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In the EB02 landscape, EB02-010-monkeydluffy reigns supreme, demanding that aspiring contenders come prepared with a robust game plan. So, what does it take to topple this top-tier titan? The decks that find success against EB02-010-monkeydluffy often share critical characteristics. They (1) wield effective removal to neuter key early plays like EB02-035-sanji-pudding, possess mechanisms to (2) mitigate its aggressive onslaught, and can deploy strategies that effectively (3) match or exceed its board-flooding capabilities.
Join us as we explore a selection of decks that embody these essential qualities, offering a beacon of hope against the meta's prevalent threat.
Black Lucci
Deck Winrate: 69.4% over 62 games
Favorability vs Green Purple Luffy: 55%
Given its reputation as a premier removal-based archetype, it comes as little surprise that OP07-079-rob-lucci demonstrates a favorable edge against the formidable EB02-010-monkeydluffy. This particular iteration strategically incorporates two copies of ST08-002-uta alongside a full playset of EB01-048-laboon. This configuration likely aims to ensure a consistent early cost reduction, facilitating the swift removal of an early EB02-035-sanji-pudding, a crucial target for disrupting EB02-010-monkeydluffy's momentum. However, it's important to note that EB02-010-monkeydluffy variants employing multiple copies of EB02-019-roronoa-zoro can effectively counter this early aggression, allowing the EB02-010-monkeydluffy player to rest and retaliate against early OP07-079-rob-lucci units.
Red Purple Luffy
Deck Winrate: 62.3% over 114 games
Favorability vs Green Purple Luffy: 52%
ST10-002-monkeydluffy has emerged as a compelling and somewhat unexpected force in the EB02 meta, experiencing a surge in both play rate and win rate compared to previous formats. This leader boasts a slight advantage in the matchup against EB02-010-monkeydluffy, primarily attributed to its clean and efficient answer to EB02-035-sanji-pudding in the form of ST21-017-gum-gum-mole-pistol. Furthermore, the inclusion of OP09-065-sanji provides a valuable tool for slowing down EB02-010-monkeydluffy's mid-game aggression and maintaining board control.
Green Bonney
Deck Winrate: 59.2% over 71 games
Favorability vs Green Purple Luffy: 55%
With OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701 standing as a premier counter to aggressive strategies, it's logical that the leader most adept at wielding its power, OP07-019-jewelry-bonney, enjoys a favorable matchup against EB02-010-monkeydluffy. This featured iteration further emphasizes this advantage with specific tech choices, including OP08-030-pedro as an effective KO tool. The inclusion of OP08-023-carrot and OP07-021-urouge, both potent anti-aggro cards within the Green color, further solidifies this matchup.
However, as a seasoned OP07-019-jewelry-bonney player, I believe the statistical favorability might be slightly overstated, and the matchup is likely closer to an even split against an optimally played EB02-010-monkeydluffy deck.
Red Green Smoker
Deck Winrate: 55.4% over 92 games
Favorability vs Green Purple Luffy: 60%
While the preceding decks leverage either OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701 or ST21-017-gum-gum-mole-pistol to combat EB02-010-monkeydluffy, OP10-001-smoker uniquely offers access to both! This synergistic combination, coupled with the inclusion of OP08-023-carrot to disrupt the opponent's board with freezes and OP09-009-bennbeckman for additional removal capabilities, positions OP10-001-smoker as a strong contender against the meta menace.
Yellow Vegapunk
Deck Winrate: 60% over 125 games
Favorability vs Green Purple Luffy: 51%
Another intriguing rogue contender emerges in the form of OP07-097-vegapunk. While only slightly favored against EB02-010-monkeydluffy (arguably nearing an even matchup), its ability to even contend with a top-tier deck warrants attention. OP07-097-vegapunk stands out as one of the few archetypes capable of matching EB02-010-monkeydluffy's mid-range swarm strategy, enabling it to effectively contest the board in the crucial early to mid turns. In this matchup, OP08-106-nami serves as the deck's primary removal tool for EB02-035-sanji-pudding, and often, eliminating this key card is sufficient to swing board control in OP07-097-vegapunk's favor.
Green Purple Lim
Deck Winrate: 65.5% over 55 games
Favorability vs Green Purple Luffy: 53%
OP09-022-lim occupies a similar niche to OP07-097-vegapunk, demonstrating the ability to meet EB02-010-monkeydluffy's swarm tactics with its own resilient unit presence. While also only slightly favored against the meta menace, it's commendable that OP09-022-lim has maintained its relevance following its initial surge in popularity during the OP10 format.
The synergy between OP10-037-lim and OP09-031-donquixote-doflamingo grants the deck's units the ability to restand and remain protected from attacks, allowing for consistent offensive pressure without the constant need to dedicate resources to defense. Furthermore, OP09-026-sakazuki provides an immediate answer to EB02-035-sanji-pudding, effectively disrupting EB02-010-monkeydluffy's momentum.
Red Zoro
Deck Winrate: 68.9% over 61 games
Favorability vs Green Purple Luffy: 55%
Moving beyond the unexpectedly popular decks, we arrive at some underplayed but fundamentally strong archetypes that, in my opinion, deserve more attention. True to the theme of previous effective counters, OP01-001-roronoa-zoro excels at both removal and maintaining a strong board presence. This leader has access to ST21-017-gum-gum-mole-pistol, while also leveraging the Animal-centric swarm archetype spearheaded by OP08-007-tony-tonychopper.
For this article, I've chosen to feature an intriguing decklist that incorporates OP09-118-goldroger as a surprising finisher, a strategy that is currently yielding impressive results based on the available data. For players seeking a more conventional approach, the standard OP01-001-roronoa-zoro build previously recommended in our EB02 Meta Tier List remains a solid option.
Red Yellow Belo Betty
Deck Winrate: 61.8% over 102 games
Favorability vs Green Purple Luffy: 60%
While many of the aforementioned decks rely on targeted removal to deal with EB02-010-monkeydluffy's key EB02-035-sanji-pudding, this next contender adopts a purely aggressive approach. OP05-002-belo-betty is arguably the fastest aggressive deck in the current meta, capable of overwhelming even multi-colored leaders with surprising speed, and EB02-010-monkeydluffy, despite its Tier 1 status, is no exception. The featured version adheres to a fairly standard aggressive swarm strategy, proving the adage: if it isn't broken, don't fix it!
Red Blue Marco
Deck Winrate: 64.8% pver 54 games
Favorability vs Green Purple Luffy: 57%
Next up is another archetype that leans heavily into removal: OP08-002-marco. This leader effectively utilizes some of Red's most potent power-based removal cards, including the ST21-017-gum-gum-mole-pistol, OP09-009-bennbeckman, ST15-002-edwardnewgate, and OP08-118-silvers-rayleigh. OP08-002-marco's inherent ability to reduce opponent's character power further enhances its capacity to remove the majority of EB02-010-monkeydluffy's units with relative ease.
The specific version showcased here boasts an impressive win rate and surprisingly incorporates an Animal-focused build, perhaps drawing inspiration from OP01-001-roronoa-zoro's approach to the matchup. This innovative choice warrants close observation to determine its long-term success.
Black Luffy
Deck Winrate: 55.6% pver 54 games
Favorability vs Green Purple Luffy: 57%
Having begun this analysis with a popular Black removal-based deck, it seems fitting to conclude with a more unconventional Black removal-centric strategy: ST14-001-monkeydluffy. While not seeing widespread play in the East, this leader maintains a dedicated fanbase in the West who continue to explore its potential regardless of the prevailing meta. ST14-003-sanji provides a clean and efficient KO option for mid-game units, particularly when coupled with early cost reducers such as EB01-046-brook, OP02-096-kuzan, or ST06-006-tashigi. This particular build utilizes a combination of OP08-084-jack and ST14-007-nico-robin for late-game removal flexibility, and even incorporates the surprisingly impactful ST14-015-gum-gum-diable-three-swords-style-mouten-jet-six-hundred-pound-phoenix-cannon to catch opponents off guard with its unexpected reach and power!
Conclusion
The EB02 meta may be heavily influenced by EB02-010-monkeydluffy, but as this analysis reveals, numerous viable strategies can effectively challenge its dominance. Whether through pinpoint removal, aggressive tempo plays, or the ability to match its swarm, the tools to succeed against this top-tier threat are available. It's now up to the players to pick their weapon of choice, hone their skills, and shape the future of the format.
