The 10 Strongest One Piece Cards in Carrying On His Will (OP-13)

It's not often you find yourself staring down a near-complete metagame overhaul, but here we are. The final antagonist of One Piece has finally arrived, and much like their canonical counterpart, they're set on wiping away as much of the past as possible.

Carrying On His Will (OP-13) is a landmark set for numerous reasons. First, it's a deliberate celebration of three years of the trading card game, complete with a fistful of alternative rarities and collectibles. It's also packed to the rafters with several of the most important characters from across 28 years of storytelling. Gol.D.Roger? Imu and the Five Elders? Where else are you finding haymakers like this?

In the rest of the set, apparently. Carrying On His Will features quite the density of powerful cards that look to establish new archetypes, lend power to previous leaders or provide solid foundations for future gameplans. Imu (OP13-079) and Portgas.D.Ace (OP13-002) are unquestionably two of the best decks in the format right now off the back of the cards that released alongside them. If you're looking to build out a collection or a new competitive deck for the season, OP-13 is a great set to start with. 

But which cards should you be looking at, exactly? I'm glad you asked. Let's take a look at some of the most powerful cards you can find in Carrying On His Will (OP-13).

#10 The Searchers

I wanted to talk about all of these cards, but there's so darn many that they'd have eaten my entire list. Searchers and consistency are the bread and butter of the One Piece Card Game. Almost no deck can function without dedicated cards to find matchup-specific tools, counters or finishers. That means each new deck really needs some options in this slot if it's hoping to find success.

Carrying On His Will features no less than seven searchers with potential, including: 

• Nefeltari Vivi (OP13-012)
• Monkey.D.Garp (OP13-016)
• Shanks (OP13-065)
• Saint Shalria (OP13-086)
• The Five Elders Are at Your Service!!! (OP13-096)
• Lilith (OP13-113)
• The One Who Is Most Free Is The Pirate King!!! (OP13-116)

Typically, searchers with either a body or counter value attached outshine their counterparts, but if it costs one DON!!, it usually has potential somewhere. Saint Shalria (OP13-086) and The Five Elders Are at Your Service!!! (OP13-096) form the backbone of Imu (OP13-079) while Monkey.D.Garp (OP13-016), Shanks (OP13-065) and Lilith (OP13-113) are also finding success in their corresponding Leaders.

These are the type of cards that always start as a four-of whenever an appropriate Leader enters the spotlight, which we'll see in full effect when Nefeltari Vivi (OP13-012) slots into Nefeltari Vivi (EB03-001) on the release of Extra Booster -One Piece Heroines Edition- (EB-03) in February 2026. If you don't want to be searching the market for overpriced copies at some point, it pays to be prepared. 

I'll see myself out. 

#9 The Five Elders

We cannot write an article like this without discussing the engine that's warping the metagame around it. Imu (OP13-079) as a strategy looks to utilize The Empty Throne (OP13-099) and Five Elders (OP13-082) to flood the board with the corresponding {Five Elder} Characters simultaneously. That obviously doesn't work without the elders themselves.

Between St. Topman Warcry (OP13-089), St. Jaygarcia Saturn (OP13-083), St. Marcus Mars (OP13-091), St. Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro (OP13-080) and St. Shepard Ju Peter (OP13-084), you suddenly have a board of five 7000-power Characters that cannot be removed by card effects. Two of them have {Blocker}, one has {Rush} and the other searched for another {Five Elder} when he arrived. You also seem to have drawn a card, K.O'd a Character and shrunk a different Character by 2000 power. Do you see how this might be a little bit good?

Imu is the best deck in the format right now and that's entirely because of how eye-wateringly powerful the Five Elders are. That said, they're unlikely to see much play outside of Imu — so they're not a huge chase if you're not interested in playing the bad guy.

#8 Divine Departure (OP13-076)

It'd have been slightly rude if such an iconic moment sucked.

Divine Departure (OP13-076) is the type of Event that's good enough for consideration in most purple Leaders. I like to think of it as a turbocharged Gum-Gum Jet Gatling (OP03-072) — you're getting absurd flexibility over the occasional DON!! acceleration. Gatling has been a common fixture in numerous formats, so I'm expecting Divine Departure to pop up with some consistency. 

Of course, this card is also searchable with Shanks (OP13-065). That makes it a slam dunk for Gol.D.Roger (OP13-003) if it wasn't already. 

#7 Otama (OP13-043)

Otama (OP13-043) is so darn good that it almost singlehandedly got Nami (OP03-040) lumped with an errata. That's no easy bar to clear. 

While we're not allowed to get away with heinous nonsense, Otama is still an absurd piece of support for blue Leaders who start at three Life. In Portgas.D.Ace (OP13-002) and Monkey.D.Luffy (OP11-040), the floor on Otama is a +2000 counter that filters away awkward draws. It's another part of the puzzle that finds Sanji (OP06-119) or I Am Whitebeard!! (ST22-015) on time. 

An important building block that should be very affordable? Sign me up. 

#6 Yamato (OP13-054)

It's a similar story for Yamato (OP13-054). If getting to three Life isn't a hoop you need to jump through, you just get access to an absurd effect free of charge. 

Sadly, the lack of a {Straw Hat Crew} type strains the ability to play Yamato in Blue/Purple Luffy. He's also a miss for Izo (ST22-002) in Portgas.D.Ace (OP13-002). Thankfully, Monkey.D.Garp (OP13-016) can still search for this powerful card advantage tool, allowing you to sculpt your hand while maintaining pressure in the deck that wants that most.

#5 Trafalgar Law (OP13-031)

I love this card. What an absurdly sweet design.

Incidental blocker is becoming more and more of a premium upside as One Piece continues to expand, but Trafalgar Law (OP13-031) is primarily here to shamble cheaper on-play abilities or counters back into your hand while playing out a five-cost Character for nothing. 

In decks like Roronoa Zoro (OP12-020), that means rebuying a Perona (OP12-034) or Tashigi (OP12-031) to run out either Tashigi or Cavendish (EB01-012). In a deck like Roronoa Zoro & Sanji (ST12-001), the possibilities are almost endless. I cannot wait to get my teeth stuck into the possibilities of this card as the OP-13 metagame evolves. 

#4 Inuarashi (OP13-061)

I like to keep my eyes peeled for cheap DON!! acceleration that's not typelocked in any way. Inuarashi (OP13-061) fits that mold with an easy-to-fulfill condition and an upside that can pick off pesky early plays.

Unsurprisingly, the card will be at its best in Leaders where attaching a DON!! is a non-issue. It's a little awkward for Gol.D.Roger (OP13-003) because you're unable to accelerate until you get to four DON!! cards. However, I really like the card in Monkey.D.Luffy (OP05-060), who will happily have a theoretical eight copies of Mr.2.Bon Kurei(Bentham) (EB01-061) to rely on in the early turns. Inuarashi (OP13-061) feels like one to watch as you're experimenting with different purple Leaders. 

#3 Sanji (OP13-027)

A bad Cavendish (EB01-012) is still a darn good card.

While Sanji (OP13-027) won't fit into green Leaders quite as universally as similar cards, it threatens to be absurdly powerful in decks that are better designed to get the best of it. The obvious choice is Monkey.D.Luffy (OP13-001), who'll turn all that extra DON!! into a staunch defense. I don't think the applications will stop there, though.

I'm actually watching Sanji very closely for Lim (OP09-022): the supposed Imu slayer of the OP-13 meta. Lim loves meaningful ways to ready more than one DON!! to squeeze in a Leader activation, but Sanji also lines up well with Dead Man's Game (OP12-037) and Divine Departure (OP13-076) as the game goes on. 

These won't be the only green decks who can make the most of this effect, especially given that Sanji carries that infamous {Straw Hat Crew} type.

#2 Silvers Rayleigh (OP13-066)

I'm gonna lose so many games to Silvers Rayleigh kicking my head in. I guess that's no different from OP-12. He's just purple now.

The Dark King is clearly at his best alongside his captain Gol.D.Roger (OP13-003), who will fulfill the condition for this Rush-fueled blocker destroyer without any help. Much like Inuarashi (OP13-061), Rayleigh will also shine in any Leader who can spare the additional DON!! card without much trouble. Monkey.D.Luffy (OP05-060) again comes to mind. 

Ultimately, Silvers Rayleigh (OP13-066) just does a bit of everything. I wouldn't be shocked to see it in various "good card purple" Leaders over time, either.

#1 Monkey.D.Luffy (OP13-118)

"If your Leader is multicolored" feels like a rather token condition at this point, but it does allow the floodgates to be opened a little further on cards that may otherwise be problematic. Monkey.D.Luffy (OP13-118) is one such card. There are some terrifying play patterns here that'd be quite illegal in a deck like Jewelry Bonney (OP07-019) or Roronoa Zoro (OP12-020).

This card is a slam dunk for Monkey.D.Luffy (EB02-010) and Monkey.D.Luffy (OP13-001), both of whom love to keep DON!! available during the opposing turn. In a deck like Smoker (OP10-001), you can theoretically chain Dracule Mihawk (OP12-030) into Monkey.D.Luffy (OP13-118) into any four-cost Character of your choice. This card is just doing something fundamentally powerful. It's really as simple as that. 

Closing Thoughts

You know it's a good list when I have to cheat a little to fit everything I want onto it. Carrying On His Will (OP-13) is possibly my favorite set since I started playing One Piece and will be overhauling our understanding of the game regardless of your opinion. Not a bad way to celebrate a birthday, huh? 

What do you think? 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!