Lost Thunder Set Review, Part 4 of 4 - Normal Pokemon and Trainer Cards

Lost Thunder is our November expansion set for the Pokemon TCG which will have 214 cards in it, making it the largest set in the history of the Pokemon TCG to my knowledge. Credit to limitlesstcg's proxy generator with translations. I will review the set while doing my best to look at every card objectively and in relation to the standard format  I’ll note if I think a card will have an exceptionally different potential in expanded format. If a card is a pre-evolution with nothing special about it or just a filler card that is objectively bad I will simply put FILLER. 

This is Part 4 of 4, you can find Part 1 (Grass and Fire) here! Part 2 (Water, Electric and Psychic) here!  and Part 3 (Fighting, Metal and Fairy) here! 

I would like to start Part 4 with a revision to my initial review of #121 Tyranitar-GX. I initially thought that the attack costs were too high and that it would be outsped, but I now believe that it could have some potential with the right back up attackers and energy acceleration. I also overlooked how good its ability is against decks that rely on working out of their discard pile ie: Malamar. Some1sPC’s Russell Laparre convinced me of this card’s rogue potential, so I won’t go into detail on the way to build a Tyranitar-GX deck since I believe he will be publishing an article on that.

That serves as a good example for how to best evaluate cards. Having a rigid view on what a card is or isn't doesn't help the process. If we had infinite time, we could try every card in the set and make sure they all play as they read, but time is finitie, so we need to decide where to focus our attention, and that's what these reviews hope to serve as. 

#152 Chansey

Filler

#153 Blissey

Filler

#154 Ditto Prism

I firmly believe that this card will be the most played card from Lost Thunder as it will be included in many different archetypes. Ditto Prism can evolve into any stage 1 Pokemon, so Ditto can act as the basic for any of your various stage 1 Pokemon in a deck like Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX/Magcargo CST for example. This card is also a huge help for archetypes like Granbull, in which you have one line of main attackers and you want to chain them as efficiently as possible.

#155 Eevee

Filler

#156 Stantler

Filler

#157 Smeargle

Filler

#158 Miltank

Filler

#159 Lugia-GX

Lugia-GX is a little underwhelming, but I think it has potential. 170 damage before damage modifiers is very good, but I’m not sure if there is a deck that it fits in at the moment. My first thought was adding it into Malamar, but it’s damage output is less than Necrozma-GX’s. If worried about opposing Malamar variants hitting your Necrozma-GX for weakness, then Lugia-GX might be a viable choice. In my opinion this card is worth considering for decks that would allow it to attack realistically, but I don’t expect it to see a ton of play.

#160 Ho-Oh

This card is pretty terrible. It has a huge damage cap, but 30 for each different basic energy is a terrible interval for the damage to go up by.

#161 Kecleon

This is bad because you would need a Unit Energy and another Energy to attack with this and a Choice Band to do 180 to something weak to Fighting, Dark or Fairy. If you used Counter Gain then your aren’t using Choice Band and vice versa.

#162 Kecleon

This Kecleon has some potential, as with a GWF unit energy and a choice band it would do 180 to an evolved GX Pokemon that is weak to Grass Water or Fire.

#163 Pikipek

Filler

#164 Pikipek

Filler

#165 Trumbeak

This will likely be played in Lost March, as you can add it to your lost zone directly from hand.

#166 Toucannon

Filler

#167 Adventure Bag

This card should be pretty solid in decks that somewhat rely on their tools like Spell Tag in Malamar. One of the less impressive playable trainers we are getting out of this set, but I’m happy to see another viable search mechanic for a specific card type.

#168 Aether Foundation Employee

I don’t see this being a practical or valuable form of Pokemon retrieval as we have Rescue Stretcher which is a less specific form of Pokemon retrieval and is an item.

#169 Choice Helmet

I expect this card to see some experimental play and testing, but I have not tested it myself and I’m not sure of how good it will be. It is definitely worth trying and I'm interested if it can find a good place in the meta. 

#170 Counter Gain

I am very glad that Counter Gain can be used by any Pokemon (unlike Counter Energy which is only non-GX). This card fits naturally in Zoroark-GX/Lycanroc-GX/Alolan Ninetales-GX(LTH) as all of the attackers can benefit from it. This card is great for the format because it potentially increases comeback potential, which is something SUM-CST lacked.

#171 Custom Catcher

Custom Catcher’s first effect which is when you play only one Custom Catcher is actually pretty good for being the lesser of the two effects on the card. An older card Bicycle which was an item that allowed the player to draw up to 4 saw a fair amount of play, so I could see this card having potential for its first effect in a deck that is constantly playing out its hand and digging for more cards.

The second effect of custom catcher is very powerful, as it is a gust effect in a non supporter card. We’ve seen this be strong with Lycanroc-GX’s Bloodthirsty Eyes ability and in the past Catcher (pre and post errata). There was also a card Poke Blower + which also was a Gust effect when two of the cards were played at the same time. I absolutely expect this card to see competitive success and will likely played in decks that have either Zoroark GX to draw into copies of it or Alolan Ninetales GX to search one or two copies out. Holding one and trying to dig for a second is possible with Sightseer which I will be getting to shortly.

#172 Electripower

I’ve only seen a bit of this card in action, but I didn’t realize how game changing it is to temporarily boost your damage output by 30 or even 60 extra damage out of nowhere. This card is really great in a Zeraora-GX based deck but can also boost interesting attackers like Tapu Koko-GX, Raikou LTH, and Xurkitree-GX.

#173 Faba

This is a beautiful option for control variants, but I can see this getting included in non control decks just like Enhanced Hammer has in the past. The versatility of this card and the added bonus of sending the removed card to the lost zone makes this a great card and worth being a supporter.

#174 - #177 Fairy Charms (Grass, Fighting, Psychic, and Dragon)

These tools just so happen to benefit possibly the best card from this set (Alolan Ninetales-GX) and one of the strongest cards from last year’s standard format (Gardevoir-GX). The grass type prevents damage from Sceptile-GX, the fighting type prevents damage from Buzzwole-GX and Lycanroc-GX, and the Psychic type prevents damage from Garbodor, Giratina, Necrozma-GX, etc. The dragon type charm isn’t too great, but I’m actually very excited about the others. I think that with the current lack of Field Blower in our format these could potentially revitalize the Gardevoir-GX archetype along with the new Alolan Ninetales-GX.

#178 Heat Factory Prism

This card is an instant include in any deck playing multiple fire energy.

#179 Kahili

Filler

#180 Life Forest Prism

Most notably pairable with Sceptile-GX’s theme of healing and conservation, I expect this card to be an important piece of the upcoming Sceptile-GX variant. This could also be used in Shuckle-GX control decks.

#181 Lost Mixer

I think this cards most natural and obvious home is in Lost March as it has direct synergy with getting your Pokémon into the lost zone while also drawing a card. The Tokyo Championship’s 9th place Granbull list ran this card as a way to empty the hand which is a great use of the cards unique ability. This could also be good in a deck using Railou LTH which needs to get a lightning energy into the discard to deal maximum damage.

#182 Lusamine Prism

This card is insane if you can create a board state of only Ultra Beasts when your opponent is at 3 prize cards remaining. It has a very niche use and is a one of at max, but I imagine it can either secure a game or make room for a comeback.

#183 Mina

An interesting card that I don’t think is very good, unfortunately. I’d rather use a supporter card that will draw me cards and help set up a Gardevoir-GX which can then accelerate an energy instead of this supporter.

#184 Mixed Herbs

Filler

#185 Moo Moo Milk

Filler

#186 Morty

A very cool effect, but I don’t think it is worth a Supporter use. Very niche and will likely not see competitive success.

#187 Net Ball

A great card for grass type. The advantage of having a specified nest ball that can also search out basic grass energy will be a great asset for Sceptile-GX and Alolan Exeggutor decks.

#188 Professor Elm’s Lecture

We saw heavy adaptation to the rotation in Zoroark decks because of the loss of Brigette. Some players and some decks will utilize Professor Elm either alongside Nest Balls or completely in place of them. This is an overall great card and is another card that is good for the game because it gives you a balanced turn one instant set up option.

#189 Sightseer

This card is very good for the standard format. We now have another option for draw supporters and a damn good one at that. I especially like this card for decks utilizing Rare Candy because you can hold the Candy or the stage 2 Pokemon and discard the rest of your hand to look for the piece you need. This goes for any combo really, like a second Custom Catcher or the Max Potion that you want to play before attaching energy. I expect this card to reward good playing and good deckbuilding.

#190 Spell Tag

Spell Tag is a great card to partner with Giratina LTH and likely many other Psychic Pokémon. Field Blower is not very popular at the moment, but I could see it becoming more played because of this card. Spell Tag can either finish up a kill or set up multiple ones for later; the latter being the more frequent use in the new spread based Malamar variants.

#191 Thunder Mountain Prism

More lightning support! Zeraora-GX, Electripower, and Thunder Mountain Prism are all powerful components of Zeraora-GX lists that are being cooked up. Thunder Mountain allows room for comeback, early attacks, or making up for the wiff of an energy. Great card and it is completely reasonable for it to be a prism star card.

#192 Wait and See Hammer

Filler

#193 Whitney

Filler

#194 Memory Energy

I really do think this will end up being good in some wacky rogue creation eventually. As of now I do not see a viable use for it, but the card has a unique effect with inherent potential.

We are finally done with reviewing this set! Our largest set ever in the Pokémon TCG and it also filled with some of the strongest cards in our standard format. It’s time to get testing for the upcoming tournaments. I’ll be back next week with some testing results and hopefully a couple of good deck lists using new Lost Thunder cards!