Table of Contents
Heya everyone! Black Smoker received new Starter 19 cards to boost its overall performance. We never really saw the control deck in the meta at all, but with the addition of ST19-003-tashigi, Black Smoker has a better mid-game, helping set a powerful presence as you approach the late-game.
In this guide, I'll explain Black Smoker's game plan, how cards synergize together, and how to approach different matchups. Let's get started!
Gameplan
Attaching 1 Don to Black OP02-093-smoker allows you to activate his effect, giving -1 Don to one of your opponent's Characters. Since we have multiple Characters that can KO Characters depending on their cost, OP02-093-smoker's effect will synergize with them. Instead of relying on cards to get a -1 cost reduction, OP02-093-smoker can cover that for us, putting Characters in range for us to KO.
Additionally, if one of the opponent's Characters becomes a 0-cost after the reduction, OP02-093-smoker gains a +1,000 Power boost as long as that 0-cost Character is in play. So what we usually want to do if we have a 0-cost Character on the opponent's side of the field is hold off on KOing it, attack with Leader to make use of the extra +1,000 Power, and then KO the target.
There are cases where you can't attack with Leader OP02-093-smoker first. For example, if the 0-cost Character is a blocker, we might opt to KO it first since the opponent will sacrifice it to block the Leader OP02-093-smoker attack.
Early Draws
For ST19-002-sengoku and OP03-089-brannew-764 to work in this deck you need to add as many {Navy} type cards as possible. You want to play these in the early turns to put cards in your trash and find the cards you need for future turns. ST19-002-sengoku trashes two {Navy} type cards and draws you three cards. So we want to trash things we can use to our advantage in later stages of the game. So cards like ST06-008-hina and OP02-098-koby can be trashed and then pulled from the Trash through OP05-091-rebecca or OP06-086-gecko-moria.
OP03-089-brannew-764 looks at the top 3 cards in your deck, draws 1, and trashes the other two. The card you choose will be dependent on your hand and what plays you're trying to set up.
Early Characters
If you're going second, OP02-096-kuzan is the best play to go for on turn 2. When played, he draws you a card and remains on the field as a threat for the opponent to remove. When OP02-096-kuzan goes for the attack, he gives one of the opponent's Characters a -4-cost reduction, making it wasier for you to KO Characters.
OP02-114-borsalino is a reliable blocker to protect your Leader or one of your rested Characters. He's a 6,000 Power Character, so using him as a Blocker will force less Counter cards to keep him alive than Countering an attack on your Leader. He also can't be KO'd by effects, so he's great against Black or Yellow decks with KO effects.
Control Cards
OP02-098-koby-174 and EB01-046-brook are low-cost KO Characters that operate differently but can both be played from the Trash through OP05-091-rebecca.
OP02-098-koby-174 can KO a 3-cost or less Character, so he requires less cost-reduction commitment than EB01-046-brook. However, OP02-098-koby-174 forces you to trash a card from your hand, so you are losing resources to KO a Character, but it's usually worth the trade-off.
As for EB01-046-brook, he gives a 1-cost reduction and KO's a 0-cost Character. So you have to commit more cost-reduction cards to KO high-cost Characters. However, EB01-046-brook is a threat to opponents if he's on the field since attacking with him will reactivate his cost reduction + KO effects. This forces opponents to find answers for him quickly as they don't want to give you a free KO effect.
You'll usually find use for OP02-098-koby-174 and EB01-046-brook later on in the game, especially when combined with OP05-091-rebecca. Both Characters have 4,000 Power, so attaching a Don to them before they attack will force a Counter card from the opponent.
ST19-003-tashigi is the best play on Don 5/6 to control the field and have a 6,000 Power attacker in play. What makes ST19-003-tashigi powerful is she's an independent KO Character. She has a built in cost-reduction and KO effects, allowing her to KO a 4-cost Character if you play her on Don 5 and a 5-cost Character if you play her on Don 6 with the help of Leader OP02-093-smoker's cost reduction.
Since her KO effect is "Activate Main", you can go for the cost-reduction first, drop a Character to 0-cost and hold off on KOing the Character. Attack with your Leader and use the +1,000 Power boost to your advantage and then activate ST19-003-tashigi's KO effect.
OP08-084-jack's effect lets you rest him to draw and trash a card, filtering your hand, and KO a 3-cost or less Character. So through his Activate: Main effect, you can KO a Character on the turn he's played. So you won't find much use when played on Don 7 unless to KO a 3-cost or you have a OP02-096-kuzan in play for the cost-reduction. On Don 8, OP08-084-jack can KO higher cost Characters when combined with Leader effect, OP02-106-tsuru, or OP02-117-ice-age.
Keep in mind that OP08-084-jack needs to rest for his effect to activate, so although you can activate his effect on the turn he's played and KO a Character. However, this can put him at risk of getting KO'd if the opponent has a high-power Character ready to attack him. Also, for our upcoming turn, we'll need to decide whether we prefer to reactive his KO effect and rest him or make use of the 8,000 Power and attack an opponent's rested Character or their Leader.
Additionally, OP08-084-jack gaining +4 cost when he's in play makes him a nuisance for specific decks/cards to remove him. For example, Rob Lucci, Black Luffy, and Black Yellow Luffy decks won't be able to remove him through their cost-reliant KO cards.
Cost Reduction
OP02-106-tsuru and ST06-010-helmeppo are two cost reducers that can be used with the OP06-086-gecko-moria play. ST06-010-helmeppo is the better choice since it has a -3 cost-reduction effect compared to OP02-106-tsuru's -2 cost-reduction. However, OP02-106-tsuru's +2,000 Counter makes her a better card if you're trying to protect your Leader or a rested Character.
We want to make sure we have one of them (specifically ST06-010-helmeppo) in the Trash so when we go for the OP06-086-gecko-moria play, we'll have a cost-reduction Character in the trash to put on the field.
ST06-008-hina is another cost reducer, giving Characters -4 cost-reduction and she remains on the field an attacker thanks to her 5,000 Power. We don't want to hold onto ST06-008-hina for too long. She doesn't have a Counter effect, so she could end up becoming a dead card in our hand. We can use her to lower the cost of high-cost Characters so cards like OP02-098-koby-174 or OP08-084-jack. You can KO a 6-cost Character with ST06-008-hina + Leader OP02-093-smoker effect + EB01-046-brook.
ST19-002-sengoku can also trash her, which you can later play her through OP05-091-rebecca.
Lastly, OP02-117-ice-age is best played for high-cost Characters that are too difficult to put in range for your cost reducers. It's a 1-cost Event, so it's not taking too many resources when played, perfect when going for the OP06-086-gecko-moria on Don 9.
Value Plays
OP05-091-rebecca can put a Black card with a cost of 3 to 7 in your hand and then play a Black Character with a cost of 3 for free. This lets you playout a variety of Characters, like OP02-098-koby-174 and EB01-046-brook to KO Characters or ST06-008-hina for cost-reduction.
OP06-086-gecko-moria is this deck's strongest play, playing two Characters from the trash: one with a cost of 4 or less and the other with a cost of 2 or less. We first need to identify what we want from OP06-086-gecko-moria: KO a Character? Protect our Leader? Gain more resource value?
OP05-091-rebecca achieves all three of those, so she's usually the best option to pick. She lets us pick a card from the trash and put it in our hand and play either OP02-098-koby-174 or EB01-046-brook to KO a Character. We'll likely need a cost-reduction card to put the target in range, so the second Character we play from OP06-086-gecko-moria can be a cost-reducer like OP02-106-tsuru or ST06-010-helmeppo.
If we don't need a cost-reduction effect, we can play a value Character like OP03-089-brannew-764.
If you don't have a OP05-091-rebecca in the Trash or don't feel the need to KO a Character and want to play more offensively, then OP02-096-kuzan or OP02-114-borsalino are other options to pick from. OP02-096-kuzan for the extra draw value and OP02-114-borsalino to protect your Leader from an attack.
Techs and Options
OP03-078-issho is a great play in slow matchups. If opponent has 6 or more cards in their hand, OP03-078-issho will trash 2 random cards, cutting down on the opponent's resources. If you attach 1 Don to OP03-078-issho, he'll give all opponent's Characters -3 cost-reduction, making it easier on you to KO their Characters.
OP07-118-sabo is a great addition to the list against decks that go wide on the field. He can KO two of the opponent's Characters, weakening their presence on the field and helping you regain control.
ST19-001-smoker is can shut down two 4-cost Characters from attacking, toning down on the opponent's aggression and buying you enough time to either control the field or win the game.
ST06-004-smoker is great against decks that rely on KOing Characters through effects. Those effects become useless, forcing them to find other means to deal with him. If you attach a Don to him and lower the cost of one of the opponent's Characters to 0, ST06-004-smoker gains the Double Attack keyword, becoming a win condition.
General Tips
- OP05-091-rebecca doesn't have to play the card you get from the Trash. You can play a 3-cost Black Character that is already in your hand and keep the card you got from the trash in your hand. Or you can choose to not play anything and simply draw a +2,000 Counter card for example to protect your Leader on defensive turns.
- If opponent has a 1-cost Character in play, you can drop its cost to 0 with Leader effect (if you don't need the effect to KO a Character) and gain the +1,000 Power boost for a stronger Leader attack.
- Make sure to check your trash if you're planning a OP05-091-rebecca or OP06-086-gecko-moria. If you're missing a card in the Trash to get your OP06-086-gecko-moria off, you can Counter with that spefici card and put in your Trash.
Mulligan Tips
- OP03-089-brannew-764 is great for the early game, helping you find the cards you need for later turns.
- ST19-003-tashigi is one of the best cards to have in your hand. She single handedly ensures you keep your opponent's mid-game under check.
- OP06-086-gecko-moria is one card you want in your hand since you can't search for it. You also don't want it to end up in the Trash, so having it in hand ensures a powerful late-game play.
Important Matchups
Black Rob Lucci
- Both players are trying to keep control of the field. Don't let them keep multiple Characters in play as the OP04-083-sabo play can be devastating.
- OP08-084-jack is a carry in this matchup. The +4-cost he gains puts him at 11-cost, extremely difficult to KO and will force multiple cost-reduction plays for opponent to put him in range. You want to protect him from attackers as he'll play a pivotal role in winning you the game.
- Both players will want to out value each other, so OP06-086-gecko-moria is a premium card in this matchup.
- Watchout for OP03-078-issho. Don't hold onto more than 5 cards in the late-game so OP03-078-issho doesn't trash two of them.
Blue Doflamingo
- They want to go first to attack with their Leader on turn 2 and cheat out a Character early on. You can take turn one from them to prevent that. You have a strong turn 3 (Don 5) with ST19-003-tashigi.
- Our main focus is to control the opponent's side of the field. We can't aggro them down, so KOing their Characters and weakening their aggression is the main goal.
- Most of their Characters are 4-costs, so it's not too difficult for us to put them in range for our KO Characters. ST19-003-tashigi is perfect for this matchup, KOing a Character on her own.
- Blockers will play an important role to protect your Leader in the late-game. Try not to fall to 0 Life cards as some lists run OP07-057-perfume-femur to ignore your blockers.
- Watchout for OP06-047-charlotte-pudding. Your opponent will play aggressively to get early Life cards and play OP06-047-charlotte-pudding to cut down on your resources. Try to stay at 5 cards or less, or at least 6 cards so you aren't punished too much by a OP06-047-charlotte-pudding.
Black Yellow Luffy
- The Black Yellow Luffy player wants to take early hits to drop to 0 Life cards and start activating their Leader effect and cheat out Adult brothers.
- We can't afford to allow ST13-015-monkeydluffy in play for too long. The self damage speeds up their game plan and offers additional resource value. KO it with ST19-003-tashigi + Leader effect.
- OP04-083-sabo is the main problem we have, giving opponents a blocker to protect their Leader and KO immunity, shutting you off from KOing their Characters.
- We need high Power Characters like OP06-086-gecko-moria to present a threat to the opponent's Leader.
Yellow Enel
- Against Yellow Enel, we want to avoid dropping them below 2 Life cards until we can unleash multiple attacks capable of threatening a winning turn. Leaving them at 2 Life cards denies them from getting an extra Life card from OP04-112-yamato and OP07-119-portgasdace. It also makes them trash a card if they play EB01-059-kingdom-come.
- If they attack your Leader early game, you should take the hit. This drops you below 5 Life cards, preventing OP05-102-gedatsu from KOing ST19-003-tashigi.
- We want to develop multiple Characters in play to present a real threat on the opponent. With Leader Enel gaining a Life card everytime they drop to 0 Life cards, it can be a problem to win the game without having multiple attackers.
- They can only play 1 Character a turn, so if we manage to KO each one of them, we can go for a late-game until they're out of resources.
- Remember, they have Trigger cards that can KO your Characters. OP08-106-nami, OP07-109-monkeydluffy, and OP06-101-o-nami can KO your Characters, potentially ruining an aggressive turn you're going for.
Closing Words
Black Smoker is one of the top 10 most-played decks in OP08.5 meta, a popular choice among players. Its control playstyle is similar to that of Black Rob Lucci, so players who want to test a different Leader but still want the control playstyle can pick up Black smoker. It's also holding a positive win rate on the ranked SIM, performing well against the meta decks.
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