How to Upgrade the One Piece TCG Starter Deck 23: RED Shanks

Finally taking the plunge into the One Piece TCG? Welcome to the crew, my friend. We're lucky to have you.

I imagine you're exactly where I was a few short months ago: A strange mixture of excited and incredibly overwhelmed. The game's been swinging from strength to strength for a little over two years now and having that amount of content to digest from the get-go rightfully leads to some hesitation and decision paralysis. It's not always obvious where you're supposed to get started, and those feelings are completely valid, especially if this is your first trading card game.

Thankfully, Bandai offer a concrete onboarding experience for the One Piece card game that's diverse, fleshed out and friendly on the purse strings. You may find pirate treasures within, but you won't need any buried riches to build your first deck. Even better, each new set of Starter Deck products is based around leaders that are currently meta-relevant. They even feature exclusive new artwork!

Most importantly, these decks contain shiny new cards that you can't find elsewhere, and a fistful of important reprints that'll carry over into a fully powered constructed deck. That's exactly what I'm looking for in a new player product so I can't recommend them enough.

However, I tend to find that players become equally lost once they've chosen their starter and jammed some games. You now understand the basics, but how do you start getting better? How do you make your deck better? In fact, how do you know the changes you're considering won't ruin your deck entirely?!

It's a slippery slope when you're just getting started, and I know I struggled to find content to point me in the right direction - so I'm going to make some upgrade guides in the hopes they'll help a little.

We're going to kick things off with the first of the newest selection of starter decks: ST23 Red Shanks, but you'll be able to find guides for each other leader in this wave of releases below as they're completed.

If this is the starter deck you're looking at, let's begin with a closer look at what you'll find inside the box.

Starter Deck 23: Red Shanks - Base Decklist

• Shanks (OP09-001) Alt Art
• 2 Uta (ST23-001)
• 2 Shanks (ST23-002)
• 2 Benn.Beckman (ST23-003)
• 4 Monkey.D.Luffy (ST23-004)
• 4 Yasopp (ST23-005)
• 4 Howling Gab (OP09-006)
• 4 Bonk Punch (OP01-010)
• 4 Hongo (OP09-011)
• 4 Monster (OP09-012)
• 4 Yasopp (OP09-012)
• 4 Limejuice (OP09-014)
• 4 Lucky. Roux (OP09-015)
• 4 Rockstar (OP09-016)
• 4 Come On!! We'll Fight You!! (OP09-020)

I'm disappointed to say that ST23 Red Shanks is one of the more conservative starter decks in recent memory. Shanks (OP09-001) has been a meta-dominant threat since he released in Emperors in the New World (OP09) and I fear Bandai had concerns of pushing him over the top with new support. Uta (ST23-001) and Shanks (ST23-002) feel more at home in Uta (OP06-001) than they do in the namesake leader, which is a bit of a shame at best.

Out of the box, the deck is heavily focused on [Red-Haired Pirate] synergies. Lucky. Roux (OP09-015), Hongo (OP09-011), and Come On!! We'll Fight You!! (OP09-020) are great examples of some of the tools you can abuse by leaning into Shanks as your leader. His once-per-turn ability stifles opposing pressure while the crew lines up favorable trades or directly K.O the problem. As a result, the deck can pivot between aggression and board control with surprising ease, and does a wonderful job demonstrating some of the common decision trees you'll need to follow in the average game of One Piece.

Unfortunately, not much of this product carries over into a full-powered, tournament topping list. The aforementioned Hongo and Lucky.Roux are must-have cards for the archetype, Shanks (ST23-002)might find a home in the right metagame, and Limejuice (OP09-014) both occasionally makes the cut and sees play in other red leaders. Beyond that? We're missing a lot of the power.

So, how do we fix that?

Budget Upgrades

We'll break things up by price point. First, no cards over $5 a copy. That seems like a fair place to start.

There's a few heads-up, obvious replacements. Building Snake (OP09-008) is a more potent power reduction effect than Monkey.D.Luffy (ST23-004) and can be found by your search effects, all of which is totally worth sacrificing some counter value for. 

Uta (OP09-002) is a much better searcher for {Red-Haired Pirates} than Come On!! We'll Fight You!! (OP09-020) on account of the body and counter value it provides. Together, they represent the first changes I'd make and cost little more than a fancy coffee.

Speaking of Counters, Shanks is a notoriously bricky deck that can struggle to properly convert cards, so you're really looking for counter effects that feel appealing to play at specific times. Tony.Tony Chopper (OP10-011) and Benn.Beckman (OP09-009) offer both protection and powerful abilities alongside their counter value, making them a better fit than cards like Howling Gab (OP09-006) or Rockstar (OP09-016). Not everything needs to be a {Red-Haired Pirate} to make Uta (OP09-020) consistent enough!

For similar reasons, you'll also be picking up some of the more powerful Red event cards that offer larger counter values alongside a trigger effect. We've just removed the only trigger from the starter deck, so you'll need some other surprises that can be hidden in your life cards to catch the opponent out. Gum-Gum Fire-Fist Pistol Red Hawk (OP01-026) and Bad Manners Kick Course (OP04-016) are my personal favorites, but they're not quite as powerful as something like Divine Departure (OP10-019) so you'll have to mix and match.

Finally, you can flesh out your counter cards and finishers with some more generically powerful or flexible options. Otama (OP01-006), Edward.Newgate (ST15-002) and Shanks (OP06-007) are just extremely powerful cards that cleanly fit into your gameplan. You'll win more games because you have them.

Throw it all together, and here's the decklist I'd play on a budget.

 HowlingMines's Budget Upgrades - RED Shanks

• Shanks (OP09-001) Alt Art
• 2 Bad Manners Kick Course (OP04-016)
• 2 Divine Departure (OP10-019)
• 3 Gum-Gum Fire-Fist Pistol Red Hawk (OP01-026)
• 4 Otama (OP01-006)
• 4 Uta (OP09-002)
• 4 Building Snake (OP09-008)
• 2 Limejuice (OP09-014)
• 4 Hongo (OP09-011)
• 4 Lucky. Roux (OP09-015)
• 4 Tony.Tony. Chopper (OP10-011)
• 3 Benn.Beckman (ST23-003)
• 4 Benn. Beckman (OP09-009)
• 3 Edward.Newgate (ST15-002)
• 3 Monkey.D.Dragon (OP07-015)
• 1 Shanks (OP09-004)
• 3 Shanks (OP06-007)

Full Power Upgrades

There's only one card that really sucks up your budget for Red Shanks, but it's a huge upgrade if you're willing to commit the funds. Silvers Rayleigh (OP08-118)
 acts as a gigantic threat, power reduction and removal on a stick. He's everything that a Shanks deck could ask for and you should be looking to acquire some copies once you're able.

At $15 each for the most affordable version, Rayleigh isn't too painful to pick up and you'll more than get your money worth as he's wrecking your opponent's hopes and dreams. With the Dark King acquired, here's the Shanks decklist I'd currently be looking to play.

HowlingMines's Red Shanks - Early OP11 Build

• Shanks (OP09-001) Alt Art
• 2 Bad Manners Kick Course (OP04-016)
• 3 Gum-Gum Fire-Fist Pistol Red Hawk (OP01-026)
• 4 Otama (OP01-006)
• 4 Uta (OP09-002)
• 4 Building Snake (OP09-008)
• 1 Limejuice (OP09-014)
• 4 Hongo (OP09-011)
• 4 Lucky. Roux (OP09-015)
• 4 Tony.Tony. Chopper (OP10-011)
• 3 Benn.Beckman (ST23-003)
• 4 Benn. Beckman (OP09-009)
• 2 Edward.Newgate (ST15-002)
• 3 Monkey.D.Dragon (OP07-015)
• 1 Shanks (OP09-004)
• 3 Shanks (OP06-007)

As always, decklists are very metagame dependent and will change often as the top decks evolve. For example, Benn.Beckman (ST23-003) is mostly included to knock out Zoro-Juurou (OP05-067) or Mr.2.Bon.Kurei (Bentham) (EB01-061). OP06 Shanks is more appealing than his other high-costed counterparts while Monkey.D.Luffy (OP11-040) is throwing so many gigantic characters around.

As these targets become less (or more!) popular, you should switch these cards around for tech choices that better attack the metagame you're in. However, the above decklist should do well enough for now.

Closing Thoughts

I'm a little sad that ST23: RED Shanks didn't revolutionize the deck in the same way as other starter products, but the leader has a storied history and the tools required to teach any new player strong fundamentals. Besides, he's really fun! I can't think of a better motivator to choose him.

Have further questions? Let me know over at @HowlingMines on X (formerly Twitter) or @howlingmines.com over on Bluesky! Alternatively, give my other work here on TCGplayer a peek if you'd like another slice of everything nice about your favorite game.

But until next time. I've been HowlingMines, you've been amazing!

Stay safe out there — and happy gaming!