Is N considered functionally the same as rockets admin? Or is it different cause its not worded exactly the same? As in could I run 4 of each if I wanted to (idk why you would though lol)
Help N vs Rocket's Admin
- Thread starter brandonmarks994
- Start date
To answer your two questions:
1) It isn't the wording that matters for the 4 Copy Rule, but the card name. N and Rocket's Admin. are very different names, so in a format where both are legal - namely, Unlimited - you may run up to four of each. There are a few examples of this. At present, you may max out Cheren, Hau, and Tierno with no problems. There are also some notable exceptions. Prof. Oak's Research and Professor Oak's Research are the same because "Prof." is considered an official abbreviation for "Professor" in the English language. The frustrating one comes in the form of Professor Juniper and Professor Sycamore; instead of creating a single card named "Professor" or just owning up to the stupid and issuing an erratum to give them both that unified name, the powers-that-be created a special rule just for them. XP Thanks to Expanded and Alternate Printings, I maintain such an errata is still worthwhile; Professor is a generic name so any professor we've seen in Pokémon could show up in future Alternate Printings!
2) There is one significant difference - at least in TCG terms - between N and Rocket's Admin. N states to "draw" while Rocket's Admin. says "draw up to"; N can be used to force a player to deck out, while Rocket's Admin. cannot. This also means that, if you're desperate to refill your deck from your hand, Rocket's Admin. allows you to do that even if you've failed to take any Prizes.
1) It isn't the wording that matters for the 4 Copy Rule, but the card name. N and Rocket's Admin. are very different names, so in a format where both are legal - namely, Unlimited - you may run up to four of each. There are a few examples of this. At present, you may max out Cheren, Hau, and Tierno with no problems. There are also some notable exceptions. Prof. Oak's Research and Professor Oak's Research are the same because "Prof." is considered an official abbreviation for "Professor" in the English language. The frustrating one comes in the form of Professor Juniper and Professor Sycamore; instead of creating a single card named "Professor" or just owning up to the stupid and issuing an erratum to give them both that unified name, the powers-that-be created a special rule just for them. XP Thanks to Expanded and Alternate Printings, I maintain such an errata is still worthwhile; Professor is a generic name so any professor we've seen in Pokémon could show up in future Alternate Printings!
2) There is one significant difference - at least in TCG terms - between N and Rocket's Admin. N states to "draw" while Rocket's Admin. says "draw up to"; N can be used to force a player to deck out, while Rocket's Admin. cannot. This also means that, if you're desperate to refill your deck from your hand, Rocket's Admin. allows you to do that even if you've failed to take any Prizes.
So is base set professor oak under the same restriction as juniper and sycamore?
Also I was gonna pick up some reverse holo admins to replace n in my unlimited deck but you cant find them anywhere, the only ones you can find are the world championship ones
The special rule about not being able to run Professor Juniper and Professor Sycamore in the same deck is exclusive to them. You may run four Professor Oak alongside either Professor Juniper or Professor Sycamore, just not both. Professor Oak counts as an Item card because it was released as a "normal Trainer" and never anything else. The same is true of cards like Professor Elm, Erika, etc. Even though they feature specific characters and have effects that would be reserved for Supporters nowadays, they are classified as Item cards.
The reason that doesn't apply to an older card like Bill as well is simply because Bill was re-released as a Supporter. This means all past versions are either illegal to use or played as if they read the same as the Supporter version. I am not sure which is the correct ruling about older copies of Bill because I think this has changed over the years (like the rules about foreign language cards). Sometimes, the latest printing of a card overwrites minor changes to past versions, but this is a pretty significant change, and when that happens, usually only the latest version is legal. If that is the case, then someone wishing to use Bill in the Unlimited Format would have to track down its release as Heart Gold/SoulSilver 89/124.
If you aren't worried about forcing your opponent to deck out or are worried about decking out yourself/have some combo with Team Rocket cards (I can't remember if any such support exists that would apply to Supporter) then you might "need" to splurge for Rocket's Admin. If not, then you should be just fine with N. If you want to force someone to deck out, then you'll need the N.
Good luck.