Cards Of The Week #7

Stussy (OP07-085)

Even though she's from OP07 this Stussy represents the more old school type of one piece card. Modest 9000 power for the 9 cost and only one effect that activates on summon. OP07 is not exactly a set that came out yesterday but it's by no means one of the oldest sets either. This is all she has though. The effect in question? Trash one of your characters in play to KO one of your opponent's characters. Doesn't matter the cost or whether the card is rested or not.

Of course many character cards today have removal protection effects but besides that standard drawback the range of this KO effect goes all the way, outside of also providing Blackbeard negation or something. It's to be expected, as you're paying a considerable cost to get the effect in the first place. For sure, the best approach would be to sacrifice a cheap 1 cost character you played before and already reaped an effect. A searcher would be the best trade-off but it's not the only example. Since she costs 9 you could even play a character just right before you summon her and that will also work if you're at 10 DON!!

However, even if the condition can be managable it is still a condition and it comes with problems. If you can't sacrifice a cheap character you will have to sacrifice a bigger character that was likely contributing more. If you can't even do that, then she will have to get trashed to meet the condition and that is a very bad trade-off when you consider Red Roc and even other similar events.

Even other character cards such as ST16 Shanks will outclass this card if you were going to destroy a rested character anyway. Another drawback to the condition is the limitation to at least try to get more out of it in a combo when you get rid of your own card anyway. What I mean is, since you trash you can't even take advantage of certain character effects that would resolve on KO.

So to sum up, she's decent and I see her used in various black decks now and then but she's definitely not the best in the big KO effect category.

SaberWolf's Rating: 3.7/5

Monkey. D. Luffy (OP11-118)

I can't help but think the designers were making an experiment with this card since it released as a secret rare in OP11 and then in no time got reprinted as a starter deck card in the Learn Together Starter Set. Two copies included in the deck too! I'm pretty sure that's the quickest that a booster secret rare has seen in a reprint. The bad news is this wasn't the best high cost character when released and it certainly has even more competition now.

It isn't like the effects are bad but rather the costs don't cut any slack for what you're getting. Rush is fantastic, but at 8 cost 8000 power is very modest. It's essentially the lowest standard for the cost. The removal effect when you attack can be situational given the average cost range but it also requires you to discard a card in hand to use it. Possibly the worst part for me is that the card gets bounced in hand rather than back in the deck; Compulsory Evacuation Device style for my yugioh players out there. Now if you do this you will also get a rested DON!! you can put somewhere but this is still kind of half-assed.

I understand their reasoning a little bit; being a removal effect that you may be able to get more than once since it works when you attack, even a 5 cost range could all of a sudden make this card pretty overpowered. But, getting 2 rested DON!! instead of just one wouldn't have been the end of the world and would make the card at least somewhat better. Hell, I mean Whitebeard gives you 4 at the end of the day in addition to everything else he does.

This is only if you can even TAKE advantage of the effect. If your opponent doesn't have a mid range character downthen you're only getting the Rush bonus and nothing else. The way the effect is worded means you can't even get the rested DON!! thus turning this card into a worse Luffy from ST21. In the end I can't ignore all setbacks. It can still be a very nice card with the right timing but not even close to a blue staple, even in Straw Hat decks that could search it.

SaberWolf's Rating: 3.8/5