One Piece TCG: Deck Tech - Red & Yellow Jewelry Bonney (OP15)

The way EB04 - Egghead Crisis was released in the West was pretty funny. Instead of being released as a support set with the EB tag, half of it came in OP14, and half of it came in OP15 - Adventure on Kami's Island.

So, in today's article, we'll explore the EB04 leader that OP15 brought us: Red & Yellow Bonney.

Jewelry Bonney EB04-001 is an Egghead/Bonney Pirates, Special, red/yellow leader with 5000 power and 4 HP. She works really well with strategies centered around managing your life pile. Her main ability activates when you have 1 HP or less and sets her power to 7000 on the opponent's turn, which will make it really hard for them to put pressure on you.

On your turn, she does something else. First, she can nerf an enemy character by giving them -1000 power if you have 2 HP or more. You can also use her to draw cards from the life pile and get closer to 1 HP so you can use her other effect and take advantage of all of these nerfs and buffs in combat.

A decent Bonney list must balance her aggressive and defensive sides, which won't be that difficult. She is quite similar to Monkey.D.Luffy OP13-003 at his peak. She is quite consistent at first, and, as the match goes on, you'll be able to take advantage of her defensive effect. You won't struggle to get the hang of her, but you'll have to time your strategies just right throughout the game.

Today's list was built by a player called Jev and is quite straightforward, which is nice. You'll spend most of the game stabilizing as much as possible to set up a pretty solid late game. In those final turns, your leader will easily get to 9000 power.

It's a pretty fun midrange list that messes around with the life pile. I believe the only reason it doesn't see more play is because it plays some of the most expensive cards in the game, so it's too expensive for some players.

Here it is:

Searcher Core

Early on, you should focus on being consistent. Jewelry Bonney EB04-002, Lilith OP07-111, and Sanji ST29-004 will filter your hand and help you find Egghead or Straw Hat Crew cards, which make up most of the list. There are only a few cards in this deck that you can't get with these three searchers.

From then on, you'll follow a pretty common game plan. You'll sculpt your hand with counters, mid and late game options, and cards you know will give you an advantage against your opponent.

1 HP is a Lot of HP

This is when you'll truly start putting this list to work. Sentomaru EB04-053 is a blocker that, when you have 2 HP or less, draws a card when it blocks. As such, blocking will give you something back, and you'll be able to get back some of the resources you spent to put this card in play.

Borsalino EB04-058 is the real threat in this deck. It plays a similar role to Sentomaru, but it is even more "safe". It comes into play as a solid blocker, and, if you have 2 HP or less, it also puts a card on top of your life pile. Like so, it also gets back some of the resources you spent to put it in play, as well as some HP so that you can last a little longer. Considering this list walks really close to the edge, this type of effect is critical.

Raw Heat Strike ST29-015 is really helpful when you need to defend yourself. It works fine as a blocker, but, if you have 1 HP or less, you can also use it to nerf enemy cards and make their attacks and combats uncomfortable. Considering your leader will already have 7000 power in the opponent's turn, it's clear this deck can defend itself a lot better than it seems.

After you add up all of these effects, you end up with a pretty interesting strategy. The opponent (or your leader's effect) will often attack your HP to make you more vulnerable, but the more they do this, the more your defenses will improve, your blockers will become more useful, and your combat will become more efficient. You can't really use HP as a metric for anything with this list.

Mid Game

In the mid-game, you must keep on progressing your game plan and controlling the board. Nami EB03-053 is one of the best cards to do this because she is a pretty good burn tool. She will attack the opponent's HP and shorten the match without forcing you to attack, as well as refill herself when she is knocked out. She will force your opponent to think twice before removing your board.

Zeus OP11-106 is great in the mid-game. It only removes a small enemy piece, but, in return, it draws a card from the life pile for you, so you can use it to get to 1 HP. Oftentimes this effect will only put you closer to where you already wanted to be a bit faster, but you can also use it to interact with the board even more.

Roronoa Zoro EB04-007 is one of the most important cards in this list because it fits the main game plan really well. When it comes into play, it buffs your leader by +2000 power until the opponent's next end phase. This Bonney already blocks with 7000 most of the time, so, with this Zoro, she will be incredibly difficult to beat. Furthermore, if the opponent has a character with 8000 power or more, you can activate Zoro's ability and give him Rush: Character until the end of the turn, which will allow you to attack the enemy board another time. This card is pretty expensive, but it is one of the best techs in the game for red decks nowadays.

The Finishers

Jewelry Bonney OP13-108 is the best "payoff" card in this list and usually what I play to end games. It comes into play and puts pressure on the opponent immediately because its "ETB" effect attacks their HP. She also attacks with Rush and 10000 power, which is pretty painful. You'll play this card to win the game immediately, preferably without giving your opponent any time to answer.

Monkey.D.Luffy EB04-061 is my favorite card in this list and the one that most makes it really impenetrable. When you have 1 HP or less, he gains Blocker, so he's another defensive tool in this strategy. He also buffs your leader by giving her +2000 power. It's precisely the type of card that this Bonney wants in the end game, and he was designed for her, clearly. This Luffy is a big threat in the next turns after you play him, but, besides this, he also helps you survive to see these turns.

The single copy of Gol.D.Roger OP09-118 is another threat. It's always nice to have when you want to guarantee a win or when your opponent doesn't know how it works. Nonetheless, it's less of a finisher than the other two cards above.

Early on, you should focus on setting up your hand with your searchers. You'll also have to decide how much damage you'll take really carefully. You don't want to waste resources early trying to defend yourself against everything, and, on many occasions, the right decision is letting your HP fall to set up your turns and make some of your cards even better. The secret is that you must calculate everything and set it all up with searchers and follow-up cards.

In the mid game, you'll start getting some value back from what you built. Your leader will defend better, blockers will be more than just shields and start creating other types of value, and you'll be able to use some burn effects as well. Your opponent will eventually realize that you're better with less HP, not more. From here on out, the best card in this list, Roronoa Zoro EB04-007, will come into play, attack enemy characters, and buff your leader.

In the late game, you'll play Roronoa Zoro EB04-007, Jewelry Bonney OP13-108, and Monkey.D.Luffy EB04-061 to win. The important part is that this deck doesn't really change throughout the game. Its late game is pretty rewarding, particularly if you manage your resources well, and it shows how well you understand this strategy and how well you can play it.

Is it fun? Very. Easy to build? Not at all. This deck needs some pretty expensive cards that are very difficult to find, particularly because OP15 includes two different sets.

Furthermore, both Roronoa Zoro EB04-007 and Borsalino EB04-058 are the best cards in their respective colors, so they're even more expensive and rare.

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

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!