With the new Standard format on the way, a Pokémon TCG card that served as much as the key to victory for many decks as it was the bane of others’ existence will be making its way out of Standard-format tournament play. First released in Silver Lance [S6H] and reprinted in Time Gazer [S10D], Path to the Peak will now be confined to collections as well as Expanded-format play.

It’s difficult to understate just how truly impactful this card has been with regard to the Pokémon TCG metagame. Path to the Peak neutralizes the Ability of all Pokémon with a Rule Box. Every Pokémon V, Pokémon VSTAR, and Pokémon-ex has a Rule Box.

Some of these Pokémon have among the most powerful Abilities in the meta. As a result, Pokémon with Rule Boxes as well as Abilities in general are staples in almost every deck. Therefore, a large number of tournament decks included Path to the Peak as a countermeasure.

From a visual perspective, the card depicts the Galar region’s Path to the Peak that connects the Tunnel to the Top and the Crown Shrine. This card’s Ultra Rare (UR) version from Time Gazer [S10D] features gold outlines around the trees and the large snowflakes all over the card’s illustration—apt for a card that has played a key role in many player’s road to victory in tournaments all over the world. In that sense, even the very name “Path to the Peak” is a fitting one.

Additionally, the illustration features a Snom in the top-left corner. The Ice/Bug-type Pokémon has gained something of a cult-like following among a sizable number of Pokémon fans, especially among younger Millennials and Gen Z fans who may have first gotten into Pokémon around the sixth or seventh generation or later.

This card’s English version is 213/189 from Astral Radiance.

A peak-condition Path to the Peak (Time Gazer [S10D] 088/067) card of UR rarity sells for ¥12,890 (~US$85).

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