Lusamine Prism Star – Unbroken Bonds Pokemon Review

Otaku

Lusamine {*} (SM – Lost Thunder 182/214) is Prism Star Trainer Supporter.  As a reminder, this means it is a once-per-game effect, if that; as soon as Lusamine {*} would hit the discard pile, instead it goes to the Lost Zone.  Sometimes you can fake recycling a Prism Star Pokémon, through your own Pokémon copying effects and/or bounce effects to return the Prism Star Pokémon to your hand before they can actually be KO’d, but not when it is a Trainer.  What could still happen is you don’t get a chance to use Lusamine {*} at all; maybe you have little choice but to discard her before you have a chance to use her, or your opponent actually uses a card effect to force the discard, or she just doesn’t show up at the right time.

Timing is pretty important with Lusamine {*}; her effect states you may only play her when your opponent has exactly three Prizes in play.  It is possible your opponent will never have this amount, as they might be able to KO something worth multiple Prize cards to just jump over it.  When you can use her, she creates a blanket effect protecting your Ultra Beasts from taking damage due to attacks during your opponent’s next turn.  Anything other than damage – which includes effects that directly place damage counters, inflict Special Conditions, or flat out state they KO the target – are unhampered.  In a deck that keeps mostly or only Ultra Beasts in play, this is a useful effect.  If stalling is one of their primary strategies, all the better.

However, we’ve actually saw this card in Nathaniel Kaplan’s Blacephalon deck, with which he finished third-place at the recent North American International Championship.  The deck has a low Pokémon count, consisting of just four Blacephalon, one Blacephalon-GX, and one Victini {*}, so odds are good you can avoid having anything other than an Ultra Beast in play.  Blacephalon decks are about overwhelming offense, and with only a single Blacephalon-GX, your opponent won’t have an easy time avoiding that three-Prize mark.  Thanks to three Acro Bike and four Pokégear 3.0, the deck has a solid chance of having Lusamine {*} in play at the right time… at which point the deck can simply push ahead with an almost guaranteed favorable Prize trade, or just take the win if your opponent has a Tag Team you can KO.  Sure, it will take a lot of Energy, but if your opponent is still at three Prizes remaining, Beast Ring can work.

Lusamine {*} is a nice trick, though probably only worth it in decks that are mostly or all Ultra Beast.  The fact that she is also Supporter makes her even more demanding; you’re giving up your chance to use a Cynthia, your own Guzma, etc. just to use her.  Maybe she’ll even prove worth it in some decks with low Ultra Beast counts; the main thing is your field needs to be protected from disruption so an Active Ultra Beast soaks the hit, or the Ultra Beast’s (or Beasts’) survival must be so important it doesn’t matter if your opponent uses Guzma to go around them and attack something else.

Prior to NAIC, I would have scored this card lower, and given that there are anti-Ultra Beast effects, which can make it risky to run a mostly or mono-Ultra Beast deck, I’m not sure if Lusamine {*} will remain this useful… but I’m not upping the score that much.  Lusamine {*} should at worst become a solid but niche card, at least until future power creep or counters render all Ultra Beasts not worth running.

Ratings

Standard: 3.2/5

Expanded: 3/5

Limited: 3.3/5

Vince

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