Introduction
Here's a deck idea that I've piloted recently and would like to share with you. This deck is built around the the new OP02 Sanji leader card, which allows me to play vanilla cards very effectively!
Vanilla cards trades-off their card effects for big power-to-cost ratio. All the vanilla cards in OPCG currently have a +2*1000 ratio, which means a 3-cost vanilla card will have (3+2)*1000 = 5000 power and likewise 4-cost/6000 and 5-cost/7000.
strategy
The strategy of this deck is simple: fill my board with cheap and powerful cards to overwhelm the opponent. Using vanilla cards, a 3-cost character will have 5000 power allowing it to swing at your opponent's leader without needing any DON!! booster. With Sanji leader, this strategy is further amplified by reducing cost of vanilla cards. For example, a 5000 power card will only cost 1 to play!
While Bandai may have originally designed Sanji leader to be played with the new OP02 Film cards (many are vanillas), I prefer to play him in a Seven Warlords Blue/Green configuration since I do not like the art of Film characters.
I maintain a default pool of vanilla characters: 15 copies of vanilla 2-cost/4000 Jimbei, 3-cost/5000 Weevil, 4-cost/6000 Moria, and 6-cost/8000 Mihawk all Warlords searchable using the OP02 Kuma and retrievable from trash using ST03 Moria. In addition, ST03 and OP01 Boa Hancocks supplies the deck the basic blockers and since the ST03 Boa may not be the most efficient card to play from hand, I use her for a basic Counter+1000 card or recycle her using OP02 Boa.
I also play a handful of Impel Down cards in this deck: 1-cost Buggy for search and 4-cost Inazuma for blocker that suddenly becomes bigger when I use counters from hand, also compatible with the 0-cost Gum Gum Rain which is really an effective card for counter and trigger. Together with OP2 Boa, there are enough Impel Down cards for Buggy to search.
And finally, OP01 blocker law glues the deck together as an imposing 5-cost blocker that can retrieve Buggy/Kuma or any attacked/rested vanilla to play another 2 or 3 cost vanilla (and regain 2 cost) or Kuma for search. There are not many cards in OPCG that can easily deal with a 5-cost character.
This deck runs enough (12 copies) triggers to add some value to Sanji's precious 4 lives, and notably OP02 Diable Jambe will let me play a 4-cost or lower vanilla so I will always keep 1 in hand just in case.
conclusion
I find this deck is really straightforward and fun to play! Every card I play has a default high power that can swing at my opponent without needing additional DON!! cards, and while rested they are also not easy to be dealt with, causing your opponent to waste DON!! resources and counter cards from hand.
Thank you very much for reading!