When I first discovered Lost Box, little did I know that it would become my deck of choice throughout the entire 2022/23 season. Thanks to it, I qualified for the Pokemon TCG World Championships happening this August at Yokohama, Japan.
In this article, I delve into the versatility, strategic depth, and the various variants of Lost Box that have evolved over time. Additionally, I’ll discuss experimental tech choices that I have tested and analyze key matchups against prominent decks.
Lost Box for life
I first discovered the deck when starting to look at Japanese Lost Origin deck lists to start preparing for our Pokemon TCG 22/23 season in Singapore, as our first official local major event (Regional League) was set in the Lost Origin format, the first ever in English in the world.
The hyped-up decks that were being favourably looked at going into the event were LostTina, Mew VMAX, Arceus VSTAR and Kyurem VMAX. “Lost Box” was a concept that basically uses a more 1-prize focused variant to up-trade on Prize advantages, which is particularly my style of deck.
As I practiced more towards the event, I started to really like it, especially the complexity and versatility it provides in securing wins. It is also super rewarding when you win games with the deck as it requires heavy resource management and promotes forward-thinking. In the end, the boredom of playing Origin Forme Palkia VSTAR for the entire previous quarter of the season was the final factor in me taking a leap of faith and trying out something more unorthodox. I had the most fun playing the game ever since!
The Lost Box journey
There have been quite a few Lost Box lists that I have tried since its initial inception, and the deck lists have generally evolved over time due to new set releases and changes in the Standard format meta. The thing I love the most about this “concept of a deck” is that it is so versatile and ever-changing that there is no perfect deck, but rather an “optimal 60” for each event depending on the current state of the game.
I will classify the main variants I’ve tried into 4 different types as follows:
Lost Box Radiant Greninja/Turbo – With a main focus on using a few tech Pokemon V and single Prize Pokemon to gain advantages against your opponent. There are several variants of this deck, which eventually evolved into a more turbo-centric deck able to outspeed other decks in setup more often than not.
Lost Box Amazing Raikou / Amaking Kyogre – An energy-intensive set of Amazing Rare Pokemon cards that synergize well with the Mirage Gate engine, capable of delivering huge attacks that easily gain advantages. This was a super fun and strong variant of Lost Box, but unfortunately, it rotated out of the Standard format earlier this year.
Lost Box Kyogre – The most complex of the variants I have played, essentially relying on Kyogre (from Celebrations) to close out most games with its powerful Aqua Storm attack, which can net you 4-5 Prizes at once. This variant has tons of intricacies and requires optimal resource management to pilot effectively, as the last few turns are crucial in determining whether you win or lose, usually through plays like Comfey’s Flower Selecting or Colress’s Experiment.
Lost Box Radiant Charizard – This Lost Box deck is unique in itself as it does not have the option of sniping with cards like Radiant Greninja, but the trade-off is that it is generally more consistent without having to run Mirage Gate, allowing more space for other cards/techs.
Lost Box experimental techs
A few fun “techs” I have played around with in Lost Box lists are namely:
Cross Switcher and Cancelling Cologne – I tried this out in the Pokemon TCG Championships Singapore, our national tournament, as a heavily teched list in order to trade a bit of consistency for a better matchup against the popular Gardevoir ex and Mew VMAX decks that were played at that tournament.
Crabonimable V – This was a surprisingly great tech, with an attack that could act as a win condition by milling your opponent’s deck, and the surprise factor of being able to deal TONS of damage after Sableye setup, made it a worthy inclusion sometimes.
Galarian Zapdos V – This card shone when Arceus VSTAR and Miraidon ex decks were super prominent in the meta, which made its inclusion worthwhile.
What is the best version of Lost Box right now?
The current best version of Lost Box is perceived to be the Lost Box Ninja/Turbo variants. However, in my opinion, this could change anytime.
Top 8 Lost Box deck at NAIC played by Victor Aung.
For now, though, this version of Lost Box is great mainly due to the versatility it provides, the ability to have various different attackers, such as Kyogre and Dragonite V, to name a few, as compared to Lost Box/Radiant Charizard’s 2-3 main attackers. It also has the turbo prowess to quickly get 7 cards into your Lost Zone to activate Mirage Gate and 10 cards for Sableye’s Lost Mine attack the turn after. This gives you the possibility of exerting immense pressure against your opponent very early on, as compared to setup decks like LostTina – Giratina VSTAR utilizing the Lost Zone.
What cards should I send to the Lost Zone?
This is what puts many people off from playing Lost Zone decks: the fact that you have to make an irreversible choice from the very start that may affect your whole game due to a single selection.
For me personally, the most important thing in playing any Lost Box variant is deck checking on your first search. Once you have a good understanding of your available card counts and what cards are among your Prizes, you will be able to make properly informed decisions throughout the rest of the match.
The priority in checking, in my opinion, would be Energy cards > Pokemon > Mirage Gate > recovery cards (Super Rod, Klara) > switching outs (Switch Card, Escape Rope) > important tech cards/Supporter cards.
Here’s an example: Let’s say you begin the game and find that 2 of the 3 Lightning Energy cards you play are among your Prize cards. This means all future decisions concerning a Lightning Energy would require you to prioritize it over other cards if it appears when you use Flower Selecting or Colress’s Experiment. There are situations that can come up where you don’t have a choice; perhaps you might need to choose a Colress’s Experiment over a Lightning Energy card so you can continue setting up your board. These micro-decisions will happen often when you play Lost Box, but experience with the deck goes a long way in learning what is the best choice for the right situation.
Deck Matchups
VS Arceus VSTAR / Duraludon VMAX / Umbreon VSTAR
For this matchup, most Lost Box variants are generally unfavored due to the large HP pool of their attackers, requiring you to take 2-3 turns to even KO one of their Pokemon. This becomes even more detrimental when they constantly play Judge and Iono to disrupt your hand and your board setup progress.
One way to win could be gunning for a quick turbo Lost Box, aiming to fully charge a Dragonite V with Mirage Gate to take a KO against Arceus V. This gives you an overwhelming advantage, but it doesn’t happen too often as it’s difficult to pull off.
However, for Lost Box Kyogre, this is actually a pretty balanced matchup as Kyogre is able to close out the game with a good Echoing Horn turn into Aqua Storm, after taking 1-2 Prize cards earlier on. The deck would be fast enough to turbo out to that point; it’s just a matter of whether the Arceus VSTAR deck is able to disrupt you perfectly without you being able to draw out at all.
Key cards in matchup: Echoing Horn, Kyogre, Boss’s Orders Potential tech cards: Galarian Zapdos V
VS Arceus VSTAR / Giratina VSTAR
This matchup is very similar to the earlier Arceus VSTAR / Duraludon VMAX / Umbreon VMAX matchup, with Path to the Peak being the main cause of concern as it disrupts your draw engine (Radiant Greninja) as well. It should be a bit closer compared to Arceus VSTAR with the massive Duraludon VMAX, although still slightly unfavored in my opinion.
As usual, Kyogre is key to turning the matchup around. A good player will see this coming and try not to discard Pokemon V, so keep that in mind.
Key cards in matchup: Echoing Horn, Kyogre, Boss’s Orders Potential tech cards: Galarian Zapdos V
VS Gardevoir ex
This matchup, in my opinion, is one of the most complex matchups of the Standard format if both players are playing optimally. If not, it should generally be favored for Lost Box. The key is to be spamming Sableye as soon as possible, on top of always having a 2nd attacker on the Bench to be able to answer their next attack in case of hand disruption.
There are many intricacies in placing damage counters with Sableye. For example, you should try to refrain from taking a KO against your opponent’s Mew or Manaphy early. These can be your last 1-2 Prize cards for Sableye to finish off. Leaving these Pokemon on their Bench also means your opponent does not have enough space for an extra Ralts or Lumineon V. Damage counters should also be RARELY placed on their Water-type Pokemon (Manaphy and Radiant Greninja) as much as possible because they are able to “heal” by moving damage counters from them with Cresselia’s Moonglow Reverse attack.
The main thing about this matchup is to not miss an attack every turn, and you should be able to secure a win.
VS Mew VMAX (both Fusion Strike & DTE Path to the Peak variant)
Against both Mew VMAX variants, the matchup is usually unfavored as your opponent will generally abuse hand disruption cards (Judge, Roxanne, or Iono) to try and stop you. A proficient Mew VMAX player will also use Mew V’s Psychic Leap attack to constantly heal any damage you deal, making this an uphill battle. You can turn the tide by playing tech cards such as Spiritomb, Drapion V, or having a specific game plan to take additional Prize cards such as Sky Seal Stone or Kyogre. If those cards are played, the match generally sways towards Lost Box’s favor. The key in this Mew VMAX matchup is to properly map your Prizes with the techs/game plan that you have.
Key cards in matchup: Sableye, Kyogre, Drapion V Potential tech cards: Sky Seal Stone, Spiritomb
VS Rapid Strike Inteleon / Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX
For the Rapid Strike Box matchup, it is very unfavored for almost all Lost Box variants due to the heavy reliance on many Comfey to set up. As such, this matchup tends to be an auto loss unless you can turbo out your Radiant Greninja to snipe their Remoraid on turn 2, which greatly hinders their setup. Raikou V is also important if you manage to take a quick 3 Prize KO on Inteleon VMAX, but that also leaves a very tasty 2 Prize Pokemon for the opponent’s Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX to take multiple Prize cards using its G Max Rapid Flow attack.
A tech card that might be able to turn the matchup could be the new Luxray, which only gives up a single Prize card while still being able to OHKO Inteleon VMAX.
Key cards in matchup: Radiant Greninja, Raikou V Potential tech cards: Luxray, Sky Seal Stone
VS Lugia VSTAR / Archeops
This matchup is generally balanced. If the Lost Box player is able to take a KO using Raikou V against Lugia V, they are able to out-tempo the Lugia player in getting the Prize lead. However, if the Lugia player sets up before the Lost Box player starts doing significant damage, it is more favored towards Lugia. This is mainly due to the high HP of their main attackers. The math for this matchup is always iffy, as the damage required is always just right, which ends up getting healed by your opponent’s Radiant Tsareena, requiring another turn to KO their Pokemon.
However, the Kyogre variant would have a better time against this matchup, as Lugia VSTAR usually relies on having 2 Prize Pokemon on their Bench (Lumineon V and Squawkabiily ex). This means that Kyogre can be used to close the game with its Aqua Storm attack. However, you need to take note not to let the opposing Tyranitar V mill too many important resources off the top of your deck, which could possibly invalidate this winning route.
This matchup is generally favored for Lost Box, as all your attackers are able to up trade quite effectively against their attackers. They would also have to expend a lot of resources just to KO your single Prize Pokemon. But if they are running the Cancelling Cologne + Cross Switcher combo, you would have to watch out for a 2 Prize turn that could instantly win them the game – a Radiant Greninja taking out two of your Pokemon after negating Manaphy’s Ability using Cancelling Cologne.
The goal is to use attackers that can trade into their 2 Prize Pokemon and maintain a Prize lead, then use attackers such as Radiant Greninja and Sableye to take a KO on their Bibarel or Baxcalibur engines.
In the mirror matchup, the first KO usually sets the tone for the game. This means that starting 2nd is usually a good choice, as you will have the chance to get a Cramorant to attack on turn 1. Maintaining the Prize lead would rely on being the first to use Sableye’s Lost Mine attack as well; then you should generally be in control of the game.
There are instances where the Lost Box player that is behind on Prizes will be able to come back through means of Bench locking or damage manipulation with cards such as Hawlucha. There are also instances where Echoing Horn could come in handy.
I’ve been trying various different decks to find out their strengths and weaknesses, in order to make a good deck choice for Worlds. The support from my friends has greatly helped as well, with them giving me ideas on various matchups and testing with me. The most important thing, though, is to have fun; it’s Yokohama Japan, after all! 😊
The Southern Islands 