Improving Lost Zone Giratina for the New Metagame!

Hello everyone, I’m back with another article! While [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”86″ c=”name”][/card] looked like the clear best deck coming out of LAIC, several shifts in the metagame have happened since then, with Turbo [card name=”Miraidon ex” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”81″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] Stall becoming real contenders. Many players at the Brisbane and Gdansk Regionals went all in on trying to counter Gardevoir ex, which resulted in [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] having a ton of success feasting on all the Miraidon ex and [card name=”Iron Valiant ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”89″ c=”name”][/card] decks. This creates an interesting conundrum for players heading to San Antonio Regionals soon: do you just play Gardevoir ex because of its inherent power and consistency, or do you try and counter the expected metagame? This question has made me revisit a deck that, initially, I wouldn’t have said I liked a lot before LAIC: Lost Zone [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”name”][/card].

When I first looked at the scans of Paradox Rift, two assets for Lost Zone Giratina jumped out: [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”name”][/card]. Counter Catcher was an incredible boost to Lost Zone Giratina, since its game plan already involves falling behind in Prize cards, and combining Counter Catcher with [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”name”][/card] results in a lot of wins, even in games where all hope seems lost. Some Lost Zone Giratina decks in the past even used to play [card name=”Cross Switcher” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”230″ c=”name”][/card] to try and combine bringing up opposing Benched Pokemon with hand disruption Supporters like [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”185″ c=”name”][/card] or Roxanne. However, the pair of Cross Switchers ended up being too difficult to piece together and ultimately not worth the deck space. This is where Counter Catcher comes in. Because you only have to find the Counter Catcher itself and not piece together two cards, you get much more use out of it. It’s also a significantly lower commitment than Cross Switcher, as you only need to play one or two in your deck for the same effect.

While Path to the Peak isn’t a new card, it gained a lot from the introduction of Paradox Rift. The metagame has shifted in such a way that the two-Prize Basic decks all rely heavily on Abilities. Decks like Miraidon ex, Iron Valiant ex, [card name=”Entei V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”22″ c=”name”][/card], and [card name=”Roaring Moon ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”124″ c=”name”][/card] are all extremely weak to Path to the Peak. Meanwhile, Charizard ex is the main deck players use to counter the two-Prize Basic decks, and Charizard ex is also very weak to Path to the Peak, as its Infernal Reign and [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”225″ c=”custom”]Quick Search[/card] Abilities get shut off. Going first and playing a Path to the Peak is one of the strongest plays you can make in the current format, since so many decks rely on [card name=”Squawkabilly ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”169″ c=”name”][/card]. A lot of these more aggressive decks will opt to go second if the matchup is blind, allowing you to get in under them with a first-turn Path to the Peak.

The reason I dropped Lost Zone Giratina before LAIC was its matchup against Gardevoir ex. If your Gardevoir-playing opponent plays the matchup well, you have a very low chance of winning, as they can sit there and not take Prize cards until they have set up a [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] with a bunch of Energy and no damage. They can also use [card name=”Cresselia” set=”Lost Origin” no=”74″ c=”name”][/card]’s Moonglow Reverse attack to damage your [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card] and attach extra Energy to their Gardevoir without damaging it. This gets even worse if you take the first Prize card, as they can use [card name=”Reversal Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”192″ c=”name”][/card] to deal significantly more damage. While you can play [card name=”Jirachi” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”126″ c=”name”][/card] to prevent Moonglow Reverse from damaging your Benched Pokemon, it’s difficult to keep Jirachi in play if you get hit with an [card name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”130″ c=”name”][/card].

If your opponent just takes their time and doesn’t go ahead in Prize cards, it’s almost impossible to defeat Gardevoir ex with Lost Zone Giratina. However, when I discussed the problem with fellow Australian players Kaiwen Cabbabe and Brent Tonisson, we came up with this idea.

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[decklist name=”Lost Zone Giratina” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″][pokemon amt=”15″]4x [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Giratina VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”131″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]4x [card name=”Giratina V” set=”Lost Origin” no=”130″ 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=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”31″]4x [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Boss’s Orders” set=”Rebel Clash” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]4x [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Fog Crystal” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”140″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]2x [card name=”Counter Catcher” set=”Crimson Invasion” no=”91″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”188″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”2″][/card]4x [card name=”Path to the Peak” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”148″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”4″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”14″]4x [card name=”Jet Energy” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”190″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]3x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”106″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card][/energy][/decklist]

Card Choices

Two Avery

[cardimg name=”Avery” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”187″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Avery was the solution we came up with for the Gardevoir ex matchup. Since you are often too slow to attack with an early Moonlight Shuriken from [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card] or a Lost Mine from [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], your opponent can usually establish a board of several [card name=”Kirlia” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Gardevoir” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] unimpeded. Normally you will struggle a ton with this, since you cannot deal with your opponent’s draw engine well enough for a Roxanne or Iono to stick. However, with Avery, you can put a ton of pressure on your opponent’s Bench.

Avery by itself often doesn’t do enough, since three Bench slots is still enough for your opponent to maintain a decent setup. Combining Avery with direct pressure on your opponent’s Bench, like Moonlight Shuriken or Lost Mine, is the way to really bring out its strength. When your opponent keeps their [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] off an Avery, you can use Lost Mine to KO a Kirlia and damage another one of their Pokemon. This is especially effective since they only have at most two Gardevoir lines after this, because one of their slots is taken up by Manaphy. When they keep Jirachi on their Bench to prevent a Lost Mine, you can use Moonlight Shuriken to damage their setup even further. If they keep both Jirachi and Manaphy, then you have already accomplished the goal of reducing their setup, since they only have one more Bench spot available, which is likely taken up by a Gardevoir ex. You can also combine Avery with Counter Catcher to get a similar effect, except in this case you KO their Gardevoir ex with Star Requiem.

Using Avery followed by Roxanne and Path to the Peak on the next turn is the main way you will come ahead against Gardevoir ex. Even with two copies of Avery, though, the Gardevoir ex matchup is still even because of how much difficulty you have taking a one-hit KO on an undamaged baby Gardevoir. It will often take Giratina V’s Shred attack, which trades down in Prize cards.

Avery also has utility outside of the Gardevoir ex matchup. Its main use is just as an extra draw Supporter: if you only play four [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”name”][/card] as your draw Supporters, then sending them to the Lost Zone is very costly. This is because you run out of draw Supporters late in the game, so if your opponent plays an Iono, you often struggle to build up your hand size again. Flower Selecting only nets you one additional card with each usage, so card quantity can certainly be a problem in the late game. Avery solves this issue because it adds extra ways to increase your hand size, so it’s not dead in matchups other than Gardevoir ex.

Zero Battle VIP Pass, Four Nest Ball, Two Fog Crystal

[cardimg name=”Fog Crystal” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”227″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Another idea I came up with was to cut [card name=”Battle VIP Pass” set=”Fusion Strike” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card] entirely from this deck. The reason for this was twofold. Firstly, you have no real ways to dig for it on turn one. Unlike other Lost Zone decks, you don’t have excess switching cards like [card name=”Escape Rope” set=”Battle Styles” no=”125″ c=”name”][/card] to facilitate multiple uses of Flower Selecting. You also don’t play [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] to find extra Item cards, so you can’t get to your Battle VIP Pass in that way. You also don’t have access to [card name=”Forest Seal Stone” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”156″ c=”name”][/card], which makes finding crucial cards like Battle VIP Pass and Colress’s Experiment much more difficult. Nor do you play [card name=”Mew” set=”Celebrations” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card], like Gardevoir ex decks do, or [card name=”Arven” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”166″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Irida” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”147″ c=”name”][/card] as extra search. This made me struggle to justify including Battle VIP Pass in my Giratina list, as your chance of finding it on turn one is much lower than it is for other decks.

The other reason was because you struggle with finding your Pokemon throughout the game. If you miss a Battle VIP Pass on turn one, it puts so much pressure on your copies of [card name=”Nest Ball” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”181″ c=”name”][/card] for the rest of the game. You will often need to use them to find your [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card], your Giratina V, and your Radiant Greninja. This makes each Flower Selecting you use much riskier, since you can almost never put a Nest Ball in the Lost Zone.

When you cut Battle VIP Pass, you get to include the fourth Giratina V, the fourth Nest Ball, and two [card name=”Fog Crystal” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”140″ c=”name”][/card] instead. While you can’t find Pokemon in the same quantity as with Battle VIP Pass, you have significantly more leeway with your Flower Selectings, Colress’s Experiments, and Abyss Seekings to Lost Zone your Pokemon search cards. With four copies of Giratina V, you also have much more freedom with sending one to the Lost Zone, because you can still easily have two in play when you need to.

Zero Manaphy

[cardimg name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I have never liked playing Manaphy in Lost Zone Giratina, and I like it even less in this version. Decks that snipe with Radiant Greninja have been appearing less in the metagame, as [card name=”Chien-Pao ex” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”61″ c=”name”][/card] and Lost Zone Box have been slowly phasing out of the format. Against Lost Zone Box, you also don’t mind it if two of your Comfey get hit with a Moonlight Shuriken. This means that your Giratina are safe, and you rely significantly more on tanking with your Giratina VSTAR’s 280 HP. Your Chien-Pao ex matchup is also significantly improved by including Avery, since they struggle to recover from getting their Bench reduced to three. Because Manaphy is unlikely to benefit you in the matchups where it is seemingly important, I decided to not include it in this deck.

General Tips

The main advice I would give to anyone wanting to pick up Lost Zone Giratina is to use the Abyss Seeking attack on Giratina V. On its surface, Lost Zone Giratina is a significantly less consistent Lost Zone Box deck, since you have no Forest Seal Stone, fewer switching cards, and no PokéStop. However, you have Abyss Seeking to supplement your lack of consistency. When playing this deck, I almost always use Abyss Seeking on turn one, and usually also use it on turn two. If you don’t draw into Colress’s Experiment, you often will need to use Abyss Seeking to supplement your draws and increase your Lost Zone count. I see a lot of players aggressively go for a [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”custom”]Spit Innocently[/card] on turn one, but then often struggle to keep up in the late game as you can’t reliably play a Colress’s Experiment every turn. Knowing that going straight for Abyss Seeking is a legitimate game plan is important when playing this deck, as it keeps your options open if you struggle to increase your Lost Zone count.

Matchups

Gardevoir ex – Even / Slightly Unfavored

I have already explained a lot of the Gardevoir ex matchup in the section about Avery, but I’ll go into it a little bit here. This matchup often culminates in the Giratina player using Path to the Peak and Roxanne at the end of the game. Usually this doesn’t work if they have multiple Refinements, as they can draw into a Stadium bump pretty easily. This is why your whole game plan revolves around removing the Kirlia from their board with Avery or Moonlight Shuriken. If you manage to play Roxanne and Path to the Peak when your opponent has no way to draw extra cards, then you are in a great spot.

Charizard ex / Pidgeot ex – Favored

Charizard ex / [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”225″ c=”name”][/card] is one of your better matchups. Without Path to the Peak, it would be rough, but because you have that extra layer of disruption to stop [card name=”Radiant Charizard” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”11″ c=”name”][/card] and Pidgeot ex’s Quick Search, this matchup is much easier. Ideally you want to take your Prize cards in chunks of two, using [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card]’s Spit Innocently and a Lost Impact to KO a Charizard ex, then using Lost Impact to KO a Pidgeot ex, and finally using Star Requiem to KO a final Charizard ex.

Abyss Seeking is a great attack in this matchup, especially because Burning Darkness caps out at 180 damage if you haven’t taken a Prize card, so you can guarantee that your Giratina V will survive. This will often give you the time you need in this matchup, especially because once you’ve taken two Prize cards, Burning Darkness only does 240, still not enough to take a one-hit KO on a Giratina VSTAR. If you can set up two Giratina VSTAR at this point, you will likely win the game, since your opponent is unable to take a one-hit KO on your main attacker until you reach the correct amount of Prize cards. This is all going on while you are disrupting them with Path to the Peak, so this makes Charizard ex one of your better matchups.

Snorlax Stall – Heavily Favored

Snorlax Stall is easily your best matchup. If you manage to start with a Giratina V with a couple of Energy cards, then you can start using Abyss Seeking and throw all of your Basic Pokemon into the Lost Zone. Your opponent is unable to manipulate your Pokemon if they are in the Lost Zone, as they can’t use [card name=”Erika’s Invitation” set=”151″ no=”160″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Echoing Horn” set=”Chilling Reign” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] to cheat them into play. Then, if you manually power up your Giratina V to use Shred, then they can’t out-heal you. Shred takes a one-hit KO on a Snorlax without any Tools attached, and also goes through [card name=”Mimikyu” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”97″ c=”name”][/card]’s Safeguard ability. Once you’ve taken a few Prize cards and your opponent has found a few defensive Tools, then you can evolve into Giratina VSTAR and start using Lost Impact to take one-hit Knockouts. If your opponent tries to wall with Mimikyu, you can still use Star Requiem to KO it. You almost always have enough resources to outlast them, so Snorlax Stall is one of your best matchups.

Miraidon ex – Even

While Miraidon ex seems like one of your easier matchups on the surface, you can easily lose to their aggression. You can get punished for using Abyss Seeking early in this matchup, because they can attack with Miraidon’s Photon Blaster to take a one-hit KO. However, I would still use that initial Abyss Seeking, because it is very rare for you to put seven cards in the Lost Zone fast enough without it.

This whole matchup boils down to the turn where you use Roxanne and Path to the Peak, and if you can use Lost Impact on that same turn, you are often in great shape. If you’re able to set up a second Giratina VSTAR on your Bench, that is important too, as it stops their Escape Rope from forcing a vulnerable Pokemon into the Active Spot. Using Counter Catcher on a Benched [card name=”Raichu V” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”45″ c=”name”][/card] is an excellent play, because that is their only way of taking a one-hit KO on your Giratina VSTAR. I would encourage you to fully see out all of your games and not give up early when testing this matchup — Lost Zone Giratina is capable of making dramatic comebacks against Miraidon ex.

Entei V / Iron Valiant ex – Slightly Favored

Iron Valiant requires some specific decisions to be made on your part to come out on top. The main thing that I would emphasize is to not bench multiple Comfey, and to instead focus on Abyss Seeking. If you only have two Pokemon on your Bench, your opponent’s Burning Rondo attack will cap out at 160 damage, which isn’t enough to take a one-hit KO on a Giratina V. If they try and use Tachyon Bits to set up your Giratina V, you can use [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] to heal it out of range of [card name=”Medicham V” set=”Evolving Skies” no=”83″ c=”name”][/card]’s Yoga Loop attack. Path to the Peak also shuts off their Fleet-Footed, Tachyon Bits, and Excited Heart Abilities, which significantly reduces what their deck is capable of. Avery is also very strong in this matchup, as you can run them out of Basic Pokemon to power up Burning Rondo’s damage. One of the strongest plays you can make against Iron Valiant is to Counter Catcher up their Squawkabilly ex, then use Avery and force them to discard several important Pokemon. This enormously damages their setup and often will let you pull ahead in the late game.

Conclusion

Thank you for reading! I hope you give this new version of Lost Zone Giratina a go, and experiment on the different lines of play you can take in each of your matchups. There is a ton of depth to the deck and so many different ways you can win games, even those that initially looked unwinnable. Good luck if you do decide to play this at any of your League Cup and League Challenge tournaments, and feel free to ask any questions in the comments!

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