The 10 Cards Everybody Wants from Carrying On His Will (OP-13)

Happy third anniversary, everybody. I hope you're enjoying the ride so far.

To be blunt for a moment: the success of the One Piece TCG was far from guaranteed. The game started its maiden voyage at the tail end of a worldwide pandemic in an industry notorious for franchises burning out. It was the passion of the existing community and the card game players who found them who built this game into one of the most successful products on the market today. That's an accolade worth celebrating. In fact, I'm glad that we are.

We've grown to expect fireworks from Bandai whenever a milestone is reached, and they've certainly met those expectations this time around. Carrying On His Will (OP-13) celebrates both the beginnings and ends of One Piece in a way no other product has: we're introduced to the first ever Gol.D.Roger (OP13-003) Leader at the same time as the arrival of Imu (OP13-079) — the final antagonist of this near-thirty year tale. Every part of the story is encompassed somewhere in OP-13, and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate how far we've come. 

It doesn't hurt that the set is an unapologetic banger either. Several Leaders and cards within Carrying On His Will stand to become juggernauts of the metagame immediately following their release. Imu has been crushing the opposition in the east since emerging onto the scene and I expect a similar trajectory here in the west. At least for now that's quite refreshing, exciting and budget-friendly... but I'm expecting some new Monkey.D.Luffy to emerge in the near future to slay the ominous big bad. After all, that's how the story is supposed to go, right? 

Until then, we'll have to focus on how impressive this set is instead. Carrying On His Will isn't a product you can afford to miss, and I'm eager to show you why. Here's the slightly-more-than-ten cards everybody wants from OP-13. 

Yes, I'm cheating on the title a little bit. There are far too many goodies here to stop counting at just ten.

#10 Edward.Newgate (OP13-042) (Alternate Art)

Honestly, I tried to jam about 14 different cards into the bottom slot of this list. It could have been Monkey.D.Luffy (OP09-119 SP), Benn.Beckman (OP09-009 SP) or Lilith (OP07-111 SP) without anybody questioning it. All of these cards should be seen as gigantic hits if you find them inside your boxes. I was just breaking the rules of this article a little too much already.

I gave this slot to the alternate artwork for Edward.Newgate (OP13-042) not only because I'm a Whitebeard stan, but because Portgas.D.Ace (OP13-002) is positioned to become one of the top decks in the format upon release. Edward.Newgate (OP13-042) is a deliberate piece of support for the deck, offering a massive blocker that dumps additional power onto both your Leader and Characters, all while filtering the cards you no longer need out of your hand. That makes it the perfect target for I Am Whitebeard!! — the linchpin that ties the strategy together. 

#9 Alternate Art Gorosei

Each of the Five Elders sports an alternate-art treatment lovingly illustrated by the creator of Jujutsu Kaisen, Gege Akutami. As the centerpieces of the Imu (OP13-079) strategy, every player will need four copies of each member of the Gorosei in order to play the deck. If you're looking to be slightly glamorous while doing so, these tasteful homages are the second best thing for the job... but we'll get onto that in a little bit.

Personally, St.Jaygarcia Saturn (OP13-083 AA) is my favorite, but all five are going to be highly coveted. I would aggressively trade for these if you can. 

#8 Five Elders (OP13-082) (Alternate Art)

Especially when they appear together. 

Much like each individual elder, Five Elders (OP13-082) is a must-have building block of the Imu strategy. This may be one of the most independently powerful cards One Piece has seen in a vacuum. Dumping all five of the Gorosei into play immediately is a game-shattering level of effect and often the big flashy finish that Imu is working toward throughout the game. 

You can't have alternate-artwork elders without the matching copies of Five Elders (OP13-082). That's illegal, and the World Government doesn't do illegal. I promise. 

#7 Divine Departure (Alternate Artwork) (OP13-076)

You know, Divine Departure (OP10-019 AA) was the first card I actively went out of my way to acquire. The iconography of Shanks absolutely bodying Eustass "Captain" Kidd was far too cool for me to pass up on. While I'm new enough to the franchise that the red-haired rendition strikes a better chord with me, I have no doubts that Roger's Divine Departure (OP13-076 AA) strikes a similar note with others. 

A powerful zero-cost card sporting imagery from one of the franchise's most renowned attacks is about as slam dunk as they come. I'll be looking to pick one up myself just to complete the duo. 

#6 Alternate Art Leader Cards

That's right. There are so many good cards in this set that I had to lump all of the alternate-artwork Leaders into the same entry. Even worse, that entry is down at number six. Hell has frozen over.

Unsurprisingly, Imu (OP13-079 AA) and Portgas.D.Ace (OP13-002 AA) are stealing the show in this department. These Leaders are the decks to beat in the OP-13 metagame (and Imu is THE big bad of the entire franchise). That level of power is always going to drive command, but that doesn't mean the other options aren't heavily sought after.

Look out for a bargain on Gol.D.Roger (OP13-003), Monkey.D.Luffy (OP13-001), Sabo (OP13-004) and Jewelry Bonney (OP13-100) while eyeballs are elsewhere. All these Leaders have a place in the format, and the snazziest version is going to spike if any given one finds success. 

#5 Wanted Poster Variants (Other Than Ace)

Yet another multi-card category. This one even comes with a caveat!

Wanted Posters aren't really my thing, but I cannot argue they don't hold a place in the hearts of both manga/anime fans and card players alike. This specialist treatment appeared for the first time back in Pillars of Strength (OP-03) and has reappeared several times throughout the game's history. It's about time we saw the Three Brothers graced with this treatment together. 

The Gol.D.Roger (OP09-118) version of this treatment was expected to rival Monkey.D.Luffy (OP13-118), who is typically the most coveted character for any specialist treatment. However, a small oversight during production has thrown that expectation out the window. Don't worry! We'll get onto that in a little bit! 

#4 Manga Variants + Third Anniversary Variants

Manga Rares are typically the chase cards in One Piece. There's something about a stylistic memory-infused panel in the background of a card that really sells it as a premium collectible. Regardless of character or reason, these cards are always beautiful and often represent a jewel in the crown of many a collector.

This time? They're in the mix with some real heavy hitters. Sabo (OP13-120), Portgas.D.Ace (OP13-119) and Monkey.D.Luffy (OP13-118) each receive an alternate artwork, a wanted poster, a Manga variant and a set-exclusive red-infused Third Anniversary Manga variant alongside their base rarities.

Where will each of these shake out? Unclear. I think it's clear that both Manga variants will lead the way in collectability, but there's no precedent to compare them against each other. Depending on pull rates and personal preference, either could be the must-have in the eyes of the community.

#3 Shanks (OP09-004) (Golden and Silver)

Folks, we have got to stop giving Shanks (OP09-004) alternate-artwork cards. My finances will never recover from this. 

Since A Fist of Divine Speed, we've seen these gold-and-silver-emblazoned special rares featuring as some of the most prominent collectibles in any booster set. If Monkey.D.Luffy (OP05-119 GOLD) and Marshall.D.Teach (OP09-093 GOLD) are anything to go by, the golden version will be significantly harder to find — but both should be seen as a treasure in their own right. 

Surely this means we're getting a golden Buggy in OP14, right? You can't just leave one emperor missing like that! 

#2 Portgas.D.Ace (Wanted Poster Misprint) (OP13-119)

Whoopsie. Somebody made a tiny little error. You probably wouldn't even notice it.

Somewhere down the production line, the Wanted Poster version of Portgas.D.Ace (OP13-119) was given the entirely wrong text box. Instead, it has the on-play ability of Monkey.D.Luffy (OP13-118). This won't change what the card actually does in a game of One Piece, but it will drastically increase how desired this card is. 

Bandai have already confirmed a replacement program is on the way and additional print runs should see the error corrected. The misprint will become even rarer if people do trade theirs in for the corrected version, so I'd be keeping mine under lock and key. 

#1 God Pack Gorosei

Excuse me?! What exactly are we looking at here?!?!?

It would seem that the alternate-art variants of each of the Five Elders also has an alternative version that can only be acquired through opening a god pack. If you're unfamiliar with the concept of a god pack, it's an incredibly rare booster pack found inside random boxes that contains most of the most coveted cards in the set.

If this so-called "Demon Pack" is real, each of these red-text etched members of the Gorosei can only be found alongside the other four (and an alternate-art version of Imu (OP13-079)), making them inconceivably rare. At time of writing, each elder sports a price tag of roughly $6,000 each. 

That means you could open a $30,000+ booster pack purely by chance. Mental.