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Hello everyone, Sorry here! With OP-06 finally out for the west, it's time to explore different new decks and learn the meta. Green/Yellow Yamato is considered a top meta deck, known for its early threat with Yamato Leader's Double Attack.
In this article, I'll share different Yamato builds that operate under different game plans. Each build has its own gameplay style, allowing you to pick what suits you best.
Let's first take a look at Leader Yamato. The "Double Attack" on a Leader allows for powerful attacks that threaten 2 lives out of the opponent. This means you'd rather target their Leader with Yamato to either force out Counter cards or push the double hits.
The Double Attack isn't the only way Yamato applies pressure on the opponent. Yamato can also give 2 Rested Don!!! to one of your Characters if the opponent's health is down to 3 or less. This means you want to push early damage with Yamato or your Characters to get access to those 2 Rested Don!!! cards, allowing you to crack up the pressure a notch.
O-Nami is one of the strongest, low-cost cards in the deck. The ability to give your Leader Yamato Banish and strike the opponent's Leader can threaten to get rid of two Life cards. This can be a value swinger and even if the attack doesn't go through, it'll force a couple of Counter cards. She also works well with cards like OP03-108-charlotte-cracker and OP06-118-roronoa-zoro.
O-Nami also has one of the best trigger effects, allowing you to KO any Character with a cost of 5 or less, this could swing the game in your favor and disrupt the opponent's game plan.
Although Izo seems underwhelming at first glance, the ability to rest a 4-cost or less Character allows you to get rid of a Blocker like OP02-114-borsalino or OP04-104-sanji for the turn, paving the way for your Yamato Leader to strike the opponent's Leader. The +2000 Counter is the cherry on top, acting as a reliable protection tool for your Leader.
Your late-game finisher play is a must in every build. Hody Jones can rest two of the opponents' Characters, basically removing two blockers from the equation and making it easier for you to reach their Leader and threaten to close out the game. Hody Jones is an 8,000 Power Character with Rush, immediately creating a threat on play.
Yamato Fortress
Yamato Fortress build has been gaining more attention as it adopts a different playstyle than what we're used to with Yamato. The list is all Green cards except for O-Nami since it's too good not to include it.
This deck wants to prolong the game and set up OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701 on the board. Yamato's ability to give 2 Rested Don!!! makes it easier to activate OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701 ability and force the opponent to deal with him if they want to target Yamato.
Yamato Fortress deck includes multiple blockers to help you in the early defensive game and to back up OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701, making it exceptionally challenging for the opponent to KO OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701. With that, you've effectively set up your Fortress, allowing you to start attacking and forcing out resources while in the safety of OP01-051-eustasscaptainkid-701.
The list includes 12 low-cost blockers: OP01-039-killer, OP05-030-donquixote-rosinante, and OP05-036-monet which makes it easy for you to set up your Fortress. OP05-036-monet can shut down an attacker if she's KOed, slowing down the opponent's aggression.
Cards like ST02-007-jewelry-bonney and OP05-034-baby-5 are draw-value pieces to help you find the key cards to set up your game plan.
OP04-031-donquixote-doflamingo joins the battle as an additional protection layer to keep attackers rested, buying you more time as you set your aggressive attacks with Yamato and Hody Jones. OP04-031-donquixote-doflamingo's 10,000 Power remains a threat on the board later on, making it almost impossible for opponents to Counter out of the attack.
The Fortress build runs OP05-037-because-the-side-of-justice-will-be-whichever-side-wins over OP06-115-youre-the-one-who-should-disappear since you don't really have trigger cards in the deck to justify its inclusion, and the ability to rest one attacker could serve the same purpose.
As for Punk Gibson, it's another protection tool to boost your Leader's Power and rest a 4-cost or less attacker. Another great defensive spell just in case your opponent has the manpower to push through your Fortress. The trigger effect is worth it as well, acting like a OP04-100-caponegangbege, and resting any Character regardless of its cost (doesn't rest Leader).
Sky Wano Hybrid Yamato
If you're an OP05-098-enel fan, the Yamato Sky Wano Hybrid version might be right up your alley. It can build up the mid-game board presence with cards like Ohm, Holy, Charlotte Cracker, and Kikunojo. This means your opponent is forced to deal with your board development rather than fully focusing on KOing your Leader Yamato.
OP06-104-kikunojo can be the most troublesome for the opponent in the mid-game. She's a 6,000 Power attacker who gives you an additional Life card if KOed. This means they aren't happy KOing her and will likely try to ignore her if possible to prevent you from getting that Life card.
Some lists include ST12-003-dracule-mihawk, a board swarmer that allows you to drop Slash Characters like Ohm or Kikunojo rested on the board for free. You're fine with Kikunojo being rested since if she does end up getting KOed, you're still getting a Life card out of her. As for Ohm, you could follow it up with a Holy, going wide on the board and creating an aggressive upcoming turn.
Speaking of trigger effects, this list has Satori, Shura, and Charlotte Cracker with a trigger effect allowing you to play them on the board. This means every time your opponent goes on the swing at your Leader Yamato, they might end up building your board and creating more of a threat.
Unlike the Fortress version, Sky Wano Hybrid adds Roronoa Zoro as a late-game win condition with the multiple attacks it can set up. The 9,000 Power can be difficult for decks to deal with and will likely set you up to close out the game.
Although this list doesn't run OP05-102-gedatsu, it is a consideration to include, but the card feels counter-intuitive to what Leader Yamato wants to do early on with the Double Attack. If you manage to get an attack through, Gedatsu feels underwhelming in hand with his removal ability. It can still find use by KOing pesky low-cost blockers that shut down your attack.
Including cards like OP05-102-gedatsu or OP05-100-enel instead of Charlotte Cracker and Roronoa Zoro moves you more to the full-on Sky Island build, which has won the Tokyo CS tournament. Some lists have even tested around with OP04-100-caponegangbege, but aren't too popular.
Wano Kuni Yamato
This version can put up a lot of aggression by taking advantage of cards from the Land of Wano. Dracule Mihawk works best in this version as he lets you play cards like Kikunojo, Charlotte Cracker, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi creating a threatening board for the upcoming turn.
Inuarashi and Nekomamushi require x2 Don!!! to activate their effects, which can be a bit taxing for most decks. However, Leader Yamato's ability to give 2 Rested Dons covers that for you. This allows you to focus on building up the board while at the same time getting the most out of your Characters' abilities.
Charlotte Cracker puts that Double Attack pressure alongside your Leader, creating an opportunity to take away mid-game Life Cards, which will make it easier for your late-game finishers to close out the game.
The inclusion of Kouzuki Momonosuke adds a layer of protection to the deck. The 5-cost blocker can't be easily removed with its 6,000 Power, and with its ability to add a Land of Wano Character to the top or bottom of your Life Area, it buys you more time to start setting up your bigger plays like Hody Jones and Roronoa Zoro.
With the many Land of Wano cards this deck runs, it makes sense to add 1c OP01-041-kouzuki-momonosuke to look for key cards to play on future turns, and at the same time, it forces your opponent to attack and KO Kouzuki Momonosuke.
You're the One Who Should Disappear comes in handy to protect your Leader in the late game, buying you an extra turn to set up the winning play. The trigger effect works best in the Yellow builds since the Life Card you add could have a trigger effect that finds use depending on the scenario. It is though a situational card, and you might not find use for it in specific games as a Trigger effect.
OP06-116-reject is one card I saw some lists including, which can be versatile depending on the state of the game. You can use it either offensively to damage the opponent's Leader or KO a blocker, or defensively to deal with a 5-cost or less threat.
Closing Words
Yamato Leader has seen success in the OP06 Japanese format meta, and will likely continue that success in the West meta. I shared the three most popular versions that you'll likely see players run. There was a less popular Fishermen Yamato version that included cards like OP06-025-camie, OP06-023-arlong, and OP03-033-hatchan in the deck.
The lists I've shared of each build in this article can be tweaked around to your liking and playstyle. This is it from me, hopefully, you found this article useful. I'll see you at the next one!
