Greninja & Mega Absol EX Deck Guide

Strategy Overview

Open Froakie and start digging for Rare Candy to land Greninja, then bench Mega Absol EX as the main attacker. Use Water Shuriken every turn to chip damage onto setup Pokémon and finish wounded threats, while Mega Absol EX strips Supporters from the opponent's hand. Chingling buys a tempo turn with Jingly Noise's Item lock. Detailed matchup data will be updated as the format develops.

Gameplay Video

Early Game

Bench Froakie, Chingling and Mega Absol EX, attach Darkness energy and chain draw Supporters to find Rare Candy. On turn one with Greninja & Mega Absol EX, your priority is finding Mega Absol EX or Greninja so you can start attaching Darkness energy on schedule. If you open with the wrong basic, search aggressively with Professor's Research or Poké Ball before committing energy you might waste. Bench every basic you intend to evolve as early as possible — Mega Absol EX and Greninja need time to come online, and an empty bench turn one usually loses you the tempo war. Preserve removal Supporters like Cyrus or Sabrina for the mid game; using them on turn one is rarely worth the lost draw. Against fast aggressive openings hinted at by your unfavored matchups (greninja is a stage 2 line — needs froakie, rare candy and time), bench a pivot so a surprise knockout on the active does not strand your evolution line.

Mid Game

Rare Candy into Greninja for Water Shuriken chip while Mega Absol EX strips Supporters with Darkness Claw. By the mid game Greninja & Mega Absol EX should have Mega Absol EX powered and at least one back-up attacker on the bench. This is the window where the deck's core engine — Mega Absol EX, Greninja, Darkrai EX — has to actively trade prizes. Sequence your attacks so each knockout sets up the next: leave a damaged opposing Pokémon active for Cyrus, or use Sabrina to drag out a benched threat before it can power up. Track your prize trade carefully. Greninja & Mega Absol EX leans on the strengths "Mega Absol EX disrupts the opponent's hand every attack" and "Greninja chips 20 damage every turn with Water Shuriken — no Water energy required", so push the board state that maximises those lines rather than auto-attacking the active. If you fall behind on board, pivot to a single-prize attacker and use this turn to rebuild instead of giving up a multi-prize knockout.

Late Game

Close with Cyrus + Darkrai EX or Mega Absol EX, using stacked chip damage to finish weakened attackers. Late game with Greninja & Mega Absol EX is about closing on your terms. Count your remaining prizes and the opponent's, then build the exact attack sequence that wins before they can stabilise. If you are ahead, deny the comeback: knock out their last realistic attacker or use Sabrina to strand a benched Pokémon that cannot retreat. If you are behind, look for an OHKO line using Mega Absol EX — Greninja & Mega Absol EX typically wins from behind by chaining a single huge turn rather than grinding back evenly. Be ready to spend every remaining Supporter and energy on the closing turn; holding resources "just in case" after the prize race is decided is the most common way to throw a winning position with this deck.

Mulligan Guide & Opening Priorities

The ideal opener for Greninja & Mega Absol EX is Mega Absol EX + Greninja in hand with a way to attach Darkness energy on the first turn. Mulligan decisions in Pokémon TCG Pocket are limited, so focus on what you keep: prioritise basics that evolve into your key attackers, plus at least one draw Supporter like Professor's Research or Iono. Hold onto Rare Candy or stage-up pieces even if they look dead early — they enable the explosive mid game this deck depends on. Preserve removal cards (Cyrus, Sabrina) for when the opponent has a damaged or vulnerable bench rather than spending them on the first available target.

Common Mistakes

• Benching Mega Absol EX too early without protection, letting the opponent snipe your main attacker before it is powered.
• Attaching Darkness energy to a Pokémon that will not attack this game instead of building toward your win condition.
• Spending Cyrus or Sabrina on turn one for tempo when they would have closed a prize two turns later.
• Evolving on curve into Mega Absol EX without first checking whether you have the energy to attack the same turn.
• Ignoring the weakness "Greninja is a Stage 2 line — needs Froakie, Rare Candy and time" and not boarding a pivot or single-prize back-up in unfavored matchups.
• Auto-attacking the active Pokémon instead of using Sabrina/Cyrus to set up the knockout sequence the deck actually wants.
• Burning Professor's Research with a full hand and losing the cards you still needed for the closing turn.