How to Play & Win the One Piece Trading Card Game

If you love One Piece and want another way to get involved in the fandom, the trading card game (TCG) is a fun game to try out. The card game brings all your favorite characters into the fight, and you can build a deck with any One Piece crew you’d like. Even with all the different cards, the rules of the game are pretty simple to learn. Keep reading, and we’ll walk you through setting up the game, taking a turn, and strategies to help you win!

One Piece Trading Card Game: Quick Overview

To play the One Piece TCG, players select a Leader and matching deck, and deal Life cards to track the game. On a turn, play new characters or events, power up your characters with DON!! cards, and battle against your opponent. If you make your opponent lose all their Life cards or run out of their deck, you win!

Section 1 of 7:

One Piece Trading Card Game Objective

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During a game of the One Piece TCG, players pit their favorite pirates from the manga and anime against one another. Each player has a Leader, like Monkey D. Luffy or Nami, that determines how much Life they have. During turns, players will play new characters and events from their deck, and battle to damage the other person’s Leader. Be the first to remove all their Life, and you’re the winner!

Section 2 of 7:

Building a One Piece TCG Deck

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Choose a Leader card for your deck. The Leader of your deck is like the captain of your crew. They have a Life value in the bottom right corner that determines how much damage they can take during a game. If your Leader loses all their Life during a game, you lose! Leaders come in 6 different colors, and each color has a slightly different play style.^{[1]
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- Red: Quick and aggressive attacks that can buff other characters’ Power
- Green: Balance between offense and defense, plus card manipulation
- Blue: Deck manipulation and extra card draws
- Purple: Control over DON!! cards for both players
- Black: Reducing card costs and knocking out opponents without battling
- Yellow: Life regeneration and triggered effects when you take damage
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Make a deck with 50 Characters, Events, and Stages with your Leader’s color. A One Piece deck can only use cards that have the same color as your Leader. Decks can contain Characters that you use to battle, Events that activate immediate effects, and Stages that give you persistent abilities each turn. Make sure you have exactly 50 cards in your deck for your game.^{[2]
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- If you don’t want to worry about building your own deck right away, purchase a starter deck that has all the cards you need to get started.
- You can have up to 4 cards with the same set number (found in the bottom-right corner) in your deck.
- If your Leader has multiple colors, then you can use cards of each color in your deck.
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Keep 10 DON!! cards for your DON!! deck. DON!! is the main resource you use to play cards, activate effects, and boost the power of your attacks. Each player has 10 DON!! cards separate from their main deck. Each turn, players add more DON!! to their play area so they can use it during the game.^{[3]
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- Some Character cards have abilities that you can only activate when you have DON!! cards attached to them or by returning DON!! back to the deck.

Section 3 of 7:

Setting Up a One Piece TCG Game

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1
Place your Leader and shuffle your deck. Choose the Leader you want to play with for the match, along with your deck that matches their color. Set your Leader in front of you in your play area. Shuffle your deck and set it near your Leader.^{[4]
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- You can play the One Piece TCG on any surface, but you can also download and print an official playsheet to lay out your play area.
The One Piece TCG is a 2-player head-to-head game, so you’ll need one other person to play with. Play a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors or use any other way to randomly select a player. Whoever wins gets the choice of going first or second during the game.^{[5]
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Draw 5 cards for your first hand. Take the top 5 cards from your deck and add them to your hand. You can look at these cards, but keep them secret from your opponent.^{[6]
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- If you’re not happy with your starting hand, you can take a “mulligan” by shuffling the cards back into your deck and drawing 5 new cards. You can only take 1 mulligan per game.
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Place face-down cards from your deck equal to your Leader’s Life value. Check your Leader’s Life value in the bottom-right corner of the card. Draw that many cards one at a time from your deck, and set them in a face-down stack next to your play area. These cards are now considered your Life, and you’ll draw one each time your Leader takes damage.^{[7]
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- Don’t look at the cards when you draw them so they’re a secret to both players.
- After drawing your Life cards, the first player starts the game with their first turn.

Section 4 of 7:

Taking a Turn in the One Piece TCG

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1
Turn rested cards vertical and return DON!! during the Refresh Phase. The Refresh Phase resets the cards on your side of the play area. If you have any rested cards turned horizontal, turn them vertical so they’re Active again. Return any DON!! cards from your Leader and characters next to the DON!! Deck.^{[8]
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- For the very first turn of the game, there won’t be anything to do during the Refresh phase.
- If any cards have the keywords “at the start of your turn,” activate their abilities now.
The first player does not draw a card during the first turn of the game. For every other turn, take the top card of the deck and add it to your hand.^{[9]
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Add 2 DON!! cards to your cost area during the DON!! Phase. Take the top 2 DON!! cards from the deck and set them face-up in your play area. Any face-up DON!! cards in your play area are now available to use for playing cards, activating effects, or boosting the power of your characters.^{[10]
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- On the first turn of the game, the starting player only takes 1 DON!! card.
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Play and activate cards during the Main Phase. The Main Phase is where you take all of the actions during your turn. If you want to play a Character, Event, or Stage from your hand, check the cost in the top-left corner. Turn that many DON!! cards in your play area horizontal, and then play the card from your hand. If the card has the “On Play” keyword, activate its ability as well.^{[11]
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- You can only have 5 Character cards in play at a time. If you want to play another character, choose one you have in play already and put it in your Trash pile.
- Only 1 Stage card can be active on your side of the field. When you want to play another one, move the current Stage card to your Trash pile.
- Characters and Stages stay in the play area, but Events activate their effects and go immediately into your Trash pile.
- If any cards have the keywords “Activate: Main” or “Once per Turn,” you can activate the abilities during your Main Phase.
- You may also attach unused DON!! cards to any Leader or character to activate their “DON!!” abilities.
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Battle your opponent’s Leader or characters in the Main Phase. Any time during your Main Phase, you can choose your Leader or any Active characters to fight. You can’t attack with a Character on the same turn you play them unless it has the “Rush” keyword. Turn the card sideways and target your opponent’s Leader or any of their rested characters. You can also attach DON!! cards to the attacking card to increase its power by 1,000.^{[12]
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- Your opponent may select a card with the “Blocker” keyword to change the target of your attack.
- Your opponent may activate the “Counter” effect of a Character or Event from their hand to add the amount of power listed on the card. Add the card to your Trash pile afterwards.
- Compare the power of the attacking card to the one being targeted. If your card’s attack power is higher than the target, you win the battle. If it’s lower, the battle is unsuccessful.
  - When you successfully attack your opponent’s Leader, they take the top Life card from their stack and add it to their hand. They may activate its “Trigger” keyword ability instead of adding it to their hand.
  - When you successfully attack a character, they’re knocked out and put into the Trash pile.
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Activate end-of-turn effects and switch turns during the End Phase. If any cards have the “End of your turn” keyword, you may activate them after your Main Phase. Once all the abilities are resolved, your opponent takes their turn.^{[13]
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- Turns alternate between players until someone meets one of the win conditions.

Section 5 of 7:

How to Win the One Piece TCG

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If you successfully attack your opponent’s Leader after they run out of Life cards, you automatically win the game. Otherwise, if the game goes on longer and a player runs out of cards in their deck, then they lose the game.

Section 6 of 7:

How to Play the One Piece TCG Online

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The training app lets you play through a basic tutorial so you learn all about the different phases of the game and card effects. It also lets you play example games using a Red Monkey D. Luffy Deck or a Purple Kaido Deck.
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Play against players or AI using an unofficial simulator. Many people have made unofficial online clients to test out decks against real and computer players. If you’re trying to play online with friends or just test your skills, try out one of these sites:
- Straw Table lets you play the One Piece TCG online against AI opponents using any of the starter decks or using a custom-built deck.
- OPTCG Sim is available to download on desktop or mobile, and lets you play matches against other people.

Section 7 of 7:

One Piece TCG Strategy

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Start your turn with an attack to put pressure on your opponent. Right when your Main Phase starts, initiate a battle before you play any other cards. Your opponent will be pressured into blocking or countering the attack to protect their Life cards, so they’ll have fewer options to play on their turn. Plus, they won’t know what you’re planning for the rest of your turn.^{[14]
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Battle characters when you have a 2,000 Power difference to force discards. You’ll deal damage or knock out a character if your Power is equal to or greater than your opponent. If you have a difference of 2,000 Power, your opponent will have to use at least 2 Counter cards in order to block the attack, which limits what they’re able to play and use on future turns.
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Focus on attacking characters to control the field. If your opponent has a character rested on their side of the field, target them during a battle instead of their Leader. It can be overwhelming to protect yourself from multiple characters on your turn, so knocking them out quickly can turn the tide of your match.
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Save DON!! for later in your turn to throw off your opponent. Attaching DON!! to your Leader or characters early in your turn clearly telegraphs what you’re about to do to your opponent. If you save your DON!!, then your opponent may worry about you playing a high-cost character and make a sub-optimal move you can take advantage of.^{[15]
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Use counters to defend characters instead of your Leader. Keeping characters in your play area is important for maintaining control of the field. If your opponent is targeting one of your stronger characters, use the Counter abilities of cards in your hand to gain more power and block the attack fully.^{[16]
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Save blockers for the late game. Blockers can redirect your opponent’s attacks, and they become really important when you’re low on Life cards. If you’re about to take damage near the end of the game, redirect the attack to one of your blockers in play so you don’t lose Life.
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Watch replays of past matches to learn from the pros. If you want to improve your skills so you’re tournament-ready, the official TCG site shares replays of championship matches to view. Relive the 2024 Championship Game between ABAO and Wf to see what they do during their turns and learn from the best players in the game.