It’s been two weeks since EB02 dropped, and players have been diving into the new cards, experimenting to discover the best decks. This set not only brings us the fresh Green Purple Monkey D. Luffy but also loads of cards that upgrade your favorite old decks, giving them a boost in the current meta.
If you’ve been following the OP10 scene, you might have noticed Blue Doflamingo’s dominance, but will things change with the new expansion? Meanwhile, Yellow Enel is making a big splash and is quickly becoming a top pick if you’re looking to counter the Blue Doffy deck.
In this article, we’ll chat about how the EB02 meta is evolving and spotlight the decks you should keep an eye on if you’re gearing up for competitive play.
Green Purple Monkey D.Luffy
The new Green Purple Monkey D.Luffy quickly made a name for itself in OP10/EB02 meta, beating almost anything in its path and becoming the best deck to play!
Lists look different among players, but as they experimented with the Leader’s capabilities, more players have been shifting to a more aggressive playstyle, trying to win games quickly.
Leader Luffy deramps 2 Don to give you 2 Active Don, which creates a powerful turn to either play more than one Character or go for aggressive attacks, trying to put your opponent in a tough spot.
This list made second place in the Championship Series in Japan, and unlike the usual lists we see around, it has Tony Tony Chopper and Thunder Bugua for their ramp and defensive abilities. Sanji & Pudding is another ramp option, reliably keeping you from dropping low on Don when you activate your Leader effect.
6-cost Brook is another interesting one on this list, giving 2 of your opponent’s Characters -2,000 when it attacks, which makes it easier for you to KO a rested Character.
6-cost Monkey D.Luffy is the strongest Character in this list, and it’s the main reason why this deck is so good. When played, you can go for a Rush attack, keeping an aggressive strategy, however, its true strength is its ability to attack a second time, which can be difficult for your opponent to deal with if it has Don attached to it.
Blue Donquixote Doflamingo
Blue Doflamingo has been on top of the meta since OP08.5 dropped, but with EB02’s introduction, Green Purple Luffy has been outperforming the Doflamingo deck.
Blue Doffy relies on going wide on the field, trying to play multiple Characters with the help of Jinbe and your Leader’s effect. This makes them the aggressor, forcing their opponents to take a defensive approach to the game.
Trafalgar Law and Jozu can be a real pain, returning one of the opponent’s Characters to their hand. This weakens their presence on the field, a field they’re already struggling to match.
Once the Doffy player manages to drop their opponent to 0 Life cards, they can now win the game using 1 high-power attack, and if there’s a blocker in the way, Perfume Femure can bypass it.
Black Rob Lucci
Although Black Rob Lucci isn’t as popular as it used to be in OP07 and OP08 metas, it’s still lingering on OP10 meta, controlling your opponent’s side of the field and shutting down their strategies.
Black Rob Lucci reduces the cost of the opponent’s Characters and removes them through Characters like Brook, 4-cost Rob Lucci, 5-cost Kaku, and Jack. The opposing player will struggle to have their Characters stick in play, and betting on you losing steam won’t work out too much thanks to Gecko Moria, bringing Rob Lucck back to play.
Purple Monkey D.Luffy
Looks like Purple Monkey D.Luffy is still in this race, using its Life cards as a resource to ramp Don and start dropping higher-cost Characters a turn earlier.
This deck is full of {Straw Hat Crew} type Characters, mainly because Zoro-Juuro can draw one of them and Luffy-Tarou can cheat one of them with a cost of 5 or less on the field. With Luffy-Tarou, you’re creating a strong mid-game, presenting two Characters that put the opposing player behind.
Alongside 9-cost Monkey D.Luffy, you can go for an aggressive strategy, pushing your opponents to their limits, eventually overwhelmed with the pressure of your attackers.
9-cost Charlotte Linlin plays differently, removing one of the opponent’s 6-cost or less Characters from play, and giving you a Life card, making your opponent do extra work to win the game.
Red Green Smoker
Red Green Smoker won first place in Japan’s World Championship, bringing more attention towards its way! The deck had a great start in OP10 meta, but it slowly lost popularity against the popular decks.
Leader Smoker gives your {Punk Hazard} and {Navy} Characters +1,000 Power during your opponent’s turn, making them difficult to KO. Additionally, your Leader can give you 2 Active Don during your turn, allowing you to make more plays and go for aggressive attacks.
It also lets you set up the Eustass”Captain”Kid fortress strategy way more easily, creating a wall that forces your opponent to use their resources to go through it if they wish to win the game.
Hody Jones can go for aggressive attacks, resting two of the opponent’s Characters and attacking immediately with Rush. You’ll have to choose whether you want to focus your attacks on the opponent’s Leader or attack their rested Character to weaken their presence on the field.
This list is also running Gum-Gum Mole Pistol as a control event, reducing the Power of one of the opponent’s Characters by -5,000 and if you have a Character with 6,000 Power or more, you get to KO a 2,000 Power or less Character.
Black Marshall D. Teach
Black Marshall D. Teach shuts down all On Play effects, so you’ll need to build the deck differently. We avoid cards with On Play abilities and instead rely on Finger Pistol, Black Hole, and Doc Q to KO opposing Characters. Marshall D. Teach’s effect prevents opponents from using their On Play abilities, but you must trash a card to activate it. You’ll usually trigger this on key turns when your opponent is most likely to play On Play cards, completely disrupting their strategy and setting up a strong follow-up turn. If they rely on On Play effects to remove your Characters, it can leave them in an awkward position.
The deck runs several cost-reduction cards to bring opposing Characters into KO range. Laboon and Van Augur are your best cost reducers, applying pressure while supporting removal. For raw offense, Jesus Burgess is a powerhouse. He can’t be KO’d by effects and gains +1,000 Power for every 4 cards in your trash.
Your strongest play is 10-cost Marshall D. Teach, which negates the effects of your opponent’s Leader and one of their Characters. On top of that, he’s a high-power blocker, forming a defensive wall to absorb one attack and protect your Leader.
Red Shanks
Red Shanks uses his power-reduction effect to slow down opponents’ aggression and extend games until his heavy hitters can take control.
While Red decks are usually known for their aggressive playstyle, relying on Rush attackers for quick wins, Shanks takes a more control-oriented approach. His strategy focuses on KOing opponent Characters to remove threats and protect your board and Leader.
Key cards like 7-cost Benn Beckman, 7-cost Edward Newgate, and 8-cost Silvers Rayleigh excel at removing opposing Characters, helping you regain control. Meanwhile, 10-cost Shanks reduces the power of all opposing Characters by 1,000, making it easier to survive your opponent’s next turn and turn the game in your favor. Shanks is the strongest Rush attacker, but he’s not alone, 5-cost Monkey D.Luffy can back up the aggression, giving your Leader or one of your Characters 1 rested Don when he attacks.
Green Jewelry Bonney
Green Bonney can be a frustrating Leader to go up against, thanks to her ability to rest one of the opponent’s attackers. While this effect requires 1 Active Don, it’s highly effective at slowing down the opponent’s offense and preserving Bonney’s Counter resources.
This deck thrives on a defensive strategy, stalling games until high-cost Characters can take over. Blockers and 5-cost Carrot help reinforce this game plan, giving you time to either clear the opponent’s board or transition into an aggressive push against their Leader.
In the OP10 meta, many players are using the Fortress strategy with Eustass “Captain” Kid, forcing opponents to find an answer or risk losing the game.
9-cost Shanks is a key removal option, KOing a rested Character without needing to attack it. 10-cost Doflamingo keeps three opposing attackers rested, preventing them from attacking you on the upcoming turn, significantly lowering your opponent’s aggression.
Your main aggressor is 7-cost Hody Jones, who enters the field, rests two Characters, and immediately attacks with Rush. Whether you focus on clearing the board or attacking the opponent’s Leader will depend on the game state.
