The Cards You Need to Get Before One Piece TCG's Carrying On His Will (OP-13)

We're about to celebrate the third anniversary of the global release of the One Piece TCG. What better way to do that than to revisit the three brothers in all their fiery glory.

Three years may not hold a candle to the 28 of the original manga so far, but it's a bright and constant flame nonetheless. In this industry, the first five years of a trading card game are the most important foundations of its long-term survival. One Piece has not only reached the third stepping stone, but it's still actively growing and thriving upon doing so. The future is bright for Bandai's flagship — even if we still don't know what the One Piece actually is!

That monolith rise continues with the 13th core booster set: Carrying On His Will (OP13). This set is arguably the most anticipated in the game's short history, with the long-awaited addition of both Gol.D.Roger (OP13-003) and Imu (OP13-079). Alongside these two juggernauts, we see a reimagining of all three brothers and a shiny new Jewelry Bonney Leader joining the fray. That's to say nothing of the level of glamour this set has to offer. You didn't think we'd be celebrating without a little style, did you?

Carrying On His Will (OP13) features the expected manga rares of yesteryear, but they're nowhere close to the highlight of the set. You'll find gold-emblazoned alternative artwork for Roger's Divine Departure (OP13-076), wanted poster variants of major Characters and a selection of special rare "Character Edition" cards for some of the most heavily played Characters in each Leader.

If you're particularly lucky, you may even find one of the alternative artwork variants of the Five Elders. These cards have been lovingly illustrated by Gege Akutami (the creator of Jujutsu Kaisen) to commemorate the third anniversary of the game. There's so much to look forward to in Carrying On His Will (OP13), so it'll pay to get yourself prepared before the set drops on November 7th. 

How? We scour the internet. While each new Leader is commonly supported by cards found within their corresponding set, there's a wealth of hidden gems from across One Piece history that should be given a new lease on life by a deck that didn't exist previously. If any of the new Leaders interest you, here's a quick peek at some of the cards I'd focus on picking up.

Cards for Red Green Luffy (OP13-001)

The captain of the Straw Hat Crew is back once more in another new form! Monkey.D.Luffy (OP13-001) takes a more controlling stance than most of his previous counterparts, banking DON!! into the opponent's turn to juice up the stats of your Leader or {Straw Hat Crew} Characters on defense. This leads to a deck that relies less on counter cards and hopes to reset DON!! to active with a selection of effects. 

Charlestone (OP05-038)

Charlestone (OP05-038) stands out as a potentially underrated Event for this strategy. You're already looking to leave DON!! open heading into the opposing turn, so holding up a two-cost counter requires very few hoops. In exchange, you'll get a +4000 counter that can set three DON!! to active if you're willing to trash a card.

This works perfectly with Luffy, allowing you to grow your Leader much larger than expected and protect a different Straw Hat in the same turn, punishing an opponent who assumed they were forcing you to choose. Right now, the card is available for pennies on the dollar, but the card hasn't seen a print since Awakening of a New Era (OP05). It may become more difficult to find if Luffy proves himself at the tournament tables. 

Roronoa Zoro (OP06-118)

I almost gave this slot to Nami (OP01-016), but I feel like she's a more obvious pickup than Zoro. The big bad swordsman recently saw an important reprint in PRB02, making him infinitely more accessible than before. That's a good thing — you're going to want four of this machine.

Unsurprisingly, {Straw Hat Crew} Characters are at a premium in Monkey.D.Luffy (OP13-001) because they're the only Character type he can protect. Roronoa Zoro (OP06-118) benefits from this buff while providing the ultimate endgame threat for the deck: spend three DON!! to swing three times each turn, save as much DON!! as you want to play defense.

This card has always been phenomenal, and it might be better here than anywhere else. If I wanted to build Luffy, Zoro is one of the first cards I'd be picking up.

Cards for Black Imu (OP13-079)

Imu (OP13-079) is one of the Leaders more heavily supported by Carrying On His Will, mostly because their Leader ability bends the rules of the game. Imu will filter away as needed in the early turns to enable the Five Elders to dominate the board. The likes of St.Shepherd Ju Peter (OP13-084) and Saint Ethanbaron V.Nusjuro (OP13-080) reach unholy levels of power once there are ten or more cards in your trash. You'll find yourself summoning them all with Five Elders (OP13-082) and swiftly crushing your opponents. 

Mary Geoise (OP05-097)

While the majority of Imu games will revolve around the newly printed The Empty Throne (OP13-099) as the Stage of choice at the beginning of the game, you'll want Mary Geoise (OP05-097) as an option in more aggressive matchups. We might all wish that every game went to ten DON!! and 19 cards in trash, but there are just some Leaders that aren't interested in letting you gain endless value. 

Instead, Mary Geoise (OP05-097) makes your Celestial Dragons far more attainable early in the game. Having St.Jaygarcia Saturn (OP13-083) or St.Topman Warcury (OP13-089) available on three DON!! is a huge boon, and the freedom to play and activate Five Elders (OP13-082) immediately on ten DON!! doesn't go amiss. 

Cards for Blue Red Portgas.D.Ace (OP13-002)

Portgas.D.Ace (OP13-002) is probably the most anticipated Leader from Carrying on Their Will (OP13) next to Imu, putting on repeated impressive performances in the east. This 6000-power Leader hits like a bus, weakens enemy attackers and constantly refills your hand. This two-pronged approach enables Ace to consistently reach the endgame and begin slamming down haymaker after haymaker. 

Marco (PRB02-008)

Ace is a large part of the reason why Marco (PRB02-008) is so expensive straight out of the gate. This card is a searchable four-cost 6000-power blocker that draws you two cards. If that wasn't enough, Marco naturally accents Ace's Leader ability to draw you a third card once your opponent gets through the wall. Frankly, it's a little too good. You're going to want four in every Portgas.D.Ace (OP13-002) list for the rest of time.

Starter Deck 22: Ace and Whitebeard

Okay, I'm cheating slightly because this isn't a single card, but there's enough must-have cards inside the starter deck that I'd encourage you to pick them up directly. I Am Whitebeard!! (ST22-015) is the backbone of this strategy, deploying titanic Characters way before you're supposed to (and offering an 8000-power Leader in a pinch). When your options are backbreaking haymakers like Edward.Newgate (OP08-043) and Edward.Newgate (OP13-042), it's very difficult to say no. 

That's to say nothing of Izo (ST22-002), an impressive searcher that smooths your consistency starting on turn one. Izo can find a copy of Marco or I Am Whitebeard!! if you failed to do so in the mulligan, greatly increasing how often you find your midgame bridges. If you don't want all the extra cardboard, feel free to buy these cards independently. If you'd like a different Leader to explore later, it's well worth grabbing the starter.

Cards for Red Purple Gol.D.Roger (OP13-003)

One Piece welcomes its first ever 7000-power Leader... kind of. 

Gol.D.Roger (OP13-003) always had to stand out from the pack somehow when he finally debuted in the TCG. The King of the Pirates does so in style, sporting a stat line no other Leader can boast. However, you'll have a permanent -2000 debuff while you sit below nine DON!! and one DON!! from your deck will automatically attach itself to Roger each turn until you reach ten. This results in a deck looking to mitigate these drawbacks until it's time to unleash the beast. 

Shanks (OP09-004)

You've got a deck that's looking to smoothly reach 10 DON!! as consistently as possible. As a result, many of the haymaker ten-cost Characters make sense in Gol.D.Roger (OP13-003), including Shanks (OP09-004).

A board-wide debuff is disgusting when the opposing Leader already requires additional resources to successfully land a hit. More importantly, these debuffs will stack, quickly invalidating your opponent's plans and leaving your Leader untouchable. Finally, Shanks will rush in to sweep up a problematic Character or threaten serious damage immediately after he's played. The card is indispensable for Gol.D.Roger in my honest opinion. 

Gol.D.Roger (OP09-118)

We'll double dip a little bit here, because Gol.D.Roger (OP09-118) is also a phenomenal card in Portgas.D.Ace (OP13-002). This monstrous ten-drop creates lose-lose scenarios for opponents relying on blocker cards by threatening to win the game immediately once you drop a player's Life to zero. 

That's incredibly punishing for decks that rely on {blocker} to hold back the opponent, such as Imu or Jewelry Bonney (OP07-019). Even better, Gol.D.Roger (OP09-118) can be tutored up by Shanks (OP13-065), making it trivial to slam the door shut once the opportunity arrives. 

Cards for Red Black Sabo (OP13-004)

Sabo is one of the less anticipated Leaders from OP13 but is still finding some success in the east. The Leader starts at a lowly 4000 power until you've taken your first two Life of damage, making it very difficult to take offensive lines early. In exchange, Sabo and all of your Characters become +1000 above their base once you've established an eight-cost Character and strapped on a DON!! card. 

The deck doesn't really play like anything else I've seen, but the Revolutionary Army certainly doesn't mind having another solid Leader. 

Revolutionary Army HQ (OP05-021)

If you're messing with the Revolutionary Army, it pays to pack some copies of their impressive stage, Revolutionary Army HQ (OP05-021). This card lets you funnel more situational tools out of your hand to search up more important Characters, while providing small amounts of synergy with cards like Monkey.D.Dragon (OP12-094).

It's not a flashy or surprising inclusion, but it's a card you'll be grateful to have once deckbuilding begins. 

Hack (OP12-089)

Another self-explanatory inclusion, Hack (OP12-089) is the cheapest way to activate Sabo's upside. A 5000-power blocker is no joke alone, but Sabo quickly turns Hack into a 6k that will K.O. an opposing threat when similarly removed. Again, this isn't super flashy or surprising — just a card that'll unquestionably make the deck. It pays to grab these things ahead of time. 

Cards for Yellow Bonney (OP13-100)

Egghead arc Bonney is a curious conundrum. Her Leader ability is fairly low impact in comparison to other yellow options, but it's incredibly easy to build around and enable. There's approximately a million strong Trigger Characters in the game, and Bonney doesn't force you to lean into a particular synergy to do good work, so you can just "play the good cards" and be reasonably happy about it. 

Nami (OP08-106)

Five-cost Nami is far and away one of my favorite Trigger payoffs — she's even appropriately Egghead for the deck aesthetic! 

Removal is king in card games, and Nami turns any leftover Trigger in your hand into an answer for anything played before her. If you're careful, you can even draw a replacement card to make her ability strictly upside. Even better, that removal ability is also a Trigger effect in disguise, allowing Nami (OP08-106) to synergise with herself and Jewelry Bonney (OP13-100) nicely.

This card is a proven quantity in everything from Enel (OP05-098) to Katakuri (OP03-099). There's no way it's not even better alongside Bonney. 

Kikunojo (OP06-104)

Kikunojo is a similarly renowned yellow Trigger, doing some serious work alongside Katakuri (OP03-099) and Nami (OP11-041) in recent months. This powerhouse from Wings of the Captain (OP06) is one of the strongest proactive plays available to Bonney, slapping down a 6000-power body for four DON!! and strapping two DON!! to your Leader in the process.

If the opponent doesn't contest the incoming pressure, Kikunojo's K.O. ability is quickly unlocked, causing even more problems for the opponent. An extra Life (and eventually an extra card) is a huge deal when so many of your cards have Trigger, turning Kikunojo into the complete package.