Within the One Piece TCG there are plenty of Keywords you commonly see on characters. Keywords like Banish, Blocker, or even the occasional Double Attack all show up on characters with some amount of regularity. However, there is one Keyword that is commonly known throughout the TCG community - Haste.

Wait... Sorry! Wrong Trading Card Game. I meant Rush!

Rush is OPTCG's version of Haste from Magic: The Gathering and it means pretty much the exact same thing as it does in that game. When you play a Character with Rush onto on the board, it can swing in for damage on the same turn. Normally you'd need to wait a turn to attack with your freshly played Characters, and Rush lets you get around that restriction.

Recently, Bandai has included the official keyword "Rush: Character" to signify that the character you dropped does, indeed, have Rush but can only attack Characters the same turn it enters instead of being able to attack your opponent's leader. This was done to introduce more tools to help balance the game a bit.

That being said, I'd like to highlight some of the more impactful Characters with Rush that are sticking around after Block 1 rotates out of Standard.

So, let's get into it!

The Best Characters with Rush in the One Piece TCG

I want to start with a character that we don't see a whole lot of anymore, but I personally think is underplayed. Kid & Killer.

Kid & Killer from Memorial Collection

Kid & Killer is a four-cost 5000 power Red Character with two dual attributes of Special & Slash. Kid & Killer also has the keyword "Rush" and additionally has the following ability, "[When attacking] If your opponent has 2 or less life cards, this character gains +2000 power during this turn."

This Character is a game ender that ensures a swift victory. You do not drop this character when your opponent is at three life to rush in for 5000. Rather, you ideally wait until your opponent is at one life and then swing in with 7000 power to close out the game. This has gotten harder to achieve with the increase in 6000+ leaders in recent sets, however it is important to remember that the majority of leaders maintain a power stat of 5000.

Kid & Killer works well in decks like the Luffy Leader from Set 13 - Carrying On His Will, or even Shanks from Set 9 - Emperors in the New World. Both can make use of Kid & Killer as a quick finisher, so I would not overlook it if I were you.

Monkey .D. Luffy from A Fist of Divine Speed

On next stop on this journey is one of the many variants of Monkey .D. Luffy.

Monkey .D. Luffy is an 8000 power eight-cost character with Rush (shocking, I know) and the following ability, "[When Attacking] You may trash 1 card from your hand: Return up to 1 character with a cost of 4 or less to its owner's hand. Then, give up to 1 rested DON!!! card to your Leader or 1 of your characters."

Luffy makes for the second Rush character in Blue in the One Piece Trading Card Game. Not only can he swing in immediately with 8000 power, which is quite the punch, but for the cost of one card you can return an opposing character back to your opponent's hand while also buffing something on your board with a rested DON!!!.

You will more commonly see this Luffy variant in decks such as Boa Hancock from Set 7 - 500 Years in the Future, Donquixote Rosinante from Set 5 - Awakening of the New Era, Monkey .D. Luffy from set Set 11 - A Fist of Divine Speed and Jinbe from Set 14 - Azure Sea's Seven. He's not the strongest Rush character, but is absolutely a staple for Blue as we head into the first ever One Piece TCG Standard Rotation.

Hody Jones from Wings of the Captain

My pick for the Rush character that will take the spotlight post-rotation would be none other than the beloved [or hated] Fish-man Hody Jones.

Hody Jones is a seven-cost, 8000-power character with, you guessed it, Rush and the following ability, "[On Play] Rest up to a total of 2 of your opponent's characters or DON!!! Cards. Then, add 1 card from the top of your life to your hand."

Hody's ability does come with a pretty big drawback, but that is vastly out-valued by being able to Rest two of your opponent's characters. Remember, you can only have five characters on your board at once. So, if you only have 2 blockers out and ready to Block, then Hody is just gonna rest those and swing directly into your life.

You'd need at least two +2000 counters in hand to pitch, if not something like Gum-Gum Giant, in order to avoid a raw attack from Hody Jones. Plus, if you did only have two blockers out and planned on utilizing those to save your life, Hody has guaranteed not only his attack will go through, but a followup swing from your leader and whatever else is on their board. He might even take care of one of your bigger characters on the board.

All in all, Hody Jones is a menace played in any deck that touches Green. There aren't any specific leaders I'd call out for this character as he is well rounded.

But what do you think? Do you think there are Rush characters I didn't mention that should have been included?

Until the seas bring us together again, my fellow seafarers!