showcase some potential deck builds. Players can supplement those decks with cards they pull from four packs also found in the Build and Battle box, although many players in pre-release tournaments tend to use the decks as-is. Each deck also comes with an exclusive variant promotional card, with four available in each set.

' Gouging Fire card, revealed by , is a new card with 130 HP and two moves. The first is a standard attack that activates with one Fire energy and deals 30 damage. The other is the Blazing Charge move, which deals 100 damage normally and 170 damage if an opponent has four prizes or less. Under normal circumstances, limiting an attack to reaching full strength based on prize count means that a card is