One Piece TCG: Deck Guide - Caesar Clown (OP10)

In any TCG community, most players can tell which cards in a new set will affect the meta and which won't already in the spoiler season. And, save a few rare exceptions, the community is often right, so we can usually speculate and build our first decks with the new set before the cards are even out.

However, the opposite is also true. We can also smell off-meta strategies from a mile away.

Today, we'll discuss a deck led by the most off-meta leader in OP10 - Royal Blood, Caesar Clown OP10-002!

Caesar Clown OP10-002 is red and blue, has 4 life, and 5000 power. He also carries the 'Special' attribute, and is a Scientist and a Punk Hazard. His ability states that, if he has 2 DON!!! attached when he attacks, you may return one of your own Punk Hazard characters to your hand as long as they cost 2 or more. If you do, you may then remove an enemy character with 4000 power or less, too.

Many fans were scared of Caesar Clown OP10-002 when he first came out. Mostly because his ability is really similar to Trafalgar Law ST10-001's ability, but the difference is that, to remove an enemy character with him, you have to return a character to your hand, not play another one.

Unfortunately, or fortunately, this leader wasn't as successful as Trafalgar Law ST10-001, and became probably the weakest leader in his entire set. To use his ability, you must return a Punk Hazard character to your hand, and this archetype just doesn't have enough support for that, even in OP10.

On one side, this ability is very valuable if you use it with Monet OP10-016, and this character is critical in your opening hand if you do decide to play this strategy. On the other side, though, this leader doesn't have a lot of synergy with "generic" characters like Otama OP01-006, and, as a result, he is much less competitive than the other leaders from OP10.

Our list will focus primarily on the Punk Hazard archetype and use the red base included in OP10, but the community still hasn't reached a consensus on what is the best way to improve your odds with this deck. In fact, some even say you shouldn't use more Punk Hazard cards than absolute necessary.

Despite this, we'll use the standard approach, that is, the approach I have used in a few tournaments and many "for-fun" events. My great friend Guilherme Arruda, also known as "Geninho", was the one that introduced it to me.

This is our list today:

Punk Hazard

As we mentioned, this deck will focus primarily on Punk Hazard characters, that is, characters who come from an island that became half fire and half ice after the Admirals Kuzan and Sakazuki battled on it for ten days straight. We started with Vergo OP10-004, this archetype's searcher, who does what most other searchers do: he lets you look at the top 5 cards in your deck, pick a Punk Hazard card among them, and add it to your hand. Then, you'll shuffle the rest into the bottom of your deck.

As for Monet OP10-016, she is probably the most important card in this deck, and I've often mulliganed after her in particular. When you tap this harpy, she'll give you the 2 DON!!! you need to activate your leader's ability when you attack with him. She also debuffs enemy characters, so she's perfect with Caesar Clown OP10-002's ability, as it only removes characters that have 4000 power or less. Besides all of this, you can also return her to your hand as your leader's ability is resolving and protect your entire strategy.

Another Punk Hazard character who is part of the Straw Hat Crew in this arc in the manga and anime series is Sanji OP10-005 - he is also the best of them. He is tough, cheap, and also refills your hand, as he draws a card for you when he is removed.

Tony Tony.Chopper OP10-011 is even more interesting because he has 6000 power during your turn, so you can use him whenever you need to be aggressive. However, he is also a "Blocker", which is quite unusual, and a +2000 counter, which makes him more valuable in your hand, not in play.

The strategy behind using Tony Tony.Chopper OP10-011 as an attacker is that you can return him to your hand with your leader's ability, and, as such, take advantage of everything he can offer. You can play him right afterward as a blocker, or keep him in your hand to use his +2000 counter later on. Mocha OP10-015 is another +2000 counter you can search with Vergo OP10-004, and that also debuffs other cards when it enters play. Like other cards in this list, you can return it to your hand and reuse it later on.

Finally, there's Caesar Clown OP10-006, a searcher for one type of card in particular: any character called Smiley. When Caesar Clown OP10-006 enters play, he'll let you look at the top 5 cards in your deck, pick a Smiley card among them, and add it to your hand. Then, you'll shuffle the rest of the cards back into the bottom of your deck. After that, as an independent effect, you can play a Smiley from your hand, not necessarily the one you just drew. You can play any Smiley you already had, for instance.

Right now, there are only 2 Smileys in One Piece TCG, but we'll only use Smiley OP10-009. When it enters play, it debuffs enemy characters, so you can use it with your leader's ability to remove powerful characters. It is also a very strong creature, considering you'll be able to put it in play for no cost at all.

Our Punk Hazard event is Gum-Gum UFO OP10-020, another powerful debuffer. It buffs one of our characters or our leader when you have 2 or less Life cards, and its trigger effect also K.O.s one character that has 3000 power or less. If you need to destroy a small blocker, it is perfect.

Other Cards

Besides the entire Punk Hazard package, you can use many strong, red cards in this list. Shanks OP09-004 debuffs all enemy characters globally, so he makes your opponent's attackers weaker and turns them into easy targets for your deck's removals.

Silvers Rayleigh OP08-118 is extremely relevant nowadays, and I hope he is reprinted in PRB02. He straight up removes an enemy character and debuffs 2 enemy characters, so you can also use him with your leader's ability to control your opponent's board even more.

Benn.Beckman OP09-009 is great in this list, as he Trashes characters that have 6000 power or less. Please note that he "trashes" characters, so your opponent won't be able to activate "On KO" abilities when you use him to remove their cards. Other than that, he is also a solid attacker and a counter.

Building Snake OP09-008 also debuffs enemy characters, but you'll have to return him to the bottom of your deck after you use his ability. Meanwhile, Otama OP01-006 is a +2000 counter, can go in play whenever you need, and also debuffs characters. Unfortunately, though, she is not a Punk Hazard, so you can't return her to your hand with your leader.

Bad Manners Kick Course OP04-016 is great when you can use its trigger effect, but it is also very useful when you need to stop enemy attacks. Gum-Gum Red Roc OP04-056 is the only blue card in this list. It is the perfect removal for big enemy characters, that is, those you can't deal with in the same turn without investing lots of time and resources.

This deck is extremely linear and proactive. The main game plan is debuffing an enemy character and removing it with Benn.Beckman OP09-009, Silvers Rayleigh OP08-118, or your own leader, Caesar Clown OP10-002. Unfortunately, your leader can make this initially basic game plan a bit more complex than you'd like to.

How many DON!!! are attached to him, which Punk Hazard characters you'll have to return to your hand, or how many you have in play (if you have one at all) can all affect your overall strategy. Trafalgar Law ST10-001, Caesar Clown's main comparison, didn't have to worry about any of this.

A well-built, well-played Caesar Clown OP10-002 list can be quite nasty, as it can easily remove powerful characters and constantly recycle resources. However, this leader struggles against decks that play many small attackers on the board. A full board is a real nightmare.

In any case, his ability is efficient when you need to deal with a few small blockers, that is, those that can lock the game down. It triggers before your opponent can activate a blocker, so you can remove them before they become an issue.

I can see this deck becoming very fun in the future, as more Punk Hazard cards come out. I'm actually quite sad to see it never truly lived up to its potential.

Unfortunately, it is far from Trafalgar Law ST10-001, which terrorized many tables in its prime.

What did you think of this list? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!