The Top Decks from Flame-Flame Fruit Coliseum Europe

Earlier this month was the European Flame Flame Fruit Coliseum event for the One Piece Card Game. With over 4000 players, it was the largest English-language event for the One Piece Card Game to date. Now, with the North American version of the event coming this weekend, a lot of players are excited for their chance at the unique prizes offered for the event. 

To help you out, we're going to go over the Top 4 decklists from the European Flame-Flame Fruit Coliseum event. The current meta is still settling and evolving, but I do believe the four decks and Leaders we will be going over will be incredibly relevant for anyone hoping to play as these decks or figure out the best way to approach these matchups. Additionally, if you are looking for more data or decklists for the current OP-17 format of the One Piece Card Game, I recommend checking out the tournament results website I run as well.

Benjo's 1st Place Nico Robin

via Egman Events

Before Utrecht, I would have classified Nico Robin as a known and viable Leader, but not necessarily a threat in this current meta. The yellow Big Mom Pirates archetype has proven itself to be a strong engine that can be used successfully in many different yellow Leaders. When the set was released, a lot of people started with more obvious Leaders, such as OP17-099 Charlotte Linlin or OP08-058 Charlotte Pudding. However, as the meta developed, a lot of people started looking at OP-09 Nico Robin, a Leader that had seen very little play since its release eight sets ago. Its unique combination of being able to ramp with its Leader's effect as well as inherently having Banish makes it a perfect Leader to use the Big Mom Pirates cards.

Key Cards:

• OP16-119 Marshall.D.Teach: As of writing, this is the most expensive card in Benjo's list. Like most Secret Rares in the One Piece Card Game, it has a unique effect that is difficult to replace otherwise. For anyone just getting into the deck, it's not a strictly mandatory card. However, for anyone wanting the highly competitive version of the deck I recommend at least two copies of Teach.
• OP17-112 Charlotte Linlin: This is the boss of the entire archetype. It is able to flexibly deal damage or heal as well as aggressively turn your 4000-power bodies into 8000-power bodies aggressively. Though you really only need to establish one copy on the board for most games, it is still a mandatory four-of since it has a huge payoff if you're able drop it the moment you ramp to ten DON!!
• OP09-078 Gum-Gum Giant: This card, without exaggeration, is one of the main reasons to play Nico Robin over other yellow Leaders. This card is infamous for being one the best defensive events in the game. If used properly, you're able to get out of an attack while going hand-neutral and potentially fixing your hand with its discard-one-draw-two. It is a little tough at times to play it in conjunction with OP17-112 Charlotte Linlin, but this card can singlehandedly prevent you from losing in the late game.

There are a lot of generically good yellow and purple cards in the game, such as EB04-058 Borsalino and OP15-078 Mamaragan. But it is a delicate ratio of making sure you're running enough Big Mom Pirates so you are hitting your triggers consistently enough. Robin will definitely be getting more popular after this weekend, and if you're not playing the deck, you will need to make sure you have a game plan against it.

Xixo's 2nd Place Enel

via Egman Events

Enel was released in OP-15 and has been one of the best Leaders in the game, if not THE best Leader in the game. With his unique limitation of only 6 DON!!, he has not just been on top but he has also been through a lot of innovations through the last couple of formats. This includes the build Xixo used, notably not playing OP15-118 Enel.

Key Cards:

• OP15-078 Mamaragan: With the removal of OP15-118 Enel, Mamaragan has become the most expensive card in the deck. And for a good reason: it's incredibly versatile, both offensively and defensively. 
• OP10-067 Senor Pink: Senor Pink is one of the interesting techs in the deck. Released in OP-10, the card was generally not used until it was discovered how well it worked in the Enel Leader, especially since it can grab cards like the above Mamaragan. It was usually teched at one or two copies for most builds, but if you don't run OP15-118 Enel, people have been starting to use it at four copies.
• OP07-064 Sanji: One of the better generic +2000-counter cards in purple. This card has seen occasional play, especially since it can also be found off of OP12-071 Charlotte Pudding. Unlike most decks, Enel doesn't rely on traditional +2000-counter cards so Sanji has never been incredibly needed. However, with players starting to remove OP15-118 Enel, it's another good card to fill the "top end" space of the deck.

Again, Enel has been one of the strongest Leaders the One Piece Card Game has ever seen. Mostly due to how easy it can use DON!! minus effects without really feeling the negative. That being said, there are a lot of different tech cards that are still out there to be used for the deck, and I expect to see Enel to continue to be viable.

Rian's Top 4 Portgas.D.Ace

via Egman Events

Ace started the OP-16 format with a fair amount of usage, but fell off as the format got more developed. I was somewhat confident it would have a similar fate for the OP-17 format, but so far, he has been able to develop a foothold as one of the premiere red decks in the format.

Key Cards:

• OP17-005 Edward.Newgate: The main reason people are looking toward playing Ace in this format. It makes your Leader 8000 power for the turn, and your Leader effect can give it rush. Additionally, it allows for slightly lopsided matchups—any deck that runs Loki allows you to play Newgate out for six DON!! It can be a little bricky in hand, but I do think you need to run four copies of him.
• OP16-003 Edward.Newgate: The previous boss of the deck before OP-17 released. This Newgate is a more aggressive card, allowing you to pressure characters on board as well as giving your Leader double attack. If you are finding yourself with too much non-counter in hand, I could see going down to two or three copies of him, but I do think he's a mandatory card for the deck.
• OP16-118 Portgas.D.Ace: There has always been a bit of contention over whether this Secret Rare is strong enough in the deck. Don't get me wrong, it IS a good value card that helps turn some of your bricks into counter. However, it's also difficult to actually find time to play it. Not an explicitly mandatory card, but I do think you should run at least two copies of Ace, and more if you have them.

All in all, Ace didn't really change that much as it moved to OP-17. OP17-005 Edward.Newgate and OP17-006 Kingdew are honestly the biggest additions to the deck. But its unrivaled aggressive pressure, as well as a potentially good matchup into decks running Loki, give it enough of a foothold to be relevant and successful in this format.

Borsaistrash's Top 4 Sabo

via Egman Events

There has been a lot of debate on who is the better Leader for the OP-17 Elbaph package: OP13-004 Sabo, or OP17-079 Monkey.D.Luffy. I'm definitely more biased towards Luffy, but I can't argue with the results that Sabo has gotten with the package. 

Key Cards:

• OP17-119 Loki: The Secret Rare that defines the Elbaph package. Unlike with the Luffy Leader, it doesn't get blocker with Sabo, and I personally don't find it as a mandatory four-of in the deck. But it's still incredibly useful, even if it's just to turn on your Leader and two-cost Character effects.
• OP17-093 Monkey.D.Luffy: This card has been a bit fickle for me lately. Either it wins you the game, or it's stuck in your hand. Eight DON!! is a little expensive for this deck at times, especially when you need to attach DON!! to your Leader, but it does offer a lot of immediate value and pressure once it's played. I think three copies is a nice sweet spot for the card, but it can be as little as two or as many as four based on your own preference.
• OP17-080 Usopp: The best two-cost Straw Hat for the deck. Unlike the other two-costs, it always gets value, drawing an Elbaph card and helping fill your trash. Mandatory four-of for any Elbaph package deck.

Similar to the Big Mom Pirates package, it's very obvious that the Elbaph package is a generically good archetype that works under a lot of different Leaders. Compared to Luffy, Sabo is a more aggressive version of the archetype which is also able to take advantage of a couple of red cards, such as EB04-007 Roronoa Zoro and OP01-016 Nami.

Bonus: Cinnas' Dracule Mihawk

via Egman Events

To end this article, I feel like I would be remiss to not include Dracule Mihawk. Going into the event, Mihawk was touted as the strongest deck in the format, which also made it the Leader with the largest target on its back. Despite not getting a Top 4 in the Flame-Flame Fruit, the deck is incredibly strong and widely played in the format right now.

Key Cards:

• OP17-022 Shanks: Without exaggeration, this card is single-handedly defining the format. If your deck doesn't have a way to interact with this Shanks, it immediately affects how viable your deck is. Cinnas was playing three copies of the card in their build, but most players I see play the full four copies.
• OP17-031 Yasopp: On release of OP-17, Yasopp wasn't immediately included in builds of Mihawk. Many people didn't include him since he can't be played off of ST32-003 Dracule Mihawk. However, as more people started using OP13-031 Trafalgar Law over Mihawk, Yasopp grew in popularity. He has great coverage with ST32-002 Kouzuki Oden, and is difficult for some decks to interact with.
• OP06-033 Vander Decken IX: It's always interesting when a card goes from unplayable to meta-defining overnight, and Vander Decken IX is one such example. Released all the way back in OP-06, its synergy with OP17-022 Shanks has been responsible for shaping the format. 

Since its release in OP-14, Mihawk has been able to take advantage of cards and strategies made for other green Slash Leaders. Though it didn't get a Top 4 finish in the European Flame-Flame Fruit Coliseum, I think it will still be a strong and solid choice for the North American version.

In Conclusion

Like a lot of viewers, I was pleasantly surprised to see four different Leaders in the top four for this event, especially with none of the Leaders being Mihawk. All in all, this has been one of my favorite metas for the One Piece Card game, and it has been refreshing seeing so many different decks viable. As of writing, most of the decks in this article are in the $150 USD range, making this also one of the more affordable formats for newer players to pick up the game.

I hope this article was helpful at showing off many viable decks that you could commit to for this format. And, again, if you want to find more deck lists and data, I highly recommend checking my results website for more deck lists from the event. Thank you for reading and I'm looking forward to seeing, and competing in, the Dallas Flame-Flame Fruit later this week!