Table of Contents
Heya everyone! The Yellow Kalgara Leader is one of our new Leaders in the West OP08 meta, which brings a different way to play Yellow color than what we're usually used to. This deck takes a fast-paced approach, using your own Life cards to cheat out Shandian Warrior Characters on the field and create aggressive turns.
This guide will help you understand Kalgara's game plan and how to approach different matchups.
Gameplan
OP08-098-kalgara is an aggressive Yellow Leader, capable of damaging himself to cheat out 1 Character on the field. When attacking, attach 1 Don to play a {Shandian Warrior} type Character from hand. That Character's cost has to be equal to the total number of Dons you have on your field.
So we're usually aiming to activate the effect on Don 5, developing a 4-cost Character like OP05-101-ohm and cheating out a 5-cost Character OP06-114-wyper, creating multiple threats in play to start going for aggressive attacks.
Early Searchers
In early turns, we have our search cards to find cards we expect to play on upcoming turns. Both searcher cards OP05-117-upper-yard and OP05-106-shura can look at the top 5 cards in your deck and place 1 {Sky Island} type card in your hand.
Since most of the list has {Sky Island} type cards, we should consistently find useful cards for upcoming turns. When picking a card, it's important to keep in mind what we currently have in our hand and which card we want for future turns. Cheating out a Character on turns 3 and 4 is critical to keep the pressure on the opponent.
The Aggressors
OP05-101-ohm is usually the best play on Don 4 or 5, letting you look for a OP05-110-holly and play it on the field without having to use up any Don. If we already have a OP05-110-holly and you end up not finding one, you can still play the OP05-110-holly in your hand.
OP05-101-ohm and OP05-110-holly are creating a double threat on the turn they're played, and if you're on Don 5, you can attach 1 Don on Leader for a 6,000 Power attack and play OP06-114-wyper or OP08-110-wyper, taking your aggressive game plan to the next level by developing three Characters in one turn.
Shandian Warriors
When playing Characters, we're prioritizing playing non-{Shandian Warrior} type Characters like OP05-101-ohm, OP08-109-mont-blanc-noland, and ST13-011-portgasdace the traditional way, by playing them from hand and using Don. However, when it comes to {Shandian Warrior} type Characters, we prefer to cheat them on the field through the Leader effect. Obviously, there will be situations where playing a {Shandian Warrior} type Character from hand is a must to continue developing on the field.
OP06-114-wyper is the best play on Don 5. You can develop a 4-cost Character along with OP06-114-wyper to create a powerful turn. His 7,000 Power is no laughing matter and will force Counters if opponents want to protect a rested Character or their Leader from OP06-114-wyper's attack. We want to have OP05-117-upper-yard in play when going for OP06-114-wyper, allowing us to activate his effect and draw an [Upper Yard] or {Shandian Warrior} type card.
So if we're planning a OP06-114-wyper on the upcoming turn, drawing OP05-117-upper-yard through OP05-106-shura can create more value for a stronger late game.
If we don't have 5-cost OP06-114-wyper available in hand on Don 5, we can go for the 4-cost OP08-110-wyper, which is significantly weaker but still maintains field development and an attacker for the upcoming turn. The odds of finding and playing an OP05-117-upper-yard through OP06-114-wyper are extremely low, so don't have your hopes up when playing him. The goal here is to develop multiple Characters and maintain an aggressive turn even if it's sub-optimal.
On Don 6+, OP08-099-kalgara is the best {Shandian Warrior} type Character to play through the Leader effect, acting as an 8,000 Power attacker who presents heavy attacks to help you win the game.
By turn 4, OP08-109-mont-blanc-noland and ST13-011-portgasdace are the 5-cost Characters we want in play along with OP08-099-kalgara, however, the sequencing is important here. If we're playing OP08-109-mont-blanc-noland, we will need to have a OP08-099-kalgara in play to gain a Life card. So we should first activate the Leader effect when attacking and cheat out OP08-099-kalgara on the field and then follow it up with the OP08-109-mont-blanc-noland play. The Life card we gain gives us an additional protection layer to prolong the game and more value when we put that card in our hand, either to play it later in the game or use it as a Counter card.
As for ST13-011-portgasdace, we need to have 2 Life cards when we play ST13-011-portgasdace to gain that valuable Rush. So if we're at three Life cards, we should activate the Leader effect to cheat out a {Shandian Warrior} type Character, damage our Leader, and then play ST13-011-portgasdace to gain Rush.
We aren't necessarily tied to those two Characters on turn 4. For instance, we can still play OP06-114-wyper and OP08-099-kalgara to present a strong upcoming turn. Especially since OP06-114-wyper doesn't have a Counter effect, so playing him on the field will yield more value than having him stick in our hand for too long.
Events
OP05-114-el-thor and OP08-115-the-earth-will-not-lose are defensive Events giving our Leader or one of our Characters a Power boost, helping us prolong the game or keep a Character alive to continue creating aggressive turns.
With that in mind, we should identify which turns we'll likely play those Events, so we can bank Don for the defensive turn.
OP05-115-two-hundred-million-volts-amaru is an aggressive Event, letting you rest one of the opponent's Characters and gain a +3,000 Power boost. This is useful if you're trying to KO a key Character for the opponent or need to rest a blocker so you can go full force on the opponent's Leader.
OP05-115-two-hundred-million-volts-amaru can also catch opponents off guard with its trigger effect, giving you a Life card and forcing opponents into an additional attack to win the game.
Techs and Options
A low-cost blocker to protect your Leader or one of your rested Characters.
Rusher OP07-119-portgasdace can be a powerful late-game player if you're down to 0 or 1 Life card, giving you back a Life card and going for an immediate attack to put that 10,000 Power to use.
OP07-116-blaze-slice can be used offensively or defensively depending on the state of the game. You gain a +1,000 Power boost and can rest a 4-cost Character. So you're either shutting down an attacker, resting a Character so you can attack and KO it, or preventing a blocker from halting one of your attacks on the opponent's Leader.
Forces opponents to make the tough choice of either trashing 2 cards from their hand or trashing a Life card. ST20-005-charlotte-linlin sticks on the field as a 7,000 Power attacker, but we can't cheat her out through the Leader effect, so we'll likely play her on Don 7 along with a Shandian Warrior.
General Tips
- Whenever we use the Leader effect, we lose 1 Life, increasing our aggression but weakening our defenses. When we're low on Life cards, we must consider whether the opponent can create a finishing blow on the upcoming turn before activating our Leader effect.
- We want to develop two Characters in one turn starting on Don 5, creating aggressive upcoming turns to damage the opponent's Leader.
- When possible, protect your rested Characters to keep the threat of multiple attackers alive.
- Multiple of our cards are tied to the number of Life cards we have, so keep that in mind so you don't miss out on activating their effects.
Mulligan Tips
- Searcher cards like OP05-117-upper-yard and OP05-106-shura help shape our upcoming turns.
- OP05-101-ohm and OP06-114-wyper to ensure an aggressive early game.
Important Matchups
Black Rob Lucci
- We have to play extremely aggressively in this matchup, OP05-101-ohm into OP05-110-holly will be an amazing start.
- If they have a rested EB01-046-brook we can attack and KO it. It'll require more Counter cards to protect it.
- Dropping them to 1 Life card is the goal, so keep developing two Characters to make it challenging for them to deal with everything.
- Rusher Ace will play a huge role in this matchup, helping you set up the finishing turn if they're at 1 Life card or if they have a blocker.
- OP05-115-two-hundred-million-volts-amaru can rest a OP05-091-rebecca, shutting down their blocker and getting to attack their Leader directly.
Black Yellow Luffy
- We're up against a Leader who wants to fall to 0 Life cards and start activating his effect to cheat out Adult three brothers from the trash.
- We're forced to attack with Leader to develop more on the field but hold off attacks with your Characters, try to leave them at 1 or 2 Life cards. The plan here is to shut them down from easily playing Gecko Moria and forcing them to use a self-damage card.
- OP08-099-kalgara will be the carry in this matchup since you'll find yourself trying to bleed them out of Counter resources when they've Power-boosted their Leader.
- The opponent will develop OP04-083-sabo to shut down your attacks and prolong the game until they set up the winning line.
Red Roronoa Zoro
- The Red Zoro is an aggressive deck trying to go wide on the field and attack you multiple times. Since we're self-damaging at least twice this game, we're technically a 3 health Leader.
- Attack their rested Characters and slow down their aggression. We can't match their aggression, so the plan will be to run them out of resources and win the board, and from there we can start attacking their Leader.
- Be wary of rush attackers. Red Zoro has access to Characters like OP01-025-roronoa-zoro, EB01-003-kid-killer, and OP07-015-monkeyddragon that pose an immediate threat to the field. Prioritize KOing EB01-003-kid-killer since the +2,000 Power it gains can be tough to deal with.
- Opponents will try to protect an attacker or two and will even use up all their Counters to ensure they maintain an attacker.
- It's a must to KO OP08-007-tony-tonychopper and prevent the opponent from continuously gaining value and developing a Character whenever it attacks.
Black Luffy
- The Black Luffy deck can KO one character a turn, so we have to develop two Characters to create the aggression we need to win the game.
- Many lists run OP03-078-issho, so be sure to keep 5 cards or fewer in hand.
- If they have a rested EB01-046-brook we can attack and KO it. It'll require more Counter cards to protect it.
- OP05-115-two-hundred-million-volts-amaru can rest a OP05-091-rebecca or OP02-114-borsalino, shutting down their blocker and getting to attack their Leader directly.
- It's tough to KO their high-power Characters, and it will come down to whether you believe you can outvalue their late game or not. If you're winning on hand size, you can shift your focus to clear out their high-cost Characters with OP08-099-kalgara to win the field presence.
Closing Words
Yellow Kalgara plays out aggressively, using the Shandian Warrior for an early powerful field that can be difficult for most decks to keep up with. You'll find yourself in situations where falling extremely low on health is the best way to set up a winning line on the upcoming turn. It's a fun deck for those who enjoy an aggressive playstyle and have a strong understanding of what their opponents' decks are capable of and how far they can go with their aggression.
