There’s something about opening a starter deck that always brings me back to where I began with the One Piece Trading Card game. Fast forward 3 years to today and I find myself competing in championships and finals across Europe.
In this review, we’ll be exploring one of the newest starter decks which features Buggy as the leader. I’ll cover what makes it a great pick up point for beginners and how you can use it to hold your own in the current meta.
First Impressions are everything
Each of the newer starter decks in the One Piece Trading Card game offers players everything they need to get started, and also provides the opportunity to customise your deck with extra cards.
Accompanying buggy in this starter deck are all the familiar faces from the Cross Guild;
including Alvida, Mr 3, and Crocodile and Mihawk. Most of which are characters you might even recognise for the live action series on Netflix.
Although you know exactly what you’re getting with a start deck, that doesn’t mean that
excitement isn’t included. Packed alongside the 61 card starter deck is a booster pack from one of the sets that you can use to add cards to your deck providing they’re the same colour.
What’s even more exciting about this is that the included pack isn’t seeded, or part of the
booster box structure. Meaning that could even find a manga rarity card hiding at the back of the pack. Something that a friend of mine was lucky enough to discover.
But let’s get back to the thick of it and look at how we can use this deck to get our wins!
Getting down to business
The success of this deck heavily revolves around getting as much value out of your leader
ability as possible each turn. Once you reach 5 don or more, you should aim to use your ability to play large cost characters, and flood your board as quickly as possible.
Utilising cards such as crocodile and Mihawk, means you can play additional characters off of their on play and prevent removal immediately from life triggers when you attack.
Another choice card is P-084 Buggy which works perfectly against rush decks such as Red
Zoro, Red Rayleigh and Red Green Chopper. Having it on your board prevents cost 3 and 4 characters from attacking. Which can be useful given that most of their characters have ‘when attacking’ abilities.
Finally, the biggest beast of them all is the 10 cost buggy which enables you to remove one of your opponents characters from the board. If you find all of your combo pieces, it won’t be difficult to get to a point where you can drop one of these to remove a blocker and swing for lethal.
The most important thing to remember with Buggy’s leader ability is the fact that it can be used more than once. Once you hit 10 don, you can flood the board with 4 characters in the blink of an eye, and put yourself in a position to do it again the following turn.
Out of all the starter decks that are available, this has the most enjoyable synergy I’ve seen in a while. There’s always something to do each turn, and the control elements in the included cards mean that you almost always have an answer for your opponent's threats.
The only thing I would highlight to consider is the fact that this is quite a mechanic heavy deck. There are quite a few elements that react with one another, so it can be easy to miss some combinations that would put you in a strong position for late game.
My advice would be to think each turn through and take your time. Try not to get annoyed by mistakes and remember each combo you discover and utilise them in the next game.
Quality cards
As this is a starter deck, expect a lack of alt art cards and limited editions. This set is designed with beginners in mind, so the individual card value is definitely lacking.
That being said, this deck does include some amazing new art for the starter deck exclusive cards; and they really capture the chaotic personalities of the Cross Guild perfectly. I mean, what else would you expect from a crew run by a clown?
If I recommend one thing when you open this deck, it’s to sleeve your foils. If given the chance, they will curl instantly and make it difficult to flatten. Thankfully, the non-foil cards don’t have this issue.
Final thoughts
So, there we have it, a brief tour of everything you’ll find the circus which is ST25. But, I still have a few pieces of advice to round of the review:
● If you’re going to look at playing this deck in the competitive meta, buy 2 copies, as you only get 2 copies of most of the power spike cards in a single starter deck.
● Sleeve your cards straight away, or place the foils in a binder to ensure they aren’t ruined.
● Practice makes perfect with the combos.
● Summon all your luck when you open the free booster, and you never know what you’ll find inside.
But most importantly, have fun! Everyone has to start somewhere with this game, and you’ve chosen a strong deck to start with. Memorise the mechanics and combos and you’ll be winning games in no time!
