How to Upgrade the One Piece TCG Starter Deck 28: GREEN/YELLOW Yamato

Welcome along to the sixth and final part of our One Piece TCG Starter Deck Upgrade Guides. We're wrapping up this arc alongside the son of Kaido, the infamous and much-beloved guardian-deity of Wano Country himself, Yamato (OP06-022).

Yamato is a strong choice as an onboarding leader for new players. Double Attack is a frankly terrifying keyword that doesn't appear on cards very often, so it becomes a defining part of any strategy where it does. It also makes the overarching game plan pretty clear from the start: smash your opponent in the face over and over until they die.

That has left Yamato (OP06-022) as a strong off-meta choice at various points since his release in Wings of the Captain (OP06), but has never quite enabled the deck to consistently shine at the highest level. Thankfully, Starter Deck 28: Green Yellow Yamato and Legacy of the Master (OP12) are looking to team up and remedy that issue. The former has revolutionized the lines of play available to Yamato with powerful direct support, while the latter appears to have added a small handful of upgrades if we believe the early results from the eastern player base. 

If you're starting your One Piece journey alongside a different leader, don't worry! We've recently completed a full set of upgrade guides for each starter deck of the most recent wave. You can find them below if they better fit your needs:

However, if you're hopping aboard with the honorary Straw Hat, lets take a closer look at what you'll find inside the box of ST28: Green Yellow Yamato. 

Starter Deck 28: Green Yellow Yamato - Base Decklist

• Yamato (OP06-022)
• 2 Kouzuki Momonosuke (ST28-004)
• 2 Yamato (ST28-005)
• 2 Kin'emon (ST28-003)
• 4 Ashura Doji (ST28-001)
• 4 Izo (ST28-002)
• 4 Portgas.D.Ace (OP09-035)
• 4 Inuarashi (OP06-100)
• 4 Kawamatsu (OP06-103)
• 4 Kikunojo (OP06-104)
• 4 Denjiro (OP06-109)
• 4 Nekomamushi (OP06-110)
• 4 Raizo (OP06-112)
• 4 Yamato (ST13-016)
• 4 Blaze Slice (OP07-116)

Overall, this product is mostly carried by its incredible suite of new support. Yamato (ST28-005) is the type of consistency tool that every off-meta deck dreams of getting, with the added upside of becoming a legitimate threat if partnered with your leader ability. Izo (ST28-002) provides a similarly appealing place to use that attached DON!!, while granting {Banish} to Yamato's terrifying leader swings. Thanks to how these keywords interact, you'll be trashing two life cards if you manage to connect with this potent one-two punch: a pretty incredible upside from an already impressive card.

Ashura Doji (ST28-001) and Kin'emon (ST28-003) add some additional depth to the archetype. Yamato (OP06-022) plays a limited amount of interaction to facilitate the critical mass of aggression needed to get the game over and done. However, you do need a handful of ways to nullify blockers and push that pressure through. Ashura Doji (ST28-001) does just that while adding another reasonable body to the board itself.

Kin'emon is more simple: he's a +2000 counter that can be flipped into play for free if you're lucky enough to find him in your life cards. Yamato is only slowed down by how long it takes him to establish an army of characters, and playing them for free is going to cut that clock down quickly.

Kouzuki Momonosuke (ST28-004) is an entirely different beast, though. It's trivially easy to find yourself swinging with a 6000 power leader and a 8000 rush character in the same turn by the time you reach six DON!!. If your opponents aren't careful, the additional attacker and size increase can force through another hit from Yamato and steal the game away entirely. There's few better pieces of endgame in all of One Piece! 

The rest of the deck provides a solid foundation to learn the basics and plays the greatest hits of the Raid on Onigashima and Wano arc as a whole. Good enough to build fundamentals and very appealing to diehard franchise fans picking up their first trading card game. 

Current Upgrades

We're going to split this upgrade guide up slightly differently than the others. As we're on the cusp of Legacy of the Master (OP12), I want to break down both a well-established and proven list from the OP11 format and an early top-performing list from the eastern OP12 metagame. 

If you want a safe investment, it's fair to focus on the big hitters of the current list and begin exploring the potential of Legacy of the Master (OP12) before committing to anything else. Alternatively, lean into whichever looks more fun to you and adjust from there. 

Step one: Grab some additional copies of the new support cards. Yamato (ST28-005), Kin'emon (ST28-003) and Kouzuki Momonosuke (ST28-004) all regularly feature as a four of in a fully powered Yamato (OP06-022) deck. Pick up some spares on the secondary market or grab a second starter deck to smash together.

Next, I'm grabbing Kouzuki Hiyori (OP06-106) and Kouzuki Momonosuke (OP06-107). As a floor, Kouzuki Hiyori is a +2000 counter that allows you to stack any trigger effect atop your life cards on the cheap, but when paired with Kouzuki Momonosuke (OP06-107), you can place Hiyori back on top of your life cards after doing so to secure an extra hit, a well-stated blocker and another +2000 counter in hand. Kouzuki Momonosuke will also happily tuck a copy of Kikunojo (OP06-104) to the bottom of your life cards to be ready and waiting once you're taken some opposing life.

Then comes the slightly expensive pickup. Hody Jones (OP06-035) is a behemoth of a card that commonly features as a four-of in green leaders. In Yamato, his powers go a step further by resting multiple blockers, shutting off counters like Gum Gum Giant (OP09-078) and rushing in to deal some damage himself. There is no better topend threat in these colors than Hody Jones and you'll be playing them until you're not legally allowed to. 

Speaking of shutting down blockers, Demonic Aura Nine-Sword Style Asura Demon Nine Flash (OP07-036) looks to achieve the same thing. You'll be jumping up the power of your most important character or leader and resting a leftover Izo (ST28-002) or something to remove whatever speedbump may be in your way. Clean, simple and appealing.

The majority of other upgrades either provide redundancy or better options for counters. O-Nami (OP06-101) doubles up on the {banish} granted to Yamato while carrying a meaningful trigger, while Izo (OP01-033) offers protection and further ability to rest blockers. You're the One Who Should Disappear. (OP06-115) is the only defensive card you'll find in the deck, really. It's just so good on rate. 

Smash it all together and you've got Exacte's 24th place decklist from the recent regional championship in Toronto: 

Exacte's Green Yellow Yamato - 24th Place at Toronto Regional

• Yamato (OP06-022)
• 4 Yamato (ST28-005)
• 4 O-Nami (OP06-101)
• 4 Kouzuki Hiyori (OP06-106)
• 4 Izo (ST28-002)
• 3 Tonoyasu (OP04-109)
• 4 Izo (OP01-033)
• 3 Ashura Doji (ST28-001)
• 4 Kikunojo (OP06-104)
• 4 Kin'emon (ST28-003)
• 3 Kouzuki Momonosuke (OP06-107)
• 3 Kouzuki Momonosuke (ST28-004)
• 4 Hody Jones (OP06-035)
• 3 You're the One Who Should Disappear. (OP06-115)
• 3 Demonic Aura Nine-Sword Style Asura Demon Nine Flash (OP07-036)

Future Upgrades

Legacy of the Master (OP12) brings a slightly different way to play the game with Yamato, leaning heavily into {Land of Wano} synergies to make the most of your cards.

That means existing cards such as Otama (OP07-022), Kouzuki Hiyori (EB01-013) and Paradise Waterfall (OP01-057) become exceptionally appealing. Otama is yet another searcher to amp up your consistency, Kouzuki Hiyori cheats on costs, and Paradise Waterfall combos beautifully with one of the new offerings from OP12. These are angles of attack that previously didn't have the depth of support needed to really flourish. I'm hopeful that's about to change.

The new blood comes in the form of Shimotsuki Kouzaburou (OP12-029), Demonic Nine Sword Style Asura: Dead Man's Game (OP12-037) and Dracule Mihawk (OP12-030). The former pair primarily serve as more potent ways to break through opposing blockers or counters, but Dracule Mihawk offers a gigantic blocker that continues to empty your hand on the same turn. When combined with Paradise Waterfall (OP01-057), you can restand Mihawk after using his blocker ability to prevent a second salvo. You can even make him a 10,000 power character if you want!

You also gain Jewelry Bonney (OP12-118) if you want to. Bonney doesn't slot in archetype, but she's an exceptionally powerful and flexible card much like Hody Jones (OP06-035). She's generating card advantage, blocking out attackers and holding open Paradise Waterfall (OP01-057) or Demonic Nine Sword Style Asura: Dead Man's Game (OP12-037) with ease. As synergistic a deck as Yamato feels when he leans into {Land of Wano} characters, you still need to just play the good cards sometimes. 

Throw in the big beefy body of Mountain God (EB01-018) and cute tech like Electrical Luna (OP08-036) and we've got Kong_RedRabbit's list that 6-0'd a flagship event shortly after OP12 released in the east. 

Kong_RedRabbit's Green Yellow Yamato (OP12) - 1st Place at Thailand Flagship Event

• Yamato (OP06-022)
• 4 Yamato (ST28-005)
• 4 Kouzuki Momonosuke (OP06-107)
• 4 Kouzuki Momonosuke (ST28-004)
• 4 Otama (OP07-022)
• 4 Izo (OP01-033)
• 4 Shimotsuki Kouzaburou (OP12-029)
• 4 Kouzuki Hiyori (EB01-013)
• 4 Mountain God (EB01-018)
• 3 Jewelry Bonney (OP12-118)
• 4 Hody Jones (OP06-035)
• 3 Dracule Mihawk (OP12-030)
• 3 Paradise Waterfall (OP01-057)
• 2 Demonic Nine Sword Style Asura: Dead Man's Game (OP12-037)
• 3 Electrical Luna (OP08-036)

Closing Thoughts

Yamato is a simple leader to understand but a difficult one to master, making him the perfect character to helm a starter deck. If you enjoy smashing your opponent around and outplaying their defenses, there's few better places to start. You also get the luxury of messing with life triggers — which is, in my humble opinion, the coolest part of the One Piece TCG. 

While it requires a little more refinement than a few of the other options, Starter Deck 28: Green Yellow Yamato is a well-rounded product I'd be happy to buy. Hopefully, you think so too! 

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!