The English versions of a bunch of cards from the upcoming Pokémon TCG expansion Sword and Shield Lost Origin have been revealed. On Wednesday, the official Pokémon website dropped the details on four new Pokémon cards from the set, as well as one Trainer card. These include a couple of VStar pokemon such as Hisuian Zoroark, and cards with new effects making use of the ominous Lost Zone.
The full list of Pokémon TCG cards shown off on August 10 is Snorlax, Kingdra, Hisuian Zoroark VStar, Aerodactyl VStar, and Mirage Gate. These five cards are among the 190+ contained in Lost Origin, the new set releasing September 9. (We can expect the prerelease later this month.)
From a quick scan of the cards, Kingdra looks to be the most straightforward. It can dish out a respectable 130 damage with Hydro Splash, while its Seething Currents ability can net you card advantage in a pinch, while disrupting your opponent’s plans. Snorlax, meanwhile, is tough for a basic pokemon, and thanks to Unfazed Fat, shrugs off all enemy attack effects. However, its only attack, while powerful, has the side effect of putting the big bear to sleep.
Looking over the VStar Pokémon next, the star of this batch is Hisuian Zoroark VStar, whose Ticking Curse attack has enormous potential. If you can be clever about managing damage counters on your own team, you could be dealing 300 damage with it. Meanwhile, its VStar power will let you discard your hand for an entire new one of seven cards. Aerodactyl VStar on the other hand does a straightforward (and scary) 240 damage, while dumping some of your own cards to the Lost Zone, and its VStar power disables the abilities of all other Pokémon V. Nasty.
We mentioned there were new effects using the Lost Zone in this set of spoilers, and indeed the Trainer card Mirage Gate is a good reason to throw your own cards in there. It can only be used if you’ve already got seven cards in the zone, and can grab you two basic Energy cards, attaching them to the Pokémon of your choice right away!
Lost Origin’s release date is September 9. If you want to up your game and be the very best in time for the new cards, check out our picks for the strongest Pokémon cards of all.