The Best Control Deck for the New One Piece Metagame

Card games are a very particular type of magic. Regardless of the path in life you find yourself walking down, they'll always have something unique to offer you. In need of something to laugh over with friends once in a blue moon? Got you covered. Hoping to expand your social circle and find likeminded people? No problem at all. Looking to itch that part of your brain that wants to be the best in the world at something? Step right up. 

A card game can be something entirely different to you based on your goals and time invested - and it's that same magic that has made my own personal journey a bit of a rollercoaster these last few years. I'm turning 30 next month. I don't have the time to sit in my house and grind out several hours of playtesting for a week straight anymore. I've done the whole World Championship thing and don't feel the need to prove anything to anyone. I can just be content stun-locking people with OP07 Jewelry Bonney at my kitchen table for the rest of time, right?

Well, I could. But the fire isn't out just yet. Some days, you roll out of bed and choose violence. You're just in the mood to compete. You've got the mindset required to shake off the rust and above all else, you want to win.

I've felt that way for the first time regarding the One Piece TCG over the last month or so. Green Bonney remains my favorite deck but my local group is starting to find me predictable. The OP07 Rob Lucci and ST14 Monkey.D.Luffy matchups are exceptionally difficult and I'm not always in the mood for that. If I wake up with a desire to crush some skulls (and manage to secure a ticket to a premiere event somehow!) in the near future, I need to expand my horizons and play some different decklists to have the best chance at finding success.

So, I'm looking for something that appeals to my controlling sensibilities, doesn't share cards with Bonney and isn't going to fall off the face of the metagame by the time I've learnt to play it post OP09. If only there was a leader that ticked all those boxes...

Oh wait, I've been losing to that exact leader since I started playing the game. Wild!

OP07 Rob Lucci has been a defining force in the metagame since his release. While there was a little bit of concern for the viability of this deck after the banning of Enies Lobby (098), Lucci hasn't faltered in the wake of OP08. This mono-black leader offers a potent control deck more akin to those found in other card games than something like Bonney. We're not interested in buying tempo or going fast, we're interested in systematically removing each and every character our opponent plays so they cannot pressure us back or profitably block our endgame.

We do this through a unique blend of the two abilities presented on our leader. Rob Lucci (079) both trashes cards from top of our deck and reduces the cost of opposing characters every time he attacks. That means we'll have never-ending fuel for haymakers like Rob Lucci (093) and Spandine (043) and we can leverage above-rate removal options like Jack (084) or Brook (046) to deal with everything our opponent extends onto the board. We can even toolbox our entire deck as the game progresses thanks to Rebecca (091) and Gecko Moria (086) - that sounds like a blast to me!

The Decklist

Holden Miller's Black Lucci - 1st Place at CoreTCG Online Regional Championship

Leader

• 1 Rob Lucci (OP07-079)

Character (42)

• 4 Spandam (OP03-086)
• 2 Helmeppo (ST06-010)
• 3 Spandine (EB01-043)
• 4 Kuzan (OP02-096)
• 4 Kalifa (OP03-081)
• 4 Rebecca (OP05-091)
• 4 Rob Lucci (OP05-093)
• 4 Sabo (OP04-083)
• 4 Who's.Who (OP08-091)
• 4 Jack (OP08-084)
• 4 Gecko Moria (OP06-086)
• 1 Issho (OP03-078)

Event (8)

• 4 Ice Age (OP02-117)
• 4 Tempest Kick (OP07-096)

Zero copies of Brook (046)?! Oh. That's a real statement about how this format is currently shaped.

Holden Miller dominated the Core TCG Online Regional this past weekend with the above version of the deck; a list clearly juiced up with OP08. Jack (084) was a gigantic upgrade for these decks, offering you another way to immediately K.O problematic characters and fuel your trash. On following turns, Jack threatens to do the same or begin swinging his 8000 power of weight around. The coolest line of text though? "This character gains +4 cost" - turning Jack into the most important card in the Rob Lucci mirror match on account of being nearly impossible to cleanly remove! You shouldn't be afraid to burn your counter cards protecting Jack in this style of matchup.

OP08 also brought Who's Who (091) to the dance, who isn't quite as exciting as Jack but shores up a lot of holes. Primarily, Who's Who is a 2000+ block with a {CP} type attached to it to find with Spandam (086). It also offers redundancy as another removal effect and another powerful trigger, something this deck is typically a little light on.

I love that this list is quite lean on endgame options, knowing you'll happily overpower most decks and freeing up space to max out on our other important cards. Gecko Moria (086) might just be the best card in all of OPTCG right now and Rob Lucci garners the best activations. You'll often look to pull back Helmeppo (010) alongside Rob Lucci (093) for picture perfect board clears, Spandam (086) for incidental value, or set up value chains through Rebecca (091) and Spandine (043). There's nothing Gecko Moria doesn't do and I'm actively looking for it in my mulligan to prevent them ending up in the trash.

If the mirror match (or other slower decks) continue to increase in popularity, I can see the need for additional finishing power to line up better into opposing black removal. We've already got a copy of Issho (078), who does untold damage if they can survive a turn, but I'd also like to explore copies of Stussy (085) or Kaido (079) as viable ways to one-shot opposing Gecko Moria.

Kuzan (096) might appear unassuming but it hasn't crept up to nearly $25 over time by accident! Another of the very few cards I'm actively looking for in my mulligans, Kuzan is your best early play. It replaces itself with a fresh card and demands a hasty answer from any opponent who would rather not lose their board to Rob Lucci (093) on the following turn. In a similar vein, the full four copies of Sabo (083), Ice Age (117) and Tempest Kick (096) don't need much explaining - they've been some of the best tools available to the deck since its inception. Don't be afraid to burn Tempest Kick early if your hand needs some help, especially in matchups that go particularly wide or fast and may struggle to enable the secondary effect!

Closing Thoughts

A number of players are beginning to shy away from Black Lucci as Black Yellow Luffy begins to stake a claim for the crown, and whilst the matchup is certainly difficult, you've got the ability to adapt towards it in a pinch. The rest of matchup spread for Rob Lucci still looks very appealing and that's a huge incentive if you're looking for a leader to invest your time in.

Besides, if Black Yellow Luffy is everywhere, I can just go back to playing Bonney, right? More tools in the toolbox.

But what do you think? Do you also enjoy Tempest Kicking some fools? Let me know how your games are going over at @HowlingMines on X/Twitter! Alternatively, if you want more card game goodies, be sure to check out my other work here on TCGplayer!

But until next time! I've been HowlingMines, you've been amazing!

...All your stuff costs two now. Sorry about that!