Black Gecko Moria received a huge hit with the ban of 8-cost Gecko Moria and Ice Age. This Leader was already struggling to remain relevant in OP09 meta, and Bandai sure didn’t give it a better shot at making a comeback.
Instead of sulking and accepting defeat, the Black Moria fanbase went back to the drawing board, trying to change up the list to make it work without the 8-cost Moria carry in OP10/EB02 meta. Today, we’re covering one of the best-performing lists on the ranked ladder, shifting away from some of the popular cards we usually see Black Moria running and focusing on the Thriller Bark Pirates and Navy Characters, and using Sengoku for the go-wide strategy.
Leader
Leader Gecko Moria requires 3 Don to activate his effect, so you can start going for it as early as turn 2. To activate Gecko Moria‘s effect, you need to attach 1 Don before attacking and then rest 2 Don. You can then trash a card from your hand, trash 2 cards from the top of your deck, and play 1 {Thriller Bark Pirates} type Character with a cost of 4 or less from your Trash.
So we must have a {Thriller Bark Pirates} type Character like Absalom, Perona, and Dr. Hogback in our trash to cheat out through the Leader effect. Since Leader Gecko Moria lets you trash a card of your choosing from your hand, you can trash the {Thriller Bark Pirates} type Character you want to cheat out on the field, giving you control over what you have in the Trash.
We also have other ways of getting cards in the trash, so we’re not only tied to the Leader effect to get cards in our trash. Each of the {Thriller Bark Pirates} type Characters has a unique effect, which we’ll choose which to play depending on the state of the game.
Black Gecko Moria Decklist
How to Play
Searcher
Brannew can look at the top 3 cards of your deck to draw you one Navy-type card. The two other cards will go to your trash, which you can benefit from through your value effects.
4-cost Thriller Bark Characters
These Characters are the main reason why this deck works, allowing you to cheat them from the trash through Leader Gecko Moria‘s effect whenever you need them. Each Thriller Bark Pirate has a unique effect that you’ll make use of in different situations.
4-cost Absalom is your strongest Character in the deck, allowing you to control the opponent’s side of the field by KOing a 2-cost or less Character with him. You will have to combine Absalom with your cost-reduction cards like Tempest Kick, Tsuru, and Hina to KO higher-cost Characters.
You can cheat Absalom through Leader effect, so you have a reliable answer to remove the opponent’s Characters as long as you have the cost-reduction cards to put the target in range. Absalom is also a 5,000 Power attacker, posing a threat when he attacks and forcing opponents to KO him.
You can choose one of Perona‘s On Play effects, the first forces the opponent to trash a card from their hand, and the second gives a -3 cost reduction to one of their Characters. Your opponent has to have 5 cards or more in their hand for Perona‘s effects to activate.
Perona is a great option to cheat out through your Leader’s effect on turn 2, especially if you’re going first, forcing your opponent to trash a card from their hand and slowly bleed them out of resources. You’ll usually use Perona for her trash effect, but she can also find value for her +2,000 Counter effect.
Dr. Hogback lets you add a {Thriller Bark Pirates} type card from your trash to your hand, other than Dr. Hogback. So you can get back the likes of Perona, Absalom, or Ryuma. Picking up Perona can be nice if you need a Counter card, whereas Ryuma or OP10 Perona are better choices if you need to add more pressure on the field.
Absalom and Dr. Hogback will have you put 2 cards from your trash at the bottom of the deck to activate their effects, so you want to choose cards you don’t expect to need for upcoming turns. Events are a great choice to put back in the deck, or if you have multiple copies of a card that you know you won’t need, they can go to the bottom of the deck.
Ryuma is great against 5 health Leaders, gaining Double Attack if you attach 1 Don to him and forcing your opponent to play most of their Counter cards or give up on 2 of their Life cards. This can put your opponent low on Life cards, making it easier to set up a winning turn.
Cost Reduction
3-cost Hina is a great cost reducer, giving -4 cost reduction to one of the opponent’s Characters. She’s also a 5,000 Power Character, so she can attack the opponent’s Leader or a rested Character, posing offensive pressure. Hina can also be played through Rebecca, so you can pull her from the Trash when you need cost reduction.
4-cost Kuzan is your best play early into the game, giving you a draw and threatening to reduce the cost of an opponent’s Character when he goes for the attack. Your opponent is forced to remove him as early as possible to shut down the cost reduction.
Tsuru is a 1-cost Character that reduces the cost of one of the opponent’s Characters by -2. She’s also a +2,000 Counter, so you can use her to protect yourself from an attack.
Tempest Kick becomes your mid-game ace, drawing you a card while reducing the cost of an opponent’s character by -3. And hitting the condition for Tempest Kick isn’t hard with Leader Gecko Moria‘s ability to trash 2 cards on every attack. Technically, you need to be at 9 cards in Trash for the cost reduction effect to activate, since playing Tempest Kick will put it in the Trash, making the total cards in there 10.
The Navy
Rebecca Combo
Rebecca is a star player in this deck, serving as a blocker while also fetching black characters with a cost ranging from 3 to 7 from the Trash to your hand. Plus, she can play a black character with a cost of 3 or less, allowing you to cheat out Hina for the cost reduction.
Beefy Hina
The 4-cost Hina is a 6,000 Power Character who gains +4-cost when you attach a Don to her, which can make it a challenge for the opposing player to remove her. Once per turn, you can activate her main effect to place a card from your trash at the bottom of your deck and attach a Don to your Leader or one of your Characters. This allows for stronger attacks, but also enables you to activate your Leader effect on Don 6 while developing Hina, going wider on the field.
Sengoku Value
7-cost Sengoku is a 7,000 Power Blocker, capable of protecting you from an opponent’s attack while remaining in play and potentially becoming an attacker. His effect lets you go wider on the field, playing a 4-cost or less {Navy} type Character from your trash along with Sengoku. You’re usually going to try and play Kuzan or 4-cost Hina from the trash. Kuzan is giving you a card draw and potentially reducing the cost of an opponent’s Character. However, Hina is a stronger attacker, and if you’re at Don 9, you can attach a Don to your Leader to activate Gecko Moria‘s effect. cheating out a {Thriller Bark Pirates} Character to develop 3 Characters in one turn.
Other Blockers
Cerberus is a 2-cost Blocker to tank a hit for us, protecting our Leader or rested Character.
Sabo is a 5-cost Blocker that filters your hand for better cards by drawing you two cards and letting you trash the two cards you need the least. He’ll also give KO immunity to all your Characters until the end of the opponent’s upcoming turn, which can disrupt the opponent’s strategy.
Mulligan
- Going First: Perona, Absalom, and Ryuma.
- Going Second: Kuzan, Perona, Absalom, and Ryuma.
Turn-Based Gameplay
Going First
- Turn 1 (1 Don):
- Turn 2 (3 Don): Cheat out Perona with the Leader effect.
- Turn 3 (5 Don): Cheat out Perona or Ryuma with the Leader effect.
- Turn 4 (7 Don): Sengoku + 4-cost or less Navy Character. Or cheat out Perona, Absalom, or Dr. Hogback with the Leader effect. Absalom is usually the play to KO a Character and keep control of the field.
- Turn 5 (9 Don): Sengoku + 4-cost Hina and attach a Don to your Leader to cheat out a {Thriller Bark Pirates} Character.
- Turn 6 (10 Don): Continue developing two or more Characters on the field to pressure your opponent with multiple attacks.
Going Second
- Turn 1 (2 Don): Brannew.
- Turn 2 (4 Don): Kuzan or cheat out Perona with the Leader effect.
- Turn 3 (6 Don):4-cost Hina + Leader Moria effect.
- Turn 4 (8 Don): Sengoku + 4-cost or less Navy Character.
- Turn 5 (10 Don): Sengoku + 4-cost or less Navy Character.
Other Cards to Include
- 3-cost Brook is another KO Character and synergizes with Rebecca. He can KO a 0-cost Character, but since he has a -1 cost-reduction built into his effect, you’ll need that target to be a 1-cost for Brook to KO. Brook can reactivate his effect when he attacks, giving you the cost reduction and KO effects to control the field. This means opponents will try their best to remove Brook before you get too much value out of him.
- Finger Pistol is a strong removal Event, KOing a 5-cost or less Character and trashing two cards from the top of your deck. It also has a powerful trigger, activating its effect with no downside. So if your opponent has a Character on the field that falls in the range of Finger Pistol, you can KO it, which can be devastating for the opposing player if they haven’t attacked with that Character yet.
- Issho can cut down on the opponent’s resources, trashing 2 cards from their hand if they have 6 or more cards in their hand. Additionally, giving 1 Don to Issho will activate his cost-reduction effect, lowering the cost of all opponents’ Characters by -3, which will make it easier to KO Characters on the upcoming turn.
