I've had the Deck for 10 months now. Mostly I tend to play in handheld mode, but I do play alot in "couch mode" too. I have the following controllers at my disposal, all these work with the Deck:
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Steam Controller
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8Bitdo NES30 Pro
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Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
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Logitech F710
The Steam Controller is a bit meh, since it only has one analog stick and no D-pad at all. It's good for games that require mouse control, but other than that I only use it for couch multiplayer games when all other controllers are taken.
8Bitdo is good for D-pad games, so mostly emulators and couch multiplayers.
Nintendo Switch Pro Controller This is the most comfortable gamepad that I currently own. I would use it more on the couch, but usually it is paired with the Switch and it is too much of a pain to change the pairing over to the Deck.
So my most used controller on the couch is the F710. If it is currently working for you, no need to change it. I would wait for Valve to release an updated version of the Steam Controller and get that when the time is right.
In my cart so far:
Downwell
DoDonPachi Resurrection
These two are mainly for my vertical arcade cabinet, which is occasionally powered by the steam deck. I should probably check if there are new pinball sales as well.
Dead Cells
Had this on Switch and I need to have it on SD.
Marvel's Midnight Suns
This is now -60% and I've been waiting for a sale. I didn't expect the price to drop this much for a such a new game, but I'm not complaining 😁 If the reviews are correct this a great game for turn based stategy buffs like me. And its by the same people that made the XCOM games. Can't wait to play this.