0.2% of the meta · Updated July 29, 2026
Signature card
Greninja
Shiny
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Once during your turn, you may do 20 damage to 1 of your opponent's Pokémon.
Greninja wins by combining its Water Shuriken ability — 20 free damage to any target once per turn — with Mist Slash's 60 damage to chip and finish Pokemon across multiple turns. The strategy scores points efficiently by softening key targets with Shuriken before cleaning them up in a single Mist Slash swing, often making the sequence feel like a two-turn KO against targets that would normally survive one hit.
Open with Froakie basics using Poké Ball and begin building toward Greninja via Rare Candy, using Professor's Research and Copycat to dig for the evolution pieces. The turn-1 player skips attacking, so early draw is purely setup. Once Greninja is active, you fire Water Shuriken every turn — directing 20 damage to whichever target is closest to your calculated KO threshold — then attack with Mist Slash for 60. Use Cyrus to disrupt the opponent's bench timing and Lisia for draw. Swablu and Altaria provide early board presence and secondary threat while Pichu and Magby round out the bench to deter opponent bench-targeting.
80-HP target
Water Shuriken 20 (ability) + Mist Slash 60 (attack) = 80 dmg in one full turn
Combine the ability and attack in the same turn to KO low-HP targets without needing a setup turn
Every turn Greninja is on the bench or active, use Water Shuriken to place 20 damage on the opposing Pokemon nearest to a KO threshold. Then attack with Mist Slash for 60. Against 80-HP targets this combination secures a KO in one turn. Against 120-HP targets, one Shuriken turn plus two Mist Slashes equals the KO. Planning the sequence around Shuriken thresholds is the core skill in piloting this deck.
With two Greninja in the top build and two Froakie, you want both Greninja either active or on the bench so Water Shuriken can fire each turn even if one is knocked out. Use Rare Candy to accelerate the second Greninja and Will or Lisia to refill your hand after Evolution plays. Altaria and Swablu provide backup attackers if both Greninja fall before the game closes.
Greninja's sequencing depends on pre-loaded Shuriken damage being present when Mist Slash arrives. Trainer cards that remove damage counters between turns — like Pokémon Center Lady or Lucky Ice Pop — can reset a target back above the KO threshold, forcing Greninja to spend another full Shuriken turn before attempting the finish.
Greninja must come from Froakie via Rare Candy or natural evolution — Poké Ball finds Froakie as a Basic, but without it the line cannot continue. Knocking out Froakie in the early game (it has low HP and no defensive tools) denies the Stage 2 evolution and forces the opponent to cycle draw for a second copy, buying several turns of reduced pressure.
Lunala ex and Toxapex are the hardest matchups in the data. Darkness-type attackers exploit the water-type Greninja's weakness, and poison-focused decks flip the chip-damage economy so that Greninja is the one accumulating status damage between turns. Both routes deny the clean Shuriken-into-Slash sequencing that makes Greninja efficient.
Bench presence / early attacker
Draw support
Threats — Weak Against
Based on type weakness analysis of core cards. View full matchup matrix →
