Guides/Raid Battles

Raid Battles: The Definitive Guide to Pokemon TCG's Cooperative Format

Raid Battles flip Pokemon TCG on its head. Instead of battling each other, 1 to 5 players team up against a single, massively overpowered Raid Boss Pokemon that runs on its own automated deck. Think video game raid bosses, but with cards. This guide covers everything you need to run a raid event from scratch: setup, turn structure, the Full Contribution mechanic, the advanced Giovanni Format, Raid Deck building, and strategy tips to actually win.

Published April 19, 202615 min read

1. What is a Raid Battle?

A Raid Battle is a cooperative Pokemon TCG format where 1 to 5 players team up against a single, massively overpowered Raid Boss Pokemon. The Raid Boss has its own automated deck that draws and resolves cards every turn, then attacks all players simultaneously. Players win by depleting the Raid Deck completely. The Raid Boss wins by knocking out all players.

It's a completely different way to play Pokemon TCG. There's no PvP competition here. You're all on the same team, coordinating Supporters, sharing resources, and trying to burn through the Raid Deck before the boss overwhelms you. Games are intense, strategic, and surprisingly difficult. If you've ever played a tabletop boss fight or a video game raid, you already understand the vibe.

For additional resources, rules FAQs, and community-built Raid Decks, check out raidformat.com.

Quick Reference

Format

Cooperative

Players

1-5

Game Length

60-90 min

2. What You Need

Raid Battles require a bit more setup than a normal game. Here's the full checklist:

  • A Raid Boss Pokemon card. This can be an oversized promo card or a regular-sized card. V-UNION cards work especially well because they have multiple attack options and high HP. Any big, powerful Pokemon works.
  • A 60-card Raid Deck. This is the automated deck that the Raid Boss draws from each turn. It's built separately from any player's deck. See Section 10 for detailed building instructions.
  • Ditto Markers. Used for tracking certain game state effects during the raid.
  • A standard 60-card deck for each player. Every player brings their own constructed deck, just like a normal game.
  • Damage counters and dice. You'll need plenty of damage counters since the Raid Boss accumulates a lot of damage. A die is needed for randomizing the Raid Boss's attacks.

Don't have an oversized card?

Use our Raid Boss proxy printer to print full-page boss cards. Works great for any V-UNION or promo you want to use as a Raid Boss.

3. Setup

Follow these steps to get the raid ready. Setup takes about 5 minutes once everyone knows what they're doing.

  1. 1Place the Raid Boss Pokemon card in the center of the table. Everyone should be able to see it clearly. If you're using an oversized card, even better.
  2. 2Shuffle the Raid Deck and place it face down next to the Raid Boss card.
  3. 3Each player shuffles their own 60-card deck. Standard constructed decks. No special deck building requirements for players.
  4. 4Players set up normally: draw 7 cards, place Basic Pokemon as Active and on the Bench, and set out 6 Prize cards.
  5. 5Mulligan rule: if a player mulligans, they show their hand to all players, shuffle, and redraw. The Raid Deck does NOT draw extra cards from mulligans.
  6. 6Players always go first and CAN attack, evolve, and play Supporters on their first turn. No restrictions.

First Turn is Fully Open

Unlike standard Pokemon TCG where the player going first can't attack, Raid Battles let players attack on Turn 1. You need every advantage you can get against the boss.

4. Player Turn Rules

All players take their turn simultaneously. This is the key difference from normal Pokemon TCG. Everyone draws, plays cards, and attacks at the same time. All players must complete the current phase before moving to the next.

Modified Supporter Rule

When a player plays a Supporter, they can apply the effect to ANY teammate. For example, Jenny plays Hop but lets Lars draw 3 cards instead of herself. The total number of Supporters that can be played per turn equals the number of players. A single player CAN benefit from multiple Supporters in one turn.

Stadium Cards

Either the players or the Raid Deck can play Stadiums. Only one Stadium can be in play at a time. All players AND the Raid Boss are affected by the active Stadium.

Simultaneous Attacks

All player attacks resolve simultaneously against the Raid Boss. Damage counters are added to the Raid Boss card. Each player can only use one VSTAR Power per game, same as normal rules.

Supporter Sharing Example

In a 3-player game, 3 Supporters can be played total. Player A plays Professor's Research for themselves, Player B plays Boss's Orders for themselves, and Player C plays Hop but targets Player A (who gets to draw 3 more cards on top of the 7 they already drew from Professor's Research). This kind of coordination is what makes raids fun.

5. Raid Deck Turn

After all players finish attacking and Pokemon Checkup resolves, the Raid Boss recovers from ALL Special Conditions (Poisoned, Burned, Confused, Asleep, Paralyzed). Then the Raid Deck takes its turn.

  1. 1Draw cards equal to (number of players + 1). In a 4-player game, draw 5 cards. In a 3-player game, draw 4 cards. In a solo game, draw 2 cards.
  2. 2Each card is resolved one at a time before drawing the next. This is important because the order matters.

Here's how each card type is resolved when drawn from the Raid Deck:

Energy Cards

Attached to the Raid Boss. All Energy costs are treated as Colorless, so any basic Energy can pay for any attack cost.

Supporter Cards

The effect hits ALL opposing players. For example, Koga's Trap makes ALL Active Pokemon Confused and Poisoned. A draw Supporter would let the Raid Deck draw more cards.

Pokemon Tool Cards

Attached to the Raid Boss, replacing any existing Tool. Only one Tool at a time.

Cards That Draw More Cards

Each additional draw is resolved one at a time, but these extra draws don't count toward the turn's draw total. This can chain into more draws, making some turns very explosive for the Raid Boss.

Cards Requiring Choices

If a card requires the Raid Deck to make a choice (like Boss's Orders picking a Benched Pokemon), the PLAYERS make the choice. This is one small advantage you have.

6. Raid Boss Attack

After the Raid Deck finishes resolving all drawn cards, the Raid Boss attacks. This is where things get painful.

  • Random attack selection. If the Raid Boss has enough Energy for multiple attacks, roll a die to randomly determine which attack is used.
  • Energy discard. The Raid Boss discards Energy equal to the attack cost, using the fewest cards possible.
  • Hits EVERY Active Pokemon. The attack damages each player's Active Pokemon. If the attack does 200 damage, every player's Active takes 200 damage. Not split. Each one takes the full amount.
  • Cannot be prevented, but CAN be reduced. Effects that prevent damage or attacks don't work. However, damage reduction effects (like reducing damage by 30) still apply.
  • Multiple GX/VSTAR Powers allowed. Since the attack is randomly selected, the Raid Boss may use multiple GX attacks or VSTAR Powers in a single game. It doesn't follow the once-per-game restriction.

This Hits HARD

A V-UNION boss with a 280-damage attack will do 280 to every Active Pokemon on the field. In a 4-player game, that's 1,120 total damage in one turn. Plan your board accordingly and keep beefy Pokemon up front.

7. Winning and Losing

This is where Raid Battles get unique. You don't knock out the Raid Boss directly. Instead, you use the Full Contribution mechanic to burn through its deck.

The Full Contribution Mechanic

  1. 1. After the Raid Boss attacks, count total damage counters on the Raid Boss.
  2. 2. A "Full Contribution" equals damage counters equal to the number of players. In a 4-player game, 40 damage (4 damage counters) = 1 Full Contribution. In a 3-player game, 30 damage = 1 Full Contribution.
  3. 3. For each Full Contribution reached, remove those damage counters from the Raid Boss and put the top card of the Raid Deck into the Lost Zone.
  4. 4. If the Raid Deck has no cards left, shuffle the discard pile to form a new Raid Deck and continue.

Players Win

If the Raid Deck can't send cards to the Lost Zone because the Raid Deck has run out completely (deck empty, discard empty, nothing left to shuffle), the players win. At least one player must still be in the game when this triggers.

Players Lose

If all players are eliminated, the Raid Boss wins. A player is eliminated when they run out of Prize cards (their Pokemon keep getting knocked out).

Important Prize Card Details

  • When a player's Active Pokemon is knocked out, THAT PLAYER takes their own Prize cards. The Raid Boss does not take prizes.
  • If a player runs out of Prize cards, they're eliminated from the raid. Their remaining Pokemon and cards are removed from play.
  • If no players remain, the Raid Boss wins. You need at least one player standing when the win condition triggers.

8. What If? (Edge Cases)

Raid Battles introduce a lot of unusual game states. Here are the most common questions that come up during play:

A player has no Pokemon in play

They reveal their hand at the start of the turn and must put a Basic Pokemon down if they have one. If they don't have one, they take their turn normally (draw, play Trainers, etc.) and hope to draw into a Basic.

A player can't draw a card

They skip the draw phase but stay in the game. A teammate can play Brock's Grit (or a similar card) targeting that player to shuffle cards back into their deck.

The Raid Deck runs out mid-turn

Shuffle the Raid Deck's discard pile once to make a new deck and continue resolving. If it runs out a second time in the same round, the Raid Boss skips to the attack phase.

The Raid Boss can't attack for two consecutive turns

Activate the Struggle Rule: the Raid Boss uses a random attack regardless of the Energy attached. This prevents players from stalling the boss indefinitely by stripping its Energy.

9. Giovanni Format (Advanced Variant)

Once your group has beaten a few standard raids, try the Giovanni Format. Instead of one Raid Boss, you face a full team of 6 Pokemon. It's significantly harder and feels like an actual boss gauntlet.

Giovanni Format Rules

  • Take 6 Pokemon as the boss team. Shuffle them, place one as the Active Raid Boss and the rest on the Bench.
  • Energy from the Raid Deck is attached to the Active first until it can use its biggest attack. After that, Energy is attached randomly to Benched Pokemon.
  • Pokemon Tools always go to the Active Raid Boss.
  • Damage still uses Full Contributions, but once 10 cards are sent to the Lost Zone, the Active Raid Boss is Knocked Out.
  • The Benched Raid Boss with the most Energy becomes the new Active. If tied, players choose.
  • Players still win by depleting the Raid Deck completely.

Sample Team A

  1. 1. Alolan Persian-GX
  2. 2. Rhyperior V
  3. 3. Nidoqueen
  4. 4. Dugtrio
  5. 5. Nidoking
  6. 6. Mewtwo-GX

Sample Team B

  1. 1. Snorlax-GX
  2. 2. Mareep
  3. 3. Breloom V
  4. 4. Alolan Muk-GX
  5. 5. Infernape
  6. 6. Amoonguss

10. Building the Raid Deck

The Raid Deck is the heart of the format. It's a separate 60-card deck that automates the Raid Boss. Building a good one takes some thought. You want it to feel challenging but not impossible. Here's the recommended composition:

Recommended 60-Card Composition

  • About 18 basic Energy cards. This fuels the Raid Boss's attacks. All types count as Colorless for the boss.
  • Draw cards. Include cards that draw more cards. These are very powerful in the Raid Deck because each draw is resolved immediately, which can chain into more effects.
  • Disruption cards. Crushing Hammer, Team Yell Grunt, and similar cards that remove Energy or disrupt player boards.
  • Healing cards. Hyper Potion and similar cards to remove damage from the Raid Boss, making it harder for players to build Full Contributions.
  • Stadium cards. Path to the Peak, Galar Mine, Old Cemetery. These affect everyone and can really mess with player strategies.
  • Pokemon Tools. Rocky Helmet, Rugged Helmet, Spirit Mask. These make attacking the Raid Boss more punishing for players.

Playtesting is Key

The Raid Deck should feel challenging but not impossible. If your group is winning every time, add more disruption. If they never win, pull out some of the nastier cards. The goal is about a 40-50% player win rate.

Any V-UNION card works well as the Raid Boss because they have multiple attacks and high HP. Oversized promo cards are also great since they look impressive in the center of the table. The Raid Boss choice changes the feel of the entire game, so experiment with different ones.

11. Strategy Tips for Players

Raid Battles reward coordination and planning. Here's how to give your team the best chance of winning:

Coordinate your Supporter plays

Don't waste all your draw Supporters on one player. Spread them around so everyone stays fueled. Communication is everything in this format.

Focus on high-damage, low-Energy attackers

The Raid Boss recovers from status conditions every turn, so damage output matters more than status effects. Pick attackers that hit hard and fast with minimal Energy investment.

Spread your Energy wisely

If one player's Active gets knocked out, the Energy goes with it. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Keep backup attackers powered up on the Bench.

Use the Supporter sharing rule aggressively

If one player is set up and another is struggling, share your Supporters. A well-timed draw Supporter directed at a teammate who's bricking can save the whole raid.

Keep track of Full Contributions

You need to burn through the entire Raid Deck, so consistent damage matters more than big single hits. Steady output of 100-150 damage per turn from the full team is better than one player doing 300 while everyone else does nothing.

Assign roles to your team

Have at least one player focused on support and healing while others deal damage. A dedicated support player who keeps the team alive is often the difference between winning and losing a raid.

12. Resources

Everything you need to start running raids. External links open in a new tab.

Print a Raid Boss

Need an oversized Raid Boss card for your next event? Use our proxy printer to create full-page boss cards ready for the table.

Print a Raid Boss
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