The Purple Yellow Nico Robin is a ramp deck focused on playing high-cost Characters early to dominate the field. The Leader’s built-in ramp effect allows you to consistently play carry cards ahead of the curve, giving you a strong board presence.
Leader
The dual-color Leader, Nico Robin, ramps 1 rested Don when attacking, but requires you to trash a Trigger card to activate the effect. Therefore, it’s crucial to include as many Trigger cards as possible in the list to ensure you can ramp up consistently
Typically, you will activate this effect once or twice per game, allowing you to play high-cost Characters faster. Since Nico Robin has the Banish keyword, you’re prioritizing attacking the opponent’s Leader, forcing them to use Counter cards or have their Life card trashed. This will bleed your opponent’s resources, making it even harder for them to keep up in the late game.
Nico Robin Decklist
How to Play
Blockers
2-cost Shirahoshi can block one of the opponent’s attacks to protect your Leader or a rested Character. She’s also annoying to remove, since if your opponent KO’s her with an effect, she will give you a Life card, which is a win for you.
Jaguar D. Saul is a good turn 2 play, offering a defensive option with his Blocker keyword to protect your Leader. He can also be used offensively with his 5,000 Power to damage the opponent’s Leader or KO a rested Character.
3-cost Charlotte Brulee is a low-cost Blocker that can be played through her Trigger effect, potentially a game saviour.
4-cost Plays
If we’re going second, we can play Mr 2 Bon Clay to ramp active Don. Combined with our Leader’s ramp, we can play an 8-cost Character on turn 3 like Eustass”Captain”Kid. Bon Clay can copy the power of one of the opponent’s Characters, turning him into an attacker. However, he’s vulnerable during your defensive turns, and in most cases, it’s not worth using up resources to protect him.
Kuzan can remove a 3-cost or less Character by placing it at the top or bottom of your opponent’s Life card. He then forces the opponent to trash a card from their hand, cutting down on their resources. You can remove a pesky blocker on the field, allowing your attacks to go through uninterrupted. Adding more Life cards for the opponent while decreasing their hand size can play in your favor since you can trash the Life card through Leader Nico Robin, 6-cost Nico Robin, or Kid.
Nami Control
O-Nami can give one of your high-power Characters the Banish keyword, ensuring you trash one of the opponent’s Life cards. However, her Trigger effects lets you KO 1 of the opponent’s Characters with a cost of 5 or less, a great Trigger to weaken the opponent’s side of the field.
Nami helps control the field by trashing a Trigger card from your hand to KO an opponent’s Character with a cost of 5 or less. If you have 3 cards in hand, Nami lets you draw 1 card, replacing the card you just trashed. So technically, if you have 5 cards in hand, you can draw a card with Nami‘s effect since you’ll fall to 3 cards once you play her and trash a card.
Life Card Trash
If the opponent has 3 or more Life cards, 6-cost Nico Robin can trash the top card from their Life Area, reducing their resources and making it easier to win later. She remains on the field with her 6,000 Power, capable of attacking rested Characters or the opponent’s Leader.
You can rest 8-cost Eustass”Captain”Kid on the turn he’s played to trash the top Life card for the opposing player. At the end of your turn, Kid will draw you a card and lets you trash a card, filtering your hand for better cards. He’s a 9,000 Power Character, so he can go for heavy attacks later in the game to add more pressure.
Game Winners
Charlotte Linlin, Monkey D. Luffy, and Yamato all serve as powerful threats while providing control options. Charlotte Linlin and Yamato give you a Life card when played. Charlotte Linlin can also remove a 6-cost or less Character from play by placing it on the top or bottom of the opponent’s Life area. Yamato, on the other hand, KOs a Character with a cost equal to or less than the combined number of Life cards you and your opponent have. However, Yamato only grants you a Life card if you have 1 or less Life cards remaining. So Yamato can be more restrictive than Charlotte Linlin.
Monkey D. Luffy has 10,000 Power and draws a card when played. His Rush keyword makes him a great option for attacking a rested Character or targeting the opponent’s Leader, putting them in a difficult position for the next turn.
Events
Gum Gum Giant is another defensive Event, especially useful in the late game. By returning 2 Don and trashing a card, you gain +4,000 Power on your Leader or a Character and draw 2 cards to find additional Counter options. Playing at Don 10 means even though you’re returning 2 Don, you’ll still have 10 Don on the upcoming turn. So it works best when playing a 9-cost Character and holding 1 Don for your defensive turn.
+2,000 Counters
Nico Olivia can boost the Power of your Leader by 3,000, which can be useful if you’re trying to close out the game and need the additional Power gain.
Frank is a +2,000 Counter card, but if you have 1 or less Life cards when its Trigger is activated, you get to play it on the field and draw a card, making it a great value to activate.
Capone”Gang”Bege serves as a +2,000 Counter card but if you activate its trigger, you can shut down one of the opponent’s attackers, saving you Counter resources. Obviously, you want to shut down the biggest threat on the field.
Turn-Based Gameplay
Going First
- Turn 1 (1 Don):
- Turn 2 (3 Don): Jaguar D. Saul + Leader Ramp.
- Turn 3 (5 Don) (6 Don): 6-cost Nico Robin + Leader Ramp (if you’re planning to play a 9-cost Character). Nami is an option if the opponent has a 4-cost Character in play.
- Turn 4 (7 Don) (9 Don): Eustass”Captain”Kid, 9-cost Monkey D.Luffy or Charlotte Linlin.
- Turn 5 (9 Don) (10 Don): Eustass”Captain”Kid, Monkey D.Luffy, Yamato, or Charlotte Linlin.
- Turn 6 (10 Don): Monkey D.Luffy, Yamato, or Charlotte Linlin.
Going Second
- Turn 1 (2 Don): Shirahoshi.
- Turn 2 (4 Don): Kuzan or Bon Clay.
- Turn 3 (6 Don) (7 Don): Play Nico Robin or Nami to KO a target. If you ramped with Bon Clay, you can play 8-cost Eustass”Captain”Kid.
- Turn 4 (8 Don) (9 or 10 Don): Eustass”Captain”Kid, Monkey D.Luffy, Yamato, or Charlotte Linlin.
- Turn 5 (10 Don): Monkey D.Luffy, Yamato, or Charlotte Linlin.
Other Cards to Include
- Basil Hawkins is a 4-cost Character with a Trigger effect, fits perfectly in this deck. When KO’d Basil Hwakins can trash the top card in the opponent’s Life Area, dropping down on resources.
- Damned Punk is a removal Event to KO a 5-cost Character, helping you keep control of the field.
- 10-cost Portgas D. Ace gives you a Life card and gains Rush if you have 2 or less Life cards, providing a 10,000 Power attack to pressure the opponent’s Leader or KO a rested Character.
- Ms. All Sunday‘s On Play effect lets you ramp 1 Don and draw a card, setting up for your high-cost plays on the following turn. Her Trigger effect allows her to be played by returning 2 Don, but since she ramps 1 Don, you’ll only return 1 Don. Since she has a Trigger effect, she’s also a potential target to trash for the Leader or Nami effect when needed.
- Since the deck includes many Characters without Counter effects, You’re the One Who Should Disappear is a great fit, allowing you to trash one of those cards for +3,000 Power. If it’s the last card in your Life area, its Trigger effect lets you trash a card from your hand to gain a Life card, which can be crucial if the opponent is close to winning.
- The 10-cost Kaido & Linlin is the most powerful play in the deck, but doesn’t provide an immediate impact. You need to wait until your next turn to attack and activate Kaido & Linlin‘s effect, which KOs all Characters except itself and gives you a Life card while trashing one from the opponent. Ideally, you should attack with all other Characters first and leave the opponent with 1 Life card before attacking with Kaido & Linlin. This way, the opponent loses their last Life card and struggles to counter the 12,000 Power attack. Even if you don’t win that turn, wiping their field and gaining a Life card makes it difficult for them to launch a comeback, as they will likely need a Rush attacker to finish the game, which makes it easier for you to Counter one of those attacks. When activating Kaido & Linlin‘s effect, you return 10 Don, so you’ll have low Don left for the upcoming turn. You want to use up your Don before returning them, and you can after that ramp with Leader attack if you expect you’ll need the extra Don on the upcoming turn.
