Greninja Deck
0.3% of the meta · Updated June 10, 2026
Win Rate
42.1%
Meta Share
0.3%
Core Cards
1
Estimated Pack Cost
280
estimated packs to collect all core cards
1x Rare~280/ea
GreninjaRare
Charizard280 pks
Estimates based on pull rates. Actual results may vary.
Core Cards
Key Moves & Abilities
AbilityWater Shuriken(Greninja)
Once during your turn, you may do 20 damage to 1 of your opponent's Pokémon.
Mist Slash(Greninja)
60Strategy Guide
Auto-generatedGreninja 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.
Damage Math
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
Strengths
- Water Shuriken deals 20 free damage to any Pokemon once per turn, enabling flexible multi-target setup without spending the attack for that turn.
- Mist Slash's 60 damage is unmodified and consistent — no conditions, no coin flips — giving Greninja a reliable damage floor every turn it is active.
- Favorable 75% win rates against Buzzwole ex, Incineroar ex, and Victreebel reward targeting fire and fighting ex-decks where the water typing is advantageous.
Weaknesses
- Lunala ex (25%) and Toxapex (25%) both hard-counter Greninja; darkness and poison archetypes neutralize the water-type advantage and the chip-damage pattern.Matchup
- Water Shuriken is 20 damage per turn — against 120+ HP targets Greninja needs 3+ turns of setup before Mist Slash can close, giving slow matchups time to race ahead.Tempo
- Greninja is a Stage 2 relying on Rare Candy acceleration; if Froakie is knocked out before Rare Candy resolves, the primary attacker is lost and replacing it takes multiple turns.Consistency
How to Play
Chip Targets with Water Shuriken Before Attacking
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.
Key cardsGreninjaCyrus
Maintain Multiple Greninja for Continuous Pressure
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.
Key cardsGreninjaRare CandySwabluAltaria
How to Beat This Deck
Heal Off Water Shuriken Damage Between Turns
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.
KO Froakie to Break the Evolution Line
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.
Use Darkness or Poison Attackers for Type Advantage
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.
Common Substitutions
Bench presence / early attacker
- Swablu:Basic that evolves into Altaria for secondary attacking; appears in the top build alongside Pichu and Magby for bench depth
- Altaria:Secondary attacker when Greninja needs to recover or is not yet evolved
Draw support
- Lisia:Tournament top build choice; draw support to refill after Rare Candy and evolution plays
- Copycat:Core 93% inclusion across all lists; primary hand-refill alongside Professor's Research
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Matchups
Threats — Weak Against
Based on type weakness analysis of core cards. View full matchup matrix →