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The Lost Zone toolbox brought many diverse strategies to the Pokemon TCG. It’s such a great engine that you can use it in many different ways. Then, we have cards like Dragonite V, Pidgeot V, or Raikou V; these cards and the Lost Zone toolbox are like bread and butter; they mix perfectly.

Related: Pokemon TCG: Giratina VSTAR Deck Guide

Thanks to this deck, you’ll have a powerful damage output, enough to knock almost every VSTAR and VMAX card of the metagame, and a great energy recycling system that will let you constantly attack while doing damage through Cramorant and Sableye.

Updated May 29, 2023 by Jesús Cruz: Scarlet & Violet is now in the TCG, which means all the most common decks of the game have suffered a lot of changes because of the card rotation. New cards are among us while others get knocked out of the rotation, which always happens when we get in a new Gen. It's fair to say that Lost Box was the deck that suffered the less because it lost the Scoop-Up Net but found some excellent new resources you'll see later in the guide. Now, a good Lost Zone box will send cards quicker to the Lost Zone but will need extra help from other cards. Let's check it out.

Changes For Scarlet & Violet

Pokemon TCG Nest Ball

The Lost Box lost Scoop-Up Net and Oranguru, alongside other cards. It's a big problem, that's for sure, but it lets the deck have a chance to adapt itself to live without Scoop-Up Net

It turns out that it does it really well thanks to the big lot of items you can have to switch Pokemon, like the Switch Card, the Escape Rope, and Beach Court, the only card from the Scarlet and Violet base set in this deck.

Lost Zone Box Deck List

Pokemon TCG Manaphy Card

Pokemon Cards

Comfey LOR (x4)

Sableye LOR (x2)

Cramorant LOR (x1)

Radiant Greninja ASR (x1)

Manaphy BRS (x2)

Dragonite V EVS (x1)

Raikou V BRS (x1)

Pidgeot V LOR (x1)

Drapion V LOR (x1)

Energy Cards

Psychic Energy Card (x3)

Lightning Energy Card (x2)

Water Energy Card (x5)

Trainer Cards

Colress's Experiment LOR (x4)

Klara CRE (x2)

Battle VIP Pass (x4)

Energy Recycler BST (x2)

Escape Rope BST (x4)

Forest Seal Stone SIT (x2)

Hisuian Heavy Ball ASR (x1)

Lost Vacuum LOR (x3)

Mirage Gate LOR (x4)

Nest Ball SVI (x3)

Switch Cart ASR (x4)

Beach Court SVI (x2)

Collapsed Stadium BRS (x1)

Lost Zone Box Key Cards

Colress's Experiment Galarian Gallery card from Pokemon TCG

Time to see what you can do with the Lost Zone deck.

Comfey, Colress Experiment, And Cramorant

Pokemon TCG Comfey Rare holo Card-1

A vital part of the strategy is the Lost Zone engine, which always starts with a Comfey and its ability, Flower Selection. Comfey’s ability lets you pick two cards from your deck; you have to send one to your hand and the other to the Lost Zone.

Colress Experiment also does the same, but in this case, it makes you pick five cards from your deck, choose three to keep on your hand, and send two to the Lost Zone.

Some cards have abilities or extra effects that depend on the number of cards you have in the Lost Zone, and one of those Pokemon is Cramorant.

Cramorant has an attack named Spit Innocently, which deals 110 damage and isn’t affected by Weakness or Resistance. This attack costs two Water Energy Cards and a Colorless one. Cramorant also has an ability named Lost Provisions, which, if you have four or more cards in the Lost Zone, Cramorant can attack without having any Energy card attached to it. In other words, you can attack with Cramorant for free!

Sableye

Pokemon TCG Sableye Card

Eternatus VMAX with Galarian Weezing is a big issue for this deck, but it’s nothing you can’t solve with an Escape Rope (or Boss Orders, as you wish) and Sableye, which has an attack named Lost Mine.

You can only use Lost Mine after having ten cards in the Lost Zone, and it’ll let you put 12 damage counters on any of your opponent’s Pokemon in any way you like. You only need a Psychic Energy card to charge it.

Radiant Greninja

Pokemon TCG: Radiant Greninja from Astral Radiance, with blurred background

In this deck, Radiant Greninja is essential when using its attack, Moonlight Shuriken, which lets you deal 90 damage to two of your opponent’s Pokemon. You have to discard two Water Energy cards after attacking, though.

Most of the decks out there will have Manaphy to deal with Radiant Greninja’s damage to benched Pokemon. Still, you can eliminate it by switching your opponent’s Active Pokemon for Manaphy and then attacking it.

Raikou V

Pokemon TCG Raikou V Card

Lugia, Arceus, and Palkia VSTAR are common problems in the Sword and Shield meta. That’s why you must include Raikou V on your deck. Raikou V is an Electric-type card that is strong against Lugia VSTAR, Arceus VSTAR, Kyurem VMAX, and Palkia VSTAR. It’s also easy to set up as it only needs an Electric and a Colorless Energy card to attack, and it inflicts much damage with its attack, Lightning Rondo.

Lightning Rondo inflicts 20 damage for each Benched Pokemon, both your and your opponent’s, so if both players have full benches, Raikou will inflict 200 damage.

The only thing is that 200 damage is decent but not enough to sweep a VSTAR, and that’s why this card synergizes well with Sableye and Radiant Greninja; you’ll need their damage to benched Pokemon to succeed!

Dragonite V, Pidgeot V, and Drapion V

Pokemon TCG Drapion V card

Depending on your opponent's deck, you must use a specific attacker. It's simple to discern; if you are against a deck with a VSTAR or a VMAX, you'll have to use Dragonite V, but if you are facing a Lost Zone deck, you'll have to use Pidgeot V. Lastly, if you are in front of a Mew VMAX or a Gardevoir ex, Drapion V is the best option.

Let's meet the offensive force of this deck. Dragonite V has a move named Dragon Gale, which deals 250 damage but can also deal 20 damage to all of your benched` Pokemon. It's a risky move to use, but it will work like a charm to sweep a powerful VSTAR.

Pidgeot V has a move named Aerial Surf, which deals 80 damage but will do 160 damage if there's a Stadium in play. It's as simple as setting up a Stadium and attacking with it. Pidgeot V is more than capable of sweeping Cramorant and Sableye!

Lastly, Drapion V, a classic Pokemon if you want to avoid getting outplayed by a Mew VMAX or a Gardevoir ex. It has a move named Dynamic Tail, which deals 190 damage, but has two problems. The first one is that you'll have to attach four Energy cards to Drapion to use it, and the second problem is that it also deals 60 damage to any of your benched Pokemon. Be careful using this move!

Battle VIP Pass

Pokemon TCG Battle VIP Pass Uncommon Card-2

If you want to start sending cards to the Lost Zone, but Comfey isn’t in your first hand, you’ll need to use the Battle VIP Pass.

This card only works in the first turn and lets you draw two Pokemon from your deck directly to your bench. With Battle VIP Pass, you can be sure you’ll activate the strategy from turn one.

Also, this card is excellent to send to the Lost Zone if you didn’t use it on your first turn!

The Quick Balls also have the same utility as the Battle VIP Pass, and of course, you can send them to the Lost Zone if you don’t use them too!

Mirage Gate

Pokemon TCG Mirage Gate Card

Thanks to the Mirage Gate, you can build any Pokemon you want in two turns, as this item lets you look for two different basic Energy cards on your Discard Pile and place them the way you like.

You need to have seven cards in the Lost Zone if you want to use this item, which is simple if you use Comfey’s Flower Selection and Colress Experiment.

Related: Pokemon TCG: Best Full Art Cards, Ranked By Artwork

Strategy

Pokemon TCG Cramorant Lost Zone Card

It’s vital to go first, as your objective in the match is to attach Energy cards to your preferred attacker. To know which Pokemon you'll use to attack, you must study your opponent's deck properly. If you are against a chunky deck like a VMAX or a VSTAR, Dragonite V is the best option. If you come across a Gardevoir ex or a Mew VMAX, you must go with Drapion V. Raikou V can help with decks like Lugia VSTAR.

To do this, you’ll need to start the match with a couple of Comfeys (one in the Active Spot and another one on the bench) and a Cramorant. After that, you can try to draw everything else from the deck to your hand.

With Comfey, you’ll start doing Flower Selecting. Deciding what to send to the Lost Zone in the first few turns can be tricky, but you can see what will not work for you by checking your opponent’s deck.

For example, you can always send Raikou V to the Lost Zone if you aren’t playing against a Water-type-themed deck, or you can send Sableye to the Lost Zone if you want to inflict some pressure on the opponent through Radiant Greninja.

Don’t send your Energy cards to the Lost Zone. You'll really need them!

If you have some luck and pull a Battle VIP Pass on your first turn, use it to draw Cramorant and another Comfey. Also, don't forget to look for a Colress Experiment to speed up the process!

To activate Comfey’s Flower Selecting several times, you must have Comfey in the Active Spot. After using Flower Selecting, attach any Energy card to Comfey and retreat it. Then, send another Comfey. Don’t worry about those Energy cards; you’ll recover them through Mirage Gate and Energy Retrieval.

Then, as soon as you have four cards in your Lost Zone, it’s time to send Cramorant to the Active Spot to start dealing damage. This deck is heavily oriented towards being offensive, and Cramorant deals 110 damage (more than enough to sweep many basic Pokemon out there), which will let you claim Prize Cards since the start of the match.

You can also choose to send Sableye, but only if you reach the twelve cards it needs to fully activate its ability.

The objective is to have seven cards in the Lost Zone to use Mirage Gate. When you have them, have sent enough Energy cards to the Discard Pile, and have a few Mirage Gate cards in your hand, it’s time to build your attacker.

It’s as simple as sending your preferred attacker to the Active Spot and then using Mirage Gate, Energy Retrieval, and the needed Energy card you can attach to a Pokemon per turn to have your attacker with the needed Energy cards to attack.

Common Threats

Pokemon TCG Galarian Weezing Card

This deck (and any other that uses the Lost Zone toolbox) doesn’t like to be against a Galarian Weezing because of its ability, Neutralizing Gas, which, as long as it is in the Active Spot, all the abilities of your Pokemon will be Neutralizing Gas. That’s all it does.

This means your Pokemon will not have any ability, so Comfey can’t set the Lost Zone or send cards there without Flower Selecting.

Nonetheless, there’s always a way to get rid of this problem:

  • Use an Escape Rope or Boss Orders to send your opponent’s Galarian Weezing back to the bench. Doing this will let you have abilities again.
  • Try to look for a Pokemon V on your deck and put it on your bench.
  • Fill your attacker with Energy cards.
  • As soon as your opponent sends Galarian Weezing again, retreat your Active Pokemon and send your attacking Pokemon to the Active Spot. It will be enough to one-hit KO Weezing!

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