[Update 14 Nov 2024] A new variant of this deck has begun to appear in tournament play. It makes use of the Issho card from Pillars of Strength [OP-03] for reduction of the opponent’s resource as well as lowering of opposing Character costs in order to better set up KO’s.

It’s been almost a year since the last time Black Smoker deck had any metagame relevance at all. However, recent shifts in the ONE PIECE Card Game meta as well as the introduction of several new cards have allowed this deck to gradually make its way back into tournament play.

Strategy

When playing this deck, the idea is to KO opposing Characters before they have the opportunity to attack. This can be enabled by the effect of the titular Leader card from Paramount War [OP-02] which once per turn, reduces the cost of one of the opponent’s Character cards by 1. This can often put those opposing Character cards within KO range. Additionally, that same Smoker card gets a Power boost of 1000 if the opponent has a 0-cost Character card in play; that secondary effect is applied after the cost-lowering one, so both can take effect on the same turn.

Throughout the early and mid-game, this deck’s control playstyle is facilitated by Koby, Sakazuki, and Kuzan—a trio of cards from Paramount War [OP-02]—as well as Tashigi from the Black Smoker Starter Deck [ST-19]. These four cards all have insta-KO effects on opposing low-cost Characters; Kuzan and Tashigi also have cost-reducing effects that work in tandem with the similar effect of the Leader card. By combining these cards and their effects, it’s often possible to KO opposing high-cost Characters as well—often earlier than what would ordinarily be expected.

In the late game, the aforementioned Koby card can be used as part of a combo with Gecko Moria from Wings of the Captain [OP-06] and Rebecca from Awakening of the New Era [OP-05]. This combination provides much late-game attacking value while also serving as a method to maintain board control and prevent the opponent from mounting a comeback.

Price

Buying all the cards in the Black Smoker Deck will cost a minimum of 27,700 JPY (~US$183).

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