Table of Contents
Red/Purple Trafalgar Law is a challenging yet rewarding deck to master. It balances aggression and board control to create threatening attacks and close out games with an onslaught on the opponent's Leader. It has been holding up well in the OP06 meta, consistently showing up in tournament top cuts.
Gameplan
Trafalgar Law is a 4 health leader, meaning you're more vulnerable to aggressive attacks if you're unable to keep pace with board development. Law's ability allows you to return 3 Don!!! from the field to your Don deck to place an opponent's character with 3000 or less Power at the bottom of their deck. Additionally, you can play a 4-cost or less character from your hand.
This ability is a game-changer, tilting the board in your favor and establishing a formidable presence that can be challenging for opponents to deal with. The Don!!! you return can be rested or attached to one of your Characters or Leader, so you get to take advantage of them before returning them. Obviously, returning 3 Don!!! can be brutal on your upcoming turn, having less Don to work with, so you have to use Law's ability wisely. With the multiple ramp Characters this list includes, we won't fall behind on Don easily, and can continue activating Leader effect while maintaining our field development.
This R/P Law deck focuses on board control while building a threatening force capable of forcing resources out of the opponent and eventually closing out games. Your Leader's low health means you don't want to give opponents the luxury of freely attacking your Leader head-on, so keeping up the pressure and forcing them to deal with your board would keep you safe.
Power Reducers
Otama, Gordon, and Raise Max are your low-cost Characters with a Power reduction ability. Otama's -2000 Power effect can put 5000 Power Characters in Leader Law's range to remove off the board. Gordon and Raise Max go the extra mile, reducing a Character's Power by -3000 and putting 6000 Power Characters like Rob Lucci in Law's removal range.
You could drop Godron and Raise Max on turn 1 and leave them there for whenever you want to activate their effects. This saves up Don especially if you're going first, getting to play OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid on turn 3 and removing one of the opponent's characters at the same time. However, the matchup you're going against will dictate whether you want to take that risk since some decks can remove Gordon or Raise Max, shutting down the cost-reduction play.
Don!!! Management
Trafalgar Law's ability uses up a lot of Don!!!, so you can't feasibly play it every turn without repercussions. This will slow you down on future turns, affecting field development and attack pressure.
Luckily, we have access to cards that ramp us up, helping us maintain an acceptable number of Don!!! for future turns.
OP05-067-zoro-juurou is our early ramp card, ideally played on turn if you're going first. For OP05-067-zoro-juurou to give you an active Don, you need to attack with him and be at 3 health. This means we want to take the first hit on our Leader so we can ramp up on our upcoming turn. This will also force the opponent to attack and KO a rested OP05-067-zoro-juurou since they want to prevent you from attacking with him a second time and ramping again.
EB01-061-mr2bonkurei-bentham is one of the strongest Purple cards in EB01. On play, EB01-061-mr2bonkurei-bentham gives you an extra active Don, which you can use to either boost your attack or set up another character. EB01-061-mr2bonkurei-bentham can copy the power of one of the opponent's characters when going for the attack. If they have a 5,000+ Power character, then you can find use attacking with EB01-061-mr2bonkurei-bentham.
ST10-008-shachi-penguin is the strongest in terms of ramping, giving you two rested Don when played. However, ST10-008-shachi-penguin needs you to have 3 or less Don!!! on your field to add 2 Don!!! cards, so we need to be mindful of that when playing ST10-008-shachi-penguin. Since ST10-008-shachi-penguin has a +2000 Counter, there are scenarios where you'll prefer using it for its counter effect.
ST10-008-shachi-penguin can be easier to set up by playing them through Leader Law's ability in the early game. You'll get to drop down to 3 or less total Don, giving you back 2 rested Don.
OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid is a great character to have on the field as early as possible, immensely benefiting our game plan. He's a 6,000 Power blocker that can be used offensively or defensively. However, his true strength lies in his effect to give us 1 Active Don once per turn when we de-ramp. This means we're gaining back 1 Active Don to use in our turn whenever we activate Leader effect.
As for OP04-064-ms-all-sunday, she's a ramp card, giving us 1 rested Don, but also offers a card draw if you have 6 Don in total. So playing her at 5 Don is enough to get that draw since she's giving us a rested Don. She also has a powerful trigger effect letting us play her by returning 2 Don, technically we're returning 1 Don since she's ramping on play.
Value Resource
The Law deck doesn't have much reach when it comes to card draw engines, so we heavily rely on OP06-069-vinsmoke-reiju to get that draw two cards and ensure we have options open for future turns. She also remains on the field as an attacker that your opponent can't ignore.
Then there's ST04-005-queen, who will return a Don!!!, but will give you two new cards and let you trash one. It's not a bad trade-off, if you're trashing a card you don't see yourself playing on the upcoming turns.
Blockers
We talked about how Esutass"Captain"Kid and Queen's effects play out in the Law game plan, but they are valuable blockers with their 6000 Power. It can be challenging for opponents to go through them, and might force out Don!!! attachments from the opponent.
As for ST10-010-trafalgar-law, he acts as a blocker but can also trash resources from the opponent's hand. This does come under the condition of the opponent holding 7 cards in their hand, so we want to play ST10-010-trafalgar-law on the first opportunity we get to trash 2 of their cards and disrupt their game plan. If they're at 6 cards, we could try committing attacks and force them to take 1 hit on their Leader, putting them at 7 cards in hand. Obviously, if the opponent knows what you're up to, they'll counter the attack, but still worth attempting it.
Lastly, OP07-064-sanji is a +2,000 Counter card, but he can be played for only 3 Don if you have 2 less Don than the opponent. So with Leader Law's effect to return Don, we can take advantage of OP07-064-sanji becoming a 3-cost blocker. This can be an easy development on the field to either protect your Leader or be used offensively on upcoming turns.
Pressure Attack
The whole idea with the R/P Law Deck is to play two Characters with Law's help and then unleash a flurry of attacks your opponent can't handle.
If we're looking to pile up the pressure in the game's later stages, EB01-003-kid-killer and OP01-025-roronoa-zoro are your guys. With their Rush ability, you can drop them on the board through Trafalgar Law's ability and attack immediately. This also means you can use up Don!!! aggressively before dropping them for an additional attack.
EB01-003-kid-killer is the carry of this deck, threatening 7,000 Power attacks when opponent is down to 2 Life Cards. Opponents will prioritize KOing EB01-003-kid-killer, as they don't want to deal with the 7,000 Power attacker on the upcoming turn.
This forces more resources out of the opponent and can be too much for them to deal with, ultimately losing the game on the spot.
Gameplay Video
Techs and Options
OP01-013-sanji: This is a tech card against Yellow decks like Enel that try to keep you at 4 health. This deprives you of Life Card resources and puts your 4-cost characters at the threat of getting KO'd by Gedatsu. OP01-013-sanji's self-damage shuts down the plan. It can also shut down a late-game Yamato from KOing a 4-cost Character.
OP01-029-radical-beam A counter-defensive card that you'll likely get the +4000 Power out of. It can shut down your opponent from winning the game on a specific turn, giving you an additional attack turn to close out the game.
OP02-013-portgasdace: Ace is a late-game threat, capable of dropping the Power of two characters, making it easier for you to attack and KO them or put them in range for Leader Law to remove them off the board.
P-017-trafalgar-law: Although Trafalgar Law is a bit costly to set up, the -2000 Power ability and remaining on the board as a threatening attacker is worth it. However, you can't sequence its effect with your Leaders. For example. you can't play Trafalgar Law through Leader Law's effect, activate the Power reduction, and then remove the character with your Leader ability. You'll always have to use 4 Don!!! to drop Trafalgar Law first, activate its effect, and then use Law's ability.
ST10-012-bepo: An on-play ramp card that can continue ramping for you every time he attacks. This means opponents can't afford to leave him unanswered for too long.
OP06-009-shuraiya: Shuraiya is a low-cost blocker to have in dire situations. This could make the opponent's attacks awkward and could be enough to protect your Leader. Additionally, Shuraiya gets to match the opponent Leader's Power, so you can easily block a Leader's attack or use him offensively.
General Tips
- Don't overuse Trafalgar Law at every turn. You want to be able to play your higher-cost characters like OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid and get the Don!!! value.
- Don't use active Don to activate Trafalgar Law's ability. You want to make the most out of your Don!!!, so ensure you play out your Characters or attach Don and strengthen your attacks before returning them to your Don!!! deck.
- Try playing cards that give you Don!!! as early as possible to ensure better upcoming turns. So prioritize playing cards like OP05-067-zoro-juurou, EB01-061-mr2bonkurei-bentham, ST10-008-shachi-penguin, OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid.
- When setting up your winning turn, you can focus on using your Dons aggressively to ensure your attacks go through and use Law's ability to put a Rush attacker on the field for an additional final attack.
Mulligan Tips
- OP05-067-zoro-juurou, EB01-061-mr2bonkurei-bentham, and ST10-008-shachi-penguin are important cards to have early in the game as they provide you with that extra Don!!!. If you're going first. then OP05-067-zoro-juurou is a keep, if you're going second then EB01-061-mr2bonkurei-bentham is the better choice.
- OP05-074-eustasscaptainkid is also a solid card to have in your hand, dropping it as early as possible gives you an additional protection layer while also adding Don!!! cards.
- P-013-gordon or OP01-006-otama find use if you want to remove opponent's characters off the field.
Matchups
Black Rob Lucci
- The Black Rob Lucci deck has the control tools to remove our attackers. We want to develop two Characters whenever possible, maximizing our aggression.
- We prefer to remove OP05-093-rob-lucci through Leader effect, especially if they don't have other copies of him in the Trash. This shuts them down from playing him through Gecko Moria.
- Blocker Rebecca can be easily removed with our Leader effect. They'll likely use her as a blocker immediately, so if we're trying to set up a winning turn, we could spend our Don playing Roronoa Zoro and then remove Rebecca off the field through Leader effect.
Green Jewelry Bonney
- OP07-021-urouge and EB01-012-cavendish are two important cards for us to remove with Leader Law's effect. They're giving the opponent additional Don that will be used during their defensive turns to rest one of our attackers.
- They can struggle to control our multiple field development. The plan is to aggro them down and not give them enough breathing room to play Hody Jones or Roronoa Zoro safely.
- We need to save two of our cost reducers to shut down the fortress game plan. Our attackers will have a rough time going through OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701, so having a -5,000 cost reduction on OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701 and removing him off the field will destroy the opponent's strategy. However, if we don't have that cost reduction ability, we can divert our Leader effect on their blockers, removing them off the field and setting up powerful attacks on OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701.
Yellow Enel
- They'll avoid attacking your Leader to keep your 4-cost characters in range for OP05-102-gedatsu to KO.
- Use your attacks first before activating Leader Law's ability. You could trigger one of their cards and allow them to develop something on the board. You'll want to be able to play a cost reducer + Leader law ability to remove it.
- We want to drop Enel down to 2 health and hold off our attacks. The plan here is to start building up the board, creating one powerful turn to potentially close out the game. Keeping them at 2 Life Cards means they won't get value out of Yamato or Ace.
However, if you're down to two Life Cards, then it's worth going for a Leader attack on their Leader, dropping them to 1 Life Card. The reason for that is so that Yamato doesn't get to KO one of your 4-cost characters. - If they're playing extremely passively and just focusing on KOing your rested characters, use your Counter cards to protect your attackers. Only do this if you're not over-committing to save a character (they only have 1 or 2 attacks).
Black Gecko Moria
- They have the tools to keep your board in check. It's crucial to develop two characters on the board as much as possible to present a threat.
- Aim to place Absolam and Rob Lucci at the bottom of the opponent's deck with your Leader ability. If you avoid Koing them and removing them using Trafalgar Law, your opponent won't get to bring them back on the board from Trash.
- Borsalino and Sabo are bothersome blockers with their 6000 Power. They're difficult to put in range for your Leader Law to remove unless you have Gordon or Raise Max.
- They'll drop Gecko Moria as soon as possible for the value plan. It can be challenging to keep up with that, especially if they play a second one. From there, the plan is to prioritize attacking their Leader and closing the game as soon as possible.
Yellow Katakuri
- You can remove the majority of their mid-game such OP03-113-charlotte-perospero and OP04-104-sanji threats with Leader Law's ability. You'll need to save up Gordon for 6000 Power Characters such as OP05-102-gedatsu and OP06-104-kikunojo.
- Putting OP06-104-kikunojo at the bottom of the deck with Leader Law's ability means the Katakuri players won't gain an additional Life card.
- You'd rather trash a Life card when they play 7c Charlotte Linlin. Giving them an additional Life Card will make it difficult for you to close out the game as soon as possible.
- They can remove your last Life card with cards like OP03-114-charlotte-linlin.
- Blockers are important in the late game to keep your Leader safe. OP05-115-two-hundred-million-volts-amaru can only rest blocker Law but is useless against Queen and Eustass"Captain"Kid.
Blue Purple Reiju Vinsmoke
- Return Don!!! to your Don!!! deck as early as possible to shut down the Reiju players from activating their Vinsmoke characters' abilities.
They'll likely sneak in one Vinsmoke in the early game, and will later be unable to activate any of their Vinsmokes as long as you have less Don!! than them. - This an extremely favored matchup for you, and your opponent will rely more on dropping on a Vinsmoke Judge to salvage the game.
Green/Yellow Yamato
- If you're up against the Skypiea version, you'll both find yourself trying to close out games quickly.
- O-Nami + Big Yamato swing can be brutal, try to counter out of it if possible.
- Blockers are valuable in this game to shut down Yamato Double Attack.
- The Fortress version will set up a wall with OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701 and a bunch of blockers, making it impossible for you to go through. You'll be forced to remove him with Leader Law's ability + (Gordon + Otama -5000 Power reduction.)
Closing Words
Red/Purple Law is one of the top 3 performers in OP07 meta. It's important to learn the ins and outs of this deck even if you're not planning to pick it up competitively. You'll likely go up against it a lot, and knowing what your opponent is planning to do helps you understand the matchup and how to approach it.
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