How to Build a Monkey D. Luffy Deck in One Piece Card Game

So, you want to become King of the Pirates, eh?

After nearly 1200 episodes, I can't say I blame you. One Piece has become a foundational part of so many lives all over the world and Monkey.D.Luffy is as central to that success as he is to the series itself. Unwavering loyalty, enviable flexibility and a bottomless stomach are all admirable traits... although I may pass on the hotheadedness given the choice.

If you'd also like a little more Straw Hat in your life, the One Piece TCG offers the perfect avenue to do so. As a leader-focused card game, you'll select your favorite character from the franchise and build a dedicated deck around them. They'll feature heavily in each and every turn that you play, which helps your deck to feel flavorful and thematic. Whoever you find yourself idolizing, they'll be available in leader form - and that's incredibly cool.

It's even sweeter if you're a ride-or-die for a face of the franchise. Protagonists like Roronoa Zoro receive multiple different leader cards, allowing you to champion your favorite character across a variety of colors and play patterns. Nobody benefits from that more than Monkey. D. Luffy, who has a whopping nine different leader cards to choose from.

The fact that only Monkey.D.Luffy (ST10-002) has more than 5000 power is more frustrating than it should be.

While not all of these leaders are competitively viable, they're more than reasonable at your kitchen table with friends. In fact, more than half of them debuted in a Starter Deck, which means you can literally purchase a single product and start slamming games with Monkey.D.Luffy fresh out of the box!

If you're competitively charged, fear not. Monkey.D.Luffy always has one variant or another towards the top of the metagame and offers a variety of ways to play - but where do you get started? Which cards should you be looking at if you want to build a deck around Monkey.D.Luffy?

Black Yellow Luffy (ST13-003)

If we look back across the last 12 months, Monkey.D.Luffy (ST13-003) has been the most popular and powerful version of our protagonist. This version of Luffy looks to use the kid versions of Monkey.D.Luffy (ST13-014) and Sabo (ST13-007) to turbocharge your leader up to an unbelievable 9000 power and replay some of your most powerful cards, all while creating powerful resource loops with Gecko Moria (OP06-086).

The deck is notoriously difficult to play at the highest level - but that isn't a bad thing if you're looking to invest into a deck you're hoping to play for a long time to come:

Michael Emeofa's Black Yellow Luffy - 1st Place at Championship Finals Orlando

Leader

• 1 Monkey.D.Luffy (ST13-003)

Character (45)

• 4 Monkey.D.Garp (ST13-013)
• 4 Charlotte Flampe (EB01-056)
• 1 Makino (ST13-012)
• 4 Kouzuki Hiyori (OP06-106)
• 4 Sabo (ST13-007)
• 4 Monkey.D.Luffy (ST13-014)
• 1 Emporio.Ivankov (ST13-005)
• 4 Kuzan (OP02-096)
• 2 Shirahoshi (ST08-006)
• 4 Sabo (OP04-083)
• 4 Monkey.D.Luffy (ST13-015)
• 4 Monkey.D.Luffy (OP07-109)
• 1 Sabo (ST13-008)
• 4 Gecko Moria (OP06-086)

Event (5)

• 3 The Three Brothers' Bond (ST13-019)
• 2 Kingdom Come (EB01-059)

Choosing this version of Luffy allows you to play a ton of flavorful cards that do a great job at retelling the story of the three brothers. You'll be using the young versions of our heroes to routinely peek at their older selves, and the likes of Monkey.D.Garp (ST13-013) and The Three Brothers' Bond do a spectacular job at making you feel like you're living inside these important plot points. That's something I kind of love, honestly.

From a gameplay perspective, you're packing some of the biggest, baddest black cards in the entire game. Sabo (OP04-083) and Gecko Moria (OP06-086) will carry forward into nearly every black deck you make in future, which makes them a spectacular investment. They'll also be winning you a ton of games by keeping you safe and returning your kid brothers to play over and over.

Black Yellow Luffy is incredibly rewarding to play and stands to be a competitive pick for some time yet. If you're dead-set on playing Luffy, you could pick a much worse choice. That said, the deck is hard. Like, really hard. If you're a brand new player who isn't deeply invested in the three brothers storyline, you may prefer to start your journey somewhere else.

Mono-Black Luffy (ST14-001)

If you're looking for something a little simpler, but intend to build up to Black Yellow Luffy in the future, ST14 Luffy is the perfect place to start. This version of the leader does a much better job at allowing you to play with most of your favorite members of the Straw Hat Crew. Brook (EB01-046), Sanji (ST14-003) and Nico Robin (ST14-007) all find a home inside this shell, making it the perfect home for some copies of Thousand Sunny (ST14-017).

Fantome's Mono-Black Luffy - 27th Place at Core TCG Online Regional

Leader

• 1 Monkey.D.Luffy (ST14-001)

Character (43)

• 4 Tsuru (OP02-106)
• 4 Brannew (OP03-089)
• 4 Tashigi (ST06-006)
• 4 Brook (EB01-046)
• 4 Rebecca (OP05-091)
• 3 Laboon (EB01-048)
• 1 Borsalino (OP02-114)
• 4 Sanji (ST14-003)
• 3 Sabo (OP04-083)
• 3 Nico Robin (ST14-007)
• 3 Jack (OP08-084)
• 4 Gecko Moria (OP06-086)
• 2 Issho (OP03-078)

Event (4)

• 4 Ice Age (OP02-117)

Stage (3)

• 3 Thousand Sunny (ST14-017)

This deck is all about cost manipulation - for both you and the opponent. Between your leader ability and Thousand Sunny, you should be activating the powerful effects of Sanji (ST14-003) early and often, which will shoot down just about any character in the game thanks to your myriad of cost reduction. Brook (EB01-046) is a similar story, pairing beautifully with Nico Robin (ST14-007).

If you can't increase your costs across the board, cards like Jack (OP08-084), Gecko Moria (OP06-086) and Issho (OP03-078) offer numerous ways to get your leader ability active the hard way while progressing your game plan. You may even find yourself playing a razor-thin tempo game rebuying Rebecca (OP05-091) while you get your engines online. Altogether, the deck is decision dense but fundamentally simple to understand, which makes it the perfect springboard for a newer player making their way into the game.

Purple Luffy (OP05-060)

Finally, we'll look at the brightest up-and-comer amongst the Luffy's. Monkey.D.Luffy (OP05-060) has been around for a hot second, but the deck recently burst onto the scene off the back of a wave of new support from Starter Deck 18 and Emperors in The New World. Now, the leader champions one of the most feared decks in the game at any tournament - and it plays a whole lot differently to most other Luffy!

SPZ_Daniel's Purple Luffy - 5th Place at Championship Finals Orlando

Leader

• 1 Monkey.D.Luffy (OP05-060)

Character (46)

• 4 Trafalgar Law (OP09-069)
• 2 Nico Robin (OP09-071)
• 4 Uso-Hachi (ST18-001)
• 4 Zoro-Juurou (ST18-004)
• 3 Hitokiri Kamazo (OP06-076)
• 3 O-Nami (ST18-002)
• 2 Mr.2.Bon.Kurei(Bentham) (EB01-061)
• 4 Eustass"Captain"Kid (OP05-074)
• 4 San-Gorou (ST18-003)
• 1 Fra-Nosuke (OP05-070)
• 4 Sanji (OP07-064)
• 4 Luffy-Tarou (ST18-005)
• 3 Sanji (OP09-065)
• 2 Charlotte Linlin (OP08-069)
• 2 Monkey.D.Luffy (OP09-119)

Event (4)

• 4 Gum-Gum Giant (OP09-078)

This deck actually gets to play several different versions of Luffy throughout the deck, and also features fan favorites like Eustass "Captain" Kid and Trafalgar Law amongst the smattering of Straw Hats. You'll be looking to play slightly ahead of the curve with your powerful leader ability, trading life cards for acceleration that'll ultimately slam huge threats onto the board way before they're supposed to.

The first jump to four DON!!! is particularly impactful, allowing over-statted haymakers like Zoro-Juurou (ST18-004) or additional acceleration like Mr.2.Bon.Kurei (Bentham) (EB01-061) to send the game into overdrive. From there, you'll nearly always be above that all-important eight DON!!! and have a wide world of effects to choose from on any given turn.

To me, Purple Luffy is the perfect place to start if you want to play a Luffy deck - it's quite literally what I did myself! The majority of the important cards can be easily found in a Starter Deck or the most recent booster set, and the deck has a bright and powerful future ahead. You also get a whole lotta Luffy for your money. What else could you ask for?

Closing Thoughts

Regardless of which Luffy appeals to you most, there's a million different ways to play the little rascal in the One Piece TCG. In fact, try them all. Otherwise, you may never know which you enjoy the most.

Need additional help? No worries! Shoot me a message at @HowlingMines on Twitter/X or @howlingmines.com over on Bluesky and I'll look to take care of you. Alternatively, give my other work here on TCGplayer a peek for another slice of everything nice surrounding your favorite card games.

But until next time.

I've been HowlingMines, you've been amazing!

Stay safe out there - and happy gaming!