In 60 Seconds
- The plan
- ramp on your 1st to 3rd turns (King on your 3rd), a 12000 Kaido on your 4th, then a 9- or 10-cost every turn. Counter early; the kill comes late, on your 7th to 9th turn.
- The list
- the ramp (King, the 1-cost Queen, Yamato, Basil Hawkins), the searchers (We're Going to Claim the One Piece!!!, Black Maria), the two 10-cost Kaidos, Charlotte Linlin and Lead Performers. It's in The Deck.
4
4
4
4
4
1
3
2
3
4
2
2
4
1
4
1
3
- Keep or redraw
- King plus a ramp card or a searcher = keep. King alone: keep going 2nd only. No King: keep with a ramp card and a searcher.
- The matchups that matter
- Buggy: our Pro AI wins only 24%, players 21%; go 1st.
- Xebec: 62% (players 58%); go 1st.
- Sabo: 57% (players 52%); either.
- Top 3 mistakes
- Lead Performers before a big Kaido.
- Saving counters and Blockers early.
- Pointing your removal at what it can't touch.
Kaido in one line: our Pro AI wins 66% of its EB05 games with Kaido (1,900), the third best record in the format behind Xebec and Sabo, and players 54% (1,059): it ramps to a 12000 Kaido on your 4th turn, and the longer the game goes, the better it gets.
What Is Kaido?
In short
- A DON!! ramp deck: 9-10 DON!! on your 4th turn instead of 7-8, and a 12000 Kaido.
- Then a big body every turn, paid with DON!! -X: Charlotte Linlin, Lead Performers, the 9-cost Queen.
- Weak spot: the fast decks, Buggy most of all.
- The big Kaidos: the 12000 Blocker (OP17-062) and the 12000 that K.O.s a cost 6 or less the turn it lands (OP17-063). "Kaido" alone means your Leader.
- King (EB04-031) adds an active and a rested DON!! every turn, and returns a DON!! instead of being K.O.'d. Pro played it in 97% of its detailed games.
- The long game is yours: Pro won 73% of its Kaido games that reached turn 17, and only 10% of those that ended by turn 10.
- Your Leader: DON!! -1, once a turn, -2000 on one of theirs, on your attack or theirs.
The Deck
In short
- The ramp: King, the 1-cost Queen, Yamato and Basil Hawkins.
- The searchers: We're Going to Claim the One Piece!!! and Black Maria.
- The payoff: the two 10-cost Kaidos, Charlotte Linlin, Lead Performers and the 9-cost Queen.
The list
| Card | Copies | Its job |
|---|---|---|
| Divine Departure (OP13-076) | 2 | +3000 counter; rest 5 DON!!: -8000 on one of theirs |
| Mamaragan (OP15-078) | 4 | +1000 counter that draws while you have 6 or fewer DON!! |
| Queen (EB04-032) | 4 | 1-cost: trash an Animal Kingdom Pirates card, draw 2; rest 2 DON!!: add a rested DON!! |
| Flame Dragon Torch (EB04-040) | 1 | Counter: DON!! -1, your Leader +4000 |
| Black Maria (EB05-037) | 4 | A 2000 counter; look at 3 for an Animal Kingdom Pirates card |
| We're Going to Claim the One Piece!!! (OP07-077) | 4 | Look at 5 for an Animal Kingdom or Big Mom Pirates card |
| NoroNoro Beam Sword (OP07-076) | 3 | Counter: DON!! -1, +2000 and rest one of theirs |
| Gum Gum Lightning (OP09-077) | 1 | DON!! -2: K.O. a 6000 or less |
| Basil Hawkins (OP17-073) | 4 | A 2000 counter; trash 1: add an active DON!! |
| Yamato (OP17-074) | 4 | 1000 Blocker; adds a rested DON!! |
| King (EB04-031) | 4 | 7000; once a turn: add an active and a rested DON!!; returns a DON!! instead of a K.O. |
| Kaido (EB04-030) | 1 | 7-cost 9000 that survives K.O.s like King; DON!! -2: Rush, rest a cost 7 or less |
| Lead Performers (OP17-061) | 3 | 11000; DON!! -1: add a Life card; trash it: play a King, Queen or Jack |
| Queen (OP17-065) | 2 | 9-cost 10000 with Banish; DON!! -1: draw 1, two cost 5 or less can't attack |
| Kaido (OP17-062) | 4 | 10-cost 12000 Blocker; refunds a DON!! once on your turn |
| Kaido (OP17-063) | 2 | 10-cost 12000; the turn it lands: DON!! -1, switch off and K.O. a cost 6 or less |
| Charlotte Linlin (ST34-004) | 3 | 12000; DON!! -4, trash 1: add a Life card, and one of theirs has base power 0 |
Mulligans
In short
- King plus a ramp card or a searcher: keep.
- King alone: keep going 2nd (it lands on time), mulligan going 1st.
- No King: keep with a ramp card and a searcher. Everything else: mulligan.
KING PLUS A RAMP CARD OR A SEARCHER = KEEP. KING ALONE: KEEP GOING 2ND ONLY. NO KING: A RAMP CARD AND A SEARCHER. ELSE MULLIGAN.
- Ramp cards: the 1-cost Queen, Yamato and Basil Hawkins. Searchers: We're Going to Claim the One Piece!!! (looks at 5) and Black Maria (3) find King, Queen or Hawkins, but not Yamato.
- Why King alone depends on the turn order: King costs 6. Going 2nd your 3rd turn has 6 DON!!; going 1st it has 5, so King needs a ramp card first.
- The mulligan matters here: over all of Pro's games, kept hands won 67% and redraws 61%; going 1st, 74% and 60%.
- Keep: We're Going to Claim the One Piece!!!, Basil Hawkins, Queen, King, Queen. Mulligan (going 1st): Charlotte Linlin, Gum Gum Lightning, Kaido (OP17-063), Charlotte Linlin, Queen: no King, no searcher, three 10-costs.
Turn Order: Go 1st
In short
- Our Pro AI wins 69% going 1st and 62% going 2nd; players 57% and 48%.
- Go 2nd against Robin, Sugar and yellow Enel.
- Either against Sabo and Luffy OP13. The rest is in the table.
- Why: your ramp closes the DON!! gap, so going 1st is free tempo: your big Kaido lands on game turn 7 instead of 8.
- Sabo: our Pro AI leans 2nd (60% vs 54%), players 1st (62% vs 38%), so either.
- What players do: strong players go 1st 109 times in 117 when they choose.
The Game Plan by DON!!
In short
- Your 1st to 3rd turns: find King and ramp.
- Your 4th: a big Kaido. Most turns after: another 9- or 10-cost.
- The kill comes late: your 7th to 9th turn.
| Your turn | Going 1st | Going 2nd |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | The 1-cost Queen (29%), We're Going to Claim the One Piece!!! (19%) or Black Maria; often nothing | We're Going to Claim the One Piece!!! (69%), the 1-cost Queen (38%), Black Maria (26%) |
| 2nd | Yamato, the 1-cost Queen, Basil Hawkins or a searcher; Queen's ability | The 1-cost Queen (47%) or Yamato (46%), and Queen's ability |
| 3rd | King (67%) and its ability | King, every game, and its ability |
| 4th | A big Kaido: the Blocker (54%) or OP17-063 (14%) | A big Kaido: the Blocker (42%) or OP17-063 (35%) |
| 5th on | Charlotte Linlin, another big Kaido or Lead Performers; King's ability every turn | The same |
- The DON!! math going 1st: your 3rd turn has 5 DON!!, one short of King: play Queen on your 1st turn and use her ability on your 2nd, or Yamato or Basil Hawkins on your 2nd.
- Your 4th turn: about 7 DON!! going 1st and 8 going 2nd, and the DON!! phase brings you to 9-10. Play OP17-063 when it has a cost 6 or less to K.O.
- King's ability every turn (about 3.8 times a game): it beat playing Lead Performers on 9-10 DON!! 17 times in 23.
- DON!! goes on your Leader late: less than 1 a turn until your 7th or 8th turn. The rest is for ramp.
Fundamentals: Countering, Blocking, Attacking, Closing
In short
- Counter early: at 5 Life, countering was better 62 times in 71.
- Block with the 12000 Kaido (better 93 times in 149), except in the mirror.
- Mostly the Leader, but hit the Characters that matter.
| What it takes to stop the attack | Pro's attacks on the Leader | Landed |
|---|---|---|
| A 1000 counter | 239 | 54% |
| +2000 | 119 | 71% |
| +3000 | 197 | 84% |
| +4000 to +6000 | 166 | 91% |
| +7000 or more | 330 | 95% |
- The best counters: Basil Hawkins beat taking the hit 70 times in 100, Yamato 30 in 43 and Flame Dragon Torch 21 in 28. From 4 Life to 2, countering still won 6 to 7 times in 10; at 1 Life it's a coin flip.
- The Leader (8.5 attacks a game vs 6.2 on Characters; it won 113 close calls in 171). The Characters that matter: Saul and Loki (Sabo), Holly (purple Enel), Alvida (Buggy), Shiki (Xebec), the Neptunians (Shirahoshi).
- Your 12000s ask for +8000 from a 5000 Leader, and 94% of those landed. Your Leader's -2000 and Linlin's base power 0 make Character trades cheap.
- The kill: your 7th to 9th turn (63 of Pro's 85 kills), with a big Kaido (in 73% of kills), Linlin (66%) and King (51%).
Matchups
In short
- Good: Shirahoshi (our Pro AI 84%, players 78%), Luffy OP13 (76%, 75%), Sugar (74%, 76%), yellow Enel (77%) and Xebec (62%, 58%).
- Closer for players: Law (70%, but players 51%), Robin (58%, 50%), Sabo (57%, 52%) and Rosinante (61%, 46%).
- Against you: Buggy (24%, players 21%) and Luffy & Ace (38%).
Xebec58%62%
Buggy21%24%
Sabo52%57%
Nico Robin (EB05)50%58%
Trafalgar LawPlayers do much worse than our AI51%70%
Shirahoshi78%84%
Luffy & Acetoo few games–38%
Rosinante46%61%
Luffy (ST10)56%56%
Sugar76%74%
Luffy (OP13)75%76%
Enel (OP05)too few games–77%
Enel (OP15)too few games–51%
Kaido's win % in each matchup: players on the EB05 ranked ladder, and our Pro AI in its own games. The thin line is 50%; past it, Kaido wins more than it loses. Tap a row for the number of games.
| Opponent | Players | Players 1st / 2nd | Our Pro AI | Pro 1st / 2nd | Go |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xebec | 58% (93) | 56% / 56% | 62% | 70% / 54% | 1st |
| Buggy | 21% (121) | 29% / 13% | 24% | 40% / 8% | 1st |
| Sabo | 52% (71) | 62% / 38% | 57% | 54% / 60% | Either |
| Nico Robin (EB05) | 50% (94) | 51% / 49% | 58% | 52% / 64% | 2nd |
| Trafalgar Law | 51% (75) | 66% / 38% | 70% | 76% / 64% | 1st |
| Shirahoshi | 78% (54) | 83% / 71% | 84% | 86% / 82% | lean 1st |
| Luffy & Ace | - | - | 38% | 56% / 20% | 1st |
| Rosinante | 46% (41) | 59% / 32% | 61% | 70% / 52% | 1st |
| Luffy (ST10) | 56% (39) | 64% / 44% | 56% | 64% / 48% | 1st |
| Sugar | 76% (33) | - | 74% | 68% / 80% | 2nd |
| Luffy (OP13) | 75% (44) | 65% / 77% | 76% | 84% / 68% | Either |
| Enel (OP05) | - | - | 77% | 72% / 82% | 2nd |
| Enel (OP15) | - | - | 51% | 62% / 40% | 1st |
Players: EB05 ladder games, every bounty level, with farmed games removed (the same two accounts playing each other 8+ times, one side winning 85%+); '-' under 30 games, or under 15 a side for the split. Our Pro AI: 100 games per matchup. Bold marks where the two are 15 or more points apart.
Buggy (OP09-042)
- Your worst matchup: go 1st (our Pro AI 40% vs 8%; players 29% vs 13%), counter early and often, and get your 12000s down before their 9-cost Alvida and Crocodile & Mihawk turns.
- Their 10-cost Buggy (OP09-051) and Gravity Blade Raging Tiger put your Characters on the bottom of your deck: King's DON!! trick only stops K.O.s.
- Alvida (EB05-021) switches off one of your Characters when it attacks, so your Blocker Kaido can't block that turn: it's the first target for your Leader's -2000. On 10 DON!!, lean Charlotte Linlin over a big Kaido (4 of 7 close calls).
Xebec (OP17-039)
- Go 1st (our Pro AI 70% vs 54%) and play the long game: a 12000 every turn until their answers run out.
- Rocks Pirates (OP17-056) returns King (cost 6) to your hand; a return isn't a K.O., so King's trick doesn't save it. Stussy can lock your best Kaido for a turn.
- Counter early (better in all 7 close calls at 5 Life). Linlin's base power 0 goes on Shiki, the card that shrinks your 12000s.
Sabo (OP13-004)
- Either turn order: our Pro AI leans 2nd, players 1st.
- Hit Characters first, the biggest tilt of any matchup (8.2 attacks a game vs 4.5 on the Leader): Saul, Ripley and Loki make every 2-cost a 5000.
- Your 10-cost Kaido's K.O. can't touch them (cost 16-18 on the field); Linlin's base power 0 can, and Gum Gum Lightning takes Ripley.
Nico Robin (EB05-010)
Practice vs Nico Robin · Hard AI
- Go 2nd (our Pro AI 64% vs 52%).
- Your 10-cost Kaido's K.O. on Gloriosa (two times in three): it's the card that soaks your hits. Linlin's base power 0 on their Linlin.
- Counter early: they attack your Leader 15 times a game, but only 43% of those landed.
Trafalgar Law (OP14-001)
Practice vs Trafalgar Law · Hard AI
- Go 1st (our Pro AI 76% vs 64%; players 66% vs 38%). Players win only 51% here, far below our Pro AI's 70%: plan for a close game.
- Counter early (7 of 8 close calls at 5 Life, and again at 3). Their Newgate (OP17-005) makes their Leader an 8000: Linlin's base power 0 answers it.
- Your 10-cost Kaido's K.O. on Jewelry Bonney (7 times in 8).
Shirahoshi, Rosinante and the rest
- Shirahoshi: lean 1st. Shanks (OP17-022) rests all your Characters, so hold a counter for its swing; hit their Neptunians (10.2 attacks a game on Characters vs 8.6 on the Leader).
- Rosinante: go 1st (players 59% vs 32%). Your 10-cost Kaido's K.O. and Linlin go on Rosinante & Law; Sakazuki makes a 12000 a 6000.
- Luffy & Ace: go 1st (our Pro AI 56% vs 20%). Their Luffy (ST30-012) rests your Blockers when it attacks.
- Yellow Enel: go 2nd and plan one hit more than their Life. Purple Enel: go 1st (62% vs 40%) and counter early (10 of 11 close calls at 5 Life).
- Luffy ST10: go 1st. Sugar: go 2nd. Luffy OP13: either (our Pro AI leans 1st, players 2nd).
The Mistakes That Cost Games
In short
- Lead Performers before a big Kaido.
- Saving counters and Blockers early.
- Pointing your 10-cost Kaido's K.O. at what it can't touch.
| The spot | The mistake | What wins |
|---|---|---|
| Going 2nd, your 5th turn | Lead Performers (strong players: 32% of those turns) | A big Kaido or Linlin: the Kaido beat Lead Performers 22 times in 37 |
| At 5 Life | Taking the hit to save a counter | Counter: better 62 times in 71 |
| Your 12000 Blocker Kaido is up | Letting the attack through | Block: better 93 times in 149 (not in the mirror) |
| Your 10-cost Kaido's K.O. | Saul, Ripley or Loki (cost 16-18 on the field) | A cost 6 or less: it switches the target off first, so it beats King's trick, Oven's replay and purple Enel's Enel |
Cheat Sheet
- Mulligan: King plus a ramp card or a searcher = keep; King alone only going 2nd; no King: a ramp card and a searcher.
- Turn order: go 1st; 2nd against Robin, Sugar and yellow Enel; either against Sabo and Luffy OP13.
- The curve: ramp, King on your 3rd turn (and its ability), a big Kaido on your 4th, then a 9- or 10-cost every turn.
- Defense: counter early, Basil Hawkins and Black Maria first; block with the 12000 Kaido, except in the mirror.
- Attack: mostly the Leader, plus the Characters that matter. The kill comes on your 7th to 9th turn.
Practice It
Play Kaido against our AI, free in your browser at optcgwebsim.com, no download and no account.
Our other EB05 guides: Xebec, Sabo, Buggy, Nico Robin, Trafalgar Law, purple Enel, Luffy ST10, yellow Enel, Luffy & Ace, red-green Luffy, Shirahoshi, Rosinante, Moria, Sugar and Boa Hancock.
Our Pro AI: its EB05 games, Pro on both sides (updated 10-25); plays, counters, blocks and close calls from 144 detailed Pro games. Players: EB05 ladder games (updated 10-26), farmed games removed; the mistakes from strong players' 243 games.