Bandai Namco, the developers of One Piece TCG, have made a significant update to the ban list, affecting popular Red decks such as Whitebeard, Trafalgar Law, and Zoro. Three Red cards have been completely banned, while one card has been restricted. This decision has left players scrambling to find new strategies and has shaken up the competitive scene.
The banned cards include Nami from Set One, Curly Dadan from Set Two, and Edward Newgate, also known as Whitebeard. Additionally, players can now only include one copy of Marco from Set Three in their decks. These changes will take effect on November 10th.
This update has had a major impact on the dominant Whitebeard Red deck, which has been ruling the game since the release of Set Two. Zoro’s deck, which heavily relied on Nami and Dadan, has also been significantly weakened. Trafalgar Law players are now forced to rethink their strategies as well.
Bandai Namco’s decision comes just six weeks after they restricted several other powerful Red cards, including another Whitebeard character card, a different Marco card, and the Straw Hats defensive event Radical Beam. In June, Whitebeard’s Moby Dick stage card was also banned.
The developers stated that despite the previous restrictions, the top Red decks continued to dominate the metagame, making the game less enjoyable for other players. They hope that these new bans will allow for a fresh meta to develop before the upcoming Championship events in January 2023.
While this may be a setback for Whitebeard, Zoro, and Law players, it presents an opportunity for Yellow builds focused on life-themed cards like Charlotte Katakuri and ST09 Yamato to rise in popularity. As a result of the bans, the prices of the banned One Piece cards have already started to drop significantly.
Overall, Bandai Namco’s ban list update has shaken up the One Piece TCG competitive scene and forced players to adapt to new strategies. The future may see some of the banned cards being unbanned, but for now, players will have to explore different deck options to stay competitive.
Source: DOTESPORTS
