Heya everyone! The release of OP12 Legacy of the Master has shaken up the One Piece Card Game meta once again, introducing new, unique decks and improving older decks by giving them stronger tools and boosting the consistency of their strategies.
The set contains 128 cards, but a few have risen above the rest, proving to be some of the strongest additions to competitive decks. In this article, I’ll highlight 8 cards that have made a significant impact on the OP12 meta and stand out as some of the strongest picks.
8- Monkey D.Dragon
Dragon has been the main win condition for Koala decks, enabling her to go wide on the field by cheating 6-cost or less characters from your trash. You’re developing an 8,000 Power Character along with another Character, putting two bodies on the field to pressure the opposing player while also gaining value.
Monkey D.Dragon is tied to Revolutionary Army decks, so you’re restricted to certain types of decks, but since he can cheat out any 6-cost or less Character, you have more freedom in which card to choose to play. The more Black decks with the Revolutionary Army package we get throughout future expansions, the better Dragon will get, becoming a staple in those decks.
7- Nico Robin
Nico Robin is another strong Black card in the OP12 expansion. However, she’s tied to Leader [Koala] and [Monkey.D.Luffy] to get the most out of her. If you’re playing one of those Leaders, Nico Robin becomes a Blocker and gains +3-cost, making her a harder target to remove, and can enable certain synergy depending on the deck you’re playing.
Nico Robin’s On Play effect can shift the resource value in your favor, letting you trash a card from your hand and forcing your opponent to trash 2 cards from their hand if they’re holding 5 or more cards. You’re cutting down on the opponent’s resources and potentially forcing them to trash valuable cards for their strategy.
We’ve seen Nico Robin included in decks like Black Yellow Koala and Black Purple Luffy, becoming a strong defensive option to burn the opponent’s resources.
6- Shanks
Red gained a new 4-cost Blocker with 6,000 Power, offering a solid defensive option to protect your Leader and slow down your opponent’s momentum. When your opponent attacks, you can trash a card from your hand to give -2,000 Power to their Leader or one of their Characters.
Effectively, you’re gaining a +2,000 Power boost, which is great value, especially if you’re trashing a dead card with no Counter effect. With 6,000 Power, the Blocker keyword, and a strong defensive ability, this 4-cost Shanks is a strong pick for slower Red decks. Since he’s not tied to any specific Leader, he’s a versatile addition that fits into various builds.
5- Jewelry Bonney
The 5-cost Bonney strengthens Green decks with her Blocker keyword and solid 6,000 Power, but she brings even more value by drawing you 2 cards, trashing 1, and setting 1 DON!! card as active.
This not only helps you dig for key pieces, but also gives you an extra DON!! to use for a stronger attack, to play another Character, or to hold up for defense on your opponent’s turn.
4- Bartholomew Kuma
Bartholomew Kuma brings incredible value to Yellow decks, offering both survivability and late-game pressure. His effect lets you trash a card from your hand to add the top card of your deck to your Life Area, effectively extending the game and forcing your opponent to commit more attacks to close it out.
With 7,000 Power, Kuma stays on the board as a significant threat, applying pressure while discouraging the opposing player from removing him. If Kuma gets KO’d, you gain another Life card from the top of your deck, making it even more difficult for your opponent to finish the game.
3- Koushirou
Koushirou has been a game-changer for many Green decks that rely on 5-cost or less Slash attribute Characters. As a 2-cost Blocker, he can protect you from one of the opponent’s attacks, but his real value lies in his ability to prevent your Slash Characters from being KO’d by your opponent’s effects.
If your opponent targets a 5-cost or less Slash Character for removal, you can rest Koushirou instead to negate it, keeping your board intact. This preserves your board pressure, allowing you to continue going for aggressive attacks while benefiting from your Slash attribute Character’s effect for additional value generation.
With cards like 5-cost Smoker, Cavendish, and Tashigi popular in OP12 Green decks, Koushirou has become a strong inclusion to help maintain board presence and keep those Characters in play.
2- Demon Aura Nine Sword Style Asura Blades Drawn Dead Man’s Game
Demon Aura Nine Sword Style Asura Blades Drawn Dead Man’s Game has been a strong anti-meta card in OP12, giving aggressive decks a powerful tool to break through defensive strategies and close out games. This is a versatile Event as it can be used as a Counter to protect your Leader, ensuring it’s never a dead card in hand.
On your turn, by resting 3 DON!! cards, you can rest up to 2 of your opponent’s Characters or DON!! cards. This allows you to tap down Blockers to pave the way for your attackers to target the opponent’s Leader or rest their DON!! to prevent them from playing Counter Events, disrupting their entire defensive setup.
It’s especially effective against popular decks like Blue Purple Luffy and Green Purple Luffy, which rely on Events like Gum-Gum Giant to defend their Leader. By resting their Don, Asura Blades prevents them from playing those Events, or at least forces them to keep more than 2 Don Active for their defensive turn.
1- Dracule Mihawk
The 8-cost Dracule Mihawk is one of the strongest additions to the game, giving Green decks a powerful late-game defensive tool. With 8,000 Power and the Blocker keyword, he can block an attack, helping preserve your Life or protect a rested Character without expending extra Counter cards.
On play, Mihawk sets 4 of your DON!! cards as active but restricts you from playing Characters that cost 7 or more that turn. This allows Green decks to develop another Character that costs 6 or less in the same turn, helping you go wider on board. This additional board development puts pressure on your opponent and makes it harder for them to keep up with your tempo.
We’ve seen Mihawk included in multiple decks in OP12 meta, like Green Roronoa Zoro, Green Bonney, and Red Green Smoker, making him one of the best cards in OP12.
Closing Words
OP12: Legacy of the Master introduced plenty of exciting cards, especially those that synergize with the new Leaders. For this list, I focused on cards that stand out across multiple decks and aren’t locked into a single strategy or playstyle. Green cards took the majority of spots in this list; benefiting the most from this expansion with multiple strong additions.
