Purple Black Luffy Deck Building Theory

Introduction

Hello and nice to meet you. My name is TsukiUsagi (@MdaTaePraty). 
Hey guys, Kai (@ikailakai) here with the translation to English.

In this article, I would like to talk about a new leader in OP09, Purple Black Luffy.
This leader can use the powerful Black card pool, as well as Purple Straw Hats that have been slowly getting buffed ever since OP05 has likely been considered by many as a top leader in OP09. However, due to the amount of freedom the leader ability provides in deckbuilding, a list has not been solidified. Online, even before release, you could see many different versions of the list, whether it’s “Play Moria on turn 4 going first,” “Use 7 cost Sanji and 9 cost Luffy to rush down the opponent,” or a “Kaido&LinLin + Sabo Dream Combo.’
The version that I would like to showcase is a “10 cost Nika” centered deck.
In this guide, we will refer to the OP05-119 10 cost Monkey D Luffy as 10 cost Nika for the sake of simplicity. (For those who don’t read the Manga this may be confusing, but just know that 10 cost Nika refers to the Secret Rare Luffy from OP05.)
“I want to use 10 cost Luffy, but there’s never been a great deck that can use him”
“I want to accelerate and reduce my Don really dynamically throughout the game”
For those interested in this kind of deck, I’d be happy if you only read the free section, but I would be very happy if you read the whole article!
※If people enjoy these articles, it will encourage me to write notes about the decks I build in the future, so If you enjoy my articles, I’d really appreciate a follow on Twitter and consider purchasing my articles. Thank you.

Player Information:

I have also published fundamental content for beginners and intermediate players for free so I recommend checking those out if you haven’t already.
Track Record:

• 2023 Wave 1 Kanagawa Regionals, Top 32

• 2023 Wave 1 Nationals, Top 16

• 2023 Japan Finals, Champion

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“I Can Do Everything I Wanted To Do!”

Inspired by Chapter 1044 in the manga, where Luffy awakened his devil fruit on the brink of death, Purple Black Luffy offers a similar fighting style to Nika, evoking a sense of freedom when using the deck.
This leader has the ability to reduce the cost for large Don minuses. However, it doesn't directly generate any sort of card advantage. Therefore, the key to understanding this deck comes from how you convert Don into card advantage. There are many possible ways of accomplishing this, so the variety in decklists for this leader is massive.
The 10-cost Nika build that I will be showcasing is one possible answer to this puzzle, and as the OP09 meta has not fully stabilized yet, it cannot be said if this is the definitive answer. However, this deck uses the 10-cost Nika extremely well, resulting in games where playing 1 Nika is a given, and playing 2 or more is even possible. The moves this deck can pull off are extremely unique and fun, creating a very liberating playstyle.
I hope this article can serve as a starting point for those curious about Black Purple Luffy but unsure of how to approach building it.

Regarding The Extra Turn

The 10-cost Nika has the effect to “take an extra turn after this one.”
This effect, being as unique as it sounds, has been a card that players have kept an eye on for a long time. And it’s no surprise—effects that give the player an extra turn in many other card games have often led to broken combinations and eventual bans.
Despite this, the one card in the One Piece Card Game that allows for an extra turn doesn’t break the game. I’d like to first discuss why this is the case, and why Purple Black Luffy uses the card so well before we get into the decklist.

Breaking Down 10 Cost Nika

The effect does the following:

1. Returns 10 Don from your Don Area to your Don Deck.

2. Returns all characters aside from 10-cost Nika to the bottom of your deck.

3. Draws 1 card.

4. Allows your Leader and 10-cost Nika to attack.

Steps 1 and 2 are significant drawbacks that prevent the card from being truly broken. In Step 1, if your Don is reset back to 0, it becomes difficult to use effects that require Don minuses. In Step 2, you reset the board advantage you’ve built up to that point. As a result, the card works poorly with other cards that require Don minuses for an effect.
However, if you focus the Don minus effects solely on the 10-cost Nika, the Don acceleration cards lose their purpose. Leaning too much in either direction leads to instability, which is why, until now, no one has been able to effectively use the 10-cost Nika in the previous meta.
The new Purple Black Luffy answers this problem in a beautiful way. The leader effect allows you to regain 2 Don even after the minus in Step 1, and makes it easier to re-establish your board after Step 2.
If the 10-cost Nika sticks to the board from early on, it naturally becomes easier to gain control of the board and take the lead in the life race. By the time the opponent has spent significant resources to remove the 10-cost Nika, you will have already accumulated around 10 Don, thanks to the deck’s incredible Don acceleration.
As such, Purple Black Luffy has a leader effect that fully utilizes the extra turn gained through the 10-cost Nika. This list is designed to use this effect to its fullest potential, aiming to play the 10-cost Nika as quickly and stably as possible.

Decklist

TCG+

(Decklist as of September 3rd, when this article was written.)
I will dive into specific card counts and the reason for their inclusion later. The goal is to play the 10-cost Nika by turn 4 by accelerating your Don three times when going first and twice when going second. Once Nika is established, the game plan is to continue accelerating Don while expanding your options and regaining resources through cards like Moria, Franky, and Gum-Gum Giant.
As long as you have Gum-Gum Giant, your defense will be on another level, so don’t rush—fight with resilience.

Card Explanations

Leader: Monkey D. Luffy (OP09) 

The new Monkey D. Luffy from OP09 has the powerful effect of recovering 2 Don when 2 or more Don have been returned to the Don Deck. There are many powerful effects that return 2 or more Don already, and this set has added many more to this arsenal, allowing you to control the board, cycle your hand, and more.
This deck specializes in maximizing Don usage, thanks to the 5 Active Don available on the turn after you play the 10-cost Nika during your extra turn. The 10-cost, 12,000 power Nika played on turn 4 when going first is extremely difficult for most decks to remove effectively and generates advantage every turn. The leader is supplemented with new cards such as the 4-cost Franky, 9-cost Luffy, and the ultimate counter event, Gum-Gum Giant, allowing you to build your deck and fight more freely than anyone else.
As a bonus, when a Don is attached to the leader Luffy, it increases the cost of all characters on the field by 1, giving them a subtle boost in resistance to removal. While this effect doesn’t come into play too often in this build, it’s worth noting that Moria can escape the dreaded 8-cost Katakuri range, for example.