Luffy’s adventures have taken him beyond the waters of One Piece and into the mainstream, forging the path for international success across multiple mediums, and now the relaunched Trading Card Game (TCG) from Bandai! The first set, Romance Dawn, will take players into the world of One Piece with four starter decks and a booster set based on the foundation of the anime’s lore. The set primarily features the current story arcs from the anime and manga, but also brings favorite characters that have been previously shown. With this list, you’ll be ahead of the curve with knowledge of the top 10 best cards in Romance Dawn: One Piece TCG, from pirate rookies to emperors of the sea when opening packs and buying singles.
10. Donquixote Doflamingo (Parallel Art)
Donquixote Doflamingo is one of the most dastardly villains that Luffy has ever faced during his journey. Doflamingo has performed some of the world’s worst atrocities and gleefully enjoyed the evil and mayhem he caused while trying to take over Dressrosa and eliminate Luffy and his crew.
Even with his tragic past, there’s no excuse for Doflamingo’s lunatic scheme, and this card captures the theme of his character in that regard. Just like his elaborate plans, this card lets your plan your future turns by arranging the top five cards of your deck and also helps keep your leader alive by blocking an attack. Add to that the parallel art that looks raw and sinister, and this is a great way to start your collection and pack pulls.
9. Eustass “Captain” Kid (Parallel Art)
One of the main pirates from the worse generation, Eustass “Captain” Kid is a unique character who brings elements reminiscent of the anime movie, Akira to the One Piece series. This card has two powerful effects and would rank higher, but it needs an increased cost of eight to match its abilities and 8000 battle power.
That makes this a card you don’t want to get too early in the game, but once you get enough Don! resources in play, this guy can technically block a bunch of your opponent’s characters and when you play him, you can play a three or less-cost character for free. That nets you three Don! and gives you another character to build your forces.
8. Trafalgar Law (Parallel Art)
Trafalgar Law is a rad character who is currently a much-needed ally to Luffy and his crew. A fan favorite for many One Piece followers, Law has a deep story and hopefully, more major roles to play as Luffy’s journey comes to a close. A doctor/surgeon who leads the Heart Pirates, his swordsmanship and room fruit ability make for the perfect balance of offense and defense in combat.
This card exemplifies these traits with a blocker skill to help you survive, and when you play him, he swaps one of your characters in-play with a character that costs three or less in your hand. This utility lets you get multiple uses from your on-play effects and opens up many strategic plays for your deck.
7. Dracule Mihawk (Parallel Art)
The parallel art cards might not be to everyone’s liking, with many preferring the original art style, but these cards all have increased rarity adding to their value. This blue version of Dracule Mihawk is a late-game bomb that costs nine, but it gives you a 9000 battle power character and instantly gets rid of one of your opponent’s powerful character cards that costs up to seven.
That will definitely cause a shift in your favor and the art of this card captures Mihawk’s ominous character perfectly. A former member of the seven warlords of the sea, Mihawk has a mysterious past but is an exciting rival for Zoro since the goth-inspired Mihawk is currently the world’s strongest swordsman.
6. Boa Hancock (Parallel Art)
Utterly infatuated with Luffy, Boa Hancock does indeed seem like the perfect waifu for the intrepid hero, and no one else would be able to refuse her advances. She’s a powerful pirate in her own right and a fan favorite for sure thanks to her stunning beauty. Gameplay-wise, she’s perfect for blue decks due to her added defensive capabilities as a blocker and can net you a card every time you spend one Don! when attacking or blocking. Card draw is supreme in any TCG so she does an excellent job of keeping your hand full sooner thanks to her low four energy cost.
5. Kaido
Kaido is the current boss villain from the Wano arc that has Luffy in the throes of defeat and doing whatever he can to become stronger in battle. His dragon fruit ability means he’s a force for the entire world to be reckoned with and he’ll require Luffy to surpass his limits if he hopes of defeating Kaido.
This powerful villain is reflected perfectly in this card with its super high cost of 10, but it also packs a tremendous 12000 battle power representing the raw power of Kaido. If that wasn’t enough to scare your opponent, he can basically knock out every other character in-play as long as you’re using an Animal Kingdom Pirates leader and return 6 Don! to your deck. As one of the very few mass removal cards in the game, this is a powerhouse.
4. Monkey D. Luffy (Parralel Art)
Luffy is the main character that everyone loves and this rare parallel art is action-packed and exploding with energy. When players start playing this game, they’ll all undoubtedly gravitate towards a Luffy deck first, and many more fans will always keep it ready to play anytime as the game progresses. The red color is all about aggressive attacking, and this card is a staple for any red deck thanks to its limited invulnerability making it impossible to KO with opposing strike characters.
After spending your Don! resources, you can use two of them again to power up Luffy by +2000 battle power ensuring he’ll be closer to hitting the enemy leader since he only has a starting battle power of 3000. On the plus side, he only costs two Don! making him the perfect card for early aggression that sticks around to do as much damage as possible the longer the game goes.
3. Yamato (Parrallel Art)
Yamato is a character with a complex gender identity since she was biologically born as the daughter of Kaidou, yet was so emotionally distraught after the death of Kozuki Oden, that she chose to become like him through imitation and modeling herself after him. Clearly suffering from a hardcore obsession over Oden, Yamato plays an important role throughout the Wano arc as an ally to Luffy and his crew. Yamato’s card is going to be of high value and exciting to pull since it’s one of two secret rares included in the Romance Dawn set.
That makes it one of the two rarest cards from the set and from a gameplay perspective, it’s thematic and effective. Yamato’s card counts as a Kouzuki type, has double attack, and only costs five Don! so she can be played for early aggression. Add to the fact that any cards trashed by Yamato do not trigger any effects, and you have one of the best attackers in the game.
2. Roronoa Zoro (Parallel Art)
Roronoa Zoro needs no introduction for any fan of One Piece, but for new players, he’s Luffy’s right-hand swordsman who was the first crew member Luffy recruited. He’s also on a quest to become the world’s most powerful swordsman and this card captures that theme perfectly.
This red Zoro card is a no-nonsense, cheap-to-play attacker whose Rush effect allows him to attack the turn you play him. Any red aggro deck will need four copies of this and the parallel art version will gain more value due to its rarity and dynamic comic book-style art.
1. Shanks
Shanks is the pirate who bestowed kid Luffy with his iconic straw hat, and also at around the same time, Shanks lost his arm after rescuing Luffy from a Sea King beast. Shanks is currently one of the four emperors of the sea, and Luffy’s quest to become the pirate king will have them crossing paths in a moment of fate that’s sure to change the world of One Piece.
In the TCG, this should instantly become a collector’s favorite thanks to the multiple art styles and secret rare status making it the other hardest card to pull from the set. This card is expensive at nine cost, but it’s meant to be a game-ender thanks to the rush attack ability and whopping 10000 battle power. Not only will it be hard to counter with such a huge lead in power, but it can’t be blocked making it a surefire way to hit the enemy leader.
Those are the top 10 best cards in Romance Dawn: One Piece TCG, from pirate rookies to emperors of the sea. If you’re buying singles, you’ll want to quickly snatch these up for the decks you want to play, and if you’re opening booster packs, look out for these cards and celebrate when you get them!
There’s something in this release for every One Piece fan, so make sure to get your hands on a starter deck and check out our One Piece TCG beginner article to help you start playing right away! And don’t forget, Banda also puts out the Dragon Ball Super Card Game and the Digimon TCG to keep fans playing the best anime card games out there!
