Table of Contents
Heya everyone! The OP05 OP05-060-monkeydluffy is making a hell of a comeback in the OP09 meta. The new Starter 18 and OP09 cards gave the archetype a boost in performance, becoming one of the best decks in OPTCG and a deck to watch out for in tournaments.
The Purple ramp deck uses its Life resources to gain extra Don, allowing you to play higher cost Character a turn earlier than usual. Speeding up your game plan makes it difficult for most decks to keep up with you. and this list has multiple late-game cards to have a win condition carrying the game.
This guide will help you understand how the PLuffy deck works, its general game plan, and how to approach specific matchups. Let's get started!
Gameplan
OP05-060-monkeydluffy is a ramp Leader, capable of gaining extra Don when you're at 3 Don or more. This means we can activate his effect as early as turn 2, getting ourselves an extra Don and playing higher-cost Characters on earlier turns. However, when you activate OP05-060-monkeydluffy's ramp effect, you are forced to self-damage your Leader, adding a Life card to your hand. This gives you more resources in your hand but will drop you lower on Life cards, making it easier for opponents to set up a finisher attack.
The list has strong 4-cost and 5-cost Characters, ensuring you have powerful plays to make on turn 2 regardless if you go first or second. Going first means you get to play a 4 Don Character on turn 2, whereas going second you can play a 5 Don Character on turn 2. Going second is usually a better choice since your Don 5 Characters are a threat too difficult for opponents to ignore.
Since you're playing higher-cost Characters on earlier turns, you want to protect them for as long as possible to keep pressuring opponents during your attack turns. This forces opponents to invest their resources into controlling your side of the field instead of going for your Leader and trying to aggro you down.
Early Searcher
The list has plenty of {Straw Hat Crew} cards, so OP09-069-trafalgar-law is a great play on turn 1 to search for the cards you need for your upcoming turns. This sets the stage for powerful turns, especially if you're missing a turn 2 Character to play.
Don 4 Plays
If we go first, we can play one of our Don 4 Characters on turn 2 by ramping up with our Leader and getting an extra Don. EB01-061-mr2bonkurei-bentham is usually a good option to play early into the game, giving you an extra Don to make future plays easier on you. Your next turns will require you to return Don to activate certain effects so gaining a Don will help you not fall behind on your strategy.
EB01-061-mr2bonkurei-bentham's attack depends on what the opponent has in play. You'll copy their attack Power when you attack, enabling you to create some pressure with them. However, when rested, EB01-061-mr2bonkurei-bentham is extremely vulnerable and you can't protect them unless you have a blocker in play.
ST18-004-zoro-juurou is a better option for extra resources as he looks at the top 5 cards in your hand and lets you add 1 Purple {Straw Hat Crew} card to your hand. We have a lot of options to choose from, but we must find ST18-005-luffy-tarou for our upcoming turn play.
ST18-004-zoro-juurou is also a 6,000 Power Character, so he's a bit tough to KO early into the game, and when possible, we should protect him to keep an extra attacker in play.
Don 5 Plays
The 5 Don Characters are your go-to options when you're going second. On turn 2, you'll be at 4 Don, and activating Leader effect for the extra 1 Don allows you to play either OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid or ST18-003-san-goroup.
OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid is best played early game for his Ramp effect. When you return a Don, OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid will automatically activate his effect and give you 1 Active Don, which you can attach to one of your attackers. Characters like ST18-005-luffy-tarou and OP09-065-sanji will return Don to activate their effects, so OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid is great here for the extra Active Don you get.
As for ST18-003-san-gorou, he acts as a draw engine, drawing you a card when he goes for the attack, but you need to have 8 Don or more for the effect to Active. So if you're at 7 Don, you can ramp to 8 with Leader and get the extra card draw. Since ST18-003-san-gorou is a draw engine, your opponents will go above and beyond to remove him from the field. When possible, protect him from attackers to ensure you keep the extra daws flowing the ST18-003-san-gorou's attack will still force Counter cards from the opponent.
7 Don Carries
We can play our Don 7 Characters on turn 3 thanks to Leader OP05-060-monkeydluffy's Ramp effect.
ST18-005-luffy-tarou is your strongest play on Don 7, allowing you to go wide on the field with an extra {Straw Hat Crew} Character. You can return a Don to activate ST18-005-luffy-tarou and cheat out a 5-cost or less Purple {Straw Hat Crew} Character. So you usually want to play ST18-004-zoro-juurou or ST18-003-san-gorou alongside ST18-005-luffy-tarou, creating a threat of two attackers on the upcoming turn for your opponent to handle.
ST18-002-o-nami is another {Straw Hat Crew} Character to cheat out, but she doesn't offer any offensive pressure. Instead, you'll rely on ST18-002-o-nami as a blocker to protect your Leader or a rested Character. Additionally, ST18-002-o-nami activates her effect when you're at 8 or more, trashing a card from your hand to draw 2 in return, which gives you more resources to work with.
OP09-065-sanji is a better option to play for controlling the field, and you'll usually play him if there's a Character you have to KO. OP09-065-sanji returns a Don to gain Rush and rest one of the opponent's 6-cost or less Characters, making it vulnerable to your attacks. This opens up an opportunity to KO that Character or at least for valuable Counter resources from their hand.
Late-Game Carries
OP09-119-monkeydluffy and OP08-069-charlotte-linlin are your late-game carries, acting as high-power Characters for heavy attacks, which you'll in play for as long as possible.
Ideally, we want to play OP09-119-monkeydluffy first, giving us the extra card draw and attacking the same turn he's played with his Rush keyword. The 10,000 Power should be enough to KO most of the opponent's rested Character or damage their Leader. While rested, OP09-119-monkeydluffy is a tough Character for the opponent to remove, especially when played a turn earlier, you'll usually get to attack with him another time or at least force opponent to use up resources to remove him.
As for OP08-069-charlotte-linlin, she has two roles when played, remove one of the opponent's Characters from play and give you an extra Life card. This is a huge defensive play, as you're shifting the field pressure in your favor by putting a 6-cost or less Character in the opponent's Life card and giving yourself an extra Life card, which forces more attacks from the opponent to win the game. You are giving your opponent an extra Life card, but it's usually worth it if you're not being an aggressor, you're weakening their control of the field, which is better for you in the long run.
OP08-069-charlotte-linlin remains a heavy attacker, going for those 9,000 Power attacks to threaten a KO or one of the opponent's Life cards.
Events
Since we're self-damaging our Leader to get extra Don, we often lose 2 Life cards to our effect, so a lot of our opponents might shift their focus on your Leader and try to aggro you down and win the game before you. This is where OP09-078-gum-gum-giant plays a massive role as a defensive Counter event. It costs 1 Don to activate and you have to return 2 Don, so it's best played when you're at 10 Don so you don't fall behind. OP09-078-gum-gum-giant gives your Leader or one of your Characters +4,000 Power boost, counters high Power attacks, and then draws you 2 cards. Those 2 cards you drew can be used to develop the field later in the game, or extra Counter cards to protect your Leader or valuable Characters.
Techs and Options
OP09-063-usopp is a 4-cost {Straw Hat Crew} Character to add more early game consistency.
You can add 2 copies of ST10-010-trafalgar-law to punish opponents that hold 7 or more cards in their hand. Trashing two of their cards can be a huge blow to their resources.
ST04-005-queen is a value card that draws you 2 cards and trashes one. You're gaining a card and filtering your hand for better cards. ST04-005-queen also stays on the field as a 6,000 Power blocker to protect your Leader.
A low-cost {Straw Hat Crew} Blocker to protect your Leader or a rested Character.
General Tips
- Don't overuse Leader effect. Usually, you'll use the Leader effect on turns 2 and 3, taking 2 damage on your Leader. This puts you at 3 Life cards, which is relatively safe from getting aggroed down.
- Protect your Characters. Keeping your Characters in play, especially those with high Power puts you a step closer to winning the game. So whenever your opponent tries to KO them through an attack, we should try to protect them if we can expend the Counter resources.
- Life cards are resources. There are situations where protecting your field is more important than your Leader. You can activate Leader effect to add a card to your hand, which can be used as a Counter to protect your rested Characters.
- Use Leader effect as a finisher. If you're confident you can win the game on this turn, and you have less than 10 Don, you can activate Leader effect to get 1 Active Don and use it to boost your attack. This increases your odds of closing out the game with the extra +1,000 Power. However, this can put you at a huge disadvantage if you don't win the game, making it easier for opponent to win the game on their upcoming turn.
Mulligan Tips
- If you're going first, look for your Don 4 Characters to ensure you have a play. If you're going second, then your Don 5 Characters are what you're looking for.
- 1-cost OP09-069-trafalgar-law helps you plan your future turns.
- ST18-005-luffy-tarou is your strongest play for the mid-game, so you want to have it in your hand.
Important Matchups
Blue Doflamingo
- We're up against an extremely aggressive deck, capable of developing multiple Characters on the field.
- They'll likely ignore your Characters and go straight for your Leader and win the game before you manage to stabilize.
- We can't aggo them down. Instead, we'll focus on KOing their rested Character and weakening their attacks. Rush attackers OP09-065-sanji and OP09-119-monkeydluffy are great to keep attacking their rested Characters and forcing them to burn Counter resources.
- Watch out for OP06-047-charlotte-pudding burning your resources. Since you're self-damaging, OP06-047-charlotte-pudding can be dreadful if you have 7 or more cards. Having at least 6 cards in your hand won't be too rough on you if they go for the OP06-047-charlotte-pudding play. Make sure to Counter early opponent attacks to get your hand size lower.
- OP08-069-charlotte-linlin is how we sustain for the late game, giving us an extra Life card and removing one of the opponent's attackers from play.
- If you're at 0 Life cards, your opponent can go for a OP07-057-perfume-femur to dodge your blockers and close out the game.
Red Shanks
- If your opponent has OP09-015-luckyroux in play, make sure to attack with your 6,000 Power Character first so you get value from it before it gets KO'd. You want to activate OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid's effect first before attacking with it.
- Your opponent can KO your Characters through cards like OP09-009-bennbeckman and OP08-118-silvers-rayleigh. Most of your win conditions are at 7,000+ Power, so they'll need to rely on Power reduction cards like OP09-008-building-snake to put your Characters in range.
- We don't have an answer for OP09-004-shanks, and it'll be extremely difficult for us to KO it. We'll instead focus on the opponent's Leader and try to aggro them down.
Black Marshall D. Teach
- You're up against a control deck that can KO your Characters using cards like EB01-051-finger-pistol. They have cost-reduction cards to help put your high-cost Characters in range for your removal play.
- You can set up OP06-076-hitokiri-kamazo to try and KO the opponent's 2-cost or less Characters like OP09-095-laffitte, OP09-091-vasco-shot, or OP09-090-doc-q when you return Don.
- OP09-081-marshalldteach will usually start activating their Leader effect when you're at Don 7 to prevent you from activating ST18-005-luffy-tarou or OP09-065-sanji. You might find yourself forced to play them without their effects.
- They'll continue to shut off your On Play effects to counter OP09-119-monkeydluffy and OP08-069-charlotte-linlin.
- Your best bet is for opponent to start running out of resources from activating Leader effect, and get an opportunity to go for OP08-069-charlotte-linlin. This lets you remove OP09-086-jesus-burgess from play and the extra Life card will buy you more time.
- You can develop two Characters a turn to try and aggro opponents down ST18-003-san-gorou and OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid.
Closing Words
Purple OP05-060-monkeydluffy is one of the popular decks in OP09 meta, which you'll go up against a lot in tournaments. Even if you're not planning to play the deck, understanding its game plan and what it's trying to do can be extremely helpful when going up against it.
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