The Red PRB01 Sanji is a new aggressive Leader that makes use of Characters without a Play effect. This lets you build your deck with Characters that don’t usually see much play. This list recently performed in Japan, winning a local tournament.
Decklist
1xPRB01-001
4xOP01-013
4xST01-013
4xOP02-006
4xOP02-007
4xOP02-008
4xOP02-018
4xOP03-003
4xOP03-006
2xST15-004
2xEB01-008
4xOP07-015
4xOP08-014
4xOP01-029
2xST01-016How to Play
Leader
Sanji’s effect lets you give the Rush keyword to an 8 cost or less Character without an On Play effect. You don’t have to use any of your Don to activate the effect, so we can be extremely aggressive, immediately attacking with the Character we play.
Managing to protect that Character on defensive turns lets us keep the attack pressure going, forcing more Counter cards and even dropping them down on Life cards quickly.
Since this deck wants to include Characters without an On Play effect, we can take advantage of vanilla cards without any text. Those Characters have high stats that are difficult for opponents to KO, and since we’re giving them Rush, they get to use that high Power aggressively on the turn they’re played.
Izo looks at the top 5 cards in our deck and lets us draw 1 “Whitebeard Pirates”. We’re usually looking for a Character we can play on the upcoming turn. If we already have a play in hand, we can look for a Counter effect card or one of our 6-cost Characters for their late-game potential.
As for 2-cost Sanji, he’s an aggressor, capable of pumping his Power up to 7,000 through his effect. You have to damage your Leader for the effect to activate, but since Leader Sanji is a 5-health Leader, we’re not too worried about taking a Life card. Combined with Leader Sanji’s effect, we can give 2-cost Sanji Rush so he gets to swing on the turn he’s played.
The early aggressor, 3-cost Roronoa Zoro is a 5,000 Power attacker that we can take advantage of early into the game. If you attach a Don to him, he becomes a 7,000 Power attacker, difficult for opponents to Counter his attack.
If you’re at 2 Life cards or less, Marco can be challenging for opponents to KO. Every time Marco is KO’d you can trash a {Whitebeard Pirates} card from your hand and replay Marco from the trash, rested on the field. This keeps an attacker ready to strike without having to worry about spending Don to develop another attacker.
Speed Jil is a Vanilla Character, having 6,000 Power, and is one of your strongest plays early in the game. It’s easier for you to protect Speed Jil from attackers since his higher Power forces more Don attachment from the opponent.
More Vanilla Characters with high Power! Kingdew is a 5-cost {Whitebeard Pirates} Character with 7,000 Power and a 6-cost Thatch with 8,000 Power. These Vanilla Characters are only good in this deck thanks to Leader Sanji giving them Rush and getting value from their high power immediately on the turn they’re played.
On turn 3, if you’ve gone first, Kingdew is the perfect play, however, if you’ve gone second, then one of you’re 6-cost Characters can pose more threat.
Other 6-cost Characters you’ll want to play on Don 6 or 7. Little Oars Jr. is a 7,000-power attacker who can stick on the field through the opponent’s KO effects. This forces opponents to attack LittleOars Jr. to remove him off the field, or use effects that don’t KO, like “trash” or “put back in the deck”.
Wapol is best played on Don 7 so you can attack a Don to him. With that 1 Don attachment, Wapol gains +2,000 Power when he attacks and reduces the Power of one of the opponent’s Characters by 2,000. This makes it easier for you to attack and KO that Character. The +2,000 Power Wapol gains will remain during your defensive turn, so opponents need to go the extra mile to remove him.
Monkey.D.Dragon is a 9,000 Power Rush attack, posing a threat on the turn he’s played. He’s also giving 2 rested 2 Don to your Leader or one of your Characters, empowering their attacks to force more Counter cards from the opposing player.
Events
Radical Beam!! is an essential defensive Event. Throughout the game, we’re focusing on attacking the opponent’s Leader and dropping them to 0 Life cards, so we might find ourselves in situations where Radical Beam!! can save a Character or prevent the opponent from getting their attack through on our Leader. It’s best played when we’re at 2 Life cards or less to gain the additional +2,000 Power.
Turn-Based Gameplay
Going First
- Turn 1 (1 Don): Izo
- Turn 2 (3 Don): Sanji or Roronoa Zoro
- Turn 3 (5 Don): Kingdew or a 4-cost Character.
- Turn 4 (7 Don): 6-cost Character.
- Turn 5 (9 Don): Monkey.D.Dragon or 6-cost Character or two Character development.
- Turn 6 (10 Don): Monkey.Dragon.
Going Second
- Turn 1 (2 Don): Izo or Sanji
- Turn 2 (4 Don): 4-cost Character or Roronoa Zoro.
- Turn 3 (6 Don): 6-cost Character.
- Turn 4 (8 Don): Monkey.D.Dragon or 6-cost Character or two Character development.
- Turn 5 (10 Don): Monkey.D.Dragon.