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Overwhelmed by the cute summer eeveenvasion, we took a step back to analyze the metagame and identify the strongest decks introduced in the new Eevee Grove set. We asked top players and content creators Krohnos, ursiiday, and just_samuele to share their thoughts on the best decks right now.
Panelists
Click on their name to go to their media!
Top tiers
Sylveon ex Giratina Greninja is the strongest deck of the meta. The Sylveon ex draw engine allows for explosive turns with fast Greninjas and Cyrus plays that leave no one safe on the bench. The Greninja Giratina engine is nothing new to Pocket and was already meta in previous expansions, but the Sylveon addition is what really gives it the highroll potential it previously lacked
-just_samuele
I was wrong about Flareon ex. When I initially saw it, I kept thinking about how Cyrus would make it very hard to play, but it turns out that dealing 130 damage is completely worth it. If you attach a single energy to your Eevee or Flareon ex, then losing or retreating with your powered front Pokemon means that you can swing with Flareon ex the next turn. Leafeon ex works amazingly with the deck known as Eevee Box, giving itself an option to retreat for "free" with its own grass energy and an optino to attack on turn 2 going second. Eevee Bag is absurdly flexible and gives this deck the final push to be top-tier.
-Krohnos
High tiers
Charizard ex has a new partner this set: Sylveon ex who has made Charizard ex even more consistent than before. With that free draw from Sylveon ex, now the deck runs functionally almost 4 Researches, and in a deck that is built to amp the consistency of hitting Candy + Zard as quickly as possible that's HUGE. Also, since the deck already runs 2 Eevees, slotting in a baby Flareon to counter Oricorios makes this deck's spread and viability stronger than ever!
-ursiiday
Darkrai ex Giratina remains a constant in the meta -not because it is specifically strong itself anymore, but because of its sheer consistency. This meta, it looks like Darkrai Giratina is shedding the Nihilego to recover a couple more slots for supporters. As Darkrai Giratina you're not looking to high roll., you're just looking to be able to react to what your opponent does and when they faulter at all in their speed to getting set up or if they misplay, you're ready to react and capitalize on it!
-ursiiday
Garchomp ex has made a big return, enjoying the feast on Eevee everywhere. Unlike previously where you'd probably want to run the Dragon-type Gible, type is the way to go, giving you a crucial advantage against the titular type. Garchomp ex can hit an Eevee for 70 damage on turn 2 going first, dealing enough damage to knock out all 1-point versions of the card and immediately putting your opponents at a huge disadvantage. Combined with Fighting type's best follow-up finisher in Ramparados and this deck is once again a major threat.
-Krohnos
Middle tiers
Solgaleo ex was my favorite deck from the last meta, and it still stands on its own. Dealing 120 damage (140 and 1-shotting Sylveon ex!) and ignoring retreat costs is huge, and there is even a new variant that plays Sylveon ex over Shiinotic. Leftovers lets you stay at 180 hp so that you don't get 1-hit by Charizard ex or a Red-enhanced Flareon ex, but those are still your bad matchups. If you are playing the Sylveon ex variant, then you either need to concede yourself to being unable to damage Oricorio or include an answer in your deck.
-Krohnos
Silvally Lightning is a quick deck full of efficient attackers, it can use powerful tools such as Pom Pom Oricorio to slow down or even completely shut down some strategies, and zeraora to generate energies to ramp with Dawn or even enabling a cheese with a clean 70 damage on a Froakie or a 60 damage with Giovanni on eevee when going first; overall continues to be one of the best way to play Silvally
-just_samuele
How the mighty have fallen! After being one of the best decks for an entire format, Buzzwole ex suffers from having type pokemon as the central attackers in two of the top-tier decks. While the deck is still threatening, it is a far cry from its previous peak. Sylveon ex, Leafeon ex, and Greninja can all handle Pheromosa and Kartana in one attack, so I would personally play a version with at least 1 Leaf or Giant cape to minimize the chances of losing a pokemon early.
-Krohnos
Guzzlord ex is looking pretty strong this meta. There isn't a single card in the meta that can one shot Guzzlord ex without some type of damage boost like Red or Red AND Eevee bags -and that's before any type of cape on Guzzlord as well. That means this deck can slowly chip away at its opponents Pokemon's health with the damage and poison/poison amp from Nihilego and Naganadel and then follow up with the gigantic tank of Guzzlord to finish off the opponent or stall just long enough to knock out their opponent before they get knocked out. The problem is betting all the pieces of the puzzle set up and powered up -which with 4 energies needed to attack for 120, can be an issue.
-ursiiday
Incineroar ex, like many other decks this set, has gained a new partner with Sylveon ex. However, the inconsistent damage from incineroar (80 or 140 depending on how much damage it has) leads to less than great game play. Furthermore, a lot of cards in the meta have over 140 health, meaning Incineroar even once set up can often need damage amplification to 1HKO
-ursiiday
Promising decks
Oricorio and Zeraora making a wonderful duo stands true for Tapu Koko ex too, but while the Silvally deck puts his focus on 1 point efficient attackers, this deck spices things up with Tapu Koko ex as an additional good lead when going second and Arceus ex as a powerful finisher that can make great use of the electrical chord tool when paired with Tapu Koko ex and Zeraora, while also being more bulky and less "all in" compared to Pikachu ex from Shining Revelry.
-just_samuele
A free to play friendly deck with a fun concept and mechanic that is more on the for fun side of the meta spectrum, Alcreamie can deal powerful attacks if you manage to pile up the "Sweets Relay" attack, but it's not possible to reliably set it up; also the deck really needs to go second to curve nicely with the 1 cost attack basics and 2 cost attack Slurpuff. All things considered, the strategy does not have the tools to compete against other proven strategies
-just_samuele
Special thanks
To all of the panelists for their time and analysis! Don't miss their content:
- Krohnos, competitive TCG Pocket player and content creator: https://www.twitch.tv/krohnos
- ursiiday, organizer of the biggest weekly tournament series of Pokémon TCG Pocket with several hundred in cash prize: https://www.twitch.tv/ursiiday
- just_samuele, competitive TCG Pocket player and owner of the team Ombra and the Pocket Winds server, an italian-international community around the game: https://linktr.ee/pocketwinds