We're roughly a month into the first rotation for the One Piece Trading Card Game and there has been so many developments in the game. With the Standard format of the game losing impactful events such as Gum-Gum Red Roc and Spiderweb, what Events are left standing strong in the post rotation meta? Let's find out.

Removal Events

Removal Events are scarce given the current state of the game, but there are still a few seeing play in regular table top encounters.

Gravity Blade Raging Tiger

Gravity Blade Raging Tiger is a card I commonly bring up in conversation. It's a seven-cost Event that allows you to place two Characters with a cost of six or less onto the bottom of their owners Library. It also has a trigger that places one of your opponent's Characters with a cost of five or less from the field onto the bottom of their Library.

This card has become less desirable over time since other cards with the same cost have a higher impact on the board. And that's without mentioning the existence of cost increase effects on cards that currently see play. Still, this event is seeing play in deck led by Nami, Kuzan, and Boa Hancock. That is almost solely due to Gravity Blade Raging Tiger being able to remove two characters from the field at the same time as opposed to one. The math checks out, two is better than one.

Barrier-Barrier Pistol

Barrier-Barrier Pistol is a five-cost Event that places a Character with 6000 power or less at the bottom of its owner's deck. In the realms of card cost, this is much more affordable in comparison to Gravity Blade Raging Tiger. However, the target range is much slimmer, being restricted to targeting Characters with 6000 power or less as compared to six cost or less.

Considering the stats on this card, and given that it's a "Dressrosa" card type, it fits well with Leaders that have the same "Dressrosa" card type. It's easy to search for and even more easily utilized. This piece of removal is good for taking out Characters such as Cavendish and Sanji. Additionally, you can expect to see this event alongside Leaders such as Lucy, Usopp, and Rebecca.

Kingdom Come

Kingdom Come is a much more niche removal spell than the others mentioned so far, but I'd be remiss if I didn't bring it up after it was unbanned. Not to mention it's a lot less limiting in regards to what it can remove from the board.

Kingdom Come is a six-cost Sky Island Event that allows you to K.O. one of your opponent's Characters. However, after doing so you have to trash cards from the top of your life pile until your life pile is down to one. This card is clearly intended to work with Enel Leader, but with how much life you gain naturally in any deck touching Yello, It's worth considering elsewhere. You can make use of Characters such as Roronoa Zoro and Kikunojo to regain the life you've lost in exchange for the removal of an opponent's threat on the board.

Counter Events

Counter Events are a foundational card type in the One Piece TCG and remain relevant to this day. In a game that is mainly focused on winning through combat tactics, Counter Events are one of the two main ways of preventing damage from being taken outside of blocking.

Ground Death

Ground Death is a one-cost Black event that has two different abilities stapled to it. As a counter, if you have 10 or more cards in your Trash, this event will provide one of your Leaders or Characters with +4000 power for the battle.

Additionally, Ground Death has a different effect if cast normally during your main phase. As long as you are willing to pay an additional 2 DON!! and your trash has 10 or more cards in it you can negate the effects of one of your opponent's Characters with a cost of five or less. This could be an effect such as Marco's On K.O. which allows its owner to draw two cards, or Kalgara's effect which enables its owner to gain more draw effects based off interactions with your life pile.

Gum-Gum Giant

Much like the previously mentioned Ground Death, Gum-Gum Giant is a one-cost Counter Event that requires you to send 2 DON!! back to your DON!! deck in addition to its casting cost. If you do that, it grants one of your Leaders or Characters +4000 power for this battle as long as your Leader is a "Straw Hat Crew" type Leader. In addition, it allows you to draw two cards.

While this Counter Event is limited to a specific card type, there is no debating that it is oozing with value. Giving +4000 power for the battle will stop a majority of your opponent's swings for at least that singular battle, ensuring that the intended target may make it to the next battle, or even the next turn. You will see this card in decks such as Green/Purple Luffy or even Blue/Purple Sanji.

Freeze Events

While not commonly referred to as such, for the purpose of this article "Freeze Events" are Events that stop an opposing character from swinging into your Leader. There are more of these out there then most players may realize, but I believe the following options have a higher chance of being seen at the table compared.

Electrical Luna

Electrical Luna is a three-cost Green event that can be played on your main phase and ensures all of your opponent's Characters with a cost of seven or less will not become active on your opponent's next refresh phase. Luna can only affect Characters that cost seven or less, but the majority of the seven-cost of less Characters are going to be within the power range of 5000 to 9000. This also stops "On Attack" effects from triggering if a character cannot become active on their next refresh phase.

Electrical Luna also has a Trigger of "Rest up to 1 of your opponent's characters." While not as impactful as the main effect on this card, this Trigger (As long as you pull it from your life pile in a timely manner) can stop an additional attack from coming your way.

You can expect to see this Event in leaders such as Dracule Mihawk or Jewelry Bonney.

Haute Couture: Patch Work

Haute Coutore: Patch Work is a one-cost Black event with a few different possible outcomes. For starters, Haute Couture Patch Work gives up to one of your opponent's Characters minus three to their card cost. Then if your opponent has a card that costs 0 it does not refresh at the beginning of their next refresh phase. Additionally, Haute Coutore Patch Work has a Trigger that reads "Draw two cards and trash one card from your hand."

On the surface, this card appears to be a simple cost reducer, which is a playstyle that has sadly been outdated in term of power with recent additions to the game. However, this event only costs 1 DON!!, and when paired with other cost reducers can keep an opposing threat down for the count for at least one turn.

If you decide to play this card as a four-of Event in your 50 card deck, the trigger from life generates necessary card advantage to ensure you are seeing the cards you need. This event is to be expected when playing against leaders such as Crocodile or Usopp.

Buff Events

Similar to "Freeze Events," "Buff Events" is not a common piece of terminology for these types of Events. For the sake of this article, I want to categorize them as such.

These are Events that are played during your turn and buff the power of either your Leader or one of your Characters. While your DON!! can do this during your turn as well, it can be more practical to just play an event that might be able to apply a bigger buff to your Leader or Character, plus additional effects.

I Am Whitebeard!!

I Am Whitebeard!! is an eight-cost Event that, as long as your leader has the "Whitebeard Pirates" type, you may play an "Edward.Newgate" card from your hand and then add one card from the top or bottom of your life pile to your hand. If you add one card from the top or bottom of your life pile, your Leader gains +2000 power until the end of your opponent's next turn.

The majority of Buff events you'll encounter have additional benefits outside of the buffing something's power, and I Am Whitebeard!! certainly has a big additional benefit. It allows you to play a beefy Character in addition to potentially buffing your Leader to make attacking into your Leader harder.

While this event is niche, it should stay on your radar. It's most commonly used alongside Leaders like Portgas.D.Ace and Marco.

Two-hundred Million Volts Amaru

Two-Hundred Million Volts Amaru is a two-cost Event that allows you to give one of your Leaders or Characters +3000 power for the turn. Then, if you have one or less Life cards, you can rest up to one of your opponent's Characters with a cost of four or less. Additionally, this event has a Trigger that allows you to trash two cards from your hand in order to add add card from the top of your deck to the top of your Life cards.

While this may be a "Sky Island" card, it works well in any Yellow deck. Yellow is known for its quick recovery and interactions within the life pile, so that should come as no surprise.

Amaru isn't commonplace, but it's another Buff Event that is worth keeping in the back of your mind when playing against leaders such as Enel or Monkey .D. Luffy.

Conclusion

These Events are certainly posed to be big players in the Post-Rotation meta for One Piece TCG, but there are plenty of other Events that could make their way into peoples' decks. We'll have to wait and see what new sets bring to the table and what older events might become more relevant with time.

'Til the seas bring us together again, fellow seafarers.