Table of Contents
Heya everyone! Black Purple OP08-057-king is a new Leader in OP08 meta. Although he's an off-meta choice, he brings a new playstyle to the One Piece card game, combining Purple's ramp and Black's control to take games into the late game and start winning from there.
King hasn't seen major success in the East's tournament scene but is a popular pick among the SIM players who enjoy playing decks that are different from the popular meta choices. There are different builds for this deck, some favor a more powerful mid-game control over late-game carries. I'll mention the different cards players include in their lists in the Techs and Options section.
In this guide, I'll explain Black Purple OP08-057-king's general game plan and the key cards we'll need to start winning games!
Gameplan
OP08-057-king returns two Don to activate one of two effects: Draw a card if you have less than 5 cards in your hand or reduce the cost of one of the opponent's Characters by 2.
So we have a draw engine built into our Leader, giving us draw value so that we continue to have plays to make in the later stages of the game. Additionally, the cost-reduction synergizes with a couple of cards in the list, allowing us to put the opponent's Characters in range for our removal cards to KO.
Since OP08-057-king has to return 2 Don to activate his effect, allowing us to play higher-cost Characters without falling behind on Don.
Early Searchers
Early searcher cards OP08-080-queen and OP07-077-were-going-to-claim-the-one-piece can draw you an {Animal Kingdom Pirates} type card to help find key cards you expect to play on the upcoming turns. This deck includes multiple {Animal Kingdom Pirates} cards, such as ST04-017-onigashima-island, ST04-005-queen, and OP08-074-black-maria.
Also, OP07-077-were-going-to-claim-the-one-piece can draw a {Big Mom Pirates} type card, so we can draw OP08-069-charlotte-linlin off of it.
Stage Ramp
ST04-017-onigashima-island is the most important card in this list, which we'll want in play as early as possible. One per turn, you can rest ST04-017-onigashima-island to gain a rested Don, ramping you up and getting you closer to playing your higher-cost, setting up stronger future turns.
Even in the late game at 10 Don, the deck includes multiple deramp cards, making ST04-017-onigashima-island's ramp effect valuable for staying at 10 Don on the next turn.
Since ST04-017-onigashima-island is a crucial card to get our game plan rolling, we're usually looking for it in our mulligan phase, and when we play our searcher cards since it's an {Animal Kingdom Pirates} type card.
OP08-074-black-maria changes the way we play the game, allowing us to deramp as much as we want without worrying about falling behind. Once we're done deramping, we'll match the opponent's Don using OP08-074-black-maria's effect, enabling us to continue our strategy normally. This means we can use Counter cards more vigilantly and activate the Leader effect to draw cards when needed.
Blockers
Blockers strengthen your defensive strategy, protecting your Leader and prolonging the game until you can set up a winning turn. The three blockers in this deck are all 6,000 Power, so you'll need fewer Counter cards when using them to block an attack. Each one of those blockers has a powerful effect that you'll find value in at different parts of the game.
OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid is your best blocker early into the game, offering a method to ramp up 1 Don per turn when he sees you've deramped. This means we can deramp with the Leader effect or ST04-005-queen in the mid-game, without falling behind on Don.
As for ST04-005-queen, he returns 1 Don to draw two cards and trash one, filtering your hand and giving you an extra card. He's perfect if you need more resource value. Whereas OP04-083-sabo acts as a stronger defensive play thanks to the KO immunity, which can be devastating for specific matchups.
Control Cards
The list has multiple Characters that interact with the opponent's side of the board and they're all tied to the target's cost. We also have cost reduction cards to help us put specific Characters in range for our removal Characters to deal with.
OP08-091-whoswho is a +2,000 Counter card that can KO a 3-cost or less Character. However, needing to trash a card to activate his effect makes him a less appealing play. You'll most likely use him as a Counter card that can be drawn through your searcher cards, but his effect remains a consideration if you want to KO a Character.
OP08-084-jack on the other hand is a card we want in play on Don 7 or 8 to start KOing opponent's Characters and weakening their control of the field. Through his effect, we can rest OP08-084-jack to a KO a 3-cost Character, but we'll have to trash a card from hand. He remains on the field as a high-power Character with an increased cost that makes it difficult for decks like Rob Lucci to remove. Combined with our Leader's cost reduction effect of -2, OP08-084-jack can now KO a 5-cost Character.
His effect can be reactivated once per turn, so we can continue using him as a removal option along with cost-reduction cards like OP02-121-kuzan. OP08-082-sasaki, and OP02-117-ice-age.
On Don 9, we now have OP08-069-charlotte-linlin as a consideration to play, trashing a card from our hand and using OP08-069-charlotte-linlin to gain a Life card and removing an opponent's 6-cost or less Character from play to place it in their Life area. Although we're giving the opponent an extra Life card, taking over the field presence is worth more for the late game.
As for OP02-121-kuzan, he's our highest-cost play, giving all the opponent's Characters a -5-cost reduction and KOing a 0-cost Character. So if there's a 5-cost Character in play, OP02-121-kuzan. OP02-121-kuzan is strong in this deck since he synergizes with OP08-084-jack, allowing him to KO an 8-cost Character and if combined with Leader effect, we're now KOing a 10-cost Character.
OP08-069-charlotte-linlin and OP02-121-kuzan remain on the field as heavy hitters, dishing out high-power attacks that can be challenging to Counter.
Cost Reduction
Other than OP08-057-king's -2 cost-reduction, this deck has OP08-082-sasaki and OP02-117-ice-age to drop a Character's cost. OP08-082-sasaki is a +2,000 Counter card that reduces a Character's cost by 2. To activate OP08-082-sasaki's effect you'll have to rest him and use up one Don, but it forces the opponent to commit an attack on him and KO him if they want to prevent us from reactivating his effect.
OP02-117-ice-age is an easier play to make, allowing you to put a high-cost Character in range for your Character to KO. You'll usually combo it with Jack to KO a high-cost threat.
Events
Since we have multiple cards with no Counter effect, OP03-072-gum-gum-jet-gatling can trash those cards to gain a +3,000 Power boost on your Leader or Character. This can catch opponents off guard, especially if they're trying to set up the winning turn.
Techs and Options
ST14-007-nico-robin is a strong consideration in this deck, with at least two copies. She's a 7,000 Power attack who when played or attacking can reduce the cost of one of the opponent's Characters by -4. However, you must have a Character with a cost of 8 or more in play for her effect to activate, so she works best with OP08-084-jack.
Gecko Moria is a great value card in the late game, however, this list isn't built for Gecko Moria, so you'll need to do some tweaks. Add 4-cost Characters like OP05-091-rebecca and OP06-076-hitokiri-kamazo so Gecko Moria can play from the trash.
OP08-079-kaido is a powerful late-game play to trash one of the opponent's 7-cost or less Characters. Combined with the Leader effect, you can trash 9-cost Characters. It's great against decks with immunity to KO effects.
If OP08-119-kaido-linlin manages to stay on the field and attack, it can shift the whole game in your favor, destroying the field and shutting down the opponent's aggression. OP08-119-kaido-linlin is also giving you a Life card while trashing one of the opponent's Life cards, adding to your resource value.
General Tips
- We need to be careful when returning Don through the Leader's effect, as it can slow down our ability to play high-cost Characters. Ideally, we should wait until we have 9 or 10 Don before activating the Leader effect. However, we might use it earlier to KO a key Character with Jack's effect.
- Since our Leader has only 4 Life cards, we want to preserve our Life cards whenever possible. This also should help us stay at 5 cards or less in hand so we can activate the Leader effect in the late-game for the card draw.
- Blockers will play an important role in the late game to shut down attacks and buy you more time to win the game.
- We have multiple cards that can filter our hand like OP08-084-jack, ST04-005-queen, and OP04-083-sabo. Use those to fix your hand in the late game, and trash cards you'll need the least. If you've already established a board presence, your priority is to find Counter cards to protect your Leader. If possible, draw with the Leader effect first before using the Trash effects as you could find yourself wanting to trash the card you just drew.
Mulligan Tips
- ST04-017-onigashima-island is the premium card we want early into the game. OP08-080-queen and OP07-077-were-going-to-claim-the-one-piece are useful for finding ST04-017-onigashima-island or OP08-074-black-maria. They can also find late-game cards so we continue to have plays to make.
Important Matchups
Black Rob Lucci
- We are playing for the late game. KO their threats and rely on your high-cost Characters to win the game.
- OP08-084-jack is strong in this matchup since the opponent will struggle to KO it. They'll likely rely on Gecko Moria or another high-cost Character to attack it when rested. When possible, Counter out of those attacks to keep OP08-084-jack in play for as long as possible.
- They can't rush you down unless there are Characters in play, so removing those Characters ensures you can slow play the game until they run out of resources.
- OP02-121-kuzan is a carry in this matchup, capable of KOing a 5-cost Character. However, if the opponent doesn't KO him, he'll be a real pain for them throughout the game.
Black Yellow Luffy
- Avoid attacking their Leader recklessly. The goal here is to prevent them from going for the Leader effect + Gecko Moria play. Instead, we want to take things to the late-game relying on our high-cost Character to carry.
- We can't afford to leave ST13-015-monkeydluffy in play for too long. He's self-damaging the opponent, creating value, and getting them closer to their combo play. We only have OP08-084-jack to KO him as soon as possible.
- OP08-069-charlotte-linlin and OP02-121-kuzan are the late-game Characters we rely on to threaten to KO rested Characters or damage the opponent's Leader even when Power boosted. OP08-069-charlotte-linlin can mess up their combo play by placing a Character they can't cheat out in the Life area.
- OP04-083-sabo is the most troublesome for you, shutting you down from reaching their Leader and winning the game.
Green Bonney
- In this matchup, we're focused on removing key Characters off their field, like OP07-021-urouge, EB01-012-cavendish, and OP08-023-carrot. OP07-021-urouge and EB01-012-cavendish are offering extra Don for the opponent, which we can't afford to leave them on the field for too long.
- Using Bonney's Leader effect, the opponent can rest one of our attacks. Make sure to attack with your highest Power Character first to get the most out of your attacks.
- OP07-029-basil-hawkins can be bothersome to deal with since he dodges a removal effect by resting one of your Characters. One way to KO him is through OP08-084-jack since he rests himself when activating his effect. However, make sure everything else is rested on your side of the field, attack with them first then use Jack's effect to KO OP07-029-basil-hawkins.
- Some lists are running OP05-030-donquixote-rosinante for the OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701 game plan. We'll have to rely on OP08-069-charlotte-linlin + cost-reduction to remove their bigger threats.
- OP06-118-roronoa-zoro is the biggest threat that we need to remove immediately before their upcoming turn. We'll likely lose on the spot if we allow him to attack us three times. Ice Age should be great here to put him in range for OP08-084-jack or OP08-069-charlotte-linlin to remove.
Closing Words
Although Black Purple King hasn't been showing up much in tournaments, it remains a fun Leader to explore and develop unique strategies around. The control powers of this deck along with its ramp capabilities, make it a tough deck to beat the longer the game takes. One of its best perks is having both Black and Purple colors, which means you can tweak the list to adapt to the meta, and you're not strictly tied to the list I shared here.
