In 60 Seconds
- The plan
- dig on turns 1-2 with the 1-cost searchers (the Namis, Jewelry Bonney, Thousand Sunny). Then the chain on your 3rd turn going 1st (your 2nd or 3rd going 2nd). Swing everything at their Leader, counter at 2-3 Life, and win on your 5th or 6th turn.
- The list
- 4 each of Bad Manners Kick Course, both 1-cost Namis, Jewelry Bonney, Thousand Sunny, the 4-cost Luffy, the Blocker-rester (ST30-012), the Rush Luffy (ST21-014) and Sanji; 3 each of Asura and I Know You're Strong...; 2 each of Conqueror's Haki, Gurararararara!, Meteor Strike of Love and Gum Gum Mole Gun. It's in The Deck.
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- Keep or redraw
- keep two searchers or the 4-cost Luffy; one searcher is either. Send back only a hand with no searcher and no 4-cost Luffy.
- The matchups that matter
- Buggy: players won 60%; go 1st, by a lot (71% vs 50%).
- Nico Robin: 68%; go 1st.
- Xebec: 45%.
- Top 3 mistakes
- Taking hits at 2 and 3 Life.
- Going 1st against Luffy ST10.
- Sending back a hand with two searchers.
Luffy & Ace in one line: players win 59% of their EB05 games (673), our Pro AI 54% (3,300 games), and the deck runs on one play: the 4-cost Monkey D. Luffy (OP12-015) puts out Sanji, and Sanji puts out a 6000 Luffy, three bodies for 4 DON!!.
What Is Luffy & Ace?
In short
- The chain: the 4-cost Luffy plays Sanji, and Sanji plays a 6000 Luffy, three bodies for 4 DON!!.
- On their turn your Luffy Characters are +3000; your Leader stays a 6000, so the fight is at your Leader.
- Weak spots: Sabo (30%) and red-green Luffy.
- The 4-cost Luffy (OP12-015): reveal 2 Events from your hand (they stay there) to play a red 3000-or-less Character: Sanji. The Rush Luffy (ST21-014): a 5-cost 6000 with Rush. The Blocker-rester (ST30-012): a 4-cost 6000 that rests one of their Blockers when it attacks.
- What the chain is worth: in our Pro AI's games, when Sanji put out a 6000 Luffy by its 3rd turn it won 55% (107 games); when it never did, 36%.
- 16 Counter Events do the defending: Bad Manners Kick Course, Asura and I Know You're Strong... are +3000s.
The Deck
In short
- Searchers and 16 Counter Events around the chain: the 4-cost Luffy, Sanji and the 6000 Luffys.
- Most lists run 4 Gurararararara! and 2 Asura; this one runs 2 and 3.
- The 6000 Luffys have no counter; everything small is a 1000.
The list
| Card | Copies | Its job |
|---|---|---|
| Bad Manners Kick Course (OP04-016) | 4 | +3000 counter for a card from your hand |
| Conqueror's Haki (OP12-018) | 2 | +2000 for a Character; -1000 on their whole side |
| Nami (EB02-017) | 4 | 1-cost: look at 5 for a Straw Hat Crew card |
| Jewelry Bonney (EB04-002) | 4 | 1-cost: look at 4 for an Egghead or Straw Hat Crew card |
| Nami (OP01-016) | 4 | 1-cost: look at 5 for a Straw Hat Crew card |
| Asura (OP12-037) | 3 | +3000 for your Leader; or rest two of theirs |
| I Know You're Strong... (OP13-040) | 3 | +3000 for your Leader; or keep two of theirs rested |
| Gurararararara! (OP17-017) | 2 | +2000 for your Leader, -2000 on one of theirs |
| Thousand Sunny (ST31-005) | 4 | Look at 5 for a Straw Hat Crew card; a DON!! to a Luffy |
| Meteor Strike of Love (OP06-017) | 2 | Your top Life card to hand for +3000 |
| Monkey D. Luffy (OP12-015) | 4 | The chain: reveal 2 Events, play Sanji, give a DON!! |
| Gum Gum Mole Gun (ST21-017) | 2 | -5000, then K.O. a 2000-or-less |
| Monkey D. Luffy (ST30-012) | 4 | 6000; Rush for a DON!!; rests a Blocker when attacking |
| Monkey D. Luffy (ST21-014) | 4 | 6000 Rush; gives a DON!! when attacking |
| Sanji (ST31-001) | 4 | Draw 1, play a cost 5 or less Straw Hat Crew Character; Rush with 2 DON!! |
Mulligans
In short
- Keep two searchers or the 4-cost Luffy; one searcher is either.
- Send back only a hand with no searcher and no 4-cost Luffy.
- Playing the same hands both ways, kept hands won 46% and redraws 45%: rarely send one back.
KEEP TWO SEARCHERS OR THE 4-COST LUFFY. NO SEARCHER AND NO 4-COST LUFFY: SEND IT BACK.
| The hand | Won kept | Won sent back |
|---|---|---|
| Two or more searchers | 46% | 41% |
| One searcher | 43% | 45% |
| The 4-cost Luffy, no searcher | 62% | 54% |
| No searcher and no 4-cost Luffy | 52% | 61% |
- Searchers: the 1-cost Namis, Jewelry Bonney and Thousand Sunny.
- Keep: the 4-cost Luffy, Gurararararara!, Gum Gum Mole Gun, the Blocker-rester, Sanji (the whole chain). Mulligan: Bad Manners Kick Course, Conqueror's Haki and three 6000 Luffys (no searcher, no 4-cost Luffy).
Turn Order: By Matchup
In short
- Overall it barely matters: players win 60% going 1st and 56% going 2nd.
- Go 1st against Buggy (by a lot) and Nico Robin.
- Lean 2nd against Luffy ST10 and Sabo. The rest is in the table.
The Game Plan, Turn by Turn
In short
- Turns 1-2: dig with the searchers.
- The chain on your 3rd turn going 1st, your 2nd or 3rd going 2nd.
- Then the Rush Luffy and the Blocker-rester; the kill comes on your 5th or 6th turn.
| Your turn | Going 1st | Going 2nd |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | A searcher (a 1-cost Nami, Thousand Sunny or Bonney) | Two 1-cost searchers |
| 2nd | Two searchers; your Leader swings | The chain (4 DON!!), or the Blocker-rester |
| 3rd | The chain (5 DON!!) | The chain, the Rush Luffy or Sunny |
| 4th | The Rush Luffy, Sunny or the Blocker-rester | Sunny, the Rush Luffy, the Blocker-rester |
| 5th | The Blocker-rester or the Rush Luffy | The Rush Luffy |
- The chain turn is three attacks: put the 4-cost Luffy's DON!! on Sanji, swing the Rush Luffy first (its DON!! goes on Sanji too), and with 2 DON!! Sanji has Rush.
- Sunny's DON!! goes to a Luffy Character, not your Leader (it isn't named Monkey D. Luffy).
- The kill: your 5th or 6th turn (58 of our Pro AI's 74 wins).
Fundamentals: The Chain and the Counters
In short
- Take the hits at 4 Life, counter at 2-3 Life.
- Face, always: strong players swung 89% of their attacks at the Leader.
- On their turn your Luffys are 7000s and 9000s, so they hit your Leader.
AT 4 LIFE, TAKE IT. AT 2-3 LIFE, COUNTER.
| Your Life | Strong players countered | Our Pro AI's close calls: counter / take |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | 6% | 14 / 13 |
| 3 | 35% | 45 / 21 |
| 2 | 57% | 55 / 31 |
| 1 | 68% | 23 / 17 |
- Why 2-3 Life: your Leader is a 6000 with nothing on their turn, and the Life you keep lets you race.
- Most against Buggy and Xebec: at 2 Life countering was better 11 to 1 and 8 to 1 there.
- Your counters: Gurararararara! and Bad Manners Kick Course most, then the 4-cost Luffy and Sanji as 1000s.
Matchups
In short
- Good: Nico Robin (68% for players), Shirahoshi (63%) and Buggy (60%).
- Close: Trafalgar Law (50%), Luffy ST10 (52%) and Xebec (45%).
- Against you: Sabo (30%) and red-green Luffy.
Xebec45%32%
Buggy60%59%
Sabo30%30%
Nico Robin (EB05)68%73%
Trafalgar Law50%59%
Shirahoshi63%59%
Rosinantetoo few games–81%
Luffy (ST10)Players do much better than our AI52%25%
Kaidotoo few games–62%
Sugartoo few games–57%
Luffy (OP13)too few games–22%
Enel (OP05)too few games–60%
Enel (OP15)too few games–39%
Luffy & Ace'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, Luffy & Ace 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 | 45% (62) | 47% / 43% | 32% | 37% / 28% | lean 1st |
| Buggy | 60% (91) | 71% / 50% | 59% | 65% / 54% | 1st, by a lot |
| Sabo | 30% (33) | 13% / 38% | 30% | 23% / 38% | lean 2nd |
| Nico Robin (EB05) | 68% (59) | 72% / 61% | 73% | 71% / 76% | 1st |
| Trafalgar Law | 50% (66) | 54% / 46% | 59% | 71% / 46% | lean 1st |
| Shirahoshi | 63% (35) | 59% / 67% | 59% | 59% / 58% | Either |
| Rosinante | - | - | 81% | 85% / 76% | lean 1st |
| Luffy (ST10) | 52% (31) | - | 25% | 20% / 30% | lean 2nd |
| Kaido | - | - | 62% | 80% / 44% | lean 1st |
| Sugar | - | - | 57% | 46% / 68% | lean 2nd |
| Luffy (OP13) | - | - | 22% | 20% / 24% | lean 2nd |
| Enel (OP05) | - | - | 60% | 52% / 68% | lean 2nd |
| Enel (OP15) | - | - | 39% | 50% / 28% | lean 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: 300 games per matchup for the seven most played decks, 100 for the rest. Bold marks where the two are 15 or more points apart.
Buggy (OP09-042)
- Go 1st, by a lot (71% vs 50%); Buggy wants to go 1st too.
- Counter early: their Leader swings at about 6500, Alvida and Crocodile & Mihawk at about 7500.
- The 10-cost Buggy bottom-decks one of your chain bodies (all cost 5 or less).
Nico Robin (EB05-010)
Practice vs Nico Robin · Hard AI
- Go 1st (72% vs 61%) and go face.
- Megalo K.O.s a rested 4-cost Luffy (7000 on her turn) unless you have 2 DON!! given; your 9000s are safe.
Xebec (OP17-039)
- Lean 1st, and counter at 2 Life (better 8 to 1).
- Gloriosa bottom-decks a chain body; Stussy stops one from attacking; Shiki gives -3000.
Trafalgar Law and Shirahoshi
- Law: lean 1st. Two big swings a turn from its 4th turn: count them before you spend counters.
- Shirahoshi: either turn order. Its Leader can't attack; its Chonmage and Bird Neptunian swing at about 7000.
Luffy (ST10-002)
- Lean 2nd: players won 75% going 2nd and 33% going 1st (only 30 games).
- Their 10-cost Luffy takes an extra turn: two turns of attacks against the counters you hold.
Sabo (OP13-004)
- The problem matchup (30%): lean 2nd. Our Pro AI won 38% going 2nd and 23% going 1st, players 38% and 13%; it was close in our replay test (the same 40 shuffles both ways: 6 wins going 1st, 7 going 2nd).
- Loki K.O.s total cost 4: one of your 4-cost Luffys, or up to four 1-costs.
Red-green Luffy (OP13-001)
Practice vs Red-green Luffy · Hard AI
- Players won 2 of 15: its Leader rests DON!! for +2000 each on your attacks, and your 1- and 2-DON!! swings are what it stops.
The Mistakes That Cost Games
In short
- Taking hits at 2 and 3 Life.
- Going 1st against Luffy ST10.
- Sending back a hand with two searchers.
| The spot | Players | What wins |
|---|---|---|
| Counter at 3 Life (strong players) | 35% | Counter: better 45 to 21 |
| Against Luffy ST10, go 1st (when choosing) | 10 of 12 | Lean 2nd: players won 75% vs 33% (30 games) |
| Mulligan a two-searcher hand | 23% | Keep: 46% kept, 41% sent back |
Cheat Sheet
- The chain: the 4-cost Luffy reveals 2 Events to play Sanji; Sanji plays a 6000 Luffy. Your 3rd turn going 1st, 2nd or 3rd going 2nd. DON!! on Sanji: three attacks.
- Mulligan: two searchers or the 4-cost Luffy; else send it back only with no searcher.
- Turn order: 1st against Buggy and Robin; lean 2nd against Luffy ST10 and Sabo.
- Counters: take it at 4 Life; counter at 3 and 2.
- Face, always. The kill comes on your 5th or 6th turn.
Practice It
Play Luffy & Ace 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, Kaido, purple Enel, Luffy ST10, yellow Enel, red-green Luffy, Shirahoshi, Rosinante, Moria, Sugar and Boa Hancock.
Players: EB05 ladder games (updated 10-26), farmed games removed; turn plays and counters from strong players' 181 games with every decision. Our Pro AI: its EB05 games (updated 10-25); the same-hand test and close calls from 144 detailed games.