ST-21 GEAR5

Overview

ST-21 GEAR5 is a Starter Deck EX built around the Gear 5 Monkey.D.Luffy Leader (ST21-001). It is mono red, and almost every Character carries the Straw Hat Crew type, so it is a good base for a Straw Hat deck you plan to grow.

The Leader has 5000 power and 5 Life. With 1 DON!! card attached, once per turn during your Main Phase it gives up to 2 of your rested DON!! cards to one of your Characters. DON!! you already spent playing cards becomes 2000 extra power, or switches on a [DON!! x2] effect, on the Character you choose.

The box holds 17 different cards. Nami, Brook and the 5-cost Luffy also move rested DON!!, and Nico Robin, Usopp, Franky and Roronoa Zoro all have [DON!! x2] effects that the Leader can turn on. It suits a player who likes attacking every turn and wants a deck where the Leader's job is easy to see.

Monkey.D.Luffy

ST21-001

ST21-001, 5000 power, 5 Life: once per turn, gives 2 rested DON!! to 1 of your Characters

Every card in ST-21 is legal in Standard, including the ST21-001 Monkey.D.Luffy Leader.

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

The deck wins by attacking with Characters that are bigger than they look. Early, play 2- and 3-cost Straw Hats such as Usopp, Sanji, Nico Robin and Franky so you have bodies to receive DON!! later. Your Leader needs 1 DON!! attached before its ability works, so plan for that each turn.

From the middle turns on, spend DON!! on Characters first, then attach 1 to the Leader and use its ability to give 2 of the rested DON!! to an attacker. Nico Robin with 2 DON!! K.O.s a Character with 4000 power or less when she attacks, and Roronoa Zoro with 2 DON!! gains [Rush]. Nami and Brook add more DON!! on top of that.

Late, the 5-cost Monkey.D.Luffy has [Rush] and 6000 power, and Sanji stops your opponent from using [Blocker] against a Straw Hat Crew Character with 6000 power or more. Gum-Gum Mole Pistol gives one Character −5000 power, then K.O.s a Character with 2000 power or less if you have a Character with 6000 power or more.

Tips for your first games

• Attach 1 DON!! to your Leader before you need its ability, because the [DON!! x1] condition is checked when you activate it.
• Give the Leader's 2 rested DON!! to Nico Robin before she attacks so her [When Attacking] K.O. works.
• On your opponent's turn, Usopp with 2 DON!! given is a 5000-power defender, so leaving DON!! on him can save a Life.
• Play Sanji in the same turn as your 6000-power attack, since his [On Play] only lasts that turn.
• Keep Roronoa Zoro in mind when trading: if he is K.O.'d, you can play a red Character with 6000 power or less from your hand for free.

Key cards in the box

Nico Robin

ST21-010

With 2 DON!! she K.O.s a 4000-power Character every time she attacks

Nami

ST21-009

A second source of 2 rested DON!! each turn for a Straw Hat Crew card

Monkey.D.Luffy

ST21-014

6000 power with [Rush], and passes 1 more rested DON!! when it attacks

Roronoa Zoro

ST21-015

Gains [Rush] with 2 DON!! and replaces itself from hand when K.O.'d

Gum-Gum Mole Pistol

ST21-017

−5000 power plus a second K.O., and its [Trigger] does the same from Life

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.

Cheap Straw Hat Crew searchers and DON!! helpers

This is the budget upgrade. Jewelry Bonney (EB04-002) and Nefeltari Vivi dig for Straw Hat Crew cards, which makes the deck find its Robin, Nami and Zoro more often. Chopper (EB02-003) gives a rested DON!! when it enters if your Leader is Straw Hat Crew, and the ST31 Brook becomes a 6000-power [Blocker] on your opponent's turn once you have 3 given DON!!, which this Leader reaches easily. They replace Vegapunk, Stussy, Sentomaru and the ST21 Bonney, so you give up a little raw power on the board for consistency.

Jewelry Bonney

EB04-002

1 cost: looks at 4 and adds an Egghead or Straw Hat Crew card

Nefeltari Vivi

OP13-012

1 cost: looks at 4 and adds a Straw Hat Crew card costing 2 or more

Tony Tony.Chopper

EB02-003

Gives a rested DON!! on play and gets +2000 on defense with 2 DON!!

Brook

ST31-003

With 3 or more given DON!!, gains [Blocker] and +3000 on your opponent's turn

Bigger Straw Hats that use the extra DON!!

The Leader hands out 2 DON!! a turn, so Characters that care about given DON!! get more out of it than vanillas. The 7-cost Monkey.D.Luffy from ST-31 gains [Rush] with 3 given DON!!, and when it enters it gives an opposing Character −1000 power for each Straw Hat Crew card you have, and the ST31 Sanji draws and puts a second Straw Hat into play. Monkey.D.Luffy (OP12-015) and Roronoa Zoro (OP11-016) are the expensive part of this idea; Usopp (OP11-003) is a cheap 6000-power body with a 2000 counter that turns on Sanji and Mole Pistol. These replace Tony Tony.Chopper (ST21-008) and Jinbe first.

Monkey.D.Luffy

ST31-004

[Rush] with 3 given DON!!; on play, −1000 to a Character per Straw Hat you have

Sanji

ST31-001

Draws 1 and plays a Straw Hat Crew Character costing 5 or less from hand

Monkey.D.Luffy

OP12-015

+2000 power with 2 given DON!!, and gives a rested DON!! on play

Roronoa Zoro

OP11-016

6000 power that gives another rested DON!! once per turn

Usopp

OP11-003

6000 power with a 2000 counter, enough for Sanji and Mole Pistol

Removal and counter events

ST-21 has one real removal event and few cards that help on defense. These events fix both. There's No Way You Could Defeat Me!! K.O.s a Character during your opponent's turn, Gum-Gum Gatling Gun gives a DON!! to your Luffy Leader while shrinking a Character, and Blue Dragon Seal Water Stream is a plain 5000-power K.O. The OP10 Chopper is a 4-cost [Blocker] that has 6000 power on your opponent's turn. Most of these are cheap, and they replace Gum-Gum Dawn Whip and the weakest vanilla bodies.

There's No Way You Could Defeat Me!!

EB01-010

[Counter]: K.O. a Character with 6000 base power or less

Gum-Gum Gatling Gun

OP13-021

1 cost: a rested DON!! to your Luffy and −2000 to an opposing Character

Gum-Gum UFO

OP10-020

−4000 power to a Character, with a K.O. [Trigger]

Blue Dragon Seal Water Stream

OP06-019

K.O. a Character with 5000 power or less, with a K.O. [Trigger]

Tony Tony.Chopper

OP10-011

A [Blocker] with a 2000 counter that has 6000 power on your opponent's turn

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.

Vegapunk

ST21-013

A 1-cost 3000 vanilla that is not Straw Hat Crew and adds nothing to the plan

Stussy

ST21-006

A 3-cost 5000 vanilla with no Straw Hat Crew type for Nami or Sanji

Sentomaru

ST21-007

A 2000-power [Blocker] that rarely survives a real attack

Jewelry Bonney

ST21-004

No counter value, and her draw needs 2 DON!! and a K.O.

Every card in ST-21

Bandai's card list for ST-21 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