The newest Pokemon TCG set release came out just over 2-weeks ago. The set has some very collectible cards, some high-value chase cards, and some very powerful cards to excite players. Today it is the best lost origin cards we will be going over. Each one of the cards you’ll find below is powerful and amongst the very best cards from the set.
The Top 10 cards are:
- Drapion V
- Delphox V
- Magnezone VSTAR
- Lady
- Mirage Gate
- Galarian Perrserker V
- Giratina VSTAR
- Rotrom V
- kyurem V
- kyurem VMAX.
The cards mentioned above are my top picks. However, I would like to elaborate on what makes them so good and give some pros and cons for each one. Because let’s face it, even the best Pokemon cards are rarely without their downsides. So, we’ll go over that, what you can look for to help you evaluate cards better in the future, and more below.
How To Evaluate Pokemon Cards?
Before we look at the cards let’s look briefly at how to evaluate Pokemon cards. Or in other words, how to tell if a Pokemon card is good. While many things can make a card good, they all usually fall into one of the following categories.
| Category | Explanation |
| Card Advantage | Cards that draw you extra cards |
| Disruptive to opponents | Cards that stop your opponents from doing what they need to win |
| Powerful in battle | Cards with high HP and attacks that deal substantial damage (usually for relatively low energy cost) |
| Energy acceleration | Cards that allow you to attach more than your allotted one energy card per turn |
Keep this in mind when evaluating Pokemon cards and you’ll start to notice that nearly every powerful Pokemon does at least one of the abovementioned things. Including all the lost origin cards you’ll see today.
Top 10 Lost Origin Cards
With all of that out of the way, let’s jump right into the 10 best lost origins cards, starting with number 10.
10. Magnezone STAR
First up, we have Magnezone VSTAR. It is by no means the most powerful VSTAR we’ve seen but there are quite a few things I like about it. “Magnetic Grip” cost three energy and does 180 damage. While this isn’t anything to write home about, it also lets you search out any two item cards from your deck to your hand. This gives you a lot more value for your three energy.
Next, it has the “Electro Star” attack, which cost two energy and deals 90 damage to two opposing benched Pokemon. Again, this isn’t the most powerful rate we’ve seen but I like attackers that damage multiple Pokemon at once and Magnezone VSTAR does that.
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Combine this with the fact that it searches out your two best item cards and you’ve got a Pokemon that I am quite fond of overall. It gets lots of value while also priming your opponent’s benched Pokemon to be switched to the active spot and knocked out later in the game.
| Pros | Cons |
| Searches your deck for item cards | Attacks are mediocre |
| Damages multiple Pokemon |
9. Drapion V
There is a lot to like about Drapion V. First, for a basic Pokemon it has a healthy 210 HP. Hearty Pokemon that you don’t have to evolve are always nice. Secondly, it has some wicked abilities that stand to turn it into the most cost-effective attacker in the TCG. Let me elaborate.
The “Wild Style” ability lets you reduce its attack costs by one generic energy for each single, rapid, or fusion strike Pokemon your opponent controls. So, what are the attacks you stand to reduce? Its lone attack is “Dynamic Tail” and it deals a total of 250 damage (190 damage plus 90 to an opposing benched Pokemon) for four energy.
With that said, if your opponent is playing even a few single, rapid, or fusion strike Pokemon the damage to cost ratio here gets insane. For example, if the attack is reduced by two you’re getting 250 damage (spread out over two Pokemon) for two energy.
Drapion V won’t always be great but in the situations where he will, he’ll be amongst the most efficient attckers in the game. This is what you want to play if you have friends that won’t play anything but Urshifu. While this may not be the best of the best from this set, it’s one I like a lot.
| Pros | Cons |
| Reduces his own attack cost | Not great against non-single, rapid, and fusion strike decks |
| Super efficient attacker if attack cost is lowered | |
| Great against single, rapid, and fusion strike decks |
8. Delphox V
What’s good about Delphox V? First, 210 HP is pretty solid for a basic Pokemon. While it is, of course, weak to water, the respectable HP means it’s not super likely to be an easy early-game knockout for opponents.
Next, the “Eerie Glow” ability is a cost-effective way to put two special conditions on an opposing Pokemon. Lastly, is the “Magical Fire” ability. For three energy (two fire and one generic) the attack does 120 damage. However, you have to remove two energy from Delphox to The Lost Zone. When you do, the attack also deals 120 damage to an opposing benched Pokemon as well.
Now, having to move the energy to The Lost Zone does make the attack quite a bit more taxing. Unless, of course, you’re looking for ways to get cards into The Lost Zone. In that case, not only does this do that but you get a solid amount of damage for doing so.
Overall, I would say you can do better if you don’t reap some benefit from having cards in The Lost Zone. However, given that the set has many cards that reward you for it, I think it is a strong inclusion in the right decks.
| Pros | Cons |
| Good HP | Requires you to remove energy to buff attack |
| Can burn and confuse opposing Pokemon | |
| Puts cards into the lost zone |
7. Lady
There are a lot of Pokemon decks out there built around throwing out as much energy as possible, as quickly as they can. After all, this acceleration allows you to power up and use your attacks earlier in the game. Furthermore, there are lots of attacks that are bolstered by an excess of energy cards on the Pokemon.
With that said, I don’t think what makes Lady a good card needs much explaining. If you’re playing an energy-hungry deck, Lady is your friend. This supporter is an all-star at filling your hand with energy so that you always have energy to attach each turn.
This becomes even more valuable when decks are finding ways to attach more than one energy card to their Pokemon each turn. Lady may not belong in every Pokemon deck but she is very good in the ones she does belong in.
| Pros | Cons |
| Gives you lots of energy | Won’t be useful in all decks |
| Enables very energy-hungry strategy |
6. Galarian Perrserker V
Galarian Perrserker V is certainly the Pokemon that has the most upside with the littlest downside so far. With that said, the upside he offers is pretty huge. As mentioned at the start of the article, Pokemon that can draw you cards are often very good. Galarian Perrserker draws you cards. In fact, he draws you 3 cards for a single energy and that is sure to have you “Feelin’ Fine” indeed.
The “Treasure Rush” attack will never be the most lucrative attack in Pokemon. If you have a full seven cards then you’ll be dealing 160 damage for two energy. I would say this is neither good nor bad. However, what I do appreciate is that Galarian Perrserker V is self-sufficient.
What I mean by this is that his first attack directly fuels his second attack. He asks you to have a full grip of cards and gives you the means to get it, all by himself. This, paired with his ability to draw you three cards each turn has earned him a spot on my list.
| Pros | Cons |
| Great card draw | Not the most powerful attacker |
| Self-sufficient |
5. Rotom V
Much like the Pokemon above it, Rotom V can also draw you 3 cards. However, Rotom does it via its “Instant Charge” ability instead of an attack. This comes with the upside of not costing you any energy but the downside of ending your turn if you draw cards this way. Still, drawing 3 cards each turn is very powerful.
Next, it can deal a base 40 damage with its “Scrap short” attack. But this will do an additional 40 damage for each tool card you move from your discard pile to The Lost Zone. I think you’d have to have dumped quite a lot of tool cards into your discard pile to make this a substantial hit.
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With that said, I think the main upside to this portion of the attack is that it is a means of getting more cards into The Lost Zone. Given the number of cards within the set that has effects or attacks that scale based on the number of cards in your Lost Zone, this attack has some value aside from the added damage.
| Pros | Cons |
| Great card draw | Ends your turn if you draw cards |
| Adds cards from the discard pile to The Lost Zone | Needs you to have tool cards in your discard pile |
4. Kyurem V
It’s not uncommon knowledge that water-type Pokemon is perhaps the best Pokemon type in the TCG. With that said, I think Kyurem V could slot into a lot of powerful water-type strategies and perform very well. Its “Rapid Freeze” attack costs a single energy and allows you to attach any number of water energy from your hand to your Pokemon in any way you like.
If you can keep your hand stocked with energy, Kyurem V will allow you to dump all of it directly onto your Pokemon and put you miles ahead of the competition.
A card mentioned above on the list that would pair well with Kyurem V is Lady, which would load your hand with energy. A good example of a payoff for this combination is Lapras VMAX, which loves to be laden with energy. If you are playing an energy-hungry water deck Kyurem V is for you.
| Pros | Cons |
| Accelerates your energy | None |
| High HP |
3. Mirage Gate
Mirage Gate is truly one of the most powerful cards from Lost Origins. It allows you to search out two energy cards from your deck and attach them directly to your Pokemon in any way you’d like. However, there are two small stipulations; First, you must have seven cards in The Lost Zone. Next, the energy cards have to be of two different types.
With that said, neither one is enough to water down how good this item card is. The requisite seven Lost Zone cards isn’t the biggest hurdle in the world if you’ve built your deck correctly and fetching two energy from the deck straight onto your Pokemon is huge.
With so many new cards able to move cards to The Lost Zone, I think meeting the requirements for this amazing acceleration trainer card will be easily done.
| Pros | Cons |
| Huge energy acceleration | You have to have seven cards in the Lost Zone |
| Energy goes directly from your deck to your Pokemon |
2. Kyurem VMAX
I think the “Glaciated World” ability of Kyurem VMAX is going to see play in a ton of decks. It allows you to attach energy cards straight from the top of your deck to your Pokemon. Furthermore, if the top card isn’t an energy card, it goes to your discard pile.
So, this stand to get you miles ahead of your opponents in terms of energy and fill your discard pile with things you may want there. This is the main selling point of the card but that’s by no means the only good thing about it.
It has a very stout 330 HP and a very powerful attack. “Max Frost” costs three energy and starts out at 120 damage. However, it does 50 more for each energy that you discard. Meaning if you only had the minimum three energy to power up the attack and wanted to remove it, the attack would deal a massive 270 damage.
With that said, it is completely optional if you’d like to discard any energy at all, which I like. Lastly, given the ease in which the Glaciated World ability can give you free energy, this attack stands to be able to do some substantial damage.
| Pros | Cons |
| Lets you attach energy from the top of your deck | None |
| Can fill your discard pile for you | |
| High HP | |
| It’s ability is the perfect set-up for its attack | |
| Very good attacker |
1. Giratina VSTAR
Well,naturally I’ve saved the best lost origin card for last. And I will get to the spiciest part first. Yes, it can knock your opponents active Pokemon out with a singe attack. Its “Star Requiem” attack cost only two energy and says “Your Opponent’s Active Pokemon Is Knocked Out.” This means regardless of what Pokemon it is or how much HP is has, for two energy it’s knocked out. Insane.
There is one catch to this, however. You must have at least 10 cards in The Lost Zone. A small price to pay to one hit KO an opposing Pokemon. Plus, Giratina VSTAR itself gives you a very efficient means of getting cards into The Lost Zone.
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The “Lost Impact” attack cost three energy and deals a heafty 280 but to use it you must put two of your attached energy from any of your Pokemon into The Lost Zone. First off, 280 damage is nothing to scoff at. But when you consider the fact that the “downside” of moving your energy into The Lost Zone is a help and not a downside at all, you start to get a full picture of just how powerful Giratina VSTAR is.
Granted, there are some hoops to jump through but it can knock out an opposing Pokemon in a single hit.I don’t think I need to make much more of a case for Giratina VSTAR being the very best lost origin card.
| Pros | Cons |
| Can KO an opposing Pokemon in a single hit | Needs to have cards in The Lost Zone |
| Its other attack adds cards to The Lost Zone for you | |
| Great attacker |
Conclusion
Lost origins has been a n overall loaded set. From the amazing art on some of the alternate art cards and the collectibility of the trainer gallery cards to the potent Pokemon mentioned here; The set has a lot to offer players and collectors alike. If you enjoy the Pokemon TCG in any way, go pick up some lost origin packs and you won’t be disappointed.
Now, get out there and embrace The Lost Zone theme of the new set. Build those Giratina VSTAR decks and watch opponents lament having their best Pokemon KO’d in a single hit.
