Everything to Know About One Piece Card Game: The World's Strongest Warriors (OP-17)

So far, every anniversary set has been among the One Piece Card Game’s biggest yet, and OP-17 is looking to be no exception. Titled 'The World's Strongest Warriors,' its lineup covers the Elbaph arc and the Four Emperors, and is filled with chase cards and new rarities. It’s got four Manga Rares, multiple Special Rare tiers, an alt art from the Baki mangaka, a brand new “Pirates Super Parallel” rarity, and even a Manga Leader. 

With pre-release events starting Friday August 21st and the set officially launching the 28th, let's talk about what's most worth chasing in this monumental set.

Luffy Leader Super Parallel

Uniquely rare Luffy cards tend to hold their value in this game: Signature Luffy and Red Manga Luffy both became ultimate chase cards years ago and have stayed at the top ever since. That’s why the card most likely to be the face of OP-17 is the manga-style Luffy Leader — the first Leader card to ever get the treatment. Whatever it opens at, we expect it to settle even higher.

Baki Kaido

Illustrated by Keisuke Itagaki, the mangaka behind Baki the Grappler, this unhinged Kaido alt brings the impossible muscle definition and perverse expression that only he could pull off.

Guest-art cards have a strong market profile for how well they pull buyers from outside the usual OPTCG collector base. In this case, Baki fans and art collectors could widen the demand pool, holding up this card’s floor even after initial hype flattens.

Pirates Super Parallels 

With OP-17, Bandai has introduced a new rarity called the Pirates Super Parallel, which looks like a cross between an SP and a Manga Rare. This set will feature Pirates SPs for Luffy and Rocks D. Xebec, and they each feature the character with their crews as an epic mural-style backdrop, all in black and white.

New rarity tiers are historically undervalued at launch because nobody has a comp to price against them. If the Pirates SP line continues into future sets the way the gold and silver SPs did, these first two could gain value as the origin point of the line.

Four Emperors Manga Rares

OP-17 gives us four Manga Rares: Whitebeard, Shanks, Kaido, and Big Mom, the original Yonko lineup. As is typical for Mangas, we expect these all to be among the highest in price of the set, with Shanks being most likely to lead the pack in terms of value. 

Conqueror's Haki SPs

The first SP batch includes Zoro, Oden, Garp, Roger, Yamato, and Rayleigh, printed in an eye-catching monochrome with red and gold detailing. The community started calling them the Conqueror's Haki SPs almost immediately due to the red accents and sheer aura these cards emanate.

Since all six of these cards are playable, any of them could spike, but Yamato and Zoro tend to be crowd favorites and the ones to track in terms of value.

The Gold Anniversary SPs

Because six SPs clearly wasn’t enough, OP-17 adds a second tier: the Gold Anniversary SPs, which feature the current Four Emperors in Luffy, Shanks, Blackbeard, and Buggy. Clad in a luxurious gold finish, these are among the most eye-catching pieces in the set.

The Leaders (and Their Support)

Each Leader of OP-17 has the Four Emperors type with the exception of Rocks, one of the most fearsome pirates to have ever lived according to the One Piece Lore. Each Leader of the set brings its own strengths, and we expect each alt art for the Leaders and their Support to fluctuate alongside their current value in the metagame.

1. Red Edward.Newgate: a 5-life Whitebeard whose effect can be used to trash a card for +4000 power on your opponent’s attack; a defensive powerhouse.
2. Green Shanks (OP17-022): stuns an opponent's rested Character of any cost, which combined with cards like Electrical Luna lets you keep threats locked down permanently.
3. Purple Kaido (OP17-058): returns 1 DON!! on either player's attack to give an opposing Character -2000 power, helping defend and control the opponent’s Characters as Kaido develops an overwhelming board.
4. Yellow Charlotte Linlin (OP17-099): discards from your hand when attacking to make your opponent choose between discarding or healing you.
5. Black Monkey.D.Luffy (OP17-079): gives Blocker to every Character costing 12 or more, with some Characters that buff their own cost and others that get buffed when other high-cost Characters are on the board.
6. Blue Rocks.D.Xebec(OP17-039): a value generating machine that can trash a card from hand to draw two more. Careful though; most of Rocks’ cards have no counter and can only be used as counter when other enabling Characters have been played.

Which cards are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments below!