Heya everyone! With PRB02 giving OP12 a bit of a shakeup, we’ve seen multiple decks rise in popularity on the SIM and Rehgiona tournaments. Decks like Green Purple Luffy and Red Green Smoker have been the biggest winners in PRB02, while Blue Purple Luffy remains the top meta contender to beat, despite the bans on Charlotte Linlin and Katakuri.
We also have more data on the 2 billion bounty+ players, which will give us an idea of how the meta looks among the more competitive players on the SIM.
We’ll review the data from this past week and examine how the meta has evolved!
Games and Winrate All Stats
Blue Purple Monkey D.Luffy
Games: 21777 Win Rate: 51.5%
2B+ — Games: 7727 Win Rate: 51.5%
Favored: Red Shanks, Blue Yellow Nami, Yellow Enel.
Close Matchup: Green Zoro, Red Green Smoker, Green Bonney, Black Teach.
Unfavored: Green Purple Luffy, Red Silvers Rayleigh, Purple Katakuri, Purple Yellow Pudding.
Even though the bans on Linlin and Katakuri did weaken UP Luffy, it remains the top-played deck, mostly because players figured out that consistently dropping two big bodies on the board is still a strong play to overwhelm most decks in the meta. We’ve seen UP Luffy drop significantly in play rate when OP12 came out, but it slowly gained back its momentum until it overtook Green Zoro to become the most-played deck.
Looking at the matchup table, it doesn’t seem like the deck is overly crushing the meta, but it’s slightly favored against Green Bonney, while holding its own into Green Zoro and RG Smoker. The rise of Green Purple Luffy has definitely made things tougher for UP Luffy, as the deck can play aggressively and rush UP Luffy down.
The plan is to get to your Leader effect as early as possible to start going for the 9-cost Sanji play. This deck runs multiple ramp cards like Bon Clay, God Thread, and Gear Two to speed things up, trying to get to your Leader’s effect turn to combo it with your 9-cost Sanji. You’re developing two big bodies in one turn to overwhelm the opposing player. Sanji, along with Characters like 8-cost Luffy or 9-cost Mihawk, can be tough for most decks to remove.
Counter Events like Gum Gum Giant play a massive role in prolonging the game, making sure your opponent can’t win easily, and giving you the additional time you need.
Other Cards to Include
- Judgment of Hell gives two targets a -3,000 Power reduction, perfect for shutting down two attackers.
- A lot of lists run a copy or two of Gum-Gum Red Roc as an answer for high-cost win conditions like 9-cost Zoro.
- Gravity Blade Raging Tiger is a strong removal option for decks that go wide on the field. You can include a copy or two in the list to slow the opponent’s pace.
Green Roronoa Zoro
Games: 16753 Win Rate: 52.5%
2B+ — Games: 3937 Win Rate: 52%
Favored: Red Green Smoker, Black Teach, Red Shanks, Blue Yellow Nami
Close Matchup: Blue Purple Luffy, Green Purple Luffy, Green Bonney
Unfavored: Red Silvers Rayleigh, Yellow Enel.
Green Roronoa Zoro drops to second play in overall play rate, but goes even to third place among the top players. The deck is still strong, but the rise of UP Luffy, GP Luffy, and RG Smoker has definitely given Green Zoro more competition.
This deck heavily relies on Leader Zoro’s ability to attack twice in one turn, allowing you to attack a rested Character before going for the opponent’s Leader or an 8-cost or more Character. This means we get to control the field while also threatening the opponent’s Life cards. Cards like Kuina and Tashigi enable this strategy, resting an opponent’s Character, attaching Don to Leader, and allowing you to go for your heavy Leader attack.
Luffy Is the Man Who Will Become the King of Pirates!!! is how this deck closes out games, letting you re-stand your Leader for more attacks.
We see players divided on whether or not the East Blue version is worth fully committing to. I’ll share both lists here, as the two are performing well on the ladder.
Other Cards to Include
- Paradise Waterfall gives a +2,000 Power boost and sets one of your Characters as Active. We can combo this with Mihawk to block two of the opponent’s attacks.
- Electrical Luna is a great defensive Event to keep all of the opponent’s 7-cost or less Characters from becoming Active on the opponent’s upcoming turn. This is great against aggressive decks that can go wide on the field, allowing you to ignore board control and stick to your aggressive strategy completely.
- 9-cost Zoro is a potential inclusion as a late-game win condition, especially against Blue Purple Luffy.
Green Purple Monkey D.Luffy
Games: 15882 Win Rate: 54%
2B+ — Games: 5604 Win Rate: 52.9%
Favored: Blue Purple Luffy, Black Teach.
Close Matchup: Green Zoro, Red Shanks.
Unfavored: Red Green Smoker, Red Silvers Rayleigh, Blue Yellow Nami.
A massive rise in popularity for GP Luffy with the introduction of cards like Nami and Monkey.D.Luffy to its list. Although it’s the 3rd most-played deck in terms of overall play rate, looking at higher ranks like `1B+ and 2B+, GP Luffy has overtaken Green Zoro and is holding a higher win rate.
The Green Purple Luffy relies on sheer aggression, using its deramp effect to gain 2 Active Don and +1,000 Power. You can go for heavier attacks or develop more on the field. This effect synergizes with Sanji & Pudding, triggering its ramp effect to gain an Active Don. So, instead of gaining 2 Active Don, you’re now gaining 3 and ramping for one to not fall behind in Don later in the game.
The longer Sanji & Pudding sticks on the field, the more aggression you’re capable of putting on the opponent, especially if you manage to play multiple Sanji & Pudding. 6-cost Luffy is the win condition, going for a Rush attack, and can re-stand himself by returning 2 Active Don and taking a Life Card. It’s a heavy price to pay, but the additional attack can get you closer to winning the game.
Luffy-Tarou is back to being a popular inclusion in this list, allowing you to cheat out 5-cost Sanji & Pudding or 4-cost Zoro to go wider on the field and overwhelm the opposing player.
Since this deck is mostly a glass cannon, it needs tools to prolong games, giving it an extra turn or two to set up the winning play. This is where Events like Gum Gum Jet Gatling and Gum-Gum Giant will come into play, offering a huge Power boost to keep your Leader or a key Character in play.
Although not all lists are running 4-cost Monkey.D.Luffy, he’s still a popular card in the archetype, aiming to mess up the opponent’s curve.
Other Cards to Include
- Gamma Knife reduces the Power of one of the opponent’s Characters by 5,000. It’s a great answer to break the Fortress Strategy and KO 8-cost Kid.
- 4-cost Zoro is extremely popular in GP Luffy, players often are left to choose between him or the PRB02 Luffy.
- Electrical Luna keeps 7-cost or less rested Characters from becoming Active on the upcoming turn, shutting down the opponent’s aggression and buying you more time to win the game.
Red Green Smoker
Games: 11322 Win Rate: 50.3%
2B+ — Games: 3284 Win Rate: 50.9%
Favored: Green Purple Luffy, Green Bonney, Black Teach, Red Shanks, Purple Katakuri.
Close Matchup: Blue Purple Luffy, Blue Yellow Nami.
Unfavored: Green Zoro, Red Silvers Rayleigh.
Red Green Smoker is making a comeback in PRB02 after a massive fall when OP12 came out. The deck has the new Koby and Trafalgar Law, giving it an even stronger mid-game. The deck can go toe-to-toe with Blue Purple Luffy and has a favored matchup against GP Luffy and Green Bonney. However, it struggles against Green Zoro and Red Silvers Rayleigh, keeping RG Smoker in check.
Leader Smoker and the 5-cost Smoker will give you 3 Active Don every turn, setting you up to make stronger plays, which can end up overwhelming the opposing player. You can focus down the opponent’s Leader and have an 8-cost Kid protecting you from getting aggroed down, buying you enough time to win the game.
Hody Jones is there to rest the opponent’s Characters or Don before going for a Rush attack, giving the deck an extremely aggressive turn to raise the temperature on the opposing player. Monkey D.Dragon has become a popular addition to the list, giving the deck an additional late-game Rush attacker to keep the aggression on the opposing player.
Gum Gum Mole Pistol plays a pivotal role in controlling the opponent’s side of the field, especially against GP Luffy, to remove their Sanji & Pudding.
Other Cards to Include
- Some lists are still going for the Fortress strategy, having Kid as a defensive wall alongside the low-cost Blockers.
Green Jewelry Bonney
Games: 10979 Win Rate: 53.4%
2B+ — Games: 3308 Win Rate: 53%
Favored: Green Purple Luffy, Red Silvers Rayleigh, Blue Yellow Nami.
Close Matchup: Blue Purple Luffy, Green Zoro.
Unfavored: Red Green Smoker, Black Teach, Red Shanks, Purple Katakuri.
Green Bonney is the 5th most-played deck on the SIM, but when we look at the 2B+ players, Bonney is favored over RG Smoker and has one of the highest win rates among the top 10 decks. This list changed up a bit with new PRB02 cards and players favoring 2 copies of Pedro as a defensive blocker that can KO a 6-cost or less rested Character through his effect. Pedro can slow down decks like GP Luffy or RG Smoker and is still useful against UP Luffy to KO a Rosinante.
This is a stall deck that uses Leader effect to rest one of the opponent’s attackers, slowing down their aggression and buying you more time until your win conditions start dropping. Cards like Jewelry Bonney and Cavendish are essential for the additional Don you gain, making it easier for you to activate your Leader effect without sacrificing on board development.
8-cost Kid enables the fortress strategy, further pushing for a stall game plan and creating a wall that can be tough for most decks to break through. The newest defensive addition is Dracule Mihawk, giving you a high-power block for basically 4 Don only.
9-cost Shanks and 10-cost Doflamingo are late-game defensive Characters. Shanks KO’s a rested Character, usually played on high-cost win conditions, while Doflamingo keeps 3 of the opponent’s cards rested, preventing them from attacking on the upcoming turn.
10-cost Doflamingo has gained more popularity in Bonney lists because it’s a great shutdown for Green Zoro players, keeping their Leader rested and forcing a 3 Don Event to re-stand him.
Other Cards to Include
- 9-cost Roronoa Zoro is a late-game win condition that can solo win you the game if your opponent doesn’t remove him.
- Some lists include a copy or two of Smoker in their lists, mainly for the 1 Don you can set as Active and the Banish keyword.
Red Silvers Rayleigh
Games: 9241 Win Rate: 54.6%
2B+ — Games: 2740 Win Rate: 54.1%
Favored: Blue Purple Luffy, Green Purple Luffy, Green Zoro, Red Green Smoker.
Close Matchup: Black Teach, Red Shanks.
Unfavored: Green Bonney, Blue Yellow Nami.
Red Silvers Rayleigh dropped in popularity to decks like GP Luffy, Bonney, and Smoker. However, the deck remains a top performer, especially since it beats the top 4 most-played decks!
Silvers Rayleigh is an aggressive deck, relying on developing low-cost Characters and boosting their Power using Leader effect to present a threat. Monkey.D.Luffy is how we set up a wider board, allowing us to cheat out 3-cost Sanji and threatening two 6,000 Power attacks on the upcoming turn.
Roronoa Zoro and Kid & Killer are our aggressive Rush attackers, ensuring we keep putting win conditions on the field, especially in the late-game.
The list is packed with Events to consistently activate your Leader and Monkey.D.Luffy‘s effects. Those Events can be used to Counter opponents’ attacks, but To Never Doubt–That Is Power! and Color of Arms Haki can be played offensively.
Other Cards to Include
- Jinbe is a Rush attacker who can replace Roronoa Zoro. The only downside is that you can’t search for Jinbe since he’s not a Straw Hat Crew.
- Some lists include Brook for the +2,000 Counter and can be played on the field without sacrificing your offensive pressure.
Black Marshall D.Teach
Games: 7747 Win Rate: 48.7%
2B+ — Games: 1715 Win Rate: 48.6%
Favored: Green Bonney, Purple Katakuri.
Close Matchup: Blue Purple Luffy, Green Zoro, Red Silvers Rayleigh, Red Shanks
Unfavored: Green Purple Luffy, Red Green Smoker, Blue Yellow Nami.
Teach also dropped a lot in popularity compared to the previous meta and dipped below a 50% win rate. With the rise of GP Luffy and RG Smoker, Black Teach is having a harder time in OP12 meta.
You have a couple of removal plays like Doc Q, Black Hole, and 7-cost Teach to keep the board under control. However, when it comes to winning, you’re relying on Jesus Burgess and 10-cost Teach to set up the heavy attacks. Jesus Burgess will gain Power the more cards are in your trash, eventually becoming a heavy hitter, too difficult for most decks to remove.
As for 10-cost Teach, he’s preventing one of the opponent’s Characters from attacking on the upcoming turn and standing firm as a 12,000 Power blocker to halt an attack. Once you line up the winning turn, you can go for a 10c Teach attack to make sure the opposing player can’t Counter your winning turn.
The PRB02 Shiryu is seeing a lot of play in Black Teach, with most lists running 2 copies of the 4-cost Blocker. Gaining +4 cost means he can’t be rested by cards like Uso-Hachi, and when KO’d, he gets to KO one of the opponent’s 4-cost or less Characters.
Other Cards to Include
- Laboon reduces the cost of one of the opponent’s Characters by 4, allowing you to remove a high-cost Character through your effects.
- Catarina Devon can gain one of three keywords, depending on the state of the game and what you need from her the most. Blocker, Banish, and Double Attack are all strong keywords.
- Finger Pistol is perfect for KOing a 5-cost or less Character. You can combo it with a cost reduction card to hit higher cost Characters.
- The older Shiryu is also showing up in some lists, perfect for KOing a 3-cost or less Character like Sanji, Jewelry Bonney, or Tashigi.
Red Shanks
Games: 7477 Win Rate: 50.5%
2B+ — Games: 1489 Win Rate: 46.1%
Favored: Green Bonney, Blue Yellow Nami, Purple Katakuri.
Close Matchup: Green Purple Luffy, Red Silvers Rayleigh, Black Teach.
Unfavored: Blue Purple Luffy, Green Zoro, Red Green Smoker.
With Blue Purple Luffy taking over the meta, Shanks isn’t having the best time, struggling against most of the top decks and only beating Green Bonney. The win rate drops significantly in higher ranks.
Red Shanks can reduce the Power of one of the opponent’s attackers, making it easier to defend your Leader or rested Characters and prolong the game. The list is heavy on removal cards, using Ben.Beckman and Silvers Rayleigh to remove Characters and weaken the opponent’s board.
With the 6-cost Law, you can reduce the Power of an opponent’s Character, making it easier for you to KO with your removal play or even making it vulnerable to your attackers.
Other Cards to Include
- Edward.Newgate is a control option that gets to continue activating his effect once per turn.
- Marco can pick off low-cost blockers and can even answer high-power Characters with the help of your power reduction cards.
Blue Yellow Nami
Games: 5177 Win Rate: 50.6%
2B+ — Games: 1194 Win Rate: 50.7%
Favored: Green Purple Luffy, Red Silvers Rayleigh, Black Teach,
Close Matchup: Red Green Smoker, Purple Katakuri,
Unfavored: Blue Purple Luffy, Green Zoro, Green Bonney, Red Shanks,
Blue Yellow Nami is seeing more play this week, jumping into the top 10 most-played decks. It’s also holding a positive win rate thanks to her favored matchup against GP Luffy and Red Rayleigh. There are two versions of the deck, one opts to include Warlords of the Seven Seas cards while the other is geared toward more Whitebeard Pirates cards.
Blue Yellow Nami is a value Leader, drawing you a card whenever a card is removed from you or your opponent’s Life Area. Since we have a lot of draw potential in this deck, we can afford to run the 2-cost Teach for extra Don we gain. Nami can also turn herself into a 7,000 Power Leader during your defensive turn, making it harder for the opposing player to get their attacks through.
This list has multiple high-power win conditions, but we’re mostly relying on the 8-cost Kid to trash the opponent’s Life cards and put them in a vulnerable spot to your attackers.
Other Cards to Include
Purple Charlotte Katakuri
Games: 4906 Win Rate: 49.3%
With the addition of Charlotte Pudding to Purple Katakuri, you’re able to set up a stronger mid-game by cheating out 8-cost Charlotte Katakuri, going wider on the field, and forcing the opposing player to play defensively.
The deck is seeing more play, and the fact that it can beat UP Luffy, Green Zoro, and Green Bonney plays in its favor, giving players more reason to pick up the deck. However, Purple Katakuri has a rough time against fast-paced decks like GP Luffy, RG Smoker, and Red Rayleigh.
Other Cards to Include
- A popular inclusion in this deck is Conquest of the Sea, letting you KO 2 Characters with a cost of 6 or less.
Red Sanji
Games: 4652 Win Rate: 50.3%
With the addition of Koby and Trafalgar Law to OP12 meta, Red Sanji saw a massive surge in popularity, becoming the 11th most-played deck on the ranked ladder. Both the PRB02 cards synergize with your Leader’s Rush effect, activating their When Attacking effect on the turn they’re played.
With Leader Sanji giving Rush to any Character that doesn’t have an On Play effect, it allows you to play aggressively, forcing Counter cards from the opposing player. However, the list isn’t solely focusing on sheer aggression, but also has a couple of control cards like Gum Gum Mole Pistole and Silvers Rayleigh to remove key Characters from play.
Purple Yellow Pudding
Games: 4384 Win Rate: 46.6%
Another deck that benefited from Charlotte Pudding is Purple Yellow Pudding, a deck that thrives in the late game, but is usually weak in the early to mid-game. Although we’re seeing PY Pudding among the top played decks, she’s still struggling in the meta, but overall, the stronger mid-game has definitely played into Pudding’s favor, making it easier for her to transition to the late-game big moms without easily getting aggroed down.
Pudding is heavily favored against UP Luffy and can beat the likes of Green Zoro and Bonney. However, when it comes to aggressive decks like GP Luffy or Red Rayleigh, Pudding usually crumbles.
Yellow Enel
Games: 4105 Win Rate: 54.2%
Enel is holding one of the highest win rates in OP12 meta thanks to the addition of Bartholomew Kuma! The extra Life you’re gaining in the mid-game and another Life card if Kuma is KO’d make it harder for opponents to set up a winning turn. Although Enel has a high overall win rate, against more experienced players, the win rate starts to drop significantly, but remains around 51%. It has a great matchup against Red Rayleigh, RG Smoker, and Green Zoro, but things change when Enel goes against UP Luffy or GP Luffy, two extremely difficult matchups.
Yellow Enel’s ability to gain a Life card makes it harder for the opposing player to set up a winning turn. They’re usually planning to develop multiple Characters to barrage you with attacks, but your strategy to starve them and focus down their board can make things difficult for most decks to establish a winning board.
The deck has late-game Characters like Yamato, Ace, and Enel to give you a Life card and help you control the board. You’re developing big bodies that most players can’t deal with and will be forced to ignore them.
Black Yellow Monkey D.Luffy
Games: 3523 Win Rate: 41.8%
Since BY Luffy lost 8-cost Gecko Moria, it completely fell out of the meta, unable to keep up with most decks in the late game. The Portgas.D.Ace gives BY Luffy is a stronger late game, allowing you to cheat out one of the kid brothers from your trash. However, the deck remains a shell of what it used to be, and the meta has changed drastically since the last time BY Luffy dominated the meta.
BY Luffy struggles against UP Luffy, GP Luffy, and Green Zoro, three os the most-played decks in the meta. Even against Green Bonney, it historically had a rough time in this matchup, even with the 8-cost Moria.
Purple Monkey D.Luffy
Games: 3054 Win Rate: 49.4%
Purple Luffy is fighting to hold a 50% win rate. The ramp deck sacrifices Life cards to gain Don and start dropping high-cost Characters a turn earlier.
This deck can beat the likes of UP Luffy, Green Zoro, and RG Smoker, but has a rough time into GP Luffy and Green Bonney.
Red Black Koby
Games: 2867 Win Rate: 50.3%
Red Black Koby gives a pseudo-rush to your {SWORD} type Characters, allowing them to attack an opponent’s Character on the turn they’re played. Leader Koby’s second effect can protect a {Navy} type Character with 7,000 Power or less from being removed through an effect. Instead of getting removed, you can place 3 cards from your trash at the bottom of the deck, keeping your Character in play to use offensively later on.
With Koby in the list, the deck has an even stronger early game, letting you KO low-cost Characters and even gain a card draw.
Hidden Gems
Yellow Kalgara
Games: 2379 Win Rate: 50.5%
OP12 brought multiple new cards for Yellow Kalgara to add to the list. 5-cost Kalgara, 6-cost Wyper, and Kuma are all new cards that boost the consistency and strength of this deck. So far, Yellow Kalgara is crushing UP Luffy and GP Luffy, two of the most-played decks in the meta. However, against Green Zoro and Bonney, the matchup is extremely tough to win for the aggressive deck.
This deck wants to cheat out {Shandian Warrior} type Characters from your hand by paying a Life card as a cost. You’re able to develop two Characters in one turn and start planning aggressive turns.
Yellow Eustass”Captain”Kid
Games: 1937 Win Rate: 50%
This deck uses Supernova-type Characters as blockers to protect your Leader or rested Characters, making it harder for the opponent to get their attacks through. 7-cost Trafalgar Law and 8-cost Kid can act as a wall when given the Blocker keyword through your Leader’s effect.
Law and Kuma give you a Life card, adding a protection layer to push the game an extra turn or two until you can win. As for the Kid, he’s perfect for trashing the opponent’s Life card, putting the lower on resources, and making it easier to set up your game-winning attack.
Yellow Katakuri
Games: 2530 Win Rate: 52.4%
Green Purple Lim
Games: 2461 Win Rate: 50.5%
Closing Words
PRB02 has boosted the performance of multiple decks in OP12 meta, giving them a fighting chance in local tournaments and even regionals. GP Luffy was the biggest winner, as we’ve seen the deck perform well on the SIM and even win a Regional in Lyon this past week.
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