How Battles Work in the One Piece TCG

How do you attack?

During your Main Phase, you rest your active Leader or one active Character and choose a target: your opponent's Leader, or one of their rested Characters (rule 7-1). Players coming from Magic would call this combat; Bandai calls it a battle, and each attack is its own battle with one attacker and one target.

Three limits decide who can attack. Neither player can attack on their own first turn. A Character can't attack on the turn it was played unless it has [Rush]. And because attacking rests the card, each card normally attacks once per turn; your Leader can attack every turn, since it starts each turn active. You can't attack an active Character, so a Character that stays upright is safe from attacks, though effects can still rest or K.O. it.

The five steps of a battle

Every battle runs through the same five steps. If the attacker or the target leaves play partway through, for example because an effect K.O.'d it, the battle skips straight to its end (rules 7-1-1-4, 7-1-2-3 and 7-1-3-1-3).

How does blocking work?

Blocking needs a Character with the [Blocker] keyword. After your opponent declares an attack on your Leader or one of your other Characters, you may rest an active [Blocker] to make it the new target of that attack (rule 10-1-4). Only one Blocker can be used per battle, and a rested Blocker can't block, so a Blocker that blocked once is usually done until your next turn. Blockers are common: 248 of the 2,103 Characters released so far open their text with [Blocker], and more gain it through a condition or another card's effect.

Blocking is a trade. The Blocker takes the hit instead of your Leader, which saves a Life card, but if the attacker's power is at least the Blocker's, the Blocker is K.O.'d. Attackers with [Unblockable] can't be blocked at all, and many [On Play] effects rest or remove a Blocker before the attack is declared.

Emporio.Ivankov

OP16-044

A 2-cost [Blocker] with 2000 power

Yamato

OP16-096

[Unblockable]: no Blocker can take this attack

How do counters work?

Counters are how the defender adds power during a battle. In the Counter Step, the player being attacked can do either of these, in any order and as many times as they can (rule 7-1-3):

This is the main reason hand size matters. Every card in your hand is a potential Counter, and every card you trash to survive an attack is a card you won't play later. It is also why active DON!! left over at the end of your turn is not wasted: it can pay for a [Counter] Event on your opponent's turn. Our guide to reading a One Piece card shows where to find a card's Counter value.

Kikunojo

OP14-023

A Character with a +2000 Counter

Iai Death Lion Song

ST29-017

A 2-cost [Counter] Event: +4000 for the battle

How many Counter cards you draw is set when you build the deck. TurnZero HQ's Deck Lab has an Opening hand view that gives the chance of holding at least one +2000 Counter in your opening 5, so you can see whether your deck can defend its first turns before you play it.

What happens when a battle is won or lost?

In the Damage Step you compare power once. If the attacker's power is greater than or equal to the target's, the attack succeeds (rule 7-1-4-1):

Losing an attack costs the attacker nothing beyond being rested. Unlike some card games, the attacking card is never damaged or K.O.'d by the defender's power. Leaders are never K.O.'d either; a Leader only loses Life. What Life cards and Triggers mean for the end of the game is the next lesson, how you win.

The power math: how much is enough?

Because ties go to the attacker and almost every power and Counter value is a multiple of 1000, a defender needs to finish at least 1000 above the attacker to survive. Most Leaders have 5000 printed power (131 of the 138 released Leaders whose power our catalog lists), so the numbers tend to look like this:

The attacker's side of the same math: each DON!! you give adds 1000, so giving one extra DON!! to an attacker forces the defender to find one more Counter. Spreading DON!! across several attackers makes your opponent pay for each attack separately; stacking it on one makes a single attack very hard to stop. Which is better depends on how many cards your opponent is holding and how much Life they have left.

A battle, step by step

Here is one attack with real cards: your Edward.Newgate Leader (Red, 5000 power) attacks your opponent's Shanks Leader (Green, 5000 power). Your opponent has Emporio.Ivankov in play and Kikunojo in hand.

Edward.Newgate

OP17-001

The attacker: a 5000-power Leader

Shanks

OP17-020

The target: a 5000-power Leader

Emporio.Ivankov

OP16-044

The defender's 2000-power [Blocker]

Kikunojo

OP14-023

In the defender's hand: a +2000 Counter

With a second DON!! on Edward.Newgate (7000), Kikunojo alone would only tie at 7000, and ties go to the attacker. Your opponent would need a second Counter or a [Counter] Event. Edward.Newgate's own effect is [On Your Opponent's Attack], so it only works when Edward.Newgate's player is the one defending and plays no part here.

Keywords that change a battle

Each keyword, with how often it appears and example cards, is in One Piece TCG keywords and mechanics.

Common battle mistakes

Frequently Asked Questions