The Bandai Namco Game Fest Dallas drew a massive turnout, with players battling through 10 rounds of Best-of-1 Swiss before cutting to a Top 32 Best-of-3 single elimination bracket. The stream showcased plenty of incredible matches, some of which were nail-bitingly close!
The Top 32 was filled with familiar faces from the online SIM environment, featuring five standout decks that have dominated recent tournaments. Although Green Zoro won first place, three Red Silvers Rayleigh players managed to finish in the top 8!
In this recap, we’ll highlight the Top 8 performers while also spotlighting other notable lists that fought their way into Top 32 and even Top 16.
Top 32 Distribution
| 7 Red Silvers Rayleigh | 1 Yellow Katakuri |
| 6 Green Roronoa Zoro | 1 Green Yellow Yamato |
| 5 Green Jewelry Boinney | 1 Yellow Enel |
| 5 UP Luffy | 1 Red Green Smoker |
| 4 GP Luffy | 1 Red Yellow Belo Betty |
1st Place Green Zoro – Richard
Green Roronoa Zoro proves yet again why he’s considered the best Leader in the OP12 format, managing to beat Red Rayleigh in the finals to take first place. This is an East Blue version, which we’ve seen perform well before with Nami, Rika, and Hatchan. This deck wants to play aggressively, using Leader effect to set up multiple attacks, controlling the board while still threatening to take a Life card and expending Counter resources.
With Luffy Is the Man Who Will Become the King of Pirates!!!, you can start planning multiple strong attacks, trying to keep the heat on the opposing player and forcing them to have the Counter power to survive your onslaught. Rika can be used aggressively to set up your 4-cost Zoro as Active, allowing him to attack an additional time.
2nd Place Red Rayleigh – Aaaaaron
Red Silvers Rayleigh has been crushing the competitive scene, taking most spots in the top 32 as it beats the majority of the meta. The aggressive nature of this deck makes it hard for most decks to keep up with Rayleigh, cheating out an additional Character with the 4-cost Luffy and using Leader effect to plan a stronger attack turn and force the opposing player to shift to a defensive strategy.
Rayleigh is a strong option against Green Zoro and UP Luffy, and although it went against Green Zoro in the finals, it didn’t manage to take first place and ended up second.
3rd Place UP Luffy – Yost
Blue Purple Luffy has surprised everyone in the West, remaining one of the best choices despite losing Charlotte Katakuri and Linlin. However, Leader Luffy’s effect + 9-cost Sanji has proved to be too strong of a combo play to easily kick out of the meta. The list has a couple of ramp options to speed up its strategy, trying to get access to the Sanji combo as soon as possible to start dropping two big bodies in one turn and overwhelming the opponent.
Sanji can cheat out the likes of 8-cost Luffy or 9-cost Mihawk, two Characters that can help control the board while sticking on the field as heavy attackers. This list also runs the 8-cost Doflamingo as a method to cheat out the 5-cost Rosinante, going even wider on the field to present multiple attacks. Rosinante is also setting two of your Don as Active at the end of your turn, 2 Don that can be used to play your Counter Events and protect your Leader.
Interestingly, this list is running 2 copies of White Snake, giving your Leader or a Character a +1,000 Power boost for the turn and drawing you a card.
4th Place Red Rayleigh – Asas
Top 8 Green Yellow Yamato – Long
Green Yellow Yamato was a shocker, making it all the way to the top 8, and it’s not on the 6-cost Kuma! This deck wants to use Leader’s Double Attack keyword to pressure the opponent’s Life cards, trying to drop them low as fast as possible. Using Izo and Nami, you can give your Leader the Banish keyword, threatening to trash their Life cards and put them lower on resources.
Basil Hawkins is also adding to that trash mechanic, discouraging players from KOing him. 6-cost Kouzuki Momonosuke is one of our strongest aggressors in the deck, boosting the Power of your Leader and going for a Rush attack to keep the aggression going.
As for the Hody Jones, he’s resting two Characters or Don, paving the way for your Leader to strike the opponent directly before Hody Jones goes for his Rush attack and potentially close out the game.
Top 8 Yellow Katakuri – Jimmy
We’ve seen Yellow Katakuri getting more traction, but no one expected it to make it far in this tournament! This is all thanks to the addition of Kuma to the list, giving the Yellow Leader a stronger mid-game with the additional Life card as you build up for your 10-cost Big Moms.
This deck thrives on trigger effects, and with your Leader effect, you can increase the odds of getting the triggers you need on earlier turns. Charlotte Perospero, Kikunojo, and Nami have strong trigger effects that can play a massive role in your grasp of the field, either going for more aggressive attacks or keeping control of the opponent’s side.
The 10-cost Charlotte Linlin is where things start getting tough for the opponent, trashing their Life card and gaining a Life card yourself, making it harder for them to set up a winning turn, while increasing the resources gap between you and your opponent. Big Mom is a 12,000 Power Character, capable of going for heavy hits that are too difficult to counter.
Top 8 Green Bonney – Steel
Green Bonney has been a huge counter meta deck, beating the likes of Green Zoro and Red Rayleigh, but struggling into Blue Purple Luffy. This is a stall deck, resting one of the opponent’s attackers with Leader Bonney’s effect to buy you more time until you make it to the late game.
Urouge, Cavendish, and 5-cost Bonney are offering Active Don, making it easier for your Leader to activate her stall effect. Carrot, Kid, Mihawk, and Doflamingo aid you in stalling out the game.
Hody Jones and Roronoa Zoro are the game winners! Hody Jones puts immediate aggression on the turn he’s played. In contrast, Roronoa Zoro needs to stick on the field until your upcoming turn to plan an explosive three-attack strategy that can be a struggle for the opponent to survive if they’re low on life cards.
Top 8 Red Rayleigh – Justin T
Notable Decks
Top 16 Green Purple Luffy
Green Purple Luffy saw 4 players in the top 32, but none of them managed to break into the top 8. Although GP Luffy has a strong strategy, it struggles against Green Roronoa Zoro and Red Rayleigh, making it harder for this deck to go far against top competitive players.
5-cost Sanji & Pudding is the centerpiece of this deck, enabling you to activate your Leader’s effect on earlier turns to create stronger turns without having to worry about the drawback. You’re going for more plays or stronger attacks on specific turns, trying to overwhelm the opposing player. The 7-cost Luffy-tarou lets you cheat out a 5-cost Sanji & Pudding or a 4-cost Zoro, creating multiple threats to aggro down the opposing player.
The plan is to have them low on Life cards and rely on 6-cost Luffy to go for two attacks in one turn, potentially winning you the game on the spot, especially since he has the Rush keyword.
Red Green Smoker
Red Green Smoker has seen a steep decline in the OP12 meta, largely because its success was tied to Blue Purple Luffy and Green Purple Luffy—two decks it could match up against evenly. Still, the deck’s core game plan remains solid, and OP12 gave it new tools that strengthen its late game. Bonney and Mihawk add much-needed defensive options, helping protect the Leader and stall long enough to set up a finishing turn with Hody Jones.
Beyond that, Smoker retains access to reliable control pieces. Ben Beckmann and the 4-cost Gum-Gum Mole Pistole offer ways to weaken the opponent’s board and keep pressure manageable, buying even more room for the deck to execute its closing strategy.
Red Yellow Belo Betty
Red Yellow Belo Betty has also slipped in popularity, particularly as many players are turning to Red Rayleigh for a more streamlined, aggressive strategy. Belo Betty is a Revolutionary Army deck, aiming to flood the board with multiple Characters through Emporio Ivankov, then amplifying their Power with the Leader effect. The plan is straightforward: develop multiple Characters, use Leader effect to boost three of your Characters by +3,000 Power, and start going for attacks, mainly focused on their Leader. The plan is to drain the opponent’s Counter resources and whittle their Life cards down.
One of the deck’s most dangerous tools is the 4-cost Karasu. By reducing an opposing Leader’s Power for the entire turn, Karasu can make defending way harder. Combined with Betty’s Power boost, you’re applying overwhelming pressure that can be enough to win the game on the spot or set you up to win on the upcoming turn.
