Table of Contents
Some decks go fast. This one makes sure your opponent never gets to.
A3a-043 × A3a-042 is all about disruption, denial, and turning the game into a slow crawl—on your terms. It’s weird, it’s annoying, and somehow, it works.
If you’re tired of straightforward trades and want to win with poison, pivots, and pure chaos, this one’s for you.
Get ready to get Grindcored!
Strengths & Weaknesses
| Pros | Cons |
| + Poison gameplay allows out of battle deaths letting you sequence threats. Yes, poison is back. | - Missing A3a-042 early weakens your pressure—no poison, no setup. |
| + Free switching from A3a-062 lets you refocus pressure where it matters. | - Bad hand sequences can shut you down completely. Sometimes you just draw dead and lose on the spot. |
| + Grindcore from A3a-043 turns lost games into surprise wins. | |
| + A3a-069 enables back-to-back threats by fueling multi-Energy plays. |
How to Play Guzzlord ex
Open with A3a-042 to spread poison and pressure early. Use A3a-062 to tank and pivot then bring in A3a-043 to finish or when things go bad.
Pre-Turn 1
Same as other A3a-062 decks, you definitely want to open up with A3a-062 so you can choose which to deploy.
Turn 1 Breakdown
If starting with A3a-062
Definitely the one you want to start with. Use it to soak early hits before you bring out A3a-042 or A3a-043. Also ideal to put A3-146 since it will soak hits. There will be times where the full 120 HP would matter such as against A3a-061 so you may want to bring out A3a-042 instead so the 120 HP could be brought out later if you want to stall for a turn against A3a-061.
If starting with A3a-042
Assuming you don't have A3a-062, definitely the next best to start with since you don't want A3a-043, also a good A3-146 carrier especially if they will bring out their next threat.
If starting with A3a-043
Definitely not the one you want to start since you only have Grindcore and that is not assured. Retreat if you get A3a-062. Otherwise still charge energy until Grindcore since you can use A3a-069 to power up your next threat if it dies.
If starting with A3a-044
If you're playing the A3a-045 version. A better starter than A3a-042 since you can start dealing damage right away while protecting A3a-042 at the same time letting you deal 20 poison per tick if you evolved into A3a-045 or A3-146.
Early Priorities
A3a-069 will definitely dictate how you play the early turns. If you have it, you can even retreat manually to discard Energy for Guzzlord later, which is something you want to plan ahead for. Always remember—you need something knocked out before you can use the card.
- If you don’t have A3a-069 –
This is a harder situation since you mostly need to survive with tanking with A3a-062 or A3a-042 alone. Try to tank as much as possible either by delaying your opponent with A2b-072 or A2b-070. Then after putting energy on A3a-042, another A3a-042 can be an option or A3a-043 if you think you will need Grindcore soon. - If you have A3a-069 –
If you already have A3a-069, you can just freely put energy on A3a-042 knowing you can get those back into another A3a-042 or into A3a-043. Mostly the priority after putting energy on A3a-042 is to put next on A3a-043 so that it can gain 2 energy from A3a-069 and then a manual attach lets you use Tyrannical Hole right away letting you finish most threats especially if it also has poison. - Switching your Pokémon around using A3a-062 is an option to tank hits and conserve points.
- Putting A3-146 early is definitely a priority since you want to inflict poison as much as possible since you also want to take advantage of A3a-042’s added poison damage.
- Play A2b-072 as much as possible if your opponent is putting energy on their active, this delays them if it’s successful letting you have an advantage moving forward.
- As mentioned in my other guides: if you’re planning to reset your hand, it’s often smart to bait a PROMO-006, A2b-069, or A2-155. Keep your hand at four or more if you’re okay with a reset, and below three if you want to avoid one.
How to Play Red Card & Mars
If You’re Going First
- Against non–Stage 2 decks:
Use PROMO-006 right away to limit their setup—this is when it hurts them most since they’re not combo-reliant and don’t need a 2-card setup. - Against Stage 2 decks:
It might be better to delay a turn. Since they can’t evolve yet, holding PROMO-006 can be more effective—especially after they play PROMO-007.
If You’re Going Second
- If they’ve played all their Basics, it’s usually safe to use PROMO-006—they’re protecting a strong hand.
- If not, hold it—they might already be bricked, and you don’t want to help them reset.
- Against Stage 2 decks, only play PROMO-006 if they’re sitting on 4+ cards—otherwise wait until their hand grows or after a PROMO-007.
Mars Tips
A2-155 becomes stronger later in the game. You can be more conservative early on and play it once you know a Pokémon will get KO’d to increase its impact.
Midgame Strategy
- You must be ready to use Grindcore from A3a-043 if things are going badly—it slows your opponent’s tempo and can delay their attacks. It works best when paired with A2b-072, increasing your chances of removing Energy.
- Use A3a-069 to load Energy onto A3a-043 for Tyrannical Hole—this will often be your finisher.
- One of the most important things to manage is your 4 Pokémon on board. This setup lets you tick for 30 poison damage per turn while rotating in your finisher. The ideal setup is:
- 2× A3a-042
- 1× A3a-062
- 1× A3a-043
- A3a-062 can also hit for 100 with 3 Energy, though it needs a successful coin flip. If you’re missing Guzzlord or need a backup attacker, you can use A3a-069 to power up A3a-062 in desperate situations—such as dealing with A3-066.
- A2-150 is your trump card for closing out higher-HP threats, especially since many opponents retreat to avoid poison damage.
- Also important—once you use A3a-069, the Energy recovered is gone. If you want to reuse it for another Guzzlord, make sure you’ve discarded Energy first—usually by retreating. Always check your discard pile and plan ahead.
Naganadel Package
- A more aggressive option that boosts your odds in bad matchups by applying pressure early.
- It’s stronger going first with A3a-045, and becomes even more threatening when paired with A3a-042.
- Definitely less consistent, but favors early pressure. You have lower odds of drawing A3a-062 or A3a-043, which makes late-game plays less reliable.
- It raises the deck’s ceiling but lowers its consistency—more damage early, but riskier overall.
Instead of A3a-042, starting with A3a-044 is ideal for dealing early damage, evolving into A3a-045 for poison, and stacking poison ticks with help from A3a-042. You focus more on early pressure while relying on A3a-069 to eventually charge up A3a-043.
Card Choices
Core
Must-have cards the deck relies on to function.
- A3a-042 – Early turns poison and pressure. Often your sacrifice play until A3a-043 comes online.
- A3a-045 – Enables Turn 1 poison and spreads pressure quickly. Also acts as your backup poisoner if A3a-042 doesn’t show up.
- A3a-043 – Your finisher and threat control tool. Use Grindcore when you're behind or need to stall and shift momentum.
- A3a-062 – Your free tank to soak hits and good A3-146 target. Great for buying time and setting up poison plays.
- A3a-044 – Needed for evolving into A3a-045. Not ideal to start with, but works fine with the rest of your poison setup.
- A3a-069 – Lets you chain threats nonstop, mainly fueling A3a-043 or A3a-062 when the board gets tricky.
- A2-150 – Your reach against retreating foes especially due to poison.
- A3-146 – Important for applying poison early, especially if you go first or miss A3a-042. Also protects double A3a-042 for a 30 damage tick.
- Research and Pokeball - core draw engine
Optional
Cards that can be cut without hurting core consistency.
- A2b-070 – Shuts down snipers like A3a-007 or A1-089. Can flip the game by undoing chip damage and saving key pieces.
- A2b-072 – We’re running 2 since it’s a universal out that helps in bad matchups.
- It synergizes with Grindcore to stall opponents, giving you more chances to recover and stabilize.
- PROMO-006 and A2-155 – Same as A2b-072—your answer to bad matchups by slowing their setup, especially effective against A3a-061. Fits perfectly into the slow, grindy gameplan.
Situational
Techs that only matter in specific matchups.
- A1-225 – Lets you play around opponents stalling with tanks, keeping pressure up and avoiding wasted turns.
- A2b-070 (second copy) – Adding another lets you protect more against bench hitters, making it harder for A2-150 plays.
- A2b-071 – Can be a surprise tech for one-shotting A3a-006, A2-110, or occasionally A3-122.
Final Thoughts
Guzzlord × Nihilego thrives on control, disruption, and slow, steady pressure. It rewards smart sequencing and patient play—chipping away until your opponent runs out of answers.
If you like decks that win through poison, pivots, and pure inevitability, this one’s got you covered.
You can also check out our other guides for more insights! With the ranked format here, now is the perfect time to master these strategies, climb the leaderboard, and dominate matchups!
