Portgas.D.Ace OP16 Deck Guide
Portgas.D.Ace OP16 is a pressure-heavy red deck that wants to find Luffy early, turn Ace into a much harder leader to crack, and then chain 8000-power Whitebeard Pirates that swing with Rush.
Decklist
The current OP16 Ace list built around Luffy, Whitebeard Pirates pressure, and 8000-power lines.
Mulligan
Main Goal
The main mulligan goal is simple: find Monkey.D.Luffy OP16-015.
Without Luffy, the deck loses a huge part of both its defensive and offensive potential. It's the most important card in the entire list.
Ideal Opening Hand
A strong opener usually gives you every stage of the game from the very first turns.
Garp or Moby Dick gets your setup moving right away.
This is the card that makes the whole deck function on both offense and defense.
These keep your early defense clean while still feeding the Whitebeard Pirates plan.
These are the bodies you want ready once Ace starts handing out Rush.
Having Newgate early means your closing turns are already mapped out.
That package lets you cover setup, defense, pressure, and your late-game finishers right away.
Hands to Send Back
- You don't have Luffy OP16-015.
- You don't have a searcher.
- You can't play anything in the early turns.
- Your hand is only high-cost cards.
If you open without Luffy and without early setup, you usually mulligan.
Search Priorities
Whenever you resolve Garp or Moby Dick, keep asking yourself:
- Do I have enough 8000-power characters?
- Do I have a character I can Rush with next turn?
- Do I have enough counters?
- Have I already found Luffy OP16-015?
Once those boxes are checked, you can start tailoring your searches to the specific matchup.
Curve Guide
The deck usually prefers going second, but it's still very playable going first. Your real goal is to set up Luffy quickly and then keep chaining 8000-power threats that gain Rush through Ace's leader effect.
Go First
Play Garp or Moby Dick. The goal is to find Luffy or your 8000-power Whitebeard Pirates.
Same idea, but now you can start attacking opposing Life while still digging for the right pieces.
Luffy is the best play. If you still haven't found him, play OP16-118 Ace to dig for the missing pieces and pitch dead cards.
You can chain another 8000-power Whitebeard Pirates body, play Luffy + OP16-118 Ace for the full 7 DON!! line, or lean on Zoro if the opponent built a wide board.
The same pressure plan keeps going, but the big swing here is Luffy plus Zoro for exactly 9 DON!! to push even harder.
Keep chaining Newgate turns and Rush bodies until the opponent collapses under the pressure.
Go Second
Play Garp or Moby Dick. Your entire early game is about finding Luffy and lining up your 8000-power threats.
Your absolute top priority is finding and playing Luffy. If you miss him, keep developing your setup while still keeping pressure on the opponent.
Vista is ideal into low-cost boards because it draws a card, attacks immediately through rush, and clears smaller characters. Marco is the better line into decks packed with removal because he's so hard to clear and protects your board.
Newgate is the most aggressive play in the deck. He gives your leader double attack plus +2000 power while cutting an opposing character by 6000. Luffy plus another Whitebeard Pirates body is the more tempo-focused alternative.
Keep chaining Newgate, keep giving rush to Whitebeard Pirates, and ideally leave 1 DON!! up so Time for the Counterattack stays live.
Tech Cards
Alternative cards and flex slots for different OP16 rooms.
Matchups
- Tough matchup, but very winnable.
- Luffy matters because turning Ace into a 7000-power leader changes the math a lot.
- Vista clears low-cost characters like Girl P-096 while also keeping your pressure moving.
- Newgate is one of your best ways to keep the pressure high.
- Sanji helps you push through blockers once the game gets tight.
- The goal is to pressure opposing Life as hard as possible until Nami runs short on resources.
- Protect your board whenever you reasonably can so the pressure never stops.
- Difficult matchup, but favorable on paper.
- Play Luffy fast so Ace becomes a 7000-power leader.
- Marco and Vista are the key cards here: Marco protects your board and Vista picks off smaller characters.
- When Secret Enel hits the field, Newgate gives you the cleanest way to handle it with the power reduction.
- The whole plan is to pressure Enel as quickly as possible.
- One of the hardest matchups for the deck.
- Try to get Teach to 1 Life or lower as quickly as possible.
- Once multiple Teach blockers pile up, the game gets much harder.
- Newgate helps shrink the blockers and Sanji can create an opening with Unblockable.
- Watch Vasco Shot, Van Augur, Teach triggers, and anything that makes your board vanish.
- If you lose Luffy, the matchup gets dramatically worse because Ace drops back below 7000 power.
- Ace is usually the faster deck.
- Whitebeard Pirates bodies with Rush create a lot of pressure before Luffy stabilizes.
- Vista cleanly K.O.s cards like Mr. 1, Mr. 2, and Luffy.
- Newgate often forces the opponent to spend multiple cards defending because of the Double Attack threat.
- Luffy gets better as the game goes longer, so Ace wants to keep the initiative the whole time.
- Take Life quickly, force Luffy to defend instead of building the board, and prioritize pressure over board control.
- Both decks are aggressive.
- Both decks can create explosive turns.
- Lucy usually has better resource generation.
- Ace usually has more raw pressure because the 8000-power Whitebeard Pirates gain Rush.
- Keep Luffy on the board, force Lucy to spend defensive resources, and don't let the game drag out too long.
- Sabo controls the board better than Ace does.
- Ace also depends a lot on a few key characters.
- Marco is extremely important because Sabo's removal can break Ace's rhythm if you don't protect the board.
- Find Marco early, flood the board, and never rely on just one character to carry the game.
- Yamato becomes incredibly explosive once the trash is ready.
- Ace is faster in the first few turns.
- The matchup usually comes down to which deck hits its main plan first.
- Both decks are capable of killing very quickly.
- Pressure immediately, make Yamato defend instead of setting up the trash, and exploit your Newgate turns before the reanimation chains begin.
- This is probably the matchup that would worry me the most.
- It excels in long games.
- It protects its characters extremely well.
- It doesn't have many real weaknesses outside decks like Nami and Enel.
- Play as aggressively as possible, maximize every Rush attack, use Newgate as early as you can, and avoid a long attrition game at all costs.
Tips
Top Priority
Finding Monkey.D.Luffy is your absolute top priority.
Life Management
Try to stay at 3 Life or more whenever possible. Usually take the first Life, use only one card if you can to protect the second Life, and once you drop to 3 Life or less, start defending more aggressively.
Best 2K Counter to Hold
Curiel is usually the best 2000 counter to keep in hand because he can also turn into an offensive answer with 8000 power and leader-enabled Rush.
2K Discard Priority
When you need to pitch a 2000 counter, prioritize Ace & Sabo & Luffy or Uta.
1K Discard Priority
When you need to pitch a 1000 counter, prioritize Portgas.D.Ace or Thatch.
Don't Overprotect the Board
Don't overprotect your board. A lost character can often just be replaced by another one that gains Rush from your leader effect.
Protect the First Luffy
If you don't have a second Luffy in hand, protect the one already on the field whenever it's reasonable.
Resource Discipline
The deck doesn't draw naturally very well, so resource management matters a lot. Good counter management and clean Life management often decide the match.