pokemon tcg scarlet and violet 045 198 gyarados ex card - 045/198 (180+) If your opponent’s Active Pokémon already has any damage counters on it Pokemon TCG Scarlet & Violet

As I stated above, the presence of all of these factors leads me to believe the issue is not inherent to the game itself

The titular card from the "Ancient Mew" set is also banned since it's written in ancient runes

Rare (R) Symbol: Gold This is where you find powerful, game-defining effects

Sacrifice a creature with defender: All creatures gain trample until end of turn

It sounds like a good deal to get counters instead of losing life, but if a player obtains ten poison counters, they lose the game

Of course, other versions of the effect can't be nullified by combat damage but it's much harder to sneak through opposing defenses when you can't Swords to Plowshares prominent blockers