Everything We Know About One Piece TCG: The Time of Battle (OP-16)

Release season is once again just around the corner for the One Piece Card Game, and the anticipation is heavier this time. The game's official global simultaneous release starts in August, and for the first time in the game's history, players in the Western format will get access to the set just two weeks after their Eastern counterparts—a far cry from the three-month delay that was once standard.

For players, that means a wide-open competitive meta where optimal play styles haven't been figured out yet and inventive deckbuilders can thrive. For collectors, it's a chance to admire the set's intricate card art and maybe pull one of the three Manga Rares unique to this release. This time, the theme is One Piece's Summit War Saga, with Impel Down and Marineford-focused cards similar to what we saw way back in set 2: Paramount War.

When Does The Time of Battle (OP-16) Release?

The Time of Battle (OP-16) releases in the West on June 12th, 2026, about two months after Adventure on Kami's Island (OP15-EB04) dropped on April 3rd.

OP-16 Pre-release events run from June 5th through 11th across both Sealed and Constructed formats, with a Marineford Luffy promo card (and its stamped Winner variant) available for entrants and winners.

Who Are the New Leaders in The Time of Battle (OP-16)?

The Time of Battle (OP-16) introduces six new Leaders to the One Piece Card Game: Red Portgas.D.Ace, Blue Green Monkey.D.Luffy, Blue Buggy, Purple Sengoku, Black Yamato, and Black Yellow Marshall.D.Teach.

Red Portgas.D.Ace

As a 5-Life red Leader, Ace's ability to give Characters Rush is a mechanic we've seen plenty of in the One Piece Card Game. This time, though, the ability is locked to Luffy and Whitebeard Pirate-type Characters with 8000 power or more, meaning we can give Rush to Characters with both On Play and When Attacking effects. Previous Rush-granting Leaders could only affect one or the other.

Blue Green Monkey.D.Luffy

Blue Green Luffy has 4 Life and the ability to restand 2 of his rested DON!! cards. That may look like a strict downgrade from the 5-Life Mihawk who can restand 3 DON!!, but Blue Green Luffy can do it without having to rest another card. Pair that with strong Impel Down synergies and green's signature Character resting and restanding abilities, and this is shaping up to be one of the sleeper picks of the set.

Blue Buggy

This new Buggy Leader's ability lets him play "Prisoner of Impel Down" from your hand any time a Character is removed from the field, which gets a lot stronger when you consider you can run as many copies of Prisoner of Impel Down in your deck as you want.

Purple Sengoku

With plenty of ramp synergy readily available, Sengoku's deck looks to hit 8 DON!! as quickly as possible, then use his Leader effect to return all that DON!! to the DON!! deck in exchange for summoning three admirals from hand. The ability is reminiscent of Imu's Five Elders combo, though it remains to be seen whether it'll be anywhere near as strong.

Black Yamato

Black isn't usually seen as a Rush-heavy archetype, but Yamato gives cards Rush when they're played from the trash—an interesting twist on the color's mainstay mechanics that actually makes a surprising amount of sense.

Black Yellow Marshall.D.Teach

We hope you're not tired of yellow decks yet, because this Leader, which uses the color's heal mechanics and pressure via life trashing, also has an attack-redirecting Leader effect similar to OP-14 Doflamingo's.

What Are the Most Valuable Cards in The Time of Battle (OP-16)?

Triple-Manga Rare sets don't come along often, but in The Time Of Battle we'll get access to three unique Marine admiral Mangas: Borsalino, Sakazuki, and Kuzan. None of these characters have had Mangas to date, and with their seated poses, will look incredible side-by-side on a shelf. Kuzan tends to be one of the more sought-after characters in the game, so we expect his Manga to be the most valuable, but that's subject to change based on other variables. When it comes to playability, Sakazuki seems to be the most versatile of the bunch.

Following the Manga Rares in value are the Special Rare (SP) cards, and in this set, they're bringing back the fan-favorite realistic portrait style that made OP-04's SP cards such highly sought-after pieces. 

For these, we expect the Ms. All Sunday SP to be the most expensive, as it's the one that most closely resembles the famous Boa Hancock SP from OP-04. The Ace SP has plenty of potential too, as Ace tends to be one of the more popular characters among collectors. Most of the other SPs on offer already see significant play, so any of them could feasibly fetch high price tags, especially considering they all look fantastic.

Finally, there's a new alt-art "Manga Event" of the yellow Blackbeard event Zehahahahahaha!!! That seems incredible with its black-and-yellow swirls and bold text. We expect the texturing on this one to look wild in person.