The Best One Piece TCG Starter Decks Right Now, April 2025

 Huh, y'all must really like Starter Decks...

I mean, I get it. One Piece TCG has some of the best introductory products in the industry. Every time a new option comes to stores, players are left clamoring to find their copies in the wake of surging demand and an abundance of new players. Simply put, bad products don't often sell — and these Starter Decks are anything but. 

However, I can't say I expected such an overwhelming interest in previous installments. My recently written Every One Piece Starter Deck, Ranked received way more attention than expected, and my inbox promptly exploded shortly afterward. Why? Well, it turns out players are looking for wildly different things. 

The Best One Piece TCG Starter Decks Right Now

While I explained my rationale for the rankings within the article, some players wanted to know what their best choice would be if they wanted to make a savvy investment. Others were more interested in which one would give them cards that they would still be playing in a couple of years, and a third portion just wanted to know which Starter Deck upgrades best for competitive play. When considering these factors, the rankings might shift around a little — but in isolation? Maybe things are a little different. 

So, let's boil it down a bit further — what is the best One Piece TCG Starter Deck right now? 

The Best One Piece TCG Investment: Super Pre-Release Starter Decks 1-4

• One Piece TCG Super Pre-Release Starter Deck 1: Straw Hat Crew
• One Piece TCG Super Pre-Release Starter Deck 2: Worst Generation
• One Piece TCG Super Pre-Release Starter Deck 3: The Seven Warlords of The Sea
• One Piece TCG Super Pre-Release Starter Deck 4: Animal Kingdom Pirates
• One Piece TCG Super Pre-Release Starter Decks 1-4 (Set of Four)

It's a little unusual to view Starter Decks as an investment, given their primary use, but the One Piece TCG offers some unique collectibles in this category. The first four decks are available in a unique "Super Pre-Release" variant — most of which are now lost to time in the bulk boxes of players who didn't stick around. 

The "Super Pre-Release" was a special, early demo tournament designed to celebrate the release of the One Piece TCG before the official launch of the game. Each event required players to purchase a unique version of one of the four Starter Decks to play. The upside? These starters contained an alternative art leader card with a first-edition golden stamp. 

These decks are over three years old and have become highly coveted amongst players who were not around at the beginning of the game. Unsurprisingly, the premium version of Starter Deck 1: Straw Hat Crew is the most desirable of the bunch and routinely pushes $175 a copy. Personally? I'm grabbing any of the four if I'm lucky enough to find them. 

The Best One Piece TCG Deck for New Players: Starter Deck EX: Gear 5 (ST21)

If all you're looking for is a clean and easy introduction to One Piece TCG, there's no better way to do so than the most recent starter deck release — Starter Deck EX: Gear 5 (also known as ST21).

This product is the spiritual successor to the Starter Deck 1: Straw Hat Crew, bringing a shiny new version of Monkey.D.Luffy (ST21-001) to the table in his Gear 5 form. The play patterns of this leader provide a modern spin of the iconic low-to-the-ground, hit-first-think-later playstyle of the original, making it the perfect entry point for someone looking to get into the game. 

The best part? This release is still incredibly recent! It's readily available for purchase and heavily supported by the most recent sets, which is an understated selling point for players who don't own a back catalog of all the good cards. If I wanted to teach someone who has never played a TCG, this is how I would do it. 

The Best One Piece TCG Decks to Learn with Friends: Starter Decks 15-20 (Set of 6) 

• One Piece TCG Starter Deck 15: RED Edward.Newgate
• One Piece TCG Starter Deck 16: GREEN Uta
• One Piece TCG Starter Deck 17: BLUE Donquixote Doflamingo
• One Piece TCG Starter Deck 18: PURPLE Monkey.D.Luffy
• One Piece TCG Starter Deck 19: BLACK Smoker
• One Piece TCG Starter Deck 20: YELLOW Charlotte Katakuri
• One Piece TCG Starter Decks 15-20 (Set of Six)

One of the more common requests I received was, "Which decks should I buy if we wanted to learn as a group? Are they all a similar power level?"

Well. Kind of? Sorta? You've just got to pick a period. 

One Piece TCG Starter Decks are typically developed to play well against the other decks released alongside them, so you can pick up just about any group if you keep that in mind. Don't let my recommendation stifle you from learning how to play with Kaido (ST04-001) and Charlotte LinLin (ST07-001) if old-school Yonko is more your thing. 

With that said, the collection of Starter Decks between Starter Deck 15 and Starter Deck 20 are commonly heralded as the most cohesive, reprint-heavy, and enjoyable options to date. Between them, they cover every color of leader and offer a variety of playstyles to give you and your group a comprehensive taste of everything One Piece TCG is about. Buying all five was one of my first big purchases when I began playing, and I'd highly encourage you to do the same. 

Best One Piece TCG Deck for Competitive Players: ST17: Donquixote Doflamingo and ST18: Monkey.D.Luffy

I tried to pick one for about an hour, and I simply couldn't do it. 

It's so unbelievably difficult for a game to create a Starter Deck product that scales cleanly into a top-tier competitive deck but, One Piece TCG has managed to do so twice. Starter Deck 17: Blue Donquixote Doflamingo and Starter Deck 18: Purple Monkey.D.Luffy not only helms the list in terms of competitive options — they're singlehandedly the reason those leaders are competitive, to begin with! 

According to the popular tournament site Limitless, these two leaders are currently the third and fourth most competitive decks in the game, each containing more than a handful of cards from their respective Starter Decks. As a result, both products play phenomenally out of the box and provide a clear upgrade path for anyone hoping to make their way to the top tournament tables later down the line. 

Closing Thoughts

It brings me a special kind of joy to see demand for Starter Decks, but that goes a step further when different products fit the mold best for an ever-growing player base. Even cooler? These products will be outclassed by future releases eventually but that'll just make for more great entry points for the One Piece TCG. 

But 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!