Today is the day, today is the day that your gameplay changes, today is the day that you get to chase after your new full arts, adding them to your collections.

Today is the release day of Pokémon’s latest hit set, Lost Thunder and fans around the globe are saying bring it on!

This stunning set, focuses on electrifying Pokémon, that have fans excited about the changes it will bring to the current meta, boosting a category of Pokémon that have been falling behind in strength as the last few sets have progressed.

That all changes today, with the release of Lost Thunder.

But what are the cards that are expected to rattle the competitive scene? Today, we’ll explore and highlight five of the top cards, that are expected to dramatically reshape the way the Pokémon Trading Card Game is played.

Number 5: Zeraora GX

First off, we are going to explore Zeraora GX, the “mascot” Pokémon of the Lost Thunder set and of which is a powerful electric type Pokémon that has some impressive and unique attacks within its arsenal.

First off is its ability, “Thunderclap Zone”, which allows any Pokémon that has electric energy attached to it, to retreat for free. Making this right off the bat, a powerful supporter in any electric themed deck.

Essentially, as long as Zeraora GX is on the field, then any and all of your electric energy applied to your Pokémon will act as a Float Stone, a powerful card, that until the recent rotation, was a stable in just able every top tier deck.

Next up we have Zeraora GX’s main attack, which is Plasma Fists, an attack that is almost identical to Buzzwole GX’s “Knuckle Impact” attack, except for the fact that it can use one colorless energy.

This attack is very significant, especially given how long Buzzwole GX was able to dominate the meta game as the top tier deck throughout most of 2017 and the early part of 2018.

This attack must be used wisely however, as you will not be able to attack on your next turn.

Fortunately however, remember that this Pokémon comes with a built in “Float Stone” via its “Thunderclap Zone” ability, allowing you to swap in a different attacker on your next turn.

Lastly, we have Zeraora GX’s final attack, which is its GX attack, “Full Voltage GX”.

This GX attack allows you to turn around a losing game, or accelerate yourself to victory, in a major way.

Having the ability to retrieve five energy from your discard pile and attach them to any of your other Pokémon, in any manner that you see fit is a massive, game changing move, allowing you to set up a series of attackers in one turn.

However, this card does have one major setback, which is its weakness to fighting type energy. This may be a crippling weakness, especially when considering the huge dominance of fighting type Pokémon in our current meta.

Number 4: Lost March Cards

You read that correctly, Lost March cards. Not card.

The fourth position has to go to a series of cards from the Lost Thunder set, all of which possess the “Lost March” attack.

This attack has many veterans of the Pokémon TCG shaking in their boots, as they remember the days with dread of the past, in which “Night March” dominated the meta, crushing almost all opposers.

The Lost March cards are as follows;

• Skiploom
• Jumpluff
• Natu
• Trumbeak
• Lost Mixer

As you will quickly begin to see as you look over these five cards, they all work in conjunction with each other, accelerating the player towards a point in which Natu and Jumpluff will erupt in a powerful explosion of power via their Lost March attacks.

This deck will certainly show up in the meta, as a powerful one hit KO deck, that utilizes non GX Pokémon, slowing down your opponents prize draw.

Still, Lost March decks appear to be slightly slower than the old Night March decks of the past, but regardless of this, you should expect to see them on the battlefield in upcoming matches.

Number 3: Ditto Prism Star

Coming in at number 3 is Ditto Prism Star. A card that is likely to become a staple in just about every single deck that has a Stage 1 Evolution line in its arsenal.

This card is going to be a huge success and although it is unlikely to change how people play, it is going to add a massive boost for players who love to play beefy, strong Stage 1 Pokémon.

Its ability sticks with the Ditto theme that fans have come to love, “Whatever Evolution” allows the player to evolve Ditto into any Stage 1 Pokémon that you have in your hand, jumpstarting your evolution chain and allowing you to get ahead of the curve.

Not only this, it breaks the “four card” rule, which only allows a player to have four of one type of Pokémon in their deck. Ditto acts as a fifth copy of any basic type Pokémon that is part of a Stage 1 evolution chain.

Expect to see a lot of Dittos in your near future. This card will become a staple until it is rotated out of standard, which is a long, long time away.

Number 2: Blacephalon GX

The card filling the “runner up” position is one that I had to mull over for some time, as it is a strong contender for the top slot, however, after some strong consideration, I had to knock Blacephalon GX down a spot.

Still, rest assured that this is a powerful card, that is going to be in strong demand for anyone looking to build a powerful deck around it.

As you can see, we’ve highlighted two other cards that are going to be staples in any Blacephalon GX themed decks.

Naganadel is a card that can also be found in the recent Lost Thunder set, and is one that will help turbocharge your Blacephalon GX via its “Charging Up” ability.

Beast Ring is also amazing, given the fact that Blacephalon GX is an Ultra Beast, allowing it to benefit from this powerful card.

Naganadel is also an Ultra Beast, meaning that Beast Ring has dual functionality, as Naganadel can also act as an very powerful attacker when your opponent only has 3 prize cards remaining.

The strategy for this deck is simple. Get a ton of energy onto the board via Naganadel’s ability and via Beast Rings, then watch as Blacephalon GX begins to wreck carnage on your opponent via its Mind Blown attack, easily one shotting other GX Pokémon.

This card is going to be a tier 1 deck.

Number 1: Zebstrika

The top card, in our opinion for the Lost Thunder set may come as a surprise to some, and to others, it will be as expected.

Zebstrika is not a GX, it is not a flashy card, it simply is practical and highly functional. A card that allows you to massively draw cards and set up your strategy in rapid procession.

Just like Magcargo, which has now become a staple in a large number of decks, you can expect to see Zebstrika appear in a similar manner.

This Stage 1 Pokémon possesses the “Sprint” attack, which allows you to draw a monstrous four extra cards each and every turn, without it even being your active Pokémon!

This is huge, as it will lead to a much more consistent deck, which will in turn allow you to set up your combos much faster and run rampant over your opponents.

This card is a huge draw engine that is sure to reshape the meta and win countless games in the process.

Conclusion

The top five cards included here, are what we believe to be some of the best, most powerful cards in Pokémons latest set, Lost Thunder.

However, we know that many others have created their own differing lists and we know that many of you will have your own opinions about what are the top cards from this set, of which we would love to hear about!

So what are you most excited to pull from the Lost Thunder set? What cards do you think are the most powerful, or meta altering? Let us know and until next time, have fun and charge on!