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The One Piece Starter 14 deck will be released in the West on August 16! We have 17 new Black cards joining the OP07 meta, which bring new tools for players to experiment with. This small expansion isn't aimed to shake the meta but to bring a new Leader and support cards that might see play in other Black decks.
In this article, we'll take a look at ST14-001-monkeydluffy, the new cards, and how we can build the Leader.
Leader
With Black decks, we usually include cost-reduction cards that aim to put the opponent's Characters in range for removal effects. However, ST14-001-monkeydluffy has a different strategy, increasing the cost of his own Characters to unlock his and other cards' effects.
Attaching one Don to ST14-001-monkeydluffy will give all your Characters on the field +1 cost. This achieves two things: makes it easier for you to activate your Leader's and cards' effects and makes it challenging for black decks to KO your Characters.
Once you have an 8-cost Character on the field, ST14-001-monkeydluffy gains +1,000 Power that sticks on your defensive turns until that Character is removed. This boosts the Power of your attacks and forces opponents to commit more Don on their Characters to get their attacks through. So Leader ST14-001-monkeydluffy having 5 health and the ability to gain a +1,000 Power boost lets him drag out games to the late stages, where your high-cost Characters can take over.
The new Starter 14 deck has many cards that synergize with the cost increase game plan and will make it easier to activate your Leader effect in the mid-game.
Content of the Starter Deck
- Constructed Deck x1 (51 cards)
- DON!! Card x10
- Playsheet x1
Rarities
- Leader Card x 1
- Super Rare x 2
- Common x 12
Characters
A lot of {Straw Hat Crew} Characters joining the West meta. These cards synergize with the cost increase game plan, so they mostly revolve around the ST14-001-monkeydluffy Leader.
In the Starter 14 deck, you'll get four copies of each card except for ST14-003-sanji, ST14-006-nami, ST14-012-monkeydluffy, ST14-014-gum-gum-giant-rifle, ST14-015-gum-gum-diable-three-swords-style-mouten-jet-six-hundred-pound-phoenix-cannon, ST14-016-i-have-my-crew, and ST14-017-thousand-sunny. Those cards will only have two copies, so if you want to have the full collection, you'll have to buy two Starter decks.
Events
All three events have unique effects that find value in different scenarios. ST14-014-gum-gum-giant-rifle is a defensive card to protect your Leader or Character, ST14-015-gum-gum-diable-three-swords-style-mouten-jet-six-hundred-pound-phoenix-cannon is a KO event to control the field, and ST14-016-i-have-my-crew can enable your cards' effect with the cost-increase it provides.
Stage
The stage will be a staple card in the ST14-001-monkeydluffy deck, offering a cost increase to your Characters for the remainder of the game.
Black Monkey D. Luffy Deck
This list has a majority of starter 14 cards, with a couple of popular Black cards we usually almost always see.
This deck tries to increase the cost of Characters up to 8, getting access to Power effects. Cards like Leader ST14-001-monkeydluffy, ST14-017-thousand-sunny, and ST14-016-i-have-my-crew are cost-increasers, raising the cost of one of your Characters enough for you to activate certain effects.
As long as there's an 8+ cost Character on the field, you basically have a 6,000 Power Leader, threatening heavier attacks and making it easier for you to Counter out of attacks.
In terms of field control, this list doesn't run cost-reduction, so you're more limited on the KO tools you have. ST14-003-sanji, ST14-002-usopp, and ST14-015-gum-gum-diable-three-swords-style-mouten-jet-six-hundred-pound-phoenix-cannon are cards capable of KOing threats on the opponent's side.
ST14-002-usopp can KO a 4-cost Character when he goes for the attack. You have to attach a Don to him and have an 8-cost or more Character to activate his effect.
ST14-003-sanji is an independent card, only relying on ST14-017-thousand-sunny or ST14-001-monkeydluffy for the +1 cost increase to activate his effect. He can KO a 5-cost or less Character, so works best in the mid-game to KO a Character.
As for ST14-015-gum-gum-diable-three-swords-style-mouten-jet-six-hundred-pound-phoenix-cannon, this event boosts the Power of one of your Characters by +3,000 and can KO a 2 or less cost Character if you have an 8-cost or more Character on the field. So on its own, it's pretty much useless and will be dependent on ST14-007-nico-robin's cost reduction.
ST14-012-monkeydluffy can become a rush attacker, presenting an immediate threat on the field to either damage the Leader or attack a rested Character.
Upgrades
So if you have a collection and want to upgrade the list, you could include OP07-118-sabo for his removal effect. The ability to KO two Characters shifts the field presence in your favor, weakening the opponent's upcoming aggression.
OP03-078-issho works best in slow matchups, capable of trashing two of the opponent's cards from hand and acting as a cost reducer later in the game.
Both these cards are 8-cost, so if they stick on the field, they'll enable you to activate your Leader effect.
OP02-114-borsalino and OP04-083-sabo are reliable blockers that can't be KO'd by the opponent's effects. They're useful to protect your rested Character or Leader. OP02-096-kuzan is perfect at Don 4 and can reduce the cost of a Character for your removal cards to KO. Finally, OP02-106-tsuru and OP02-117-ice-age are cost-reduction cards to put Characters in range for your KO effects. OP02-106-tsuru also acts as a +2,000 Counter play.
Other Cards
ST19-004-hina is an ST19 card, so she's still not released in the West, but she synergizes with the Black Luffy deck. You can easily have an 8-cost Character in the early game and attach a Don to your Leader through her effect. So basically, as early as Don 5, you'll be able to gain access to your Leader's effect.
Value cards to play Characters from the Trash. OP06-086-gecko-moria is one of the strongest cards in Black decks, but it's a bit expensive to get your hands on him. However, if you have OP06-086-gecko-moria, it's a potential inclusion if you want more value.
Closing Words
The Starter 14 ST14-001-monkeydluffy brings a new playstyle into the mix, relying on having high-cost Characters on the field to get access to your powerful effects. This Leader can be built differently, either focusing on building a dominant field or relying on controlling the opponent's side of the field.
