Many players worried we’d never get a good Jinbe Leader in the One Piece Card Game. The Green version didn’t put up any real results and was quickly dropped by the community. But Bandai cooked in OP14, releasing the Warlords of the Sea Leaders—and among them is the Blue Jinbe Leader.
Blue Jinbe revolves around {Fish-Man} and {Merfolk} type cards, using them to set up aggressive attack turns that overwhelm the opponent and drain their Counter resources. The deck aims to flood the board with Characters and pressure through multiple attacks, pushing the opponent low on Life and setting up a winning turn before they can stabilize.
Leader
Blue Jinbe is a 5 Life card Leader with an effect that allows you to trash a card from your hand to give 2 rested Don to 1 of your {Fish-Man} or {Merfolk} type Leader or Character cards. This effect can be activated multiple times in one turn to push for stronger attacks, but we are burning resources when we go for it, so we have to be mindful of when to activate it.
This deck is full of card draw effects, so we don’t easily run out of resources, making sure we can develop the board while having enough cards to activate our Leader’s effect and maximize our aggression.
Decklist
How to Play
Early 1 Drops
We’re running three 1-cost Characters with 3,000 Power, each with an effect that draws us a card. This means we’re not losing resources when developing them, and they can later become a threat to the opposing player.
We’re relying on Leader Jinbe to turn Arlong, Chew, and Hatchan into attackers, giving them at least 2 rested Don to become a 5,000 Power attacker.
Going Wide
Aladine is our strongest early game development, letting us cheat out a 3-cost or less {Fish-Man} or {Merfolk} type Character from hand. You want to develop multiple Characters in the early to mid-game, and Aladine makes that possible, setting the stage for an aggressive upcoming turn.
The list has multiple targets for Aladine to cheat out, such as Wadatsumi, Kuroobi, or a 1-cost Character.
On KO, Aladine draws us a card, adding to that resource generation strategy so we don’t run out of resources in the late game.
Although Wadatsumi is a +2,000 Counter Character, we’re often going to be playing on the field and relying on his 5,000 Power attacks. He’s the perfect play alongside Aladine, developing two 5,000 Power Characters as early as turn 2. However, Wadatsumi cannot attack unless you trash a card from your hand, and thankfully, Leader Jinbe makes that an easy condition to fulfill.
Another 3-cost Character that can come in handy is Kuroobi. Kuroobi only has 3,000 Power, so he isn’t as frightening as Wadatsumi. However, trashing a card from your hand gives Kuroobi the Rush keyword, allowing him to attack immediately to put pressure, and he can be used as a late-game win condition if you need an additional attack. In most cases, your opponent will want to remove him, and if KO’d, you’ll get a card draw.
Bounce Effects
Although Trafalgar Law and Jozu are not Fishman or Merfolk type Characters, they have found a place in this deck as control options to switch the field presence in your favor.
Trafalgar Law lets you return one of your Characters to your hand to return an opponent’s 4-cost or less Character to theirs. This can put them behind in the early stages, especially if they’re trying to control your side of the board. As for Jozu, he’s a bigger threat, with 7,000 Power and can return a 6-cost or less to the opponent’s hand.
You usually want to return one of your low-cost Characters to your hand that will likely get KO’d on the upcoming turn if your opponent attacks it. The Character you return can be replayed, used for its Counter effect, or trashed by your Leader to give 2 rested Don.
Value Engine
Fisher Tiger is how we replinish our hand. He’s a 6-cost 7,000 Power Character that lets you draw 3 cards when played. However, at the end of your turn, Fisher Tiger will force you to trash cards until you’re down to 5 cards in hand. This means we don’t want to keep holding on to more than 5 cards when we end our turn, so either we’ll use more Counter resources on the previous turn, develop more if we have the Don for it, or trash cards using Leader Jinbe’s effect to get stronger attacks through.
Later Game Carry
The 8-cost Jinbe is our late-game win condition. He’s a 10,000 Power Character that can gain the Rush keyword when you trash a card from your hand. The ideal line is to play him, use Leader Jinbe’s effect to trash a card, and give him Rush so he can attack immediately.
Beyond being a win condition, 8-cost Jinbe also provides resource value and control. On play, you can rest 2 Don to draw 2 cards and return a 7-cost or less Character to your opponent’s hand. This weakens their board while dropping a massive body that immediately starts pressuring their Leader.
You get the most value from 8-cost Jinbe when you’re at 10 Don, since you can use his On Play effect. That said, there are plenty of situations—especially when you have multiple copies in hand—where playing him earlier is still correct. Getting immediate access to a Rush attack and establishing a win condition on the board can be worth skipping the card draw and bounce effect.
+2,000 Counters
Koala is a +2,000 Counter with an effect that lets you trash her to gain a +2,000 Power boost on you 1 of your {Fish-Man} or {Merfolk} type Leader or Character. This might not seem worth it since you can just attach 2 Active Don on your attacker instead of playing Koala, but in the late game, when you’re trying to set up a winning play, you want to have rested Don to use your Leader effect and attach them on your Characters. Koala gives you 2 rested Don while also giving a +2,000 Power boost, maximising your late-game aggression.
Hina’s Activate Main effect lets you rest her and trash a card from your hand to prevent a Character with a base cost of 4 or less from activating its Blocker keyword, perfect if you’re planning to win the game.
Events
Gum Gum Red Roc is a massive removal play to deal with high-cost win conditions. For 6 Don, you can return a Character to the bottom of the opponent’s deck, regardless of its cost. It can also be used to remove a blocker, making it easier for your attackers to land blows on the opponent’s Leader.
Perfume Femur is great as a finisher event, allowing you to bypass the opponent’s blocker and go for a straight attack on their Leader to win the game. You’re spending 2 Don and gaining a +2,000 Power boost, so you’re not sacrificing on Power when playing Perfume Femur. You’re also setting 2 Don rested, which means you can use them with your Leader Jinbe’s effect to attach them to an attacker.
Other Cards to Include
Shirahoshi is great if you’re in need of a blocker, and her effect lets you develop a 3-cost or less {Fish-Man} or {Merfolk} type Character, so you won’t be losing on board pressure, and on top of that, you get to draw a card.
Mulligan Tips
Going First: 1-cost Character, Wadatsumi, Trafalgar Law, Aladine.
Going Second: 1-cost Character, Aladine, Jozu.
General Tips
- Play aggressively. You want to set up as many Characters as possible on the field and start going for swings. Your 1-cost Characters are meant to attack and burn Counter resources.
- Protect your field when possible. If you can protect a rested Character from an attack, it’s usually worth it. We aren’t too concerned about protecting Life cards in the mid-game, as the opposing player will be too occupied keeping our field in check.
- Trash the cards you least need. Depending on the match and the state of the game, you’ll trash the cards you least need and keep those you expect to play later in the game.
- Maximize aggression when setting up the winning turn. The last turn, we want to go all out. This means we want to play cards like Koala and Perfume to get rested Don and use Leader Jinbe’s effect to attach the rested Don to an attacker.
Closing Words
Blue Jinbe is an aggressive deck, wanting to set up multiple attacks each turn and force the opposing player to switch to a defensive approach. If you’re a fan of aggroing opponents down, focusing their Leader’s Life cards, and forcing them to adapt to your strategy, Blue Jinbe is the perfect aggressive deck to play in OP14 meta.
