Deck Guide

Monkey.D.Luffy OP16 Deck Guide

Monkey.D.Luffy OP16 is an Impel Down go-wide deck that snowballs through the leader's DON!! refund, constant board development, and relentless tempo. The list wins either by flooding the board into Let's Go to the Navy Headquarters!! or by pivoting into the Boa Hancock + Brook finish when the board gets controlled.

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Monkey.D.Luffy OP16 guide icon

Decklist

Main list for Monkey.D.Luffy OP16 in the OP16 format.

Mulligan

The mulligan is fairly flexible, but you absolutely need your small characters early. The deck works because it fills the board quickly and starts cashing in on the leader effect right away.

Cards to Prioritize

The best opener in the deck. It searches an Impel Down character, can even chain into another Luffy to keep digging, and quickly becomes a 6000-power attacker once your board starts covering multiple names.

An excellent turn-1 play. It replaces itself by drawing a card and attacks for 6000 with just 1 DON!! attached as long as you stay at five cards or more in hand.

One of the best characters in the deck. Its power automatically scales 1000 above the opposing leader, which means it cleanly attacks over most leaders with only 1 DON!! attached.

A great card to keep. It searches an Impel Down character and immediately puts a cost-2-or-lower character into play, which gives your board development a huge push right away.

Ideal Hand

  • One or more 1- or 2-cost characters
  • A way to keep filling the board, usually Luffy or Ivankov
  • Enough small characters to start exploiting the leader effect quickly

It's completely fine to open on multiple copies of the same character. Different names matter later, but early on your priority is just to pressure as hard as possible.

Curve Guide

Going second is the recommended seat. The leader gets huge value from restanding 2 rested DON!!, which makes the 4-, 6-, and 8-DON!! turns especially powerful. The goal is to build a wide board while keeping enough DON!! available to keep attacking every turn. If you go first, your curve shifts, so you really want Monkey D. Luffy OP16-034 in your opener because it costs 1 DON!!. That way you aren't passing the first turn and can start building your board immediately.

Going Second

2 DON!!
Your priority is to play a low-cost character. Monkey D. Luffy, Mr.1, and Mr.2 are all excellent openers because they build the board immediately while setting up your next turns.
4 DON!!
Keep developing your board. Emporio Ivankov is the best play here because it searches an Impel Down character and drops a cost 2 or lower straight into play, which lets you cash in on the leader effect even faster.
6 DON!!
This is where the deck really starts taking over. You want five characters in play so you can set up Let's Go to the Navy Headquarters!! while still throwing multiple 6000-power attacks and restanding 2 DON!! with the leader.
8 DON!!
You now have two real options. Option 1 is to keep building toward the Let's Go to the Navy Headquarters!! finish if your board is already strong enough. Option 2 is to start the Boa Hancock + Brook route, and if you choose that line, this is the turn where you want to play Brook first.
10 DON!!
Option 1 is still the event line: if your board is already full, play Let's Go to the Navy Headquarters!! to maximize damage and close the game. Otherwise, play Boa Hancock here so you can place every piece of the finisher line and end the game on the following turn.
Late game
If you didn't go with the Headquarters line, the backup finisher is to attack twice with Boa Hancock at 19K unblockable thanks to Brook's effect, which restands a character that costs 8 or less.

Tech Cards

Alternative cards and flex slots for different OP16 rooms.

Crocodile gives you more control-oriented lines and can be worth considering in some matchups. Even so, I think it slows the aggressive core of the deck a little too much, so I still prefer the more explosive build.

An interesting alternative for longer games, but I don't think it hits as hard as the cards already occupying the main curve.

A defensive option you can test depending on the meta. I still prefer cards that build more board and keep pushing the aggressive plan harder.

Matchups

See the full turn-order data in OP16 Green/Blue Luffy stats in OP16 Format.

↑ Favorable
  • Luffy can build a wide board very quickly, which forces Teach to have the right answers right away.
  • Go second.
  • Put on as much pressure as possible before Teach reaches the late game.
  • If your board gets controlled, pivot quickly into the Boa Hancock + Brook plan.
≈ Even
  • The matchup is mostly about tempo. If Luffy keeps its board, it takes over. If Yamato chains its big threats quickly, it can steal the pace back.
  • Develop your board as hard as possible in the first turns.
  • Find Let's Go to the Navy Headquarters!! quickly.
  • Force Yamato to defend instead of setting up its combo turns.
↑ Slightly Favorable
  • Rosinante can slow your plan down, but Luffy usually creates more pressure if the board gets established correctly.
  • Keep filling your board.
  • Exploit your tempo edge through the leader effect.
  • Set up your lethal turn with Let's Go to the Navy Headquarters!!.
↓ Slightly Unfavorable
  • Shanks has a lot of tools to control Luffy's board and limit its development.
  • Develop your board quickly.
  • Don't let Shanks reach the late game comfortably.
  • Try to finish before the big threats start landing.
↓ Unfavorable
  • Enel can answer Luffy's small characters well while scaling into threats that are hard to push through.
  • Multiply your attacks from the first turns.
  • Get the most out of the leader effect to preserve tempo.
  • Prepare your lethal turn quickly.
↓ Unfavorable
  • Nami controls Luffy's small characters very well, which makes it harder to keep a wide enough board to maximize the leader effect.
  • Pressure the leader immediately.
  • Keep developing your board instead of trying to control theirs.
  • Try to finish before Nami gets the tempo back.
  • Hit Life, not the board.
↓ Slightly Unfavorable
  • Ace keeps constant pressure through 8000-power Whitebeard Pirate rush threats, and Vista is one of the worst cards for Luffy to see.
  • Take the board early.
  • Force Ace to defend instead of extending its own plan.
  • Keep enough resources for your lethal turn.
↑ Slightly Favorable
  • Boa can control some threats, but Luffy usually creates more characters than Boa can answer over time.
  • Keep developing your board.
  • Don't rely only on the Boa Hancock + Brook combo.
  • Look to finish with Let's Go to the Navy Headquarters!!.
  • Hit Life, not the board.
↑ Slightly Favorable
  • Luffy usually has the edge because it develops the board faster than Lucy.
  • Use your early turns to take the initiative.
  • Keep the pressure high without slowing your development.
  • Try to finish before Lucy stabilizes.
≈ Mirror Match
  • The mirror usually goes to the player who develops the board more efficiently and times Let's Go to the Navy Headquarters!! better.
  • Preserve your small characters.
  • Don't fire off your late-game event too early.
  • Keep Hound Blaze available when you need to create a board edge.

Tips

Core reminders for Monkey.D.Luffy in the OP16 format.

Build your board quickly. The deck works when it stacks several Impel Down characters that can attack for 6000 with just 1 DON!! attached, so don't sit on characters in hand for too long.

Use the leader effect every turn when you can. Re-standing 2 DON!! is what lets the deck chain multiple plays together while keeping pressure high.

Don't tunnel only on Let's Go to the Navy Headquarters!!. Even though it's your main finisher, the Boa Hancock + Brook package is a very real backup win condition when your board gets controlled.

Attack with your small characters first, then keep extending the board. Thanks to the leader effect, you get DON!! back and can still keep attacking after playing more characters.

Don't be afraid to play multiple copies of the same character early. Different names matter later, but in the opening turns the priority is simply to pressure as hard as possible.

Set up your lethal turn one turn in advance. Let's Go to the Navy Headquarters!! can still be strong with only four characters in play because the leader effect gives back the DON!! you need to finish building the board that same turn.

Figure out your win condition quickly. If your board stays intact, lean into Let's Go to the Navy Headquarters!!. If the opponent is controlling your board well, switch immediately to the Boa Hancock + Brook plan instead of forcing the wrong route.

The deck rewards timing. Knowing when to attack and when not to attack matters a lot, and a well-prepared lethal turn is usually worth more than pushing a few extra points too early.