Howdy! Today I’m sharing the OP09 Yellow Katakuri deck! It doesn’t look too different than what we’re used to. Nico Robin and Charlotte Brulee are the newest additions to the list, and they’re still not a must-inclusion Katakuri‘s game plan relies on.
The trigger strategy is the strongest in the deck, thanks to the Yellow color combined with Leader Katakuri‘s ability to reorder Life cards. Yellow Katakuri is seeing a lot of play in the OP09 East meta, so let’s take a look at why this deck is as strong as it is right now!
Yellow Katakuri Decklist
1xOP03-099
4xOP03-112
2xOP06-101
4xOP04-100
4xST20-003
4xOP03-113
4xOP06-104
4xOP05-105
4xOP08-106
4xOP05-102
2xOP09-107
4xST07-010
4xOP03-114
4xOP06-115
2xOP07-116How to Play
The Yellow Katakuri deck thrives on Trigger cards, either KOing opponent’s Characters or developing Characters without spending Don. The Charlotte Linlins are the real carries, giving you extra Life cards and creating a win condition through their big bodies.
Yellow Katakuri Leader
Attaching a Don to Charlotte Katakuri and attacking will give the Leader +1,000 Power, turning him into a 7,000 Power attacker who forces multiple Counter cards to halt his attack. Additionally, Katakuri can look at the top of your or your opponent’s Life cards, and you can decide to keep it at the top or move it to the bottom.
Usually, you want to look at your own Life cards first to gain information on that top card. You want to have a useful Trigger early into the game. So cards like Charlotte Perospero and Kikunojo are great to keep at the top. If it’s a card you don’t find useful, you can place it at the bottom to hopefully get a better card at the top.
You can look at the opponent’s Life cards to gain information as well. Game knowledge helps you out here, understanding what your opponent is looking for or wants makes it easier to make your decision on whether to keep the Life card at the top or move it to the bottom.
Early Game
On turn 1, you only have Charlotte Pudding to play in this list. Charlotte Pudding looks at the top 4 cards in your deck and draws 1 {Sanji} or {Big Mom Pirates} type card. So we can draw cards like Charlotte Perospero, Charlotte Linlins, and Charlotte Brulee.
O-Nami can be played on turn 2, giving your Leader Banish before he attacks for 7,000 or more Power. This won’t sit well with the opposing player, as they don’t want one of their Life cards trashed. Either they take the hit and give up on the card, or commit multiple Counter cards.
O-Nami also has a control Trigger effect, KOing one of the opponent’s Characters with a cost of 5 or less.
If you’re going first, Charlotte Perespero is almost always the best play to go for. He’s a 5,000 Power attack to threaten one of the opponent’s Life cards, On top of that, if the opponent decides to KO him, he’ll look at the top 3 cards to draw you 1 {Big Mom Piraters} type card. This can find you a card to play on later turns and won’t drop you on value.
As for Kikunojo, being a 4-cost Character means she’s best played on turn 2 if you’re going second. Her 6,000 Power puts more aggression than Charlotte Perespero and if KO’d, she’ll give you an extra Life card if your opponent has 3 or less Life cards. This adds to your value and will require more attacks on your Leader from the opponent to win the game.
Both Charlotte Perespero and Kikunojo can be played through their Trigger effects without using up Don. So you want them at the top of your Life area as early as possible.
Mid-Game Removal
5-cost Gedatsu is usually the first play you’ll make to KO one of the opponent’s Characters, slowing down their mid-game immensely. His KO effect is tied to the number of the opponent’s Life cards. Gedatsu can KO a Character with a cost equal to or less than the number of the opponent’s Life cards.
As for 5-cost Nami, she trashes a Trigger card from your hand to KO one of the opponent’s Characters with a 5-cost or less. If you have 3 cards or less in your hand, you can draw a card. So if you have 5 cards, play Nami and trash a card, you’ll go down to 3 cards, allowing you to draw a card.
Nami‘s Trigger effect lets you activate her On Play effect to KO one of the opponent’s Characters, possibly ruining the opponent’s turn.
Life Card Game Play
6-cost Nico Robin trashes one of the opponent’s Life cards if they’re at 3 or more. This drops down on their resources and makes it easier for you to win the late game. You’ll need fewer attacks to go through on their Leader and they’ll have fewer cards to protect themselves.
7-cost Charlotte Linlin forces opponents to make a tough call, either trashing one of their Life cards or giving you a Life card. She’s also an 8,000 Power attacker, a high-power Character, difficult to KO.
As for the 10-cost Charlotte Linlin, she’ll do both, give you a Life card and trash an opponent’s Life card, giving you extra protection while making opponents more vulnerable to your attacks. A 12,000 Power attacker is no laughing matter either, it’ll be almost impossible to shut down her attacks if they don’t have a blocker in play.
Events
You’re the One Who Should Disappear is a Counter Event that lets you trash a card from your hand to give your Leader or a Character +3,000 Power. Its Trigger effect is extremely strong during your defensive turn. If it’s the last card in your Life Area, you can activate the Trigger effect to gain an extra Life card, forcing more attacks from the opposing player to win the game.
Blaze Slice can be used during your and your opponent’s turn, giving your Leader or one of your Characters +1,000 Power and if the opponent is at 2 or less Life cards, you can rest one of their 4-cost or less Characters. Blaze Slice can be used offensively and defensively through its ability to rest a Character. You can rest a Character to stop it from attacking you or rest a blocker to attack the opponent’s Leader directly.
+2,000 Counters
All these Characters have a +2,000 Counter effect, so can be used to protect your Leader or Characters. However, they also have another use, depending on the game.
Capone”Gang”Bege‘s Trigger effect shuts down one of the opponent’s Leader or Character cards from attacking. This can be insanely good in the late game when the opponent is trying to win the game.
Charlotte Brulee is a +2,000 Counter card with the {Big Mom Pirates} type card, which means you can draw her from Charlotte Perespero or Charlotte Pudding, It also lowers the odds of you not finding any {Big Mom Pirates} type card.
Satori can be played through his Trigger effect, developing an extra Character without having to spend Don. You almost never want to play him from hand on the field.
Turn-Based Gameplay
Going First
- Turn 1 (1 Don): Charlotte Pudding.
- Turn 2 (3 Don): Charlotte Perespero or O-Nami + Attack Leader.
- Turn 3 (5 Don): 5-cost Gedatsu or 5-cost Nami.
- Turn 4 (7 Don): 7-cost Charlotte Linlin.
- Turn 5 (9 Don): 7-cost Charlotte Linlin.
- Turn 6 (10 Don): 10-cost Charlotte Linlin.
Going Second
- Turn 1 (2 Don): Charlotte Pudding.
- Turn 2 (4 Don): Kikunojo or Charlotte Perespero or O-Nami + Attack Leader.
- Turn 3 (6 Don): Nico Robin or 5-cost Gedatsu or 5-cost Nami.
- Turn 4 (8 Don): 7-cost Charlotte Linlin.
- Turn 5 (10 Don): 10-cost Charlotte Linlin.
Other Cards to Include
- 5-cost Monkey.D.Luffy is tied to the number of Life cards you have left. So falling to two Life cards is usually fine to make sure you can activate his effect. You can play Luffy and trash him to KO a 4-cost Character and draw a card. So you’re not losing on resources, while your opponent is losing a Character in play.
- 4-cost Sanji is a blocker to protect your Leader and can be played on the field through his Trigger effect.
- As for 8-cost Charlotte Katakuri, his On Play effect lets you add 1 Character with a cost of 8 or less to the top or bottom of the owner’s Life area face-up. This can remove one of the opponent’s Characters from play, and although you’re giving them a Life card, it does weaken the field presence. However, 8-cost Katakuri can also place one of your own Characters in your Life area. This gives you an extra Life card to protect your Leader and if you pick a card with a Trigger effect like 2-cost O-Nami, you’ll have a removal option once the opponent damages your Leader.
- Two-Hundred Million Volts Amaru is used aggressively to rest one of the opponent’s 4-cost or less Characters and gain +3,000 Power. You can use it to KO a Character or to attack the opponent’s Leader by resting one of their blockers. The trigger effect trashes two cards from your hand to gain 1 Life card from the top of your deck.
- Thunder Bolt lets you trash a Life card to KO one of your opponent’s Characters with a cost of 5 or less, allowing you to keep control of the field with a low number of Don commitments.