Come on in and take a seat! Today, we’re reviving a forgotten gem among Blue Leaders—the Starter Deck 3 Leader, Crocodile.
The Seven Warlords of the Sea Leader has been overlooked for far too long. With powerful new support from the Starter Deck 17 and OP10 expansions, it’s time to breathe new life into this classic Blue strategy.
Leader Crocodile shares a similar playstyle with Blue Doflamingo and Blue Boa Hancock but leans more toward control. His game plan focuses on staying one step ahead of the opponent, removing key Characters from the field, and keeping them on the back foot. He could even play aggressively, focusing his attacks on the opposing player’s Leader while dealing with their Characters through his removal effects.
Leader
Blue Crocodile is a 5 Life card Leader, so it can be tough for your opponent to put him at 0 Life cards, this should make it easier for you to ignore certain Characters and focus solely on their Leader to win the game.
To activate Crocodile‘s effect, you have to return 4 Don to the Don deck, then you can return one of the opponent’s Characters with a cost of 5 or less to their hand. So you’re deramping for 4 to remove one of the opponent’s Characters, weakening their overall presence on the field. This can be a strong effect if you want to lower the opponent’s aggression without committing your attacks or removal cards.
Since we’re deramping, it’s best not to activate Crocodile‘s effect until the late game so we don’t struggle to keep up with opponent’s Don. You’ll want to wait until you’re at 7 Don+ before activating Crocodile‘s effect, making sure you can still play Characters on the field on your upcoming turn after you’ve deramped for 4.
Crocodile‘s effect isn’t limited to your opponent’s Characters only, but it can be used on yours as well. Although you’re unlikely to use it on your Character, in the scenario where you need a Counter card to survive the opponent’s upcoming turn, you could return one of your Characters to use them as a Counter card.
Blue Crocodile Decklist
How to Play
1-cost Searcher
Sengoku looks at the top 5 cards in your deck and lets you add one of them to your hand, placing the rest at the bottom of your deck. We’re looking for Jinbe to make sure we have a strong early board presence.
If we already have Jinbe and a Character to cheat out through him, we can go for a late-game Character, 7-cost Donquixote Doflamingo.
Blockers
1-cost Trafalgar Law is a low-cost Blocker that can protect us from one of the opponent’s attacks. Having 1-cost Characters in this list like Sengoku and Law is important since 4-cost Trafalgar Law and 6-cost Jozu force us to return a Character to activate their effects.
2-cost Duval and 3-cost Donquixote Doflamingo can look at the top cards in our deck and allow us to reorder them however we wish or push them all at the bottom of the deck. This gives us control over which cards we’ll draw on our upcoming turns, making sure we have the plays we’ll need in future turns without worrying about bricking.
In play, Duval will only be used for his Blocker keyword, but Donquixote Doflamingo can become an attack if you attach a Don to him, turning him into a 5,000 Power Character.
Jinbe Wide Strategy
Jinbe is the number 1 card we want in our hand, especially in the early game, making sure we have a strong presence on the field by cheating out one of our 4-cost or less {Seven Warlords of the Sea} type Characters. You’re developing two Characters in one turn, creating an aggressive early game that will put your opponent in a tough situation, making them take a step back and focus on controlling your field rather than targeting your Leader.
Edward Newgate and Trafalgar Law are your strongest {Seven Warlords of the Sea} to play with Jinbe or on their own.
Edward Newgate‘s 6,000 Power makes him a tough early Character to KO, capable of going for aggressive attacks and getting more Counter cards from your opponent. On Play, Edward Newgate draws you a card, adding resources to your hand that will come in handy as the game stretches out.
As for Trafalgar Law, he can be quite annoying for your opponent, returning one of their 4-cost Characters to their hand and weakening their presence on the board. However, you have to have a Character on your side of the field to return to your hand for Trafalgar Law to activate his effect, and this is where you’ll want to have one of your low-cost Characters like Sengoku in play, returning them to your hand and then returning your opponent’s 4-cost Character to their hand.
You’re developing a 4-cost Character while removing one of the opponent’s Characters, putting them behind in tempo and making it harder for them to control your field.
Dracule Mihawk and Crocodile are {Seven Warlords of the Sea} +2,000 Counter Characters. You’ll only play them through Jinbe if you have nothing else to play, having a 5,000 Power Character, even if their effects are worthwhile, is better than nothing.
More Control
Jozu works similar to Trafalgar Law, returning one of your Characters to return an opponent’s Character. What makes Jozu a strong play is his ability to return a 6-cost or less Character, putting your opponent behind in the game.
Jozu being a 7,000 Power Character means he’s tough to KO through attacks and can force at least 2 Counter cards from your opponent if he attacks their Leader.
The two 7-cost removal options, each can be the better play depending on the Character you want to remove.
If your opponent has a 5-cost or less Character, then Kyros makes the most sense to play, returning it to the opponent’s hand and remaining in play as a 9,000 Power attacker. Your opponent will likely have to ignore Kyros or resort to effects to remove him.
Although 7-cost Donquixote Doflamingo has less Power than Kyros, being at 7,000 Power, he can return a 7-cost or less Character to the opponent’s hand, so you’re essentially removing a stronger target, and slowing your opponent down.
Control Events
We’ll save Gum-Gum Red Roc for 8-cost or more Characters since none of our other cards can remove it. This can remove an important Character for your opponent, buying enough time to plan your winning turn.
As for the 7-cost Gravity Blade Raging Tiger, it’s the perfect play when your opponent has two 6-cost or less Characters, placing both at the bottom of their deck. You’re lowering the opposing players’ reach on their upcoming turn and removing two cards for 1 card, putting you ahead on resources.
What makes Gum-Gum Red Roc and Gravity Blade Raging Tiger strong removal options is their ability to place Characters in the opponent’s deck instead of their hand. They won’t have access to those cards anymore, and since you are returning cards and not KOing, KO immunity won’t be useful for your opponents.
Mulligan
1-cost Sengoku for the early search, helping you draw into Jinbe. Speaking of Jinbe, he’s the number 1 card we want to have in our hand, ensuring we have a strong early game.
Turn-Based Gameplay
Going First
- Turn 1 (1 Don): 1-cost Sengoku.
- Turn 2 (3 Don): 3-cost Donquixote Doflamingo, 2-cost Duval, or 1-cost Trafalgar Law.
- Turn 3 (5 Don): Jinbe + 4-cost Trafalgar Law or Edward Newgate.
- Turn 4 (7 Don): Kyros, Donquixote Doflamingo, Jozu, or Gravity Blade Raging Tiger. If you have Jinbe, you can continue going wide.
- Turn 5 (9 Don): Kyros, Donquixote Doflamingo, Jozu, Gravity Blade Raging Tiger, or Gum-Gum Red Roc. You can activate your Leader effect if there’s a 5-cost Character to remove.
- Turn 6 (10 Don): Kyros, Donquixote Doflamingo, Jozu, Gravity Blade Raging Tiger, or Gum-Gum Red Roc.
Going Second
- Turn 1 (2 Don): 1-cost Sengoku and 1-cost Trafalgar Law. Or 2-cost Duval.
- Turn 2 (4 Don): Jinbe + 4-cost Trafalgar Law or Edward Newgate.
- Turn 3 (6 Don): Jinbe + 4-cost Trafalgar Law or Edward Newgate. Or Jozu.
- Turn 4 (8 Don): Kyros, Donquixote Doflamingo, Jozu, Gravity Blade Raging Tiger, or Gum-Gum Red Roc. You can activate your Leader effect if there’s a 5-cost Character to remove, but activating it on turn 4 will prevent you from playing a 7-cost card on the upcoming turn.
- Turn 5 (10 Don): Kyros, Donquixote Doflamingo, Jozu, Gravity Blade Raging Tiger, or Gum-Gum Red Roc. You can activate your Leader effect if there’s a 5-cost Character to remove.
Other Cards to Include
- Pudding can lower the number of cards in the opponent’s hand, cutting down on their resources.
- Gecko Moria is a value option, letting you choose a cost 4 or less {The Seven Worlds of the Sea} type Character from your trash and add it to your hand.
