One Piece TCG Ban List Changes Hit Blue/Purple Luffy and More!

You know, I stayed up all night on One Piece Day in a vague attempt to catch the previously announced August ban list update. As you can imagine, I was hungry, sleepy and frustrated when it didn't arrive that day. Instead, the list has just dropped at 3am on a Wednesday morning...

...and I can't focus on being annoyed at all. I'm too awestruck by what I'm seeing. 

The majority of the community expected a massive overhaul of the One Piece TCG heading into this announcement, and that's exactly what we've got. Banned cards? Returning Leaders? AN ENTIRE CHANGE OF THE RULES?!?

You can find the full announcement on the One Piece website. We've got some things to talk about. 

Ban List Date

At time of writing, we do not have confirmation on when this ban list will take effect in the west. However, the article explains that these updates will take effect in the east on August 30th 2025. 

We have no reason to believe that this list will not be applied simultaneously at this time. 

Banned Pairings

Moving forward, One Piece will be experimenting with Prohibited Pairs. If you're unfamiliar with other Bandai games, this is a concept that has found success in other games like Digimon. Instead of banning cards outright, they will assign problematic pairings to "Card A" and "Card B" categories. If a card appears in one category, it cannot be played alongside cards found in the other. 

Card A: 

• Monkey D.Luffy (OP11-040)

Card B: 

• Charlotte Katakuri (OP11-067)
• Charlotte Linlin (OP08-069)

This is a huge change. In the ban list announcement, Bandai clarify that their primary goal with the One Piece Card Game is to allow players to enjoy a variety of decks built around different Leaders, but they're also concerned about removing fan-favorite cards because they misalign with this goal. By exploring Banned Pairings as a balancing tool, Bandai hopes to find the best of both worlds with their approach.

Charlotte Katakuri (OP11-067) and Charlotte Linlin (OP08-069) were far and away the best top-end threats for Monkey D.Luffy (OP11-040) and the premier targets for Sanji (OP06-119). Without them, the landscape of the deck has to change entirely — there's no removal or blocker capabilities baked into your finishers anymore, so it's much harder to stem the bleeding if you're spending early turns accelerating with God Thread (OP10-079) or Mr.2.Bon.Kurei(Bentham) (EB01-061). 

Honestly, this solution is shocking to me, but I don't hate it. I was really hoping to see Gum-Gum Giant (OP09-078) overboard on raw power alone, but this change strips away the primary tools Monkey.D.Luffy (OP11-040) had for the likes of Belo Betty (OP05-002). It's still a playable Leader for those folks who enjoyed the play patterns, but it should be pulled back in line with the rest of the field. That seems perfectly aligned with Bandai's goals. 

Banned Cards

• Nami (OP03-040)

I think Bandai is just kind of done with Nami (OP03-040). The deck just operates on an alternative axis to anything else in the game. While that's exciting and unique, it causes a wealth of design limitations inside of blue as a color: a problem that would have been realized in full effect alongside Otama (OP13-043) in the near future.

However, there's a small amount of upside to this. In line with Bandai's overarching goals, Nami (OP03-040) will receive an errated Leader card releasing as a block four promo. That means she'll have another three years of shelf life before being rotated out of the format instead of disappearing with block one next year. 

Her new Leader ability is a pretty severe downgrade, though. Moving forward, you will only be able to play {East Blue} cards in Nami (P-117) as a deckbuilding restriction. That knocks out Love-Love Mellow (ST03-017), Impel Down All Stars (OP02-066), White Snake (OP06-059) and, most importantly, Otama (OP13-043).

Unbanned Cards

• Sakazuki (OP05-041)
• Cabaji (OP02-052)

Hell has frozen over. 

I never thought I'd see the day when Sakazuki (OP05-041) returned to the game. In my opinion, this Leader is the second-most-broken option we've ever seen behind Trafalgar Law (ST10-001), and the defining card of his era. Apparently, times have changed since then. 

I think I see the vision. We no longer have access to Great Eruption (ST06-015) or Gecko Moria (OP06-086). We're also about to see a mirror of Sakazuki's top ability attached to Imu (OP13-070). It feels like Sakazuki will live and die on the viability of a four-life control Leader in the upcoming format and the relevance of the bottom line of his Leader ability. After all, we didn't have Tempest Kick (OP07-096) or any of Legacy of the Master (OP12)'s Navy support back in yesteryear, either. 

Cabaji (OP02-052) was a more anticipated return. If you've joined the game recently, you may not know that this card shared the spotlight as one of the first-ever banned in One Piece. Not only has the game evolved, but Nami (OP03-040) was the primary reason for Cabaji's demise. That's simply not a concern anymore. Perhaps he can draw some cards alongside Mohji (ST25-005) in Buggy (OP09-042)? 

Closing Thoughts

As somebody who put money on Gum-Gum Giant (OP09-078) and Emporio.Ivankov (OP05-004) biting the dust this list, I've got egg on my face. As it stands, I expect Belo Betty (OP05-002) to remain a juggernaut heading into Legacy of the Master (OP12), Sakazuki (OP05-041) to be everywhere for the next couple of weeks, and Monkey.D.Luffy (OP11-040) to need a little more time in the oven before we can figure out what to do with the Leader now. Consider the format significantly shaken. I'm excited to play some games. 

What do you think? How do you feel about a banned pairings list? 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!