One Piece TCG: Deck Guide - Brook (OP15 - Adventure on Kami's Island)

In today's article, we'll talk about a weird leader, just the way I like it. Brook OP15 - 022 is all about discarding your entire deck and trying to win on a single turn, so he's quite unique. You'll also need a lot of time to master him.

So, yes, let's explore the Straw Hat Crew musician and his very fun archetype!

Brook OP15-022 is a Slash, Straw Hat Crew green/black leader with 4 HP and 5000 power. His first effect changes a game rule: you won't lose on the spot if your deck runs out of cards. Instead, you'll only lose at the end of the turn. Nonetheless, according to the rules, you'll lose at the end of the turn anyway, even if you somehow put some cards back into your deck.

You can use his other effect once per turn to send four cards from the top of your deck to your trash pile. If your deck runs out of cards in this process, this effect also lets you untap one of your characters. Like so, Brook is not exactly about filling your graveyard with cards. Instead, you'll have to add up a lot of numbers. You'll spend the entire match thinking about how many cards you still have left and how you can mill them, as well as how many cards you still must mill to enable your effects and if you can already win. So, today we'll look at a list centered around discarding your entire deck and setting up an attack turn so long and so powerful that it defeats the opponent on the spot. It's definitely a combo strategy.

The list we'll see today was built by a player called zzzay62, who won 6 rounds straight with it at a tournament. The best thing about it is that it doesn't focus solely on Brook's first effect. It progresses its main game plan slowly but surely. First, you'll manage your trash pile and your hand. Then, you'll build up your board, and at the end of the game, you'll bring back characters from the trash pile and reactivate their effects to set up a pretty unstoppable end turn.

OP15 brought us some green and some black Straw Hat Crew cards, so building this list solely with cards from this set is actually quite easy. We'll use black cards to discard our deck and manage our trash pile, and green cards to go through blocks and attack more times at the end of the game. Like so, this is not exactly a "gimmick" list because it has a pretty conventional "plan B". It is a midrange strategy that gets more and more dangerous as you run out of cards.

Here it is:

Initial Setup

Early on, you'll focus on being consistent and trashing cards as fast as possible. Sanji OP15- 081, Spoil OP15-083, and Tony Tony.Chopper OP15-085 are your best ways to do this. Sanji sends the top 5 cards in your deck to your trash pile, and the other two send three cards each to the trash pile. This type of effect would be dangerous in any other list, but, in this one, it is exactly what you want. Most of this strategy relies on big trash piles, so you must discard your cards as fast as possible.

Nami EB02-017 is a classic searcher. She lets you look at the top 5 cards in your deck and get a Straw Hat Crew card. With her, you won't get as many weird hands, particularly considering this deck often trashes cards you'd like to draw later. You want to run out of cards, but, preferably, you'll send the cards you want to your trash pile and keep the important ones.

Tony Tony.Chopper OP15-085 sends three cards to your trash pile when it enters play, but you can also send it to your trash pile to return a Straw Hat Crew card from there. It's a natural way to recycle value. As for Spoil OP15-083, it also gets better as the game goes on because, after it mills cards for you, you can also use it to attach an extra DON!! to your leader or one of your characters.

The Bits

As we mentioned, early on you'll fill your graveyard with cards. In the mid-game, however, you'll start building your board. Pirates Docking Six OP15-088 is one of the best ways to do this because, when it enters, it lets you send three other cards to your trash pile and then bring back a Straw Hat Crew character from there that costs 2 or less. You'll discard cards and mill yourself to set up your future turns.

This interaction is great because it recycles the pieces that you used to set up your early game and mill cards, like Tony Tony.Chopper OP15-085 and Spoil OP15-083. They'll return to the board and let you keep digging through your deck and getting more resources. You won't have to spend your hand like more straightforward decks would. You'll feed your own engine and keep going.

The best thing about having a big graveyard is that you can play Monkey.D.Luffy OP15-092 later on. He already has a great body, but he gets better as your trash pile grows. With 10 or more cards in your trash pile, he becomes bigger. With 20 or more, he'll buff your leader in the opponent's turn. With 30 or more, he becomes the most problematic attacker in this deck. One copy of it alone can wreak havoc on the board, and all of this rewards you for doing what this deck is all about from the start.

The single copies of Nami OP14-031 and Monkey.D.Luffy OP13-118 will extend your mid-game. The green Nami allows you to tap the opponent's board and make it vulnerable to your attacks and also reactives DON!! at the end of the turn. Meanwhile, this Luffy has double attack, which is nice, and also reactivates resources. You don't need to use these cards every match, but, when you do use them, they're quite helpful.

The Top of the Curve

Nami OP15-086 might be the most important card at this point of the game. When it enters, it puts in play a Straw Hat Crew character that costs 7 or less from your trash pile and gives it Rush that turn. This is incredibly strong considering this deck fills the graveyard fast and plays decent attackers. Nami turns your trash pile into an extension of your hand: after you play her, you'll end up with two bodies in play, and for relatively cheap. A simple play, like bringing back Monkey.D.Luffy OP15-092 will already force the opponent to rethink their turn. Not to mention she'll give this recycled character Rush as well, so you can attack with it straight away.

Brook OP15-032 is also a great character. His On Play effect taps an enemy card, and you can also trash him to activate one of your characters as long as they cost 8 or less. This, by itself, already fits the main game plan, that is, to set up a big turn and attack several times. Nami OP14-031 is also great at the end of the game, as she lets you tap many types of blockers.

Early on, you must set up your deck and trash pile, so don't go all in before it's time. You want to mill lots of cards, but you also want your best cards, and your searchers and self-mill tools will help you do this. In many games, all you need to do is start by filling your trash pile and eventually set up a turn with Pirates Docking Six OP15-088 or Monkey.D.Luffy OP15-092 to create a lot of value.

In the mid-game, this list will start rewarding you. Your small characters will no longer be just ways to set up the main strategy, as they'll come back from the trash pile, find a place on your board, and become real threats. This is when you need to be careful, because you'll have to manage your resources and how many cards are in your deck and your trash pile really well.

In the late game, you'll play Nami OP15-086, Brook OP15-032, and your tempo events. You'll need to set up difficult turns, slowly and carefully, thinking everything through. You'll have to carve a path forward, reanimate relevant threats, attack several times, and find a way to beat your opponent. They'll feel as if everything happened all at once, but this strong turn won't come from nowhere. You'll build it from the start as you put card after card in your trash pile.

Personally, I believe Brook OP15-022 is one of the most interesting leaders in OP15 precisely because he is more complex than he seems. His main game plan is clear, but you'll have to do more than just mill your entire deck. You'll need to know when to do this and how to turn this into enough pressure to end the game before you lose it.

Finally, after 19 sets and 30 Starter Decks, all the Straw Hat Crew characters are leaders. Now, where's Franky?

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!