Just getting into the One Piece Card Game and wondering which starter deck to pick first? We’ve got you covered! In this tier list, we’ll rank every OPTCG Starter Deck from best to worst, considering the deck’s cards and overall performance as a starter deck without additional cards.
Keep in mind: Starter decks typically include only two copies of their higher-rarity cards. To unlock each deck’s full potential, you’ll need to buy two copies, giving you the full set of four cards needed for competitive play.
Rank S
ST18 Purple Monkey D.Luffy
The ST18 Purple Monkey D. Luffy is the best Starter deck to pick up, having almost everything you need, and on top of it, this Leader continues to perform well at the top of the meta.
Starter 18 has the purple {Straw Hat Crew} package, with Zoro-Juurou, O-Nami, San Gorou, and Luffy-Tarou as key Characters for this Leader’s game plan. If you’re starting off the game and a huge fan of Ramp Leaders, then Purple Luffy is the deck to grab!
There are other Characters you can add to this deck, like OP09 9-cost Monkey D.Luffy and OP08 9-cost Charlotte Linlin, to give this deck a stronger late game.
ST23 Blue Buggy
The Blue Buggy starter deck is one of the best out-of-the-box starter decks to get started with the One Piece Card Game. You have almost all the cards you need to get the most out of your Leader’s effect and go wide on the field, trying to fill up the board for 10-cost Buggy to stick in play.
You’re missing the OP09 7-cost Crocodile, but having 7-cost Buggy and 8-cost Crocodile & Mihawk in this starter deck ensures you can still develop multiple Characters in one turn.
Rank A
ST17 Blue Donquixote Doflamingo
Blue Doflamingo has been crushing the OPTCG meta for so long, and despite losing OP07 Jinbe, this Leader is still a solid choice in tournaments and a great pickup for those starting the game. Leader Doflamingo synergizes with {The Seven Warlords of the Sea} type Characters, capable of cheating them on the field through his effect.
The Starter 17 deck is full of Characters that Doflamingo can cheat out. It also has the 2-cost Marshal D.Teach, which enables you to activate your Leader effect more often without sacrificing Don. Boa Hancock, Trafalgar Law, Gecko Moria, and 3-cost Doflamingo are great cards to add to your collection, and this Starter deck should be on your radar when choosing.
If you have a 1-cost Perona and Sengoku along with removal events (Gum Gum Red Roc and Gravity Blade Raging Tiger), you’re getting the full value of Blue Doflamingo.
ST21 EX Gear 5
Starter 21 is another good pickup, with Red Monkey D. Luffy being the perfect aggressive Leader to start playing the game. The starter deck has most of the cards you need to play this Leader. Roronoa Zoro and Monkey D. Luffy are the aggressors in this deck, whom you’ll rely on to win the game. Those two Characters are popular among other decks, so you can’t go wrong by picking up the ST21, since you’ll most likely need those two Characters in other decks.
Another strong card is Gum Gum Mole Pistol, a control event to KO an opponent’s Characters. It’s also a popular addition in other decks that rely on controlling the field as part of their strategy.
ST27 Black Teach
Rank B
ST13 Ultra Deck The Three Brothers
ST13 is an ultra deck, having three Leaders: Monkey D. Luffy, Portgas. D. Ace, and Sabo. Most people would grab this deck for the Leader Luffy and his supporting cards; however, since 8-cost Gecko Moria was banned, Luffy was basically kicked out of the meta.
You’re likely playing Sabo or Ace Leaders when picking up this deck, using the kid brothers to cheat out their adult version. The Starter 13 deck provides both the kids and their adults, letting you build a deck that has synergy and can combo out cards from the get-go. Of course, Sabo and Ace have other cards outside of this starter deck that can drastically improve their consistency, but if you’re just starting, then the ST13 should be enough.
Additionally, this deck has the ST13 Adult Ace, which has been a popular inclusion in multiple Yellow decks for his Rush attack, allowing Yellow decks to adopt an aggressive strategy.
ST26 Black Purple Luffy
ST28 Green Yellow Yamato
ST11 Uta
Green Uta is one of the best Starter decks to get started in the game. There are two Uta starter decks, the 11 and 16 starters, but the Starter 11 has better support for the deck’s strategy. Leader Uta works with {FILM} type cards, drawing you the top card of your deck if it’s a {FILM}, she’s a draw engine as you try to develop multiple Characters on the field with the help of Brook and Monkey D.Luffy.
A key Character you’re missing in this list is the OP02 3-cost Nami, giving you more draws to outvalue your opponent.
ST20 Yellow Charlotte Katakuri
Yellow Katakuri’s effect to gain +1,000 Power makes him a strong offensive Leader, pressuring the opposing player and forcing them to play more of their Counter cards.
Starter 20 has multiple strong Big Mom Pirates cards, like 1-cost Charlotte Pudding, 5-cost Charlotte Katakuri, and 6-cost Charlotte Linlin. However, you are missing 7-cost and 10-cost Charlotte Linlins that act as win conditions for this deck.
ST10 Ultra Deck: The Three Captains
The Ultra Starter 10 deck has 3 Leaders in it: RP Trafalgar Law, RP Luffy, and RP Kid. Law is currently banned, so you can’t play him in any official events. Kid isn’t a meta Leader, and we rarely see him being played, as for RP Luffy, he’s a strong ramp Leader that still shows up in tournaments, and it’s worth picking up the Starter 10 for him.
7-cost Eustass”Captain”Kid, 3-cost Roronoa Zoro, 4-cost Trafalgar Law, and 1-cost Nami are the strongest cards in this starter deck, but they can be picked up in other boxes, so you aren’t forced to buy the ST10 to collect them.
ST15 Edward Newgate
We don’t see Leader Red Edward Newgate much anymore in the meta, but there are a couple of strong cards in this deck to watch out for. 7-cost Edward Newgate can be played in Red control decks, giving you a method to KO opponents’ Characters and keep control of the field. 5-cost Ace is another strong option, which we’ve seen being added to decks like Red Shanks or Red Blue Marco. 5-cost Marco isn’t the worst, he’s a blocker that can be tough to remove from the field.
ST24 Green Jewelry Bonney
ST19 Smoker
I usually rank Black Smoker higher since the Leader has an effect that synergizes with your removal cards, reducing the cost of an opponent’s Character to help put it in range for your KO effect. However, with the ban of Ice Age, the Starter 19 deck was hit hard, losing its strongest cost-reduction Event. 8-cost Gecko Moria is an upgrade to this deck, which was also banned, so you’re picking up a less optimal Leader that will struggle to keep up.
Tsuru and Brannew are the two strongest options since they can fit in most Navy/Black decks.
ST12 Sanji & Zoro
Green Blue Roronoa Zoro & Sanji returns a 2-cost or more Character to your hand to set up a 7,000 Power or less Character as Active, allowing you to attack with that Character a second time.
So the Starter 12 deck doesn’t have any meta popular decks, but cards like Dracule Mihawk, Emporio Ivankov, Charlotte Pudding, and Duval can be played in other decks.
Rank C
ST23 Red Shanks
ST23 Red Shanks is missing several key cards needed to perform well. If you’re planning to build Red Shanks using ST23, be prepared to invest heavily to obtain crucial win conditions like the 10-cost Shanks and powerful Rush attackers like 5-cost Luffy and 8-cost Monkey D. Dragon to apply pressure. Additionally, staple control cards such as Benn Beckmann and Silvers Rayleigh aren’t included, leaving the deck noticeably weaker without them.
However, Shanks is one of the easiest Leaders to play, so if you’re a beginner, it might be worth going for if you’re starting to learn the game.
ST07 Big Mom Pirates
Leader Yellow Charlotte Linlin has a weak effect, so you’re mainly picking the ST07 for the 7-cost Charlotte Linlin and 3-cost Charlotte Brulee.
ST14 3D2Y
Black Monkey D.Luffy shiened a couple of weeks after his release, but quickly fell off, and with the ban of Gecko Moria, the Leader sees no play anymore. The Starter 14 does have 5-cost Sanji, which can be played with other Leaders like Purple Black Monkey D.Luffy.
ST01 Straw Hat Crew
Red Luffy is a beginner-friendly Leader who uses his effect to enable more aggressive attacks or even activate certain effects. The 5-cost Monkey D.Luffy is the strongest Characters in Starter 01, which remains a popular choice among multiple aggressive Red decks. Although we have other options to ignore blockers, Diable Jamble is still a good addition as a one-off in aggressive decks, allowing you to go straight for the opponent’s Leader to close out games.
ST02 Worst Generation
Starter 02 is a Supernova deck with Eustass”Captain”Kid as the Leader. We don’t see this Kid in tournaments at all, maybe he’ll show up during a pre-release event since his effect works well in whatever deck you manage to build.
1-cost Jewelry Bonney can be played in the Green Bonney deck, so she’s a good one to get your hands on. 5-cost Law sees play in aggressive Green decks like RG Law and RG Luffy, but they aren’t popular in the meta.
ST04 Animal Kingdom
Purple Kaido can be fun to play, but he’s extremely weak and won’t really work without Black Maria. However, you have access to 5-cost Queen and 9-cost Kaido in this deck, so you can buy the Starter 4 deck for those cards, but not really to play with the deck.
ST16 Green Uta
If you’re looking to play Uta, then the Starter 11 is your best option. However, the ST16 has 9-cost Shanks, a control late-game Character that can be added to many Green decks like Bonney, Lim, or Smoker.
ST06 Absolute Justice
Black Sakazuki has an expensive control effect that requires supporting cost-reduction cards for it to work. However, this deck does have Tashigi, Hina, and Helmeppo, 3 cards that have seen play throughout different metas.
Rank D
ST03 The Seven Warlords of the Sea
There’s no reason to pick ST03 The Seven Warlords of the Sea over the ST17 version. You get a better Leader than Crocodile and stronger support cards for the Blue Seven Warlords deck.
ST05 One Piece FILM Edition
Nothing really worth it in the Starter 5 deck. Ain is not playable anymore after the RP Law ban, and I only see Douglas Bullet being run as a 1 off sometimes, but not a meta staple.
ST08 Monkey D.Luffy
Awful cards that don’t see play at all. ST08 is not worth getting at all.
ST09 Yamato
Awful cards that don’t see play at all. ST09 is not worth getting at all.
