Quick Links
The Lost Zone toolbox brought many diverse strategies to thePokemon TCG. It’s such a great engine that you may 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 June 14, 2025 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
The Lost Boxlost 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.
Collapsed Stadium BRS (x1)
Lost Zone Box Key Cards
Time to see what you can do with the Lost Zone deck.
Comfey, Colress Experiment, And Cramorant
A vital part of the strategy is theLost Zone engine, which always starts with aComfeyand 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 Experimentalso does the same, but in this case, it makes youpick five cardsfrom 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 isCramorant.
Cramorant has an attack namedSpit Innocently,whichdeals 110 damageand isn’t affected by Weakness or Resistance. This attack costs two Water Energy Cards and a Colorless one. Cramorant also has an ability namedLost 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
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) andSableye, which has an attack namedLost Mine.
you’re able to only use Lost Mine after having ten cards in the Lost Zone, and it’lllet you put 12 damage counters on any of your opponent’s Pokemonin any way you like. You only need a Psychic Energy card to charge it.
Radiant Greninja
In this deck, Radiant Greninja is essential when using its attack,Moonlight Shuriken, whichlets 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 haveManaphytodeal with Radiant Greninja’s damage to benched Pokemon.Still, you’re able to eliminate it by switching your opponent’s Active Pokemon for Manaphy and then attacking it.
Raikou V
Lugia, Arceus, and Palkia VSTAR are common problems in the Sword and Shield meta. That’s why you must includeRaikou Von 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 Rondoinflicts 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
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 useDragonite V, but if you are facing a Lost Zone deck, you’ll have to usePidgeot V. Lastly, if you are in front of a Mew VMAX or a Gardevoir ex,Drapion Vis the best option.
Let’s meet the offensive force of this deck.Dragonite Vhas a move namedDragon Gale, whichdeals 250 damagebut 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 Vhas a move namedAerial Surf, which deals 80 damage butwill 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 namedDynamic Tail, whichdeals 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
If you want to start sending cards to the Lost Zone, but Comfey isn’t in your first hand, you’ll need to use theBattle VIP Pass.
This card only works in the first turn andlets 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!
TheQuick Ballsalso have the same utility as theBattle VIP Pass, and of course, you may send them to the Lost Zone if you don’t use them too!
Mirage Gate
Thanks to theMirage 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 haveseven cards in the Lost Zoneif 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
It’s vital to go first,as your objective in the match is toattach 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 tostart 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’re able to alwayssend Raikou V to the Lost Zoneif you aren’t playing against a Water-type-themed deck, or you cansend Sableyeto 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 aBattle VIP Pass on your first turn, use it todraw 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 havefour cards in your Lost Zone, it’s time tosend 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), whichwill 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 tohave 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 assending your preferred attacker to the Active Spotand thenusing Mirage Gate, Energy Retrieval,and the neededEnergy cardyou can attach to a Pokemon per turn to have your attacker with the needed Energy cards to attack.
Common Threats
This deck(and any other that uses the Lost Zone toolbox)doesn’t like to be against a Galarian Weezingbecause 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 meansyour 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:
