Written by Zach Lesage on 9/8/2022 at category
Top Cards
What’s going on, PTCGO Store readers? Your boy Zach is back and I am bringing the heat by featuring the top 5 Lost Origin cards. This new Pokemon TCG set reintroduces the Lost Zone mechanic to our Standard format, and I have to say that some of the themed cards look so cool! They have a Lost Zone-themed aura around the main art of the card, and most of them seem incredibly playable. If the Lost Zone isn’t your playstyle, there are other powerful cards in this set, like Giratina VSTAR (Lost Origin), that will also shake up the metagame. My goal with this article is to introduce our Pokemon community to some of the best cards and share my early thoughts on them! Let’s jump into my number five pick! Let’s get it!
5. Kyurem VMAX
If you thought Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR (Astral Radiance) was strong already, I’m hyped to try it out with Kyurem VMAX (Lost Origin). It has built-in Energy acceleration with its Ice World Ability, and you can even guarantee it by using Capacious Bucket (Rebel Clash) and Oranguru (Sword and Shield) to directly place the Energy on top of the deck. It doesn’t even have to be attached to Kyurem VMAX, which means you might gain some additional utility out of Radiant Greninja (Astral Radiance), which can open up completely new strategies. Where I think it fits in the most is the lack of Lightning-type Weakness and the heavy-hitting Max Frost attack! I have dreams of destroying a Flying Pikachu VMAX (Celebrations) by discarding 4 Energy from Kyurem VMAX and using Star Portal to get all of those Energy back! I think it is better than Ice Rider Calyrex VMAX (Chilling Reign), but only time will tell if Kyurem VMAX has what it takes. Either way, it seems cool enough to try out!
4. Hisuian Goodra VSTAR + Radiant Gardevoir + Fantina
I love a defensive deck, and I absolutely think that Hisuian Goodra VSTAR (Lost Origin) births a new defensive archetype! The goal is to power up Hisuian Goodra VSTAR, attack with Iron Rollout, and start reducing damage by 80. If you pair it with Radiant Gardevoir (Lost Origin), you can reduce damage by another 20 (from Pokemon V) to bring your total to a massive minus 100. Since this Pokemon is Dragon-typed, you can play Crystal Cave (Evolving Skies) to heal damage during your turn to take the little damage your opponent is hitting for and take it away! If you fear getting Knocked Out during the next turn, you can always use Moisture Star to fully heal Hisuian Goodra VSTAR and start to tank some more hits. Where the deck gets really interesting is Fantina (Lost Origin), which can reduce an additional 120 damage which brings our total up to minus 220. I don’t know of many decks that swing for numbers much higher than that, so you might stay alive for a while!
3. Thorton
Thornton (Lost Origin) might not seem like a lot upon first glance, but it immediately reminds me of Ninja Boy (Steam Siege). Having the option to transform one of your Basic Pokemon in play into a completely new Pokemon can change the outcome of a game really quickly. My favourite example is within the Regigigas (Astral Radiance) deck. You need to get out all 6 different “Regi” Pokemon to be able to use Regigigas’ Ability, and that allows you to accelerate any three Energy from your Discard Pile to one of your “Regi” Pokemon in play. Here is where it gets crazy - you can power up a “Regi” Pokemon, play Thorton, transform that “Regi” Pokemon into an Amazing Rare Yveltal (Shining Fates), slap on an additional Energy, and OHKO whatever you want. That is just one idea, and I’m sure there will be many more concepts to come! This card is nuts!
2. Giratina VSTAR
Here we have it, the most hyped cards from the set - Giratina VSTAR (Lost Origin)! Most of the time, players look directly at the damage output from attacks and this card certainly delivers. Lost Impact does a whopping 280 damage with Lost Impact with the only drawback is to Lost Zone two of your Energy attached to any of your Pokemon. That is enough to Knock Out Arceus VSTAR, Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR (Astral Radiance), and most other VSTAR Pokemon. If that isn’t enough, you can OHKO anything with Star Requiem, as long as you have 10 or more cards in your Lost Zone! With all of this power, this card will certainly make a splash in our metagame. The biggest question is do you partner this with Arceus VSTAR or Mirage Gate (Lost Origin)?
1. Mirage Gate + Colress’s Experiment + Comfey
I might’ve put three cards as my first-place pick, but they all work together as a combo. Mirage Gate (Lost Origin) allows you to accelerate up to two Basic Energy from your deck to any of your Pokemon in any way you like - as long as you have at least 7 cards in your Lost Zone. How are you getting those cards in the Lost Zone though? Well, Colress’s Experiment (Lost Origin) allows you to look at the top 5 cards of your deck, choose three, and pitch the other 2 to your Lost Zone. That gets the party started for Mirage Gate, but there is more. Comfey (Lost Origin) allows you to look at the top two cards of your deck, choose one for your hand, and pitch the other into the Lost Zone - as long as Comfey is in the Active. You can use that with Scoop Up Net (Rebel Clash) to chain a few Comfey to make Mirage Gate happen quicker! These cards pair beautifully with Giratina VSTAR, Hisuian Goodra VSTAR, and even more!
Time to Test!
I don’t know about you, but anytime a new Pokemon TCG set is released, I love exploring all of the new strategies available. I love reading all of the new cards over and over again, familiarizing myself with them, and crafting all of the Pokemon online decks that I can think of. It is incredibly easy when PTCGO Store offers 24/7 instant delivery of Pokemon TCG Online codes, and you can even use code zlesage5 to save 5% on your next order of PTCGO codes! I hope this article has served you well, and I’m incredibly excited to bring some Lost Origin content to our PTCGO Store readers soon! Take it easy, Zach Lesage!
About the Writer
Zach Lesage is a contributing writer for PTCGO Store. As a Toronto local, he has been playing the Pokemon Trading Card Game since 2005 and creates Pokemon content as his full time career. With multiple prestigious accomplishments in the game, such as 2020 Players Cup 2 Champion and 2020 Oceania International Championships Finalist, he has proven his success in the game. Outside of the game, he travels the world, enjoys the culture of designer streetwear, and is a professionally trained chef. You can catch him at most Pokemon events and follow him on Twitter @ZachLesagePTCG.