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The long-awaited EB02 cards have finally been released in the East, and players are eager to get their hands on them to experiment with new strategies. The Anime 25th Collection introduces a variety of alternate arts for old Leaders, but the standout newcomer is EB02-010-monkeydluffy, a Green Purple EB02 Leader that focuses on {Straw Hat Pirates} type Characters.
This EB02 release brings significant upgrades to several decks in the current meta. While some have faded in popularity, these new additions could breathe fresh life into them, potentially setting the stage for a strong resurgence in OP10!
Yellow
Two strong Yellow cards in EB02 will give Yellow OP05-098-enel a push into the meta. Although the deck remained a consideration among players, Yellow OP10-099-eustasscaptainkid became the community's favorite choice in competitive tournaments.
EB02-054-sanji and EB02-052-enel play around your Leader being at low Life cards, perfect for an OP05-098-enel strategy. EB02-054-sanji's Blocker keyword makes him a valuable defensive Character to block one of the opponent's attacks, preventing them from winning the game, and buying you enough time to stabilize the field. On top of that, if you're at 2 or less Life cards, EB02-054-sanji draws you 2 cards and lets you trash 1. A great resource Character to fix your hand and make sure you have the plays you need for upcoming turns.
EB02-052-enel is the new win condition in Yellow OP05-098-enel, giving you a 10-cost Rush attacker with 11,000 Power, capable of knocking out anything in its path. If your Leader is at 1 Life card or less, you can activate EB02-052-enel's effect to gain a Life card and +1,000 Power boot.
Since EB02-052-enel only gains the Rush keyword if your Leader's type is {Sky Island} it can be tough to justify adding him in other Yellow decks. You'll almost always prefer OP07-119-portgasdace for the Rush attack.
Purple
EB02-061-monkeydluffy can only work with multicolored Leaders, giving you the Rush keyword when played. A 7,000 Power Rush Character that can set itself as Active after attacking, allowing you to for a second attack to create an aggressive turn on the opponent. To set EB02-061-monkeydluffy as Active you have to return 2 Don, take one Life card, and place it in your hand. It's an expensive effect, but the two attacks in one turn can swing the game in your favor, getting you closer to winning the game by going full aggro on the opponent's Leader.
Since EB02-061-monkeydluffy is a Purple color Character who only gains Rush with Multi-colored Leaders, he can be played with Leaders like ST10-002-monkeydluffy, EB02-010-monkeydluffy, and OP09-061-monkeydluffy to make use of his aggressive turn.
EB02-036-nico-robin and EB02-037-franky fit in {Straw Hat Crew} decks, perfect for the new EB02-010-monkeydluffy Leader. EB02-036-nico-robin offers a card draw on KO and will be used to block an attack, so you can control when she is KO'd.
EB02-037-franky and EB02-035-sanji-pudding are ramp options that activate their effects when you have less or equal Don to the opponent, so you need to play them in decks that make use of deramp effects.
Black
The new Navy synergy! EB02-044-sengoku is here to play out a Navy-type Character from your trash, developing two Characters in one turn.
EB02-044-sengoku can cheat out Characters like ST19-004-hina, OP02-096-kuzan, ST06-008-hina, OP02-114-borsalino, and OP02-098-koby can be played from the trash through EB02-044-sengoku to activate their effects.
That Character you play through EB02-044-sengoku will be rested, but activating their effects will generate additional value. Decks like OP02-093-smoker, OP07-079-rob-lucci, and OP06-080-gecko-moria can take advantage of EB02-044-sengoku.
Blue
The new 2-cost EB02-025-donquixote-rosinante specifically synergizes with Leader OP05-022-donquixote-rosinante to give the archetype an early additional development without having to use Don and extra resources.
EB02-025-donquixote-rosinante's effect lets you look at the top 4 cards in your deck and cheat out a 2-cost or less Characters rested. You will have to rest a Don and EB02-025-donquixote-rosinante to activate his effect, which puts him in a vulnerable spot.
However, your opponent will have to KO two rested Characters, EB02-025-donquixote-rosinante and the one he cheated from your deck, and using your Leader OP05-022-donquixote-rosinante's Blocker keyword, you can protect one of them from an attacker.
EB02-028-portgasdace is a value card that works with {Whitebeard Pirates} type Leaders, capable of playing a 2-cost Character from the top 5 cards in your deck. EB02-028-portgasdace can be an addition to the Blue Yellow ST13-002-portgasdace deck, which relies on 2-cost Kid brothers to cheat out their Adult versions.
EB02-028-portgasdace can play one of the kid brothers from the top 5 cards in your deck, letting you cheat out their Adult version without having to use 2 Don to play the Kid brother.
Green
EB02-015-jewelry-bonney is a bit of a tough call, and players so far are experimenting with just 1 copy of her in their Green Bonney lists. She can keep one of the opponent's Characters rested, preventing it from becoming Active on the upcoming turn then sets 1 of your Don as Active at the end of your turn. So she synergizes with Green Bonney's strategy, but players seem to favor OP07-026-jewelry-bonney.
EB02-019-roronoa-zoro is limited to only Green {Straw Hat Crew} type Leaders, so you don't get to experiment with him in various Leaders. His effect lets you rest one of the opponent's 4-cost or less Characters, and if your opponent has two Characters or more in play, EB02-019-roronoa-zoro can attack a Character on the turn he's played. A pseudo-rush to help remove a threat on the field.
We have multiple {Straw Hat Crew} Green Leaders that could add EB02-019-roronoa-zoro to their lists for a mid-game control effect. Leaders like EB02-010-monkeydluffy, OP01-003-monkeydluffy, and ST12-001-roronoa-zoro-sanji could use EB02-019-roronoa-zoro's full effect.
Red
EB02-006-yamato is a new Red {Land of Wano} or Leader Ace support card, giving your Leader or one of your Characters a rested Don and then gains Rush, putting the 7,000 Power to use on the turn they're played.
EB01-001-kouzuki-oden will be the Leader who benefits the most from the new EB02-006-yamato, especially since he can turn EB02-006-yamato into a +1,000 Counter when needed. The rested Don EB02-006-yamato attached to your Leader enables you to activate EB01-001-kouzuki-oden's +1,000 Power effect.
Event For All
A 2-cost searcher Event for all colors, looking at the top 4 cards in your deck and adding a 4-cost or more card to your hand. This makes it easier for you to find your late-game win conditions and can be a good addition to slow decks that want to take things to the late game. All of these events have a Trigger effect to activate the search effect without using Don. Having a Trigger effect means some cards can synergize with them to activate their effects.
In the first week of EB02, players have been using these searcher cards in decks like OP09-001-shanks, OP06-022-yamato, and OP05-098-enel, thinning your deck and making sure you have a strong mid to late-game.
Closing Words
Although EB02 isn't meant to change the whole meta, it does give many Leaders in the game new tools to add to their lists. Yellow Enel is known to be a huge counter for Blue Doflamingo, so seeing a rise in gameplay might push the Seven Warlords of the Sea Leader out of Tier 0.
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