IntroductionIn today's article, we'll see an old friend return to the current OP15 meta. Monkey.D.Luffy ST13-003 was once incredibly dominant, but he lost space as time went on and became quite unpopular after some bans.Today's list was built for One Piece TCG's "Expanded" format, that is, Extra Grand Battle events. We'll see how it plays out nowadays. It might not be the tier-1 list from before, but it's still a great option.The Leader, Luffy ST13Monkey.D.Luffy ST13-003 is a Supernova/Straw Hat Crew black and yellow leader with 4 HP and 5000 power. His first effect is a restriction: "Your face-up life cards are placed at the bottom of your deck instead of being added to your hand." This means that this deck needs to handle its life pile differently because not all damage it takes will become a reusable resource immediately.Then, you can use his main effect if you attach 2 DON!! to him. It lets you discard a card from your hand and, if you have 0 life, put up to 2 characters that cost 5 from your hand or your trash pile on the top of your life pile, face-up. In practice, the idea is to get as close to 0 life as possible in a controlled descent, set up your graveyard with the right targets, and then rebuild your life pile with characters that you can reveal and play through other effects.This is what this Luffy does and what makes him difficult to pilot. He does more than survive with just a bit of life, as he wants to get to that spot so that the other cards in this list work better. The real problem is that getting to 0 life early on without a proper hand, board, or defensive events can simply mean instant death. Piloting this deck involves deciding when to take damage, when to manipulate your life pile, and knowing when is the right time to turn your risky situation into a win.The ListThis build plays the classic "three brothers" kit, that is, Sabo ST13-007, Portgas.D.Ace ST13-010, and Monkey.D.Luffy ST13-014. You'll sacrifice these pieces to reveal your life pile and try to put into play their 5-cost versions. Furthermore, this list plays searchers, card draw, blockers, and events that try to protect this deck from becoming an easy target and losing when it gets to 0 life.The list we'll see today was built by a player called Henry, who managed to get to the top 4 of a Store Battle event in the U.S.A., and it is adapted for OP15 metas. It isn't that different from other versions of this archetype, but it improves it with some interesting choices. With it, your late game will be easier, and you'll be able to punish the opponent for fighting for a win in the last turns of the game.Here it is:Early Game & Managing Your Life PileMonkey.D.Garp ST13-013 is one of the best opening cards for this deck. It lets you look at the top 5 cards in your deck and get a Sabo, Portgas.D.Ace, or Monkey.D.Luffy that costs 5 or less, and those are the characters that matter in this list. Because this deck relies a lot on finding specific pieces, Garp is incredibly valuable as an engine.Makino ST13-012 lets you see the cards in your life pile and rearrange them, which is essential considering you need to know what you'll reveal with your 2-cost brothers. With this card you'll also be able to set up the right cards for later, when you start rebuilding your life pile. On top of it all, it is also a +2000 Counter, which is really helpful in late-game turns, that is, when you've already buffed your leader and it's time to protect yourself from attacks.Charlotte Flampe EB01-056 is one of the most straightforward and efficient yellow cards for this type of deck. It lets you get a card from the top of your deck or the bottom of your life pile, put it in your hand, and also draw a card afterward. Like so, you'll be able to get to 0 life a bit faster, get more resources, and make your leader and events better (as you'll meet the requirements they need to work properly). Kouzuki Hiyori OP06-106 complements this kit by letting you set up your triggers and your brothers a bit better. With this BY Luffy list, rearranging your life pile is not just a way to protect yourself but also a way to access some of your cards faster. After all, some of the cards in this list would only be available a lot later on in normal circumstances.The Smaller BrothersSabo ST13-007, Portgas.D.Ace ST13-010, and Monkey.D.Luffy ST13-014 are the most popular engines in this deck. You can trash each one to reveal the top of your life pile, and if the card you reveal has the same name and costs 5, you can put it in play directly. When you do this, you'll also give your leader +2000 power until the end of the next enemy turn, so he'll have 7000 or even 9000 power.This cycle is what makes this deck sort of weird at times, as you won't always be playing characters from your hand. You're supposed to turn your life pile into an extension of your hand and get characters from there. When this works, it is incredibly efficient, puts big bodies into play for very little, and also makes your leader difficult to beat. And that's precisely why this deck plays the cards it does: so that you can rearrange the life pile and make sure you always get these effects right.The 5-Cost BrothersMonkey.D.Luffy ST13-015 is one of your leader's main targets. You can use his effect to give him +2000 power until the end of your next turn and, if you have 1 life or more, draw a card and trash another from the top of your life pile. Portgas.D.Ace PRB02-018 is quite relevant in this archetype because, if one of the cards in your life pile is face-up, it will put in play a Sabo, Portgas.D.Ace, or Monkey.D.Luffy card that costs 2 from your hand or trash pile. This is a pretty interesting strategy because big Ace can bring back one of the smaller brothers, and they, in turn, can reveal another brother that costs 5 from the top of your life pile. It's a way to stretch out turns and turn your trash pile into a decent board.Sabo OP12-100 draws cards, fixes your hand, and also becomes a blocker when you have 3 life or less. It fits this deck really well because BY Luffy will nearly always have 3 life or less anyway. As for Sabo OP04-083, it is a blocker, filters your hand, and protects your characters from being K.O.'d by effects until the beginning of your next turn. It is the only card in this deck that was released in the very first year of OPTCG, and it's why this deck is only available in the Extra format.This combination of Luffys, Aces, and Sabos makes this list quite consistent. The idea is to have characters that cost 5 in your trash pile, hand, and life pile, and each of these card pools can turn into value depending on the situation.Finishers and the Late GameThe single copy of Monkey.D.Luffy OP15-119 gains Rush if you have 6 DON!! or more, and gets bigger when the opponent activates events or blockers. First, it will reveal a card from the top of your life pile, then it will buff itself according to how much it costs. Considering this deck is all about rearranging your life pile, this Luffy can be quite annoying for the opponent.Nico Robin EB03-055 is a heavy card, but her effect fits your leader pretty well. When she comes in, you may trash a card from your life pile to put up to 2 cards from the top of your deck on top of your life pile. Furthermore, when she is knocked out in the opponent's turn, she deals 1 damage, which can end games.Kingdom Come EB01-059 is the heaviest removal in this list. It knocks out any enemy character as long as you accept you'll have to set your life to 1 once you use it. In other decks, this would be very dangerous, but it fits this main game plan really well, as it enables your events and your leader. You must use it carefully, though. Don't use it on anything just to get ahead. Interestingly, playing it while you already have 1 or 0 life will be like playing any other card because you won't suffer with its "punishment". It's perfect to get a blocker out of the way and try to end the game.Final WordsI'm happy to see that there are pretty cool options to play in the Extra format. Monkey.D.Luffy ST13-003 still gets some support every once in a while, but you need to know how to control your resources, read the game state properly, and how to sequence your cards and strategies pretty well to make it work. After all, it works with 0 or 1 life. It's the type of deck that rewards a lot of training, and, it might not be new but it still performs quite well.What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.Thank you for reading, and see you next time!
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