Lost Impact — The Giratina Fad

fad [fæd] noun 1. an intense and widely shared enthusiasm for something, especially one that is short-lived and without basis in the object’s qualities; a craze.

[cardimg name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG69″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Lost Zone [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card] is a deck that has hovered around Tier 3 in recent memory, and has not been considered a real deck since Silver Tempest‘s release. However, seemingly out of nowhere, this deck has spread like wildfire. League Cups and Challenges have started occurring en masse, and Giratina has dominated both local and online tournaments. In fact, it has won three large online events recently, along with countless of the local sanctioned tournaments.

But let’s back up for just a minute. When Giratina first released, it was considered a Tier 1 deck and you were all but guaranteed to face it at any tournament in the Lost Origin format. However, even then, it was nothing spectacular. It managed to get a few Top 8 spots at Regionals, but was notorious for underperforming compared to how popular and widely played it was. When Silver Tempest dropped, [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”139″ c=”name”][/card] completely invalidated the deck and set it back to the Distortion World. Six months later, rotation hit and looked like it was going to shake things up in a good way for Giratina.

When Scarlet & Violet came out and ushered in the mid-season rotation, Giratina received some hype, but ultimately didn’t end up doing anything at all. Most recently, Paldea Evolved dropped along with [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Jet Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card]. However, in this format’s only major event (so far), the deck did not have any notable showing.

So why? Just why is this deck showing up now? Is the deck just that good and nobody realized until now? There are several factors contributing to the flash mob of Giratina showings. At NAIC, former World Champion Henry Brand played the deck, but did not even make Day 2. However, his addition of the [card name=”Cross Switcher” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”230″ c=”name”][/card] gave the deck some much-needed fangs that it didn’t have before. This combined with the Japanese tech of [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] plus [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card] for a disruption focus allows the deck to have multiple strong win conditions without compromising too much consistency.

Of course, the new cards from Paldea Evolved help out a lot. Henry played four copies of Jet Energy in the deck. Jet Energy works perfectly here, and it should be your manual attachment almost every turn. [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] can easily fulfill your colored Energy costs, and [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] makes use of extra colored Energy that end up in your hand. This deck seems like it was tailored to make optimal use of Jet Energy.

Another factor that is more timing-specific is the rise of [card name=”Arceus VSTAR” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card]. Arceus won both Juniors and Seniors at NAIC, and got second place in Masters along with several other top finishes. People just like playing Arceus. Recently I’ve been referring to Arceus as the highest output-to-input deck. This means that if you compare how good the deck is compared to how much effort and brainpower it takes to build and play, the ratio is ridiculously high. (Lost Box, on the other hand, has an extremely low ratio by this metric.) Anyway, the point is that Arceus is quite popular at the moment, and that was unexpected before NAIC.

This is good for Giratina, as Giratina matches up well against Arceus. Lost Impact tears through their two-Prize Pokemon, and Arceus has limited ways to beat Giratina. Trinity Nova doesn’t KO [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] through [card name=”Double Turbo Energy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”151″ c=”name”][/card], even with a [card name=”Choice Belt” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”135″ c=”name”][/card], and only other Giratina VSTAR can one-shot Giratina VSTAR. Many Arceus variants have no way at all to one-shot Giratina VSTAR. Furthermore, Arceus sometimes relies on its Stadiums as win conditions, but against Giratina, they are minor annoyances at best.

That said, I think the popularity of Giratina is a little bit overblown at the moment. My opinion of the deck since Scarlet & Violet is that it is not bad, but not amazing. It will probably settle around Tier 2. For as long as Giratina has existed, it has had problems with clunkiness, and now is no exception. It is somewhat high-maintenance, and also has to include techs like [card name=”Cross Switcher” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”230″ c=”name”][/card] and Path to the Peak to have win conditions. The clunkiness is manageable because the deck uses the amazing Lost Zone engine. Of course, all that matters in the end is its win rate, which seems to be pretty good at the moment.

In my opinion, the biggest problem with Giratina currently is its weak [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] matchup. This wasn’t something Giratina really had to worry about before, but Gardevoir remains one of the most popular Tier 1 decks in the Paldea Evolved format, and that matchup is not pretty. Just as Giratina has found new strengths, so has it gained new weaknesses.

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Let’s start our analysis of the deck by looking at Henry’s NAIC list.

[decklist name=”giratina cross switchers” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″][pokemon amt=”15″]3x [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”32″]4x [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders (Ghetsis)” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Cross Switcher” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”230″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Switch” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”194″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]2x [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”13″]4x [card name=”Jet Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”190″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”152″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”156″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Since Giratina has to commit hard to the Lost Zone engine as well as lots of Energy, there is a limited amount of customization you can do with it. The second [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] has been standard for a while now, even though Giratina only played one copy in the past. [card name=”Spiritomb” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] was an interesting tech choice, but most people seem to be cutting it now. I don’t think Spiritomb makes much sense myself. [card name=”Drapion V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”118″ c=”name”][/card] is a better [card name=”Mew VMAX” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”114″ c=”name”][/card] counter, and the Lugia matchup is unfavorable anyway. There are some situations where Spiritomb is nice to have, but space in this deck is at a premium.

Henry also played a second copy of Roxanne. I probably wouldn’t personally do this, but it does make sense. It is a pain for Lost Zone decks to save specific techs that aren’t useful until later, especially when you have so many cards that are only useful in specific situations (Cross Switcher, Path, Roxanne). A second Roxanne makes the play more consistent, and allows you to throw away one while you are setting up or looking for combos. The inclusion of Iono somewhat alleviates the need for a second Roxanne, but it is nice to be able to do the disruption play twice in one game. You probably won’t use all three in a game, but that’s fine.

Although the deck plays Cross Switcher, one [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] is still included because it is generally better to use when your hand is stable. Cross Switcher enables power plays on turns where you have to use another Supporter (which is most turns), but Cross Switcher alone doesn’t provide enough gusting effects.

This deck plays no [card name=”Ultra Ball” set=”Dark Explorers” no=”102″ c=”name”][/card] because there just isn’t space for it. [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”name”][/card] is better because Lost Zone decks hate discarding resources out of the hand, and you can usually draw Giratina VSTAR manually. This deck burns through enough cards to reasonably find the VSTAR, and you only need one to get things rolling. The second one should be similarly easy to find by the time you need it.

With only two [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card], two [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card], and one [card name=”Switch” set=”Shining Legends” no=”67″ c=”name”][/card], it looks like there aren’t enough switch cards for a Lost Zone deck, but this is made up for by the maximum copies of Cross Switcher and Jet Energy. Jet Energy is basically a Switch every turn, and you can also use it to retreat [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card] (if you aren’t attaching to Giratina). On turns where you plan to attack with Giratina, you can use Jet Energy at the end of the turn to function as a switch and your third Energy for Giratina. Similarly, on turns where you plan on using Cross Switcher, you can incorporate it into your sequencing to get value from the switch effect. Although Jet Energy and Cross Switcher are a bit more restrictive with their switch effects, they still more or less get the job done.

As for the five switching cards, the combination of them is mostly arbitrary. You don’t need me to tell you the pros and cons of Switch Cart and Escape Rope. The 2/2 split makes sense so you can get the benefit from both options. The normal Switch lets you move Giratina VSTAR, but this should probably just be another Rope or Cart.

Two Water Energy is the bare minimum to allow you the option of attacking with Radiant Greninja. Greninja is just too strong and sometimes wins you games outright. At the very least, it’s a powerful and versatile attacking option, so you definitely play the Water Energy.

There is a noticeable lack of [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”name”][/card] from most Giratina lists. For a deck that relies pretty heavily on getting ten cards in the Lost Zone, that is a card that I’d like to have. You are fairly likely to draw into it before you get ten in the Lost Zone, and the Vacuum will give you value by expediting that process. However, due to a lack of Tool cards and few Stadiums, Vacuum will sometimes only accelerate one card into the Lost Zone, and the deck may already be too occupied setting up and juggling tech cards to afford the luxury of a Vacuum in the first place.

I also want to mention the list that Gabe Shumway won an online tournament with. It was only two cards off of Brand’s list, cutting Roxanne and Spiritomb for [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Cleansing Gloves” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]. I think the cuts are good and the additions are interesting. I would personally go for more consistency, but those techs make sense. Manaphy improves the matchups against Lost Box, [card name=”Rapid Strike Urshifu VMAX” set=”Battle Styles” no=”88″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card], while Cleansing Gloves helps against Mew and Gardevoir. The idea is that for just two slots, you are adding some percentage points to every matchup. However, the effectiveness is up for debate. The matchups not being touched here are Arceus, which you should already beat, and Lugia, which you lose against anyway.

Overall, I think this list for Giratina is very good.

The only other real way to play Giratina is by omitting Cross Switchers for more switching cards and Boss’s Orders. This seems to be a slight trade-off of power for consistency. Consistency is generally better to win favored matchups more often, while power cards help in matchups where you are unfavored because you have more win conditions. A read on the meta could give some guidance as to which is correct, though this is a case where personal preference isn’t as cringe as it usually is. If I was going to play Giratina, I would go with Cross Switchers and Cleansing Gloves to give me a reasonable chance against Gardevoir. As I said earlier, I think Giratina’s weak Gardevoir matchup is its biggest problem, so I would try to compensate for that.

Matchups

Gardevoir – Unfavorable

Gardevoir is probably Giratina’s worst matchup, but it’s very winnable. You only need Giratina V on turn one if you think you’re going to be able to Lost Impact a Gardevoir ex on turn two, which doesn’t happen very often. Sableye is generally too slow to be effective, but if you go first, you can possibly go for a turn-three Sableye. Going second, a turn-two Sableye would be ideal, but it’s hard to pull off. Cramorant is your premium early-game attacker. Star Requiem is good for a free KO on Garde ex, which you want to do as soon as you can. If you can force them to get a second Gardevoir ex, that’s another possible two-Prize turn for you. Of course, if the opponent is threatening a huge baby Gardevoir, you may not have the freedom to go after the ex. Damage from either Psychic Embrace or Lost Mine lets Lost Impact KO Gardevoir ex, and so does Cleansing Gloves, so try to look for any of those plays for a KO on the ex.

The late game is where you try to stick them with disruption and Path. Ideally, you’ll have both Path and two disruption Supporters so that you can do the play back-t0-back. However, I’ve found that their draw power from Kirlia and Gardevoir can bail them out. They also have plenty of time to set up, and if they’re smart, they will be playing around your disruption by preemptively setting up their board and conserving Stadiums. The Gardevoir player has all the agency in this matchup, and if they draw well and play well, you will probably lose. However, if you draw well and pull off two two-prize KOs for a 1-1-2-2 Prize map, that gives you a high chance of winning.

It should go without saying that Radiant Greninja can win in some spots if they whiff Manaphy, and that goes for any matchup with low-HP Pokemon.

Lost Box – Even to Slightly Unfavorable

The additional disruption Supporters make this matchup pretty reasonable. Turn-two Giratina V is often the way to go. Their only way to OHKO it is with [card name=”Dragonite V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card], which can be a great opportunity for you. That will damage their Bench and let Sableye take two easy Prizes. Then you can play down another Giratina V, use Iono or Roxanne, take another Prize, and then win the game with Lost Impact on the Dragonite for your last two Prizes. If they don’t take out your Giratina, you can evolve it out of KO range and take multiple KOs without giving them convenient KO targets. Oftentimes you also want a second VSTAR in play.

The main problem is that Lost Box is so much faster with its Lost Zone, so it can more consistently choose its attacker for the situation. This gives them the edge as well as the agency, but your disruption Supporters even things out a little bit, so you want to save those and use them at opportune times. They can also use Radiant Greninja early to slow down your Lost Zone even more, so you are often forced to rely on Giratina and don’t get Sableye very fast. Try to manage your board to account for the possible threats, as well as what they’re likely to attack with. Ideally, you would force them to deal with two Giratina VSTAR and not give up too many easy Prizes.

One cheeky way to find a two-Prize turn is by using Roxanne and Sableye on Manaphy. If they whiff the recovery for Manaphy or double Switch Cart, you can use Radiant Greninja or Sableye respectively to take those two Prizes. If they also play down a two-Prize Pokemon, this gives you a reasonable 1-1-2-2 line to win the game in four attacks, but again, the main problem is Sableye being too slow.

Mew – Slightly Favorable

The Mew matchup is pretty close without Drapion. Star Requiem is a free three Prizes on a VMAX, but the other three require a bit of work. Ideally, they will play down a single-Prize Pokemon that you easily take out with Cramorant or Sableye. This lets you win with a 1-2-3 line, only needing a Lost Impact on one two-Prize Pokemon. If they don’t play down a single-Prize Pokemon, you can still win by going first and getting a turn-two Lost Impact, followed by another Lost Impact at some point (along with the Star Requiem). This line requires a lot more luck and work, so the matchup can go either way.

The real X factor is the disruption package. In the late game, Path plus hand disruption will sometimes win you the game. It’s not the most reliable thing in the world, but you definitely want to try and pull off that combo at least once to maximize your chances of winning.

Arceus – Favorable

You go with the straightforward plan of blowing them up with Giratina. Against the version with Pokemon VMAX, Star Requiem gives you a free three-Prize KO, which makes the matchup trivial. Arceus / Giratina is a little closer because their Giratina can KO yours, but you still win the Prize trade. Save Star Requiem for a KO against [card name=”V Guard Energy” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card]. Early Path is better in this matchup to try and cheese them out of Starbirth, as late Path hurts you more.

Lugia – Unfavorable

[cardimg name=”Tyranitar V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”155″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

This is another matchup where you try to cheese with early Path. Their attackers are quite annoying. They will go with early Lugia VSTAR with V Guard Energy before you can use Star Requiem. Even after a Lost Impact, Sableye can clean up, but doesn’t have a great place to put the extra damage. Their attackers are more efficient, and they can pick and choose when to blow up a Giratina VSTAR with their [card name=”Tyranitar V” set=”Battle Styles” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]. If they don’t have the means to immediately KO Giratina, they will simply choose to not leave two-Prize Pokemon at risk on their board. This is only bad because you don’t get much value from your single-Prize attackers in this matchup. To do anything meaningful, you have to use Giratina, which gets KO’d by Tyranitar.

The way to win is by getting a cheap two-Prize KO somewhere. If you go first and get a turn-two Lost Impact for two Prizes, you will probably end up winning the Prize trade. If they play down Tyranitar too early, or use [card name=”Lumineon V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”40″ c=”name”][/card] without immediately getting rid of it, try to take out that two-Prize Pokemon to gain an edge. Hitting into Lugia VSTAR for less than a KO is usually a waste of value. Try to hit around it and then get rid of it in one shot with Star Requiem.

Chien-Pao – Favorable

If you go first and get the Greninja play, you just win. Even if you don’t, the matchup is still good. Giratina and Chien-Pao blow each other up, which is all well and good. However, Chien-Pao is very weak against your disruption combo. If you fall behind early, the disruption combo is a fairly reliable way to come back. Furthermore, Sableye can easily KO [card name=”Bidoof” set=”Crown Zenith” no=”111″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Bibarel” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”121″ c=”name”][/card], which severely limits their options from turn to turn and cuts off their ability to recover from disruption.

Urshifu – Slightly Unfavorable

If Urshifu functions how it’s supposed to, this matchup can be a disaster. They take multiple Prizes while cutting off Comfey. If you go first and get the turn-two Lost Impact for two Prizes, though, you’ve got yourself a game. Star Requiem can one-shot a VMAX, which is extremely strong in this matchup and is the reason why they may not be able to make a comeback if you start out ahead. Furthermore, Giratina VSTAR is a convenient attacker because they do not have an easy way to KO it. Early Lost Impact for two Prizes and Cross Switcher / Cram for one (or vice versa) plus Star Requiem is an easy 1-2-3 line to win the game, but that of course requires setting up quite well against a deck that attempts to deny you that setup.

Conclusion

As you can see, Giratina’s matchups are not amazing. Giratina is a deck that just plays a lot of really good cards and forces your opponent to deal with them. Giratina is also difficult to counter, so it can usually handle other random decks. Although Giratina has some questionable matchups, they are all winnable due to the deck’s inherent strength. This has been seen in other decks before, and it’s definitely possible to win tournaments even with a matchup spread like this. I wouldn’t play the deck myself, but it is important to understand it because it’s seeing so much play and success right now. I hope this article has been helpful in understanding the deck and giving some guidance on whether you should consider playing it yourself.

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