Deck Guide

Yamato OP16 Deck Guide

Yamato OP16 is built around loading the trash quickly, then converting that setup into explosive Land of Wano turns. The deck is aggressive, but its real edge comes from how cleanly you sequence your recursion and pressure turns.

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Decklist

Main list for Yamato OP16 in the OP16 format.

Mulligan

The mulligan plan is simple: find the cards that fill the trash and set up the turns where you'll start playing characters back from the trash.

Absolute Priority

Nami is the best opening card in the deck. She finds a Land of Wano card from the top four cards while sending the rest to the trash, which smooths out your hand and sets up your future recursion turns right away.

Kin'emon is the deck's best 4- or 5-DON!! play. He finds a Land of Wano card from the top five cards while loading the trash with the rest, which is exactly what this deck wants to do.

Nico Robin upgrades your hand quality. She lets you discard a character you want to play from the trash later while drawing two cards to help you find the missing pieces.

Cards to Send Back

Yamato

Kozuki Momonosuke

Ground Death

The 8-cost Yamatos.
The 9-cost Momonosuke.
Ground Death.
Too many late-game cards.
No cards that help fill the trash.

Curve Guide

Turn-by-turn reminders for going first and going second.

Going First

1 DON

Nami is your best possible start. The goal is to begin filling the trash immediately.

3 DON

Keep playing Nami or Robin while attacking with your leader.

5 DON

Kin'emon is the ideal play here. He fills the trash, finds the next pieces you need, and still gives you a body that can attack.

7 DON

Your main lines are Yamato OP16-098 from hand or I've Come Here To Cut Those Chains!. Both lines help you reach the 8-cost Yamatos quickly.

9 DON

Your two main lines are dropping the 9-cost Momonosuke directly or playing 5-cost Momonosuke plus Shinobu. The second line gives you almost the same result for less DON!!.

Late game

The Yamato loop is your late-game engine. Keep chaining your trash plays into more pressure and force the opponent to keep answering wave after wave.

Going Second

2 DON

Nami or Robin are your best plays here. Look for useful midgame and endgame cards while loading the trash for your recursion turns.

4 DON

Kin'emon is the ideal line. He fills the trash, finds the next cards you need, and still gives you an attacker.

6 DON

Yamato OP16-098 is your main play here so you can bring back an 8-cost Yamato from the trash.

8 DON

I've Come Here To Cut Those Chains! and the Yamato loop are your main lines here.

10 DON

The Momonosuke plus Shinobu lines come online here and lead to the deck's most explosive turns.

Options & Tech Cards

Alternative cards and flex slots for different OP16 rooms.

An alternative to Sanji. He can give Unblockable to a Land of Wano character. I prefer Sanji, but I still think Luffy is a completely viable option.

Some lists play him to strengthen the turn-4 setup. I don't like that option very much and would rather keep those slots for the deck's main game plan.

An interesting defensive option. She can give you an extra blocker in some aggressive matchups.

A tech choice for decks that play very large threats. She helps answer some characters that are otherwise hard to remove efficiently.

Matchups

How the main OP16 leaders line up against Yamato.

For turn-order win rates across the field, read the OP16 Black Yamato stats in OP16 Format.

↑ Favored

Yamato's high number of attacks forces Teach to spend a huge amount of defensive resources.

↓ Unfavorable

Games often come down to whether you can keep constant pressure going.

↓ Slightly Unfavorable

Choosing between the two 8-cost Yamatos matters a lot depending on which removal tools the opponent has access to.

↓ Unfavorable

Yamato's extra attacks matter less here than they do against most other leaders in the format.

≈ Mirror Match

Going second gives you a slight edge in the mirror.

Tips

Core reminders for the OP16 version of Yamato.

Going second is usually the better seat for this deck.

Filling the trash correctly is the top priority in the early turns.

Nami and Kin'emon are your best setup cards in the deck.

Always think through the exact order of your combos before you start the turn.

If the opponent can remove your characters easily, prioritize the 8-cost Yamato that can bring back the 6-cost Yamato when it's KO'd.

If the opponent doesn't have much interaction with your board, prioritize the 8-cost Yamato that generates more value.

Most of your wins come from explosive turns where multiple characters are played from the trash and attack immediately thanks to the leader effect.

The deck is aggressive, but it rewards precise sequencing more than raw pressure.