ST-12 Zoro and Sanji

Overview

ST-12 is Bandai's Zoro and Sanji starter deck from March 2024, a Green/Blue deck with Straw Hat Crew, East Blue and Muggy Kingdom cards. All 17 of its different cards are Standard-legal.

The Leader, Roronoa Zoro & Sanji, has 5000 power and 4 Life. With a DON!! attached, once per turn when it attacks, you may return one of your Characters with a cost of 2 or more to your hand to set one of your Characters with 7000 power or less as active. In practice, a Character attacks, the Leader attacks and returns a different Character, and the first Character stands up to attack again.

The green half rests and K.O.s the opponent's Characters (Roronoa Zoro, Kuina, Yosaku & Johnny, Lion Strike). The blue half plays cost 2 Characters off the top of your deck (Emporio.Ivankov, Zeff, Plastic Surgery Shot) and smooths draws. The deck suits a player who likes planning a turn in advance.

Roronoa Zoro & Sanji

ST12-001

ST12-001, 5000 power, 4 Life: returns a Character to hand to stand one with 7000 power or less

All 17 of the deck's different cards, including the Roronoa Zoro & Sanji Leader, are legal in Standard.

Ratings

These are TurnZero HQ's own read of the cards, not tournament results or an official Bandai rating. How we rate starter decks →

How it plays

In the early turns, develop cheap Characters. Dracule Mihawk plays a Muggy Kingdom or Slash Character costing 4 or less from your hand rested if you have 2 or fewer Characters, and Emporio.Ivankov reveals the top card and plays it if it is a cost 2 Character. Both are good targets for the Leader's return effect, because you get their On Play again when you replay them.

From the middle turns on, every turn has the same shape. Attack with Roronoa Zoro (ST12-008), whose When Attacking effect rests an opponent's Character costing 6 or less when it has a DON!!. Then attack with the Leader, return a cheap Character with an On Play effect, and stand Zoro to attack again. When played, Rika can also pay 2 DON!! to set a Slash Character costing 4 or less active while your opponent has 3 or more Life.

The deck wins by attacking more times per turn than the opponent can block. Lion Strike rests a Leader or Character costing 4 or less as a Main or Counter event, which keeps Blockers out of the way. Zeff can add a free cost 2 Character each time it attacks, so a turn with Zeff standing up can put two extra bodies on the field.

Tips for your first games

• Attack with the Character you want to stand before the Leader attacks. The Leader's effect sets a Character active, so it only helps one that is already rested.
• Return the Character whose On Play you want again, not the one that is most at risk. Dracule Mihawk and Emporio.Ivankov are the best targets in the box.
• Count your cost 2 Characters. Emporio.Ivankov, Zeff and Plastic Surgery Shot all miss when the top card is not a cost 2 Character.
• Keep 1 DON!! for the Leader. Its effect needs a DON!! attached, and an attack without it gives up your extra attack for the turn.

Key cards in the box

Roronoa Zoro

ST12-008

With a DON!!, rests an opponent's cost 6 or less Character each time it attacks

Dracule Mihawk

ST12-003

Plays a Muggy Kingdom or Slash Character from hand; worth returning and replaying

Emporio.Ivankov

ST12-010

Plays a cost 2 Character from the top and draws when attacking

Zeff

ST12-013

Plays a cost 2 Character from the top each time it attacks

Lion Strike

ST12-016

Main or Counter event that rests a cost 4 or less Leader or Character

Upgrade guide

Every upgrade below is legal in Standard and shares a color with the Leader. Prices are each card's base printing on TCGplayer on October 10, 2026; open a card for today's price.

Cost 2 Characters with On Play effects

Emporio.Ivankov, Zeff and Plastic Surgery Shot all play cost 2 Characters for free, and the Leader returns Characters with a cost of 2 or more. That makes a cost 2 Character with a strong On Play the best card type for this deck: it hits off the top and can be returned and replayed. All of these are budget cards. Johnny and Yosaku also trigger whenever they become rested on your turn, including when they attack. They replace the vanilla Patty & Carne and Elephant True Bluefin, so the cost is a little less raw power.

Smoker

ST33-003

Trash 1 on play to bottom-deck two opponent's Characters costing 2 or less

Johnny

OP14-028

K.O.s a rested cost 2 or less Character each time it becomes rested on your turn

Yosaku

OP14-035

Keeps a rested cost 4 or less Character from standing when it rests on your turn

Mr.1(Daz.Bonez)

OP16-054

Draws a card on play, and +3000 on your turn at 5 or more cards with a DON!!

Koby

ST33-001

Blocker that can trash 1 to draw 1 on play

Straw Hats worth returning and replaying

These Straw Hat Crew Characters do their work when played, which is what the Leader's return effect rewards. Two of them set 2 DON!! as active, so replaying them is close to free, and Roronoa Zoro (EB02-019) rests an opponent's Character each time it comes back. Nami (OP11-054) draws 3 and puts 2 back because the Leader is multicolored. All but that Nami are budget cards. Most of them cost 4, so they compete with Roronoa Zoro (ST12-008) for the same turns.

Roronoa Zoro

EB02-019

Rests a cost 4 or less Character on play with a Straw Hat Crew Leader

Nami (Store Tournament 2025 Vol. 4)

P-102

Sets 2 DON!! active on play, so replaying it costs little

Roronoa Zoro

OP13-037

Sets 2 DON!! active on play and stands itself at end of turn

Roronoa Zoro (Nami Deck)

P-056

Rest 2 DON!! on play to return a cost 5 or less Character to hand

Nami

OP11-054

Blocker that draws 3 and places 2 back on play with a multicolored Leader

Cheap rest and K.O. events

The box has only Lion Strike as removal outside its Characters. These 1-cost to 3-cost Straw Hat Crew events rest a Character, K.O. a rested one, or find more Straw Hats. Several have a Counter mode as well, so they help on defense. All are budget cards, and Boeuf Burst and Let's Crash This Wedding!!! need a multicolored Leader, which ST-12 has.

Gum-Gum Snake Shot

OP13-039

Counter event that K.O.s a rested Character costing 4 or less

Gum-Gum Elephant Gatling

OP11-038

Rest 1 DON!! to rest a cost 5 or less Character, or +3000 to your Leader as a Counter

Gum-Gum Elephant Gun

OP13-038

Rests a cost 5 or less Character and sets 2 DON!! active at end of turn

Boeuf Burst

OP12-060

Returns a cost 4 or less Character to hand, or draws 2 at 6 or fewer cards

Let's Crash This Wedding!!!

OP11-060

Searches the top 5 for a Straw Hat Crew card with a multicolored Leader

What to cut first

Bandai's list doesn't say how many copies of each card the deck has, so cut by card: take out every copy of these before anything else, and keep the deck at exactly 50.

Elephant True Bluefin

ST12-009

A 1-cost 3000 Character with no effect

Humandrill

ST12-004

A 3-cost 5000 Character with no effect

Patty & Carne

ST12-015

A cost 2 vanilla; replace it with a cost 2 that has an On Play

Charlotte Pudding

ST12-012

Its only effect returns itself to hand, which the Leader already does better

Every card in ST-12

Bandai's card list for ST-12 has 17 different cards. Every one of them is legal in Standard. Legality follows Bandai's block icons and its banned list effective October 12, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions