Table of Contents
Hody Jones is one of our new OP06 Leaders that we don't see much play of in tournaments or on the SIM. This is a difficult deck to pilot in the current meta, particularly in determining the optimal moments to utilize Hody Jones' ability.
Hody Jones rallies the Fish-man Characters on his crew, making for synergic plays with his Leader's ability to set up stronger attacks and forcing opponents to expend resources.
Gameplan
Hody Jones has an awkward ability, which lets you rest an opponent's Character with the cost of 3 or less or a Don!!!. Activating this ability means you'll sacrifice an attack with Hody Jones for that turn. This doesn't feel appealing much in hindsight, since losing an attack isn't usually worth resting a 3-cost Character.
However, Hody Jones also stops any of your cards' effects from taking a Life Card from the top of your Life Area and adding it to your hand. This is exceptionally useful when setting up your plays since the deck has a lot of self-damage cards that could end up putting you at risk of losing without the Hody Jones effect.
This deck aims to put board pressure by developing multiple Characters in some turns using ST12-003-dracule-mihawk and OP06-024-ikaros-much effects. The early aggression sets the state for your late-game cards, OP06-035-hody-jones and OP06-118-roronoa-zoro to become threats capable of keeping the pressure on the opponent and closing out games.
Early Starters
Camie is your early searcher, letting you draw a {Fish-Man} type character and helping you set up for future turns.
Dosun and Daruma offer the early to mid-game pressure with their "When Attacking" abilities. Dosun gains +2000 Power on the attack, putting him at 6,000 Power, capable of KOing characters or going for Leader's Life Cards. He also cannot be KO'd in battle, so opponents need to rely on effects or events to deal with him.
As for Daruma, if he manages to stick on the board the two attacks the card unleashes can be daunting, especially with Daruma gaining a +1,000 Power during that turn.
Both cards require you to add 1 card from the top of your Life cards to your hand. So using Leader Hody Jones' ability here will allow you to dodge the effect while still getting to set up your plays.
Board Developers
Dracule Mihawk and Ikaros Much are key cards for the mid-game pressure. Their effects allow you to develop an additional Character with a 4 cost or less on the board, creating a more threatening attack that can end up difficult for the opponent to deal with.
Dracule Mihawk play characters with <Slash> attribute like OP06-029-daruma, OP06-034-hyouzou, and OP03-033-hatchan as follow up plays. While Ikaros Much can play cards with "Fish-man" type like OP06-029-daruma, OP06-030-dosun, and OP03-033-hatchan
This board development is crucial in the mid-game to ensure your opponent doesn't get a foothold in the match, forcing them to have answers.
Board Control
The Hody Jones list doesn't have much interaction with the board. This deck focuses on developing the board and setting up powerful attacks.
While the deck lacks board control options, Vander Decken IX offers a valuable removal tool by KO'ing any rested Characters. This does come with the price of trashing 1 {Fish-Man} type card from your hand, so you want to use it on big threats that can shift the game in the opponent's favor.
Chew is another removal but limited to 4-cost or less Characters. It's also a bit of an expensive 4-cost play that only has 3,000 Power. However, you can play it along with Ikaros Much for free.
OP06-034-hyouzou can be exceptionally strong on the board, gaining +1,000 Power and resting a 4-cost Character when on the attack. This allows you to strike the opponent's Characters or set up removal plays with OP06-033-vander-decken-ix or OP03-029-chew.
The Heavy Hitters
Hody Jones is great for shutting down blockers and paving the way for your attackers to connect with the opponent's Leader. The ability to rest Characters can be a nightmare for opponents at low health, and with Hody Jones having Rush, you're threatening an 8,000 Power attack, difficult for the opponent to Counter out of.
In some cases, you might opt to clear out the board by resting potential threats. This helps you win the board presence and ensures you demolish the opponent's attempt to end the game on the upcoming turn.
Roronoa Zoro is your high-cost play, which is invaluable in slow-paced matchups. The ability to attack not once, not twice, but three times a turn with Roronoa Zoro can be devastating for opponents, potentially closing out the game on the spot.
Events
We need to have defensive cards that can buy us an additional attack turn to win the game. This is where Because the Side of Justice Will Be Whichever Side Wins!! is crucial since it's a 0-cost +3000 Power to a Leader or a Character. You are forced to Trash one card from hand, so choose the one you likely won't need on the upcoming turn.
Stage
Quite the expensive play, usually you'll use it if you already have an established board and want to KO potential threats or get rid of blockers by resting them.
However, activating this card's trigger effect can entirely shut down a board of attackers, making for an awkward turn for the opponent and buying enough time to win with your heavy hitters.
Techs and Options
Jinbe has not yet been released for the West. It's a 4-cost 5,000 Power Character that is searchable through Camie and can be played through Ikaros Much. It's also a 2,000 Counter card, which you'll find the need for in a lot of situations.
Arlong is a nice defensive play to shut down the opponent's leader attack. This comes at the cost of trashing one card from hand but can come in handy in situations where prolonging one turn can be enough to set up the winning play. This also can be good against Leaders with powerful attacks like Katakuri and Yamato.
Since Arlong is a {Fish-Man} type Character, he fits in right in the deck and can be played by ST12-003-dracule-mihawk and OP06-024-ikaros-much without having to use Don!!!.
A defensive card to protect your Leader. It does force you to hold 2 Don!!! to play it. The +4,000 Power can keep your Leader safe from a threatening attack along with protecting one of your rested Characters by making them Active.
A massive late-game play that keeps 3 of your opponent's rested Leader and Character cards from becoming active on their upcoming turn. This is a defensive card to shut down their upcoming offense while still existing on the board as a 10,000-power threat.
General Tips
- If you're against a slow-paced game, it's fine not to activate Hody Jones' ability. This allows you to set up more attacks and get the Life card value if you're running out of resources.
- Be careful when OP06-030-dosun and OP06-029-daruma go for the attack. If Leader Hody Jones' ability isn't active they will put a life card in your hand, which could put you in the danger zone.
- You have a lot of 4,000 Characters, so putting at least 1 Don!!! on them and attacking the opponent's Leader can force out the +1,000 Counter cards.
- ST12-003-dracule-mihawk plays cards rested on the board, so you'd rather play out the OP06-034-hyouzou with 6,000 Power. OP06-034-hyouzou is more bothersome for the opponent to KO, unlike the 4,000 Power OP06-029-daruma or OP06-030-dosun, whom will struggle to survive.
- To save up on card resources, OP06-033-vander-decken-ix can trash an already played OP06-041-the-ark-noah to KO a rested Character, instead of trashing something from hand.
Mulligan Tips
- Camie is a great early play to help you fight the right pieces for future turns.
- ST12-003-dracule-mihawk and OP06-024-ikaros-much are important to have for the early game board pressure.
- OP06-034-hyouzou is a card you want to see in your hand. Even if you don't get to play it through ST12-003-dracule-mihawk, you're still getting value by just resting things and threatening to KO them.
Important Matchups
Black Gecko Moria
- They can deal with your low-cost threats using Rob Lucci or Absalom.
- Chew can KO threats like Rob Lucci or Kuzan.
- They'll need Ice Age to deal with Hody Jones and Roronoa Zoro.
- Being able to set up two units in one turn is important in this matchup to ensure they don't win the board.
- You can rest blockers like Borsalino or Sabo with Hody Jones to strike down the Leader.
Yellow Katakuri
- Leader Hody Jones can rest OP03-113-charlotte-perospero for you to attack it.
- Gedatsu can be problematic since you have a lot of 3 and 4 cost-valuable characters, it almost always will find value.
- Hody Jones and Roronoa Zoro are the carry cards for this matchup. They don't have the tools to KO Roronoa Zero outside of 10c Charlotte Linlin, so you'll guarantee at least 3 attacks with Roronoa Zoro unless OP04-100-caponegangbege stops him from attacking.
- You want to make sure the Katakuri player doesn't dominate the board. Try and KO their Characters to keep things in check.
- 10c Charlotte Linlin or Reject can trash your Life Card, putting you at the threat of losing the game.
Vinsmoke Reiju
- They're able to keep your board in check with OP06-065-vinsmoke-niji. It can return one of your 4-cost or less Characters to your hand, slowing down your game plan.
- You want to try and close out the game before Judge takes over the board and sets up a powerful attack turn.
- It's difficult for your attacks to go through with the many Counter cards they'll have in hand. Their Leader and OP06-069-vinsmoke-reiju offer a lot of card value for them.
- They'll rely on OP06-061-vinsmoke-ichiji to give -2000 Power to 8c Hody Jones and attack him afterward.
- They don't have an answer for Roronoa Zoro, so if you manage to survive until you get to attack with him, the three attacks could close out the game.
Closing Words
Green Hody Jones has access to many powerful cards, capable of creating a threatening board. It's lacking in terms of defensive capabilities, focusing more on a powerful board presence and unleashing multiple attacks on the opponent to force resources out of them. It can take a while to get the hang of the deck, but performing with Hody Jones is always worth it!
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