Shocking Strategies With Lost Zone Pikachu ex

Hello everyone! Lost Zone toolbox with [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”57″ c=”name”][/card] was hyped up a ton before the release of Surging Sparks, however it has failed to deliver tournament results. It still does well occasionally, taking some Day 2 placements at each tournament with some cash finishes here and there but is mostly being held back by an unfavorable [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] matchup. But I think the deck is still a solid choice heading forward.

[cardimg name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”238″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

Your matchups against all the other decks are very good thanks to being able to attack with Pikachu ex, many decks are unable to deal with its Resolute Heart Ability and Topaz Bolt is able to KO most opposing Pokemon. If you can’t take the one-hit Knock Out with Topaz Bolt, you have the option of setting up Knock Outs with your single-Prize Pokemon attackers. You can even do so while taking a Knock Out by using [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card]’s Moonlight Shuriken or [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card]’s Lost Mine to hit multiple Pokemon at once.

This deck still has the flexibility and aggressiveness of the Lost Zone decks of the past with single-Prize Pokemon attackers such as Radiant Greninja, Sableye, and [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] to take apart evolving decks in the early game. Additionally, you can take big Knock Outs later on using Pikachu ex or [card name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”216″ c=”name”][/card], and you also have [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”248″ c=”name”][/card] to try and take extra Prizes against opposing decks with small Pokemon, or against [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”211″ c=”name”][/card] as [card name=”Lugia V” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”186″ c=”name”][/card] is weak to Lightning-type Pokemon. This deck is more Energy hungry than ever, with Iron Hands usually taking two copies of [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] to power up and Pikachu ex discarding all its Energy. This makes hitting your attachment each turn very important as you are only usually able to use three copies of Mirage Gate per game with one typically ending up in the Lost Zone. This is why Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex is still in the deck, even though it’s a weaker attacker than Pikachu ex, as it’s very helpful for allowing you to close out the game with a two-Prize Pokemon Knock Out without having to use a Mirage Gate.

When building a Lost Zone toolbox deck, I often try and base the list on Andrew Hedrick’s NAIC winning deck. This list had a lot of solid consistency counts, such as the four copies of [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”name”][/card] and four [card name=”Switch” set=”151″ no=”206″ c=”name”][/card], the three copies of [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”217″ c=”name”][/card] and the four copies of [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card]. This made Hedrick’s list very consistent at using Mirage Gate on turn 2, all the way to getting to seven cards in the Lost Zone either by using [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]’s Flower Selecting a bunch of times or through sending a Pokestop to the Lost Zone with Lost Vacuum. The one thing Hedrick’s list didn’t include that I would like to find space for is the fourth copy of [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”223″ c=”name”][/card], however, it makes sense to skimp on this count first. Unlike Switch, Lost Vacuum or Pokestop, drawing into a second copy of Buddy-Buddy Poffin doesn’t do much for you. The first one has likely found two copies of Comfey or one Comfey and one [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”name”][/card] if you need it, so the next few copies usually end up in the Lost Zone or burned from your hand. You will likely use multiple Switch per game to move between different Comfey as you find more cards, and Pokestop is always useful to bump Stadiums and dig deeper through your deck. Lost Vacuum is both useful to increase your Lost Zone and to disrupt your opponent by removing their Tools and Stadiums.

However, when including Pikachu ex, you need more Energy than the deck did at NAIC, as you need to account for Topaz Bolt’s three different Energy types. This also forces you to significantly spread out your Energy types if you want to be able to attack with Radiant Greninja and Sableye, which is something that I prioritize as they are some of the deck’s strongest attackers. I don’t want to have to go to one copy of Pikachu’s required Energy types as you risk sending those cards to the Lost Zone early, but I think going to one copy of Psychic Energy and two copies of Water Energy is fine. This still gives you 11 Energy total which is three more than Hedrick’s list. Having 11 Energy in your deck makes it so that you can consistently hit your attachments for turn, as well as having enough Energy to discard to use Radiant Greninja’s Concealed Cards. It does seem like a low amount of Energy cards to have with Topaz Bolt requiring three types, but two copies of each type makes it manageable to chain Topaz Bolts if you need to.

With those ideas in mind, I constructed this deck to try and be very consistent and be able to chain the correct attacks each game, so let’s dive in!

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Pikachu ex Lost Zone Box

[decklist name=”Pika LZ” amt=”60″ caption=”” cname=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″][pokemon amt=”12″]4x [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Brilliant Stars” no=”41″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”70″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”57″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”141″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/pokemon][trainers amt=”39″]4x [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”155″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]1x [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”150″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/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=”Sun and Moon” no=”123″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch Cart” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”154″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Super Rod” set=”BREAKthrough” no=”149″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]4x [card name=”Switch” set=”Black and White” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”4″][/card]3x [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”144″ c=”deck2″ amt=”3″][/card]2x [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”162″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Hisuian Heavy Ball” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”146″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”61″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Sword and Shield” no=”172″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]1x [card name=”Rescue Board ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”159″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”1″][/card]3x [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”deck2″ divide=”yes” amt=”3″][/card][/trainers][energy amt=”9″]2x [card name=”Water Energy” set=”XY” no=”134″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Lightning Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”109″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Grass Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”104″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]2x [card name=”Metal Energy” set=”Diamond and Pearl” no=”130″ c=”deck2″ amt=”2″][/card]1x [card name=”Psychic Energy” set=”EX Ruby and Sapphire” no=”107″ c=”deck2″ amt=”1″][/card][/energy][/decklist][cardimg name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”216″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

I did cut down on the fourth [card name=”PokéStop” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”68″ c=”name”][/card] and the third [card name=”Lost Vacuum” set=”Lost Origin” no=”217″ c=”name”][/card] to fit the extra Energy, but the deck is able to make up for it with the inclusion of [card name=”Fezandipiti ex” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”38″ c=”name”][/card]. Its Flip the Script Ability has improved the consistency of any deck, however its inclusion in Lost Box decks has been contentious. This is because Lost Box thrives heavily off having an entirely single-Prize Pokemon board and Fezandipiti as a support Pokemon prevents this from happening. You have to be careful when you put your Fezandpipti ex onto the Bench, however if you use it in conjunction with an attacker that your opponent needs to deal with such as [card name=”Iron Hands ex” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”248″ c=”name”][/card], [card name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”216″ c=”name”][/card] or [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card], you remove its status as a liability. Fezandipiti ex is also particularly strong against [card name=”Gardevoir ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”233″ c=”name”][/card], as you can use Flip the Script through [card name=”Flutter Mane ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”78″ c=”name”][/card]’s Midnight Fluttering Ability as Fezandipiti doesn’t need to be in the Active Spot. This is extremely helpful against an [card name=”Iono” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”269″ c=”name”][/card] or an [card name=”Unfair Stamp” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”165″ c=”name”][/card] play, as without Fezandipiti you would be dead to an Iono and an attacking Flutter Mane.

Fezandipiti ex doesn’t work as well with [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”238″ c=”name”][/card] though, mostly thanks to its Resolute Heart Ability. Pikachu works best to allow you to deal 300 damage with an effective single-Prize Pokemon board, as your opponent usually will have to sink two attacks into Pikachu ex. Fezandipiti doesn’t work well here because your opponent can just target it instead of the Pikachu for two Prizes. Additionally, your opponent isn’t forced into taking a Knock Out on the Pikachu because the Energy gets discarded from it, making a Knock Out on your Fezandipiti on your Bench much more appealing.

You have a few ways to play around this, with the main one being to not put the Fezandipiti ex on the Bench until your opponent has hit the Pikachu ex, forcing your opponent to decide between taking a Knock Out on your Pikachu or Fezandipiti. You can make Pikachu ex a bigger target by stacking up Energy on it, since Topaz Bolt only requires you to discard three Energy cards. You can leave the Pikachu with enough Energy to use Topaz Bolt again. This play is very strong in most matchups, however be careful against [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] as they can use [card name=”Hisuian Goodra VSTAR” set=”Lost Origin” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card]’s Rolling Iron attack to hit the Pikachu and prevent their Regidrago VSTAR from a return Knock Out by Topaz Bolt.

Overloading the Pikachu is mostly useful against aggressive two-Prize Pokemon decks, especially against hand disruption. The most common way for this deck to lose against aggressive decks is your hand getting disrupted and your opponent takes too many Prize cards. Another change that I’ve seen is with the [card name=”Night Stretcher” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”251″ c=”name”][/card] count. I’ve seen players go up to two copies and go down to zero. Personally, I still like the one copy of Night Stretcher in the deck, especially because it helps you chaining Sableye without having to use a [card name=”Mirage Gate” set=”Lost Origin” no=”163″ c=”name”][/card] at the end of the game but I could see going to two copies if Sableye became more important.

While two Water Energy makes it difficult for you to use [card name=”Radiant Greninja” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”46″ c=”name”][/card]’s Moonlight Shuriken, it still makes it possible. It is difficult to use Moonlight Shuriken because without drawing one of the Water Energy, you will need to use two copies of Mirage Gate. However, the value provided is massive as an early Moonlight Shuriken will often set your opponent back an entire turn, which you can capitalize on with a follow up Sableye Lost Mine or Moonlight Shuriken. While it is preventable if your opponent manages to get a [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG06″ c=”name”][/card] onto their Bench, you’re still forcing them to commit a space from [card name=”Buddy-Buddy Poffin” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”223″ c=”name”][/card] for Manaphy and there will be times where they don’t have it, and you get the easy win. If you were to cut the Water Energy, you would likely just be adding an extra Lightning Energy and a Psychic Energy to help you with using Concealed Cards and hitting all your attachments for turn, meaning that there isn’t much cost to playing Water Energy. Attaching for turn is especially important when you are trying to use Iron Hands ex on turn 2. Going first and getting the attachment on Iron Hands lets you then attach again on turn 2 and get to four Energy with Mirage Gate, letting you consistently use Amp You Very Much and Topaz Bolt in the same game against [card name=”Lugia VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”211″ c=”name”][/card], which is one of the main ways you win that matchup.

One change that I’ve seen be popular is to cut the [card name=”Roxanne” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG66″ c=”name”][/card] for a [card name=”Cyllene” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”183″ c=”name”][/card], mostly by Brennan Kammerman who has only played Lost Zone decks since it was released. This is very helpful in any linear matchup as you can recover Mirage Gate or [card name=”Prime Catcher ” set=”Temporal Forces” no=”157″ c=”name”][/card], letting you chain stronger attacks turn after turn. Cyllene can also be used to recover cards like [card name=”Super Rod” set=”Paldea Evolved” no=”276″ c=”name”][/card] to get more Energy or even to get back switching cards against [card name=”Snorlax” set=”Pokemon GO” no=”55″ c=”name”][/card] Stall, giving you more time in that matchup. Additionally, Cyllene is very helpful against Regidrago VSTAR as that matchup often comes down to how many Topaz Bolt attacks you can use in successive turns.

I still think Roxanne is very strong though, not just as a disruption card. The disruption element of Roxanne is only really effective if you aren’t taking a KO thanks to the presence of Fezandipiti ex in almost every deck, but it is still a massive draw to the card when you can set up multiple Knock Outs with Lost Mine or Moonlight Shuriken. Roxanne is very strong as a late game draw Supporter, and as a way to shuffle Energy from your hand back into your deck and to avoid having to send crucial cards to the Lost Zone when you have a very small deck. Cyllene isn’t a consistency card at all, however neither is Roxanne in the early game and if you are playing Roxanne as your first Supporter of the game you are probably losing anyway. I think that the choice between these two is metagame dependent, Cyllene is much stronger against linear decks where you are just trying to execute your own game plan turn to turn, however Roxanne is a more versatile choice, which is what I prefer currently. I would encourage you to try out both and see which you prefer for the metagame you are expecting.

Matchups

vs Klawf

[cardimg name=”Klawf” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”105″ align=”right” c=”none”][/cardimg]

One of the biggest draws of playing Lost Zone in the current format is the [card name=”Klawf” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”105″ c=”name”][/card] matchup. While it initially seems rough as your opponent is capable of winning on the first turn thanks to the extra Poison damage from Pecharunt, you are able to win the Prize trade as you can force your opponent to go to one Prize card remaining, and you can then take two Prizes with [card name=”Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”216″ c=”name”][/card]. Notably, [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”238″ c=”name”][/card] is quite weak in the Klawf matchup, as your opponent is able to Poison it with [card name=”Brute Bonnet” set=”Paradox Rift” no=”207″ c=”name”][/card], getting around Resolute Heart.

Fezandipiti ex is also quite weak in this matchup, Flip the Script will often not activate thanks to most Knock Outs being taken through Poison, not triggering the “Knock Out” condition on Flip the Script. However, the regular game plan of chaining [card name=”Sableye” set=”Lost Origin” no=”70″ c=”name”][/card] and [card name=”Cramorant” set=”Lost Origin” no=”50″ c=”name”][/card] is still very strong against this deck, as they have little ways to answer single-Prize Pokemon that are able to two hit KO two-Prize Pokemon. Even if you don’t take the first Prize card, you still get ahead by never putting two-Prize Pokemon on the Bench until right at the end, which makes it a favoured matchup for this deck.

vs Regidrago VSTAR

The [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] matchup is unfavoured but still winnable with careful play. Prior to Pikachu ex’s release this matchup was almost impossible and [card name=”Manaphy” set=”Crown Zenith GG” no=”GG06″ c=”name”][/card] wasn’t usually included, as it’s only really helpful against Regidrago. However, Pikachu ex gives you a way to one-hit Knock Out a Regidrago VSTAR. You ideally want to try and Knock Out consecutive Regidrago to put pressure on your opponent’s resources, you are able to defeat their other attackers pretty easily but struggle against the Regidrago itself.

Manaphy provides a good check to [card name=”Kyurem” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”47″ c=”name”][/card], however they still have the opportunity to use [card name=”Canceling Cologne” set=”Astral Radiance” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] and use Trifrost around it. You can use [card name=”Pal Pad” set=”Scarlet and Violet” no=”182″ c=”name”][/card] to remove all the [card name=”Colress’s Experiment” set=”Lost Origin” no=”190″ c=”name”][/card] from your discard pile if you only play two during the first half of the game, which turns off the Plasma Bane Ability. If you get into this scenario, I would avoid playing another Colress’s Experiment until the Kyurem leaves the Active Spot and just try to snipe around it with Lost Mine. Regidrago decks struggle to move the Kyurem if they start it, and any time you can gain a turn by trapping it in the Active Spot is important.

Additionally, I would try to avoid putting Fezandipiti ex onto the Bench. This is because Regidrago is one of the best decks at progressing the game without taking Knock Outs, and they can use [card name=”Dragapult ex” set=”Twilight Masquerade” no=”200″ c=”name”][/card]’s Phantom Dive targeting the Fezandipiti ex and set up for a four Prize Phantom Dive on the next turn by damaging either the Pikachu ex or multiple [card name=”Comfey” set=”Lost Origin” no=”79″ c=”name”][/card]. Regidrago VSTAR is a tough matchup mostly thanks to Phantom Dive and Trifrost, however Lost Zone is now able to race the Regidrago player with chained Topaz Bolts, giving you an out to an otherwise tough matchup.

vs Charizard ex

This initially looks like a tough matchup, however it is actually around even. This is because almost every [card name=”Charizard ex” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”223″ c=”name”][/card] player has chosen to cut Manaphy, giving you free reign to clean up their board with Moonlight Shuriken. Taking a Knock Out on both [card name=”Charmander” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”109″ c=”name”][/card] isn’t a complete walkover sometimes due to [card name=”Thorton” set=”Lost Origin” no=”195″ c=”name”][/card], however it usually will prevent your opponent from also getting a [card name=”Pidgeot ex” set=”Paldean Fates” no=”221″ c=”name”][/card] into play on the same turn. If this happens, I would follow up with a Lost Mine to put 30 damage on the Charizard ex to set it up for a Topaz Bolt and Knock Out their [card name=”Pidgey” set=”Obsidian Flames” no=”207″ c=”name”][/card] on the Bench to go to three Prize cards remaining. After this, you can clean up with a Topaz Bolt and either a Bloodmoon Ursaluna ex or a Sableye to take the final Prize card.

If you go second this plan isn’t as easy, but you can start with a few uses of Cramorant’s Spit Innocently. It can be important to KO Pidgeot ex with Topaz Bolt. However, keep in mind that many Charizard ex deck lists include Canceling Cologne for the stall matchup which can be used to get through Resolute Heart. If they hit the Pikachu ex with [card name=”Dusknoir” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”20″ c=”name”][/card]’s Cursed Blast and KO it with a Burning Darkness I wouldn’t be too worried. Topaz Bolt usually takes two Prize cards, and if they use Cursed Blast on your Pikachu, then they are effectively trading three Prize cards for two, which, given that you likely take the first Prize card of the game, heavily favours you.

Iron Hands ex can be okay in this matchup, however Moonlight Shuriken is often preferred because taking a Knock Out on two Pokemon is more important. Another thing to consider is to keep yourself above or below their [card name=”Briar” set=”Stellar Crown” no=”171″ c=”name”][/card] range, your opponent can’t play both Briar and Thorton in the same turn so you are safe while being at three Prizes remaining if they have no [card name=”Duskull” set=”Shrouded Fable” no=”18″ c=”name”][/card] in play. However, be careful about going to two Prizes left, as you can lose to a Briar + Cursed Blast turn.

Conclusion

Lost Zone Toolbox isn’t a heavily played deck currently, but it is still very strong if you are expecting a ton of aggressive decks in the metagame. [card name=”Pikachu ex” set=”Surging Sparks” no=”238″ c=”name”][/card] has given the deck new life as its [card name=”Regidrago VSTAR” set=”Silver Tempest” no=”136″ c=”name”][/card] matchup has become playable, and Pikachu ex is one of the strongest attackers available currently. If you’ve played Lost Zone before or are looking to give the deck a shot before it rotates later this year, I wouldn’t fault you, I believe that it is quite underrated in the current format!

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