How to Upgrade the One Piece TCG Starter Deck 24: GREEN Jewelry Bonney

Welcome back to the second installment of our One Piece TCG Starter Deck upgrade guides. This time, we're tackling everything mean and green alongside Jewelry Bonney (OP07-019) Alt Art.

Bonney's near and dear to my heart: She's the leader who convinced me to begin playing One Piece in the first place. I've had endless fun alongside the Big Eater as I've begun learning to manage my DON!!! and time my counters correctly. An archetype that encourages you to just play all the good cards? One that actively cares about what the opponent's doing and teaches you good fundamentals? I can't think of a better green leader to become the face of a starter deck.

If you're taking your first steps into One Piece alongside a different leader, don't panic! I'm slowly working on upgrade guides for each of the latest wave of starters. As they're finished, you'll be able to find them below:

However, if you're also kicking off your maiden voyage alongside Jewelry Bonney, I'm looking forward to showing you exactly what this leader is capable of. Let's begin with a closer look at what you'll find inside the box.

Starter Deck 24: Green Bonney - Base Decklist

• Jewelry Bonney (OP07-019) Alt Art
• 2 Kid & Killer (ST24-002)
• 2 Basil Hawkins (ST24-003)
• 2 Law & Bepo (ST24-004)
• 4 Capone "Gang" Bege (ST24-001)
• 4 X.Drake (ST24-005)
• 4 Scratchmen Apoo (EB01-015)
• 4 Urouge (OP07-021)
• 4 Caribou (OP07-023)
• 4 Coribou (OP07-025)
• 4 Bartolomeo (OP07-031)
• 4 Monkey.D.Luffy (OP07-033)
• 4 Roronoa Zoro (OP07-034)
• 4 Demonic Aura Nine-Sword Style Asura Demon Nine Flash (OP07-036)
• 4 More Pizza!! (OP07-037)

Honestly? This is a real mixed bag. I'm glad that Bandai chose to represent the Straw Hat Crew and iconic moments like Demonic Aura Nine-Sword Style Asura Demon Nine Flash (OP07-036) for casual fans to enjoy as they make their way into the game, but it leads to a rather disjointed play experience out of the box.

Outside of Urouge (OP07-021) and X.Drake (ST24-005), there aren't many ways to enable Bonney's leader ability without playing slightly off curve. And when you're hoping to get to three characters for Monkey.D.Luffy (OP07-033), that's not something you can afford to do. It kind of leads to Bonney feeling like a backup plan in a pre-constructed deck that's supposed to be themed around her.

On the plus side, most of the new cards are powerful enough to have potential across green leaders, including Bonney. Kid & Killer (ST24-002) is an incredibly powerful searcher that will continue to skyrocket in demand if Jewelry Bonney (ST02-007) doesn't survive rotation. It'll dig up whichever {Supernova} you need and open up a leader activation against a well-timed Hody Jones (OP06-035). I expect the card to find a home in both Trafalgar Law (OP01-002) and Trafalgar Law (OP10-022) sometime in the future too. It's a good one to own copies of!

Law & Bepo (ST24-004) is a little narrower but has managed to find some success as the top-end threat of choice in regional topping lists already, while Capone "Gang" Bege (ST24-001) and Basil Hawkins (ST24-003) seem like slam dunks for the archetype. Jewelry Bonney (OP07-019) is a leader famed for her adaptability, so these cards will ebb and flow from the list as the metagame adapts but they're all powerful tools to theoretically access.

Sadly, not much of the remaining product converts over into a full-powered tournament list. You'll be happy to own Scratchmen Apoo (EB01-015) and Urouge (OP07-021) but that's about it. Thankfully, we can juice things up without breaking the bank.

Budget Upgrades

Category 1: Things that can be purchased for less than five bucks a copy. We'll follow it down in order of priority.

The first item in the shopping basket is four copies of Jewelry Bonney (ST02-007). Bonney threatens to be a cheap repeatable searcher if the opponent doesn't take the time to keep her in check. She also carries a +1000 counter value, which combine to make her a much more appealing way to dig up your best cards than More Pizza!! (OP07-037).

I'd also look to round out your copies of each new starter deck card (or buy a second copy of the deck to slap together). We're going to focus on a top performing Bonney list that uses Kid & Killer (ST24-002), Basil Hawkins (ST24-003), Capone "Gang" Bege (ST24-001) and Law & Bepo (ST24-004) over those that don't, as they're far easier and cheaper to build towards from a starter deck, but that does mean you'll want more copies of each card than you'll find inside the box.

Carrot (OP08-023) is one of the best ways to capitalize on your leader effect, freezing down whichever character Bonney chose to rest each turn. She's far more synergistic with your tempo-based gameplan than something like Monkey.D.Luffy (OP07-033), so that seems like an easy switch for me.

From here, I'd look to add a little bit of brawn at the top end. A Bonney deck's happy to play with up to nine DON!!! to slam haymakers and take the game longer, leaving that all-important one available to forcibly rest the first incoming attacker. As a result, cards like Eustass "Captain" Kid (OP01-051) have time to dominate the board and blunt an assault. Shanks (ST16-004) will pop in to one-shot just about any problem. This level of power is way more appealing than suiting up our cheap characters with DON!!! to attack.

Finally, I'd be looking to upgrade your counters to more well-rounded cards that you'll actually play out sometimes. Donquixote Rosinante (OP05-030) is a premium 2-cost character that serves as a cheap blocker and protection for Eustass "Captain" Kid (OP01-051). Izo (OP01-033) can partner up with Carrot (OP08-023) or removing opposing blockers from the equation. 

Meanwhile Because the Side of Justice Will Be Whichever Side Wins!! (OP05-037) is the biggest bang for your buck counter with a rest-based trigger attached. These cards will mostly serve to defend you from incoming pressure, but they're strong and flexible enough to work their way into longer games.

If we throw that all together, here's the budget-friendly build I'd be looking to play:

HowlingMines' Budget Bonney

• Jewelry Bonney (OP07-019)
• 2 Because the Side of Justice Will Be Whichever Side Wins!! (OP05-037)
• 2 More Pizza!! (OP07-037)
• 4 Jewelry Bonney (ST02-007)
• 4 Donquixote Rosinante (OP05-030)
• 4 Kid & Killer (ST24-002)
• 4 Capone "Gang" Bege (ST24-001)
• 4 Izo (OP01-033)
• 4 Basil Hawkins (ST24-003)
• 4 Urouge (OP07-021)
• 4 Carrot (OP08-023)
• 4 X.Drake (ST24-005)
• 3 Eustass "Captain" Kid (OP01-051)
• 4 Shanks (ST16-004)
• 3 Law and Bepo (ST24-004)

If you'd like to take Bonney up to her maximum potential, there's a few slightly pricier items you should also have your eyes on.

Full Power Upgrades

As always, please remember than none of these cards are required for you to play the deck at a local level. They're just the most common picks in tournament winning deck lists that fell outside our previous $5 restriction.

Tashigi (OP10-032) is mostly here on the technicality of being $5.50 each. This card offers unmatched protection for your must-answer characters like Carrot (OP08-023) and Eustass "Captain" Kid (OP01-051) while providing a +2000 counter in the matchups where that's not required. You're never truly upset to draw Tashigi and that's a ringing endorsement for how simple and strong it really is.

Cavendish (EB01-012) and Hody Jones (OP06-035) are the big-ticket items. The former hasn't seen a reprint since EB01 and is commonly believed to be a "must-have" to play both Bonney and a handful of other leaders. There's no better way to consistently ready DON!!! for your leader ability every single turn. The card even has a counter value. It does everything.

Hody Jones is more of a monster. This rush character will bust through blockers, rest the DON!!! required for opposing counters and slam directly into whatever problem may be awaiting on the other side. He's backbreaking in the Bonney mirror match as a way to stun the DON!! needed for your leader ability long before it can be put to use. At just under $10 each, I'd be picking up Hody early if I intended to play Bonney long term.

Finally, Roronoa Zoro (OP06-118) is a common pick in Bonney. You can often spare the DON!!! to restand Zoro multiple times, allowing him to run roughshod on the opposing board and put serious pressure on the opponent's counters. We won't see Zoro included in the featured full power list today (as we're focusing on a version more easily built from the starter deck) but it appears frequently enough as the metagame adjusts that it felt disingenuous not to mention it.

When all is said and done, you'll be looking to have the following list available to play. It was recently taken to a fifth-place finish at the 1024 player regional event in Las Vegas by Dominick Vitelli.

Dominick Vitelli's Green Bonney - 5th Place at Las Vegas Regional

• Jewelry Bonney (OP07-019)
• 4 Jewelry Bonney (ST02-007)
• 4 Donquixote Rosinante (OP05-030)
• 4 Kid & Killer (ST24-002)
• 2 Capone"Gang"Bege (ST24-001)
• 4 Tashigi (OP10-032)
• 3 Izo (OP01-033)
• 4 Basil Hawkins (ST24-003)
• 2 Urouge (OP07-021)
• 4 Cavendish (EB01-012)
• 4 Carrot (OP08-023)
• 4 Hody Jones (OP06-035)
• 3 Eustass"Captain"Kid (OP01-051)
• 3 Shanks (ST16-004)
• 3 Law & Bepo (ST24-004)
• 2 Because the Side of Justice Will Be Whichever Side Wins!! (OP05-037)

As always, decklists are metagame dependent and will change often as new products release. You now own nearly all the cards you'll need for any version of Bonney, but it'll be worth keeping an eye on future tournament decklists to better inform your build as you get better at playing One Piece.

Closing Thoughts

I'm overjoyed to see Bonney being pushed as an option for the next generation of One Piece TCG players. She's powerful, flexible and helps build a thorough understanding of what actually matters throughout each game you play. Even better, she'll likely have a place in the metagame for some time to come on account of a leader ability that isn't tied to specific types or certain effects.

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!