Hello, Pokémon Pocket players, and welcome to the Suicune meta! This card-drawing water type is a force of destruction, and since releasing in Secluded Springs, it's taken the game by storm.
The Suicune deck may not be super interesting - basically it's the Greninja deck that already existed, just with the Sylveons swapped out - but it is scarily effective. Players are already complaining about how ubiquitous this Pokémon is on the ranked ladder right now, with some claiming that more than half the decks they see are Suicune decks.
But if you don't have two copies of Suicune yet, or never got your Greninjas, what should you do? How are you meant to compete with the dominant archetype?
Well you could play the Darkrai and Greninja deck, that old chestnut. After all, this deck doesn't play many Pokémon to the bench, which makes Suicune less dangerous, and it's well-known for its consistency and power.
But let's assume you don't want an answer that boring - what other decks are doing well? Limitless TCG shows us that Arceus and Silvally strategies are losing more games than they win, and the Espeon deck is barely above 50%.
But there is one other popular deck floating around, with a win % just a smidgen below Suicune's. That deck is Guzzlord ex!
The Guzzlord deck runs just three Pokémon and 17 trainer cards, which counteracts Suicune's power nicely and also gives you a bag of tricks to mess up your opponent's day. Will can guarantee a successful coin flip, making Guzzlord much harder to face, and Repel has seen a comeback as a nice way to push Suicune out of that active spot.
Relying on dark types for your damage is also handy when you run into Giratina, giving you a type matchup advantage. And better yet, there are absolutely no grass type decks in the meta to give you a hard time.
Guzzlord is a little slower and grindier than some players will prefer, but if you want a consistent deck that can fend off the top dog - the data shows, this is the one to try.
Come geek out about Pokémon Pocket with me at the Wargamer Discord. And if you like physical cards as much as the digital, you'll probably enjoy our list of the most expensive rare Pokémon cards.