Fusion Strike FAQ

Prereleases start this weekend for Sword & Shield’s 8th set, Fusion Strike.

Below find the FAQ rulings and at the bottom is a PDF version for your convenience.

POKEMON ABILITIES:

== CURSED SHIMMER (Chandelure VMAX – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. Does Chandelure VMAX’s “Cursed Shimmer” Ability prevent Maractus’ “Ditch and Shake” attack from discarding any number of Pokemon Tool cards?

A. No, Cursed Shimmer only prevents the opponent from playing Pokemon Tool cards from their hand; that is not the same thing as discarding Pokemon Tool cards for Ditch and Shake.

== DOUBLE GUNNER (Inteleon VMAX – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. Can I use Inteleon VMAX’s “Double Gunner” Ability if my opponent only has 1 Benched Pokemon?

A. Yes you can, but not if they don’t have any Benched Pokemon.

== MAXIMUM DOWNER (Toxtricity – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. If I have multiple Toxtricity with the “Maximum Downer” Ability in play, will my opponent’s VMAX Pokemon have -30 HP for each one?

A. There is no restriction about multiple Maximum Downers being in effect; in other words, yes it stacks.

== MUDDY MAKER (Swampert – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. While Goodra’s “Slimy Room” Ability is active, if I use an Ability or card effect like Swampert’s “Muddy Maker” Ability to attach an Energy card from my hand but flip tails, can I use that ability or effect when I try again with another energy?

A. No. The Ability has been used and the energy is discarded even though your regular Energy attachment for the turn has not been used up.

== SLIMY ROOM (Goodra – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. While Goodra’s “Slimy Room” Ability is active, if I try to attach an Energy card but flip tails and have to discard my energy instead of attaching, can I try again?

A. Yes, as long as you can get another Energy card in your hand.

Q. While Goodra’s “Slimy Room” Ability is active, if I use an Ability or card effect like Swampert’s “Muddy Maker” Ability to attach an Energy card from my hand but flip tails, can I use that ability or effect when I try again with another energy?

A. No. The Ability has been used and the energy is discarded even though your regular Energy attachment for the turn has not been used up.

Q. If my opponent has Goodra with the “Slimy Room” Ability in the Active Spot, do I still have to flip a coin to attach an Energy to one of my Pokemon that already has a Fusion Strike Energy card attached to it?

A. Yes you still have to flip a coin, because the Slimy Room Ability is acting on you the player not on a specific Pokemon; and Fusion Strike Energy’s effect applies to the Pokemon it is attached to, therefore it does not block Slimy Room’s effect.

Q. When my opponent has Goodra with the “Slimy Room” Ability in the Active Spot, if I try to attach an Aurora Energy to one of my Pokemon and I flip tails, do I have to discard a card for the cost of Aurora Energy too?

A. No, since the flip happens before it is attached, if Aurora Energy is discarded you do not have to discard another card along with it.

== SOLAR REVELATION (Espeon VMAX – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. If my opponent used Turtonator’s “Shell Trap” attack and I have Espeon VMAX with the “Solar Revelation” Ability in play, will my Attacking Pokemon with energy attached receive the 8 damage counters from “Shell Trap” if I attack and do damage to Turtonator?

A. No, it will not receive the 8 damage counters. Solar Revelation prevents all effects of your opponent’s attacks, and Shell Trap’s damage counters are an effect of your opponent’s attack.

POKEMON ATTACKS:

== AQUA SPLIT (Cloyster – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. Is Rillaboom VMAX’s “G-Max Drum Solo” or Cloyster’s “Aqua Split” attacks’ bench damage amount split between the two chosen Pokemon (20+20 or 10+30, etc.) or does it do 40 or 30 damage to each of them?

A. The attack does 40 or 30 damage to each of the two chosen Pokemon.

== BAIL OUT (Virizion – SW:Fusion Strike) <SWSH8_15>

Q. If I use Virizion’s “Bail Out” attack, can I choose to put zero Pokemon into my hand if I have any Pokemon in my discard pile?

A. No, if you choose to do the attack and you have a Pokemon in the discard pile, you have to choose at least one of them. But remember, you can always choose to pass and not attack.

== CROSS FUSION STRIKE (Mew VMAX – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. If I use Mew VMAX’s “Cross Fusion Strike” attack and choose an attack with a cost of more than just {C}{C}, can I do it even if I only have two of any energy attached to Mew VMAX?

A. Yes, you only have to pay the attack cost of Cross Fusion Strike.  Ignore the attack cost of the copied attack whether it is more, less, or the same; regardless of the type or amount of energy required for the copied attack.

== DITCH AND SHAKE (Maractus – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. Does Chandelure VMAX’s “Cursed Shimmer” Ability prevent Maractus’ “Ditch and Shake” attack from discarding any number of Pokemon Tool cards?

A. No, Cursed Shimmer only prevents the opponent from playing Pokemon Tool cards from their hand; that is not the same thing as discarding Pokemon Tool cards for Ditch and Shake.

== G-MAX DRUM SOLO (Rillaboom VMAX – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. Is Rillaboom VMAX’s “G-Max Drum Solo” or Cloyster’s “Aqua Split” attacks’ bench damage amount split between the two chosen Pokemon (20+20 or 10+30, etc.) or does it do 40 or 30 damage to each of them?

A. The attack does 40 or 30 damage to each of the two chosen Pokemon.

== NINJA TORNADO (Accelgor – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. If my Active Pokemon was knocked out by my opponent’s attack and I replace it with Accelgor, can I use Accelgor’s “Ninja Tornado” attack for {G}?

A. No, the replacement of your Active Pokemon happened at the end of your opponent’s turn, not during your new turn.

== QUEEN’S ORDERS (Tsareena V – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. If I use Tsareena V’s “Queen’s Orders” attack and discard a Stage 2 Pokemon from my Bench, does it count as three Pokemon including the Basic & Evolution cards underneath that also get discarded?

A. No, the Basic & Evolution cards are all part of a single Pokemon while in play.

Q. If I use Tsareena V’s “Queen’s Orders” attack, can I choose to discard zero Benched Pokemon?

A. Yes, you can. The attack will then do 20 damage.

== SHELL TRAP (Turtonator – SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. If my opponent used Turtonator’s “Shell Trap” attack and I have Espeon VMAX with the “Solar Revelation” Ability in play, will my Attacking Pokemon with energy attached receive the 8 damage counters from “Shell Trap” if I attack and do damage to Turtonator?

A. No, it will not receive the 8 damage counters. Solar Revelation prevents all effects of your opponent’s attacks, and Shell Trap’s damage counters are an effect of your opponent’s attack.

TRAINER CARDS:

== ADVENTURER’S DISCOVERY (SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. Can I search for any Pokemon VMAX or V-UNION with Adventurer’s Discovery?

A. Yes you can, because Pokemon VMAX or V-UNION are a type of Pokemon V.

== CROSS SWITCHER (SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. If I played two Cross Switcher or Crossceiver earlier in the game, can I play another two later?

{A. Yes. The text “this effect works one time for 2 cards” means that you are only getting one effect for the play of two cards. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it again later with another pair of Cross Switcher or Crossceiver.}

== CROSSCEIVER (SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. If I played two Cross Switcher or Crossceiver earlier in the game, can I play another two later?

{A. Yes. The text “this effect works one time for 2 cards” means that you are only getting one effect for the play of two cards. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it again later with another pair of Cross Switcher or Crossceiver.}

ENERGY CARDS:

== FUSION STRIKE ENERGY (SW:Fusion Strike)

Q. If my opponent has Goodra with the “Slimy Room” Ability in the Active Spot, do I still have to flip a coin to attach an Energy to one of my Pokemon that already has a Fusion Strike Energy card attached to it?

{A. Yes you still have to flip a coin, because the Slimy Room Ability is acting on you the player not on a specific Pokemon; and Fusion Strike Energy’s effect applies to the Pokemon it is attached to, therefore it does not block Slimy Room’s effect.}