Guida di The Dojo

Take Second

The session’s strongest strategic conclusion is that Mihawk should generally choose second against Robin.

Why:

• Robin’s most dangerous high roll occurs going second.
• Going second allows Robin to double-ramp early.
• That ramp can lead into 8-cost Teach followed by 10-cost Big Mom.
• Mihawk is much less comfortable when Robin’s first Big Mom arrives before Mihawk has built enough board or assembled Shanks plus Luna.

The matchup is still playable from other die-roll positions, but Mihawk’s first-player seat is much better for controlling Robin’s progression.

Pressure Robin Before Big Mom

Mihawk cannot sit back and let Robin build a full healing board.

Robin’s leader banishes life rather than giving Mihawk cards, but Robin pays a real cost for its early setup:

• It often discards cards for leader skill.
• It may discard cards to ramp.
• It has to spend cards to find Pudding, Teach, Big Mom, and Giant.
• Its early hand can become much smaller than it appears.
• If Mihawk starts sending repeated 7k attacks, Robin may be forced to spend cards before its larger threats stabilize.

The core Mihawk plan is:

1. Develop bodies early.
2. Push real attack thresholds.
3. Force Robin to answer 7k attacks.
4. Keep Robin from freely ramping into Teach plus Big Mom.
5. Go wide enough that Robin’s first defensive turn cannot answer everything.
6. Use Shanks plus Luna once Robin is low enough that the freeze actually matters.

Impact’s central observation was that Robin’s board, without Giant and without enough open DON!!, often folds to repeated 7k attacks. Robin can heal, but it cannot defend every attack if Mihawk is consistently asking for multiple cards.

Attack Sizing Against Robin

Repeated 7k attacks are the core pressure tool

Mihawk should use 7k attacks to create the most difficult defensive decisions.

Why 7k matters:

• Robin’s leader cannot efficiently cheat defense without Giant.
• Robin often has limited natural 2k density after ramping and developing.
• A 7k attack often asks for 2k plus 1k, two cards, a defensive event, or life.
• Robin may be forced to take damage before it has a good healing turn.
• Multiple 7k attacks drain Robin’s hand before Big Mom can restore the board.

Mihawk should not default to:

• 5k leader swings.
• Small attacks that Robin can take comfortably.
• One giant attack that Robin can Giant through efficiently.
• Board trades that do not reduce Robin’s actual future pressure.

The preferred goal is not merely “hit life.” It is to make Robin spend the exact cards it needs for its ramp, Teach, Big Mom, and Giant sequence.

Use extra DON!! productively

If Mihawk has extra DON!! and does not need it for:

• Rad Beam
• Another defensive event
• Samurai
• Boat
• Searcher cycling
• A needed development play

then it should convert the DON!! into a larger attack.

A 5k attack into Robin can be low impact. A 7k attack can force a real card exchange and accelerate the game before Robin’s healing engine comes online.

Robin Wants the Game to Reach Big Mom

Robin’s goal is not to trade evenly in the early turns. It wants to ramp into large bodies fast enough that Mihawk’s normal midgame attacks become inefficient.

Robin’s best sequence is generally:

1. Ramp.
2. Develop Pudding or another card-selection piece.
3. Get to Teach.
4. Follow with 10-cost Big Mom.
5. Heal.
6. Hold Giant or establish Borsalino.
7. Force Mihawk to spend Shanks, Vander Decken, and Luna just to get through one defensive turn.
8. Develop a second Big Mom or Sweet Generals while Mihawk runs out of pressure.

The most dangerous Robin high roll is a fast curve such as:

• Double-ramp early.
• Teach on the 6-DON!! turn.
• Big Mom on the next major curve.
• Trigger value or healing support.
• Giant-backed board protection.

If this happens while Mihawk misses 6-cost development, misses useful one-drops, or gets Samurai stuck in hand, Mihawk can be overwhelmed.

Do Not Counter Every Banish Attack

Robin’s banish leader forces an unusual decision pattern. The opponent does not gain a card when taking life, so it is tempting to counter every banish attack.

The session’s conclusion was that this is often wrong.

Against Robin, Mihawk should usually:

• Take at least one early banish attack when safe.
• Preserve hand for board development and defense.
• Counter later banish swings when the life threshold becomes important.
• Avoid spending every card just to remain at high life.
• Prioritize surviving the Big Mom and Giant turns rather than preserving early life at all costs.

The reason is simple:

• If Mihawk counters every banish swing, Robin can focus on clearing Mihawk’s board.
• Mihawk loses cards protecting life.
• Robin gets more time to ramp.
• Mihawk enters the critical turns with too little board and too little hand.

Banish attacks matter, but board is still the deciding resource.

Double Ramp Into Teach

Mihawk must understand Robin’s strongest curve because it changes the entire matchup.

Robin’s ideal high-roll progression can include:

• Early ramp.
• A second ramp or trigger-assisted acceleration.
• Teach on 6 DON!!.
• Fast 10-cost Big Mom.
• Healing or trigger support.
• Giant access.

This is the sequence Mihawk should fear most.

Why it is dangerous:

• Teach interferes with Mihawk’s board and hand progression.
• Big Mom is difficult to attack through.
• Robin can heal back before Mihawk finishes.
• Giant can absorb the attack that would otherwise remove Big Mom.
• Mihawk may have to spend Shanks and Vander Decken too early.
• Robin can then establish a second large body while Mihawk is low on pressure.

How Mihawk responds

Mihawk must punish the setup before it becomes complete.

The best tools are:

• Early 7k pressure.
• Yasopp to remove Robin’s 4k bodies.
• Oden to freeze the character that makes the next turn dangerous.
• Perona to reduce the number of attacks Robin can make.
• Wider development rather than relying on one Shanks turn.
• Stun Bonney to deny a critical 10-DON!! turn when the board state supports it.
• Dead Man’s Game, if included, to tap Robin’s DON!! and shut off Giant defense.

Why DMG may become mandatory

The session identifies Dead Man’s Game as a potentially important future inclusion if Robin becomes popular.

Robin’s strongest defensive turns frequently involve:

• Holding Giant.
• Holding one or more DON!! open.
• Playing Borsalino.
• Using Giant to save Big Mom.
• Rebuilding through triggers or Sweet Generals.

Dead Man’s Game can break that structure.

If Mihawk taps Robin’s key DON!!:

• Giant may become unavailable.
• Borsalino plus Giant lines become weaker.
• Robin cannot protect Big Mom as efficiently.
• Shanks becomes much harder to answer.
• A second Shanks can often finish the game immediately.

The group’s view was that one Dead Man’s Game can drastically change games that otherwise look unwinnable.

Important DMG principle

DMG is not just a generic event. Against Robin, it is often a direct answer to the deck’s survival mechanism.

The goal is:

1. Force Robin low.
2. Identify a turn where Giant is the only real defense.
3. Play Shanks.
4. Tap the necessary DON!!.
5. Push the board and leader attacks.
6. Leave Robin without the Giant line that would normally buy another turn.

When to use the package

Mihawk should not automatically Shanks plus Luna at the first possible opportunity.

The package is strongest when:

• Robin is at one or zero life.
• Robin’s board is rested or vulnerable to the full freeze.
• Robin cannot hold Giant effectively.
• Mihawk has already forced Robin to use much of its hand.
• Mihawk can kill on the current or following turn.
• Robin’s attackers would otherwise threaten to stabilize through Sweet Generals or Big Mom.

The ideal sequence is:

1. Use your existing board first.
2. Make as many meaningful attacks as possible.
3. Force Robin to reveal triggers, blocks, or counter.
4. Play Shanks.
5. Rest the board.
6. Luna after the Shanks resolves.
7. Freeze Robin’s relevant attackers.
8. Push Robin to zero or leave it unable to defend the next Shanks.

Why sequence matters

The session highlights that attacks should generally happen before Shanks when possible.

If Mihawk attacks first:

• Robin may trigger bodies.
• Robin may reveal whether it has Giant.
• Robin may reduce hand size.
• Mihawk can see which bodies are active before Shanks rests everything.
• Luna becomes more effective once Shanks has created the proper board state.

The basic sequence is: Attack first, then Shanks, then Luna.

Do not waste the opportunity to make your existing board attack before freezing the opponent’s side.

Go wide, not tall

Mihawk’s strongest plan into Robin is frequently to develop more bodies rather than race to Shanks immediately.

Why:

• Robin’s first Big Mom can answer one major threat.
• Robin’s Sweet Generals can interact with individual bodies.
• Giant can protect one decisive target.
• A wide Mihawk board asks Robin to solve several problems at once.
• Multiple 6k and 7k attackers can force Robin’s hand down before Big Mom becomes safe.

A development pattern such as:

• 6-cost plus 5-cost
• 6-cost plus 5-cost again
• Perona plus another body
• Law plus Perona
• Oden plus board pressure

can be better than simply jamming Shanks at the first opportunity.

The goal is to create a board where Robin cannot:

• Heal enough.
• Clear enough attackers.
• Protect Big Mom.
• Maintain Giant.
• Develop the second Big Mom.
• Keep enough cards for banish pressure.

Mihawk before Law

The session also reinforces a sequencing principle for lists playing both Mihawk and Law:

Why:

• Mihawk’s body enters active.
• Law’s summoned body enters rested.
• If Mihawk is played first, the board’s bodies are more likely to become rested together on the later Law turn.
• This makes the board easier to manage around opponent attack patterns.
• It also reduces the chance of leaving one isolated body as an easy target.

This is not an absolute rule, but it is a useful sequencing default.

Perona’s role

Perona is valuable against Robin because it can reduce the number of meaningful attacks Robin sends while also creating a resilient board body.

Perona is especially good when:

• Robin has multiple small or medium characters.
• Robin is about to play a Big Mom but has limited board.
• Freezing one key body means Big Mom only gets one weak follow-up attack.
• Mihawk needs to survive the turn before Shanks.
• Mihawk needs to keep Robin’s board narrow.

Oden’s role

Oden is valuable when one character is the real problem.

Use Oden when:

• Robin has a major attacker that must not swing.
• Mihawk needs to stop the most threatening body before the next Shanks turn.
• The board is narrow and freezing one body materially reduces pressure.
• Mihawk needs the draw or filter to find combo pieces.

The main difference:

• Perona is better at reducing a wide board.
• Oden is better at stopping the one character that decides the turn.

Do not play around it by not playing your deck

Robin may include one-drop hate such as Mont-dor. This can punish Mihawk’s one-drop development and cause a blowout if it removes multiple searchers or Samurai targets.

However, the session’s conclusion is clear: Mihawk should not stop playing one-drops just because Robin could have Mont-dor.

Why:

• Mihawk’s deck functions through cycling, searching, and Samurai.
• Refusing to play one-drops means refusing to use your engine.
• Robin has to spend a real turn and card on Mont-dor.
• If Robin plays it, it delays ramp or another key development.
• The card is a blowout when it happens, but not something Mihawk should build its entire game around.

The correct response is to acknowledge the risk, not cripple your own curve trying to avoid it.

Big Mom

Big Mom is Robin’s central stabilizer.

Against Big Mom, Mihawk must ask:

• Does Robin have Giant?
• Does Robin have open DON!!?
• Can Shanks plus Vander Decken remove it?
• Can a wide board pressure Robin around Big Mom instead?
• Is it better to freeze the supporting board and race?
• Can Dead Man’s Game prevent Giant?

Mihawk should not assume Big Mom is removable immediately. If Giant is live, attacking into Big Mom may simply trade Mihawk’s biggest attack for Robin’s best defensive event.

Borsalino plus Giant

Borsalino plus Giant is one of Robin’s best defensive lines.

It can:

• Preserve life.
• Keep a major body standing.
• Stop the largest attack.
• Force Mihawk to commit more resources.
• Buy the turn needed for another Big Mom, Sweet Generals, or heal.

Mihawk’s response is to avoid allowing Robin to enter this defensive posture with a real attacking board.

If Robin has:

• Borsalino
• Giant
• A major body
• Multiple active attackers

then Mihawk can be in danger.

If Robin has:

• Borsalino
• Giant
• No real attacking board

then Robin is only delaying. Mihawk can continue developing, pressing life, and wait for the right Shanks or DMG turn.

Mihawk Life

Mihawk should not automatically preserve life against Robin.

Take early banish hits when:

• Your hand needs cards to develop.
• You can survive the future Shanks / Big Mom sequence.
• Robin has not built enough attackers to punish low life.
• You need to preserve counter for a key body.
• You need to establish a board before Robin ramps.

Counter when:

• Robin can deal multiple large attacks in the same turn.
• You need to stay above a known lethal threshold.
• A future Big Mom or Sweet Generals turn will create an unavoidable attack spread.
• You are protecting a critical body or Shanks turn.
• Your hand already has the curve and does not need more life cards.

Robin Life

Mihawk should focus on getting Robin to one or zero before the full healing engine begins.

Robin can recover life, but every heal has a cost:

• A card must be played.
• DON!! must be committed.
• Counter may be reduced.
• Giant may become necessary.

Repeated 7k attacks make Robin choose between:

• Taking life and losing access to a card.
• Countering with cards needed for future development.
• Healing but falling behind on board.
• Protecting Big Mom but losing the board around it.

The goal is to make every defensive choice bad.

MulliganMihawk Mulligan

A hand is not good simply because it has Samurai and a one-drop.

Against Robin, Mihawk wants:

• Multiple one-drop searchers.
• Kin’emon, Otama, and Perona access.
• Oden or Perona for midgame interaction.
• A functional 5-cost or 6-cost development line.
• A route to Shanks.
• Enough bodies to build a board before Big Mom.
• At least some card flow that does not rely entirely on one Otama hit.

A hand containing one one-drop plus Samurai can still be a mulligan if everything depends on Otama finding exactly the missing body. The hand may look structurally close, but it is not functional enough if one search whiff means the whole curve fails.

MulliganRobin Mulligan

Robin wants to prioritize:

• Ramp.
• Pudding.
• Teach.
• Big Mom access.
• Giant.
• A route to a second major body.
• Enough counter or trigger access to survive early 7k pressure.

Robin cannot keep a hand that only looks good on the 10-DON!! turn. It needs a functional early progression because Mihawk’s 7k pressure can make an unprotected Big Mom turn too late.

Mihawk Mistakes

• Taking first and allowing Robin its best double-ramp curve.
• Keeping a hand that needs one searcher to hit perfectly.
• Attacking Robin only for 5k when unused DON!! could create a 7k threshold.
• Overcommitting to an early Shanks without putting Robin in lethal range.
• Using Luna too early, before Robin is under enough pressure for the turn skip to matter.
• Trying to avoid Mont-dor by refusing to play one-drops.
• Failing to include or test Dead Man’s Game if Robin becomes a major part of the field.
• Treating Big Mom as the only relevant target instead of reducing Robin’s attacking board first.
• Ignoring whether Giant is live.
• Spending hand to protect life while Robin clears board and reaches Big Mom safely.

Robin Mistakes

• Countering every early attack and losing too many cards before Big Mom.
• Ramping aggressively without tracking the hand cost.
• Playing Big Mom without Giant or enough counter when Mihawk has Shanks access.
• Using Banish pressure while failing to remove Mihawk’s board.
• Turning medium characters into Mihawk’s board without forcing meaningful exchanges.
• Letting Mihawk build five attackers before attempting the first major defensive turn.
• Playing Mont-dor as a default line instead of recognizing when it delays a more important ramp or development turn.
• Treating a full healing board as enough to win when Mihawk still has multiple attacks and a Shanks turn coming.

Mihawk Player Practice Goals

Practice these scenarios:

1. Going first versus Robin double-ramp starts.
2. Pressure lines that create repeated 7k attacks before Teach.
3. Shanks plus Luna sequencing when Robin is at one life.
4. Dead Man’s Game timing into Giant.
5. Perona versus Oden decisions when Robin has narrow versus wide board.
6. Playing around Big Mom plus Giant without overcommitting Shanks.
7. Recovering when Mont-dor clears several early one-drops.
8. Deciding whether to take banish life or protect board.

Robin Player Practice Goals

Practice these scenarios:

1. Double-ramp into Teach versus early Mihawk 7k pressure.
2. Big Mom turns with and without Giant.
3. Borsalino plus Giant defensive sequencing.
4. When to take 7k attacks versus countering.
5. When to use character attacks to clear Mihawk board rather than push banish life.
6. Building a second Big Mom board before Mihawk’s second Shanks.
7. Playing around Dead Man’s Game.
8. Managing hand size after leader effect, ramp, and Pudding lines.

Law plus Yasopp

Elijah’s working view is that Law plus Yasopp is the stronger all-field version.

The build’s advantages:

• Yasopp provides board control against smaller characters.
• Yasopp is difficult to punish because it can rest for leader effect and then stand again.
• Law gives flexible double-development turns.
• Law can recycle a Perona or Vander Decken.
• Law creates blocker bodies.
• Law can be played later in the game more naturally than Mihawk.
• Law helps the deck make meaningful plays after the first Shanks turn.
• Yasopp makes several difficult matchups more manageable, especially where early board control matters.

The Law build’s weaknesses:

• It is more dependent on having enough one-drops.
• Samurai can be harder to resolve because the deck cannot afford to lose all of its one-drops.
• It can fail if it cannot Law, Samurai, or pick up a relevant body.
• It is less naturally powerful in the mirror because its main bodies are smaller.
• It needs more careful management of one-drop count, counter, and board space.

Elijah repeatedly notes that the Law version can develop “fail rate” when it does not have enough one-drops to Samurai or pick up with Law. This is one reason he does not want to cut too many small bodies or 2ks in the shell.

Mihawk plus Perona

The Mihawk plus Perona build is the mirror-focused option.

Its advantages:

• Mihawk has a 7k stat line.
• Perona is excellent in the mirror.
• Mihawk is harder to trade into than smaller Law bodies.
• Perona can float into a new character.
• The build can create high-value double development through Mihawk plus Perona.
• It performs better against a mirror field where opponents play Law plus Yasopp.
• Perona gives strong board pressure and better resilience in games where it lives for multiple turns.

The Mihawk plus Perona build’s weaknesses:

• It is less flexible into the broad field.
• It gives up some Yasopp-based board control.
• It can be less comfortable against Robin, Enel, and other decks where Yasopp’s immediate board interaction matters.
• It has fewer natural ways to exploit Stun Bonney with Law recursion.
• It may lose equity into the decks designed specifically to challenge Mihawk.

Elijah’s evaluation is not that one shell is unquestionably better. It is: Law plus Yasopp is likely better into the field. Mihawk plus Perona is likely better into the mirror.

The correct submission depends on whether the event is expected to be a Mihawk-heavy top-table tournament or a broad field full of Enel, Robin, Sabo, Kaido, and rogue decks.

Three Vander Deckens

Elijah is firmly leaning toward three Vander Deckens.

Why three is enough:

• The deck has huge card velocity.
• You usually only need to resolve one Vander Decken in a game.
• Opponents now play around Decken better than they did in early OP17 testing.
• The old lines where Decken repeatedly punished blockers or major bodies are less common.
• A fourth copy can become a brick.
• The deck has better uses for its limited flex slots.

The old high-value Decken pattern was:

1. Opponent blocks with a key body.
2. Mihawk plays Decken and removes it.
3. Next turn, Mihawk plays Shanks and Decken again.
4. Opponent loses multiple major bodies while Mihawk keeps pushing.

Elijah believes competent opponents now prevent this pattern more often. Therefore, three copies provide enough access without overloading the deck.

Three Boats Are Mandatory

Elijah is very clear that he wants three Boats.

Boat matters because it:

• Provides a reliable rest target.
• Supports Samurai.
• Improves stage and event conversion.
• Helps the deck cycle and maintain card flow.
• Makes later turns less awkward.
• Allows Mihawk to use events without sacrificing the ability to develop and attack.
• Gives the deck a more stable structure in games where it needs to hold defensive DON!!.

He does not want to play fewer than three Boats.

Shanks Count

Elijah’s current list was playing three Shanks, which made him nervous in some ladder games.

With four Shanks:

• It is easy to pitch an early Shanks through Kin’emon.
• You do not need to take Shanks off searches as often.
• Missing Shanks is less concerning.
• The deck has more redundancy in its primary finisher.

With three Shanks:

• Pitching an early Shanks feels much riskier.
• You may need to hold a Shanks that would otherwise be a reasonable discard.
• The deck can fail to assemble its key 10-DON!! turns.
• Search priorities become more awkward.

Elijah was not fully settled, but the session shows the practical cost of lowering Shanks count: the deck becomes less willing to use Shanks as discard fuel and less able to trust its deck velocity.

Stun Bonney

Elijah is personally lower on Stun Bonney than much of the ladder.

Why he is skeptical:

• Bonney stops the opponent’s 10-DON!! bomb turn, but does not stop their current board from attacking.
• If the opponent has not been board-controlled, they can still send four or five attacks.
• Stun Bonney can leave the Mihawk player taking too much pressure even while preventing Shanks.
• Against Mihawk plus Perona, the opponent may still have a functional Perona turn and enough board to maintain pressure.
• The card often feels like an excellent 1k counter rather than a decisive win condition.

He sees cases where it is strong:

• If Yasopp has already removed important opposing bodies.
• If the opponent’s board is reduced to only a few threats.
• If Bonney forces the opponent into an awkward Perona-only turn.
• If Law can recycle Bonney and deny multiple bomb turns.
• Into yellow decks where denying the first 10-DON!! Big Mom turn is genuinely devastating.

But he does not believe Bonney alone automatically wins the mirror.

Luna Versus Stronger

Elijah’s view depends on which mirror shell dominates.

If the expected mirror is Law plus Yasopp:

• Stronger can be reasonable.
• The board is often narrower.
• Luna may not freeze enough targets to justify itself.
• Stronger is better outside the mirror because its counter text matters more often.

If the expected mirror is Mihawk plus Perona:

• Luna is much better.
• Perona floats into additional bodies.
• Mihawk’s 7k bodies are harder to clear.
• The opponent can easily have four or more relevant targets.
• Stronger is too small against that board.
• Luna is required to prevent the opponent’s full board from converting.

Elijah is worried that the Mihawk plus Perona build will remain common enough that cutting Luna entirely is dangerous.

One-Cost Zoro

Elijah discusses one-cost Zoro as an unusual flex option.

Potential uses:

• Strong against Sabo before its smaller bodies awaken.
• Can punish a weak Law build mirror opener if the opponent has only one one-drop.
• Has some merit against Enel.
• Can sometimes completely swing an early board race.

Why he is unsure:

• There is only one early Sabo turn where it is truly high-impact.
• It is not something the deck mulligans for.
• Law lists often play enough one-drops to make the line rare.
• Mihawk plus Perona lists may not care as much.
• It is not reliable enough to be a core slot.

Elijah sees it as a possible meta call, not a standard inclusion.

Underwhelming in the Mirror

One of Elijah’s clearest ladder findings is that Law/Bepo has been underwhelming in the mirror.

Why:

• The opponent can Law/Bepo and still needs Luna.
• If the opponent does not Luna, Mihawk can attack into their board repeatedly.
• Law/Bepo often dies quickly.
• It does not create the same board-locking pressure as Shanks plus Decken plus Luna.
• It may gain only one extra 1k or one extra swing, which often does not decide the game.
• The deck can be better served by Shanks and Luna setups.

Elijah’s central question is: What does Law/Bepo actually do that Shanks plus Vander Decken plus Luna does not already do better?

He currently sees Law/Bepo as potentially better outside the mirror than inside it, but he is not yet convinced it is necessary.

Possible Non-Mirror Value

Law/Bepo may still have merit outside the mirror because it:

• Raises leader power.
• Punishes players who turn their full board sideways to play around Shanks.
• Buys an extra turn.
• Can invalidate a board of 6k attackers.
• Can serve as a late-game bridge between first and second Shanks.

Elijah does not rule it out. He simply sees far less mirror impact than expected.

Attack for Sevens

Elijah repeatedly returns to the importance of knowing the opponent’s counter distribution.

Against decks with limited 2k density:

• Attack for 7k repeatedly.
• Force them to give 2ks or events.
• Do not default to 6k if 7k is available.
• Do not overcommit into a giant swing if multiple 7ks are more difficult to defend.
• Use the deck’s free DON!! to make every medium body ask a real question.

He calls this “2k-checking.”

The goal is to create a turn where the opponent needs more 2ks than their deck is likely to have.

When to Leave DON!! Open

Elijah’s rule is not “always leave DON!! for events.”

Leave DON!! open when:

• You need an event to survive the opponent’s likely attack spread.
• You need Rad Beam to protect a key body.
• The event will become uncastable on the next all-DON!! Shanks turn.
• You are preparing for a known 7k, 7k, 7k attack sequence.
• You need to preserve a specific life total before a bomb turn.

Do not leave DON!! open merely because you want the opponent to counter. If the DON!! is unused and a larger attack prevents Mamaragan, forces a 2k, or advances lethal, attach it.

When to Protect a Body

Elijah’s practical framework:

Protect the body when:

• It will attack again.
• It keeps you wide enough that the opponent must use Luna.
• It creates a future 8k attack.
• It lets you maintain an attacker advantage.
• It prevents the opponent from getting a clean board-control line.
• It is a key blocker or engine body.
• You have enough card flow to afford the counter investment.

Let the body die when:

• It gets one weak attack and then enters Luna jail.
• You need the hand to survive a Shanks turn.
• The body is not needed for lethal.
• The opponent can still remove it with multiple attacks.
• Your remaining board is already wide enough.
• It cannot generate more than one card of value before becoming irrelevant.

LateLethal Planning

Elijah’s late-game plan is often:

1. Put the opponent at one or zero.
2. Shanks plus Luna.
3. Skip their meaningful turn.
4. Use second Shanks or remaining board to finish.

He emphasizes that players should calculate whether the game ends next turn or requires another turn.

If the game ends next turn:

• Use Luna aggressively.
• Spend the Shanks turn to disable the board.
• Do not preserve resources unnecessarily.

If the game requires more than two turns:

• Do not waste all Lunas early.
• Preserve events.
• Consider board control instead of forcing a low-percentage lethal.
• Use Law, Perona, or Oden to buy time and build toward the second Shanks.

The Core Counter Question

Elijah spends substantial time explaining why counter decisions should be based on the entire future turn cycle, not the immediate attack.

The wrong question is: “Can I counter this attack?”

The correct question is: “If I do not counter this attack, what future attacks become impossible to survive, and what do I gain by taking the life now?”

EarlyWhen to Take Early Life

Taking early life is usually correct when:

• The attack is 5k or 6k.
• Your future defense can stop larger attacks.
• You have Oden, Perona, events, or stuns that reduce future attack count.
• The life card could be a playable card on your next turn.
• You are not immediately entering lethal range.
• Your hand has important but awkward cards and you need more options.
• The counter spent now would likely be spent later against a similarly sized attack.

EarlyWhen to Counter Early

Counter early when:

• The opponent has enough attacks to deal two or more life in the same turn.
• Your next turn requires a specific hand size or life total.
• You have a crucial card that needs protection from hand-rip.
• Taking life creates a known lethal threshold.
• You need to maintain a specific number of life to survive a later double-attack or rush sequence.
• The card spent is less valuable than the future life it saves.

Counter as Future Value

Elijah explains card value through future exchanges.

Example:

• Countering a 5k now with Franky may save one life.
• If you instead take the 5k, you may later need three cards to survive a 7k or 8k sequence.
• In that case, spending Franky early may be correct.
• But if taking the 5k gives you a playable card and future attacks remain manageable, taking is better.

The player must compare:

• One card now.
• Two or three cards later.
• The chance the life card improves the curve.
• The board state created by either decision.

Do Not Hold a Card You Cannot Play

A recurring example involves Franky.

If countering with Franky means you still have a workable Pink turn or another playable line, that can be correct.

But do not counter with Franky and then pass with no development if playing Franky was your only meaningful turn. That is a disaster because the card was not merely a counter. It was your entire board development.

The rule: Do not spend your only playable card as counter unless you know your remaining hand still has a functional turn.

EarlyStep One: Compare Early Boards

Ask:

• Which deck develops more stats early?
• Which deck gets more bodies out earlier?
• Which deck gets the first major pressure turn?
• Which deck has the better early attacks?

If your deck has the early stat advantage, you usually want to shorten the game.

LateStep Two: Compare Late-Game Tools

Ask:

• Which deck gains better events with more DON!!?
• Which deck has stronger 10-DON!! turns?
• Which deck has inevitable boss monsters?
• Which deck gets more value from long games?
• Which deck eventually invalidates the other deck’s board?

If the opponent’s late-game package is stronger, you need to pressure before it arrives.

Step Three: Identify the Opponent’s Actual Win Condition

Do not focus only on the visible threat.

Examples:

• Mihawk’s win condition against Sabo is not simply “play Oden.” It is surviving long enough to use Shanks, Decken, Luna, and major stun turns.
• Enel’s win condition against Mihawk is not one 6k attack. It is establishing enough one-drops and removal that Mihawk cannot retain a board.
• Robin’s win condition against Rocks is not merely healing. It is reaching a board where Rocks must turn meaningful characters into Sweet Generals removal.
• Ace Luffy’s win condition is not countering efficiently. It is winning before opponents recognize that it has almost no counter.

Step Four: Make Every Turn Serve That Plan

Once you know whether the game should be fast or slow:

• Do not take lines that only delay losing.
• Do not clear board if it does not help you win.
• Do not play a late-game value line if your deck loses long games.
• Do not race if the opponent cannot beat your endgame.
• Do not overprotect a body that does not enable the next winning turn.

Sabo vs Mihawk

• Choose second when possible.
• Do not rush Saul onto the 5-DON!! turn without follow-up.
• Build board with 2-costs first.
• Chip Mihawk with early 5k swings.
• Establish Giant on 7, then create a wide attack turn.
• Save Zoro to survive Shanks plus Decken.
• Be willing to spend large amounts of hand protecting Zoro.
• End the game before Mihawk reaches full Shanks, Decken, Luna control.

Robin vs Rocks

• Choose second.
• Sequence small searches before large searches.
• Preserve cards that enable efficient 6-DON!! ramp.
• Do not assume Smoothie is always the best play.
• Heal and build board while Rocks develops.
• Avoid feeding Rocks unnecessary life.
• Punish rested Rocks engine bodies.
• Play 10-cost Big Mom early enough to matter.
• Track whether Rocks can simply develop through your starvation plan.

Mihawk vs Enel

• Take early 5k and 6k attacks liberally.
• Respect hand-rip Law only when your hand has no redundancy.
• Do not give Enel free Mamaragan on 5k if unused DON!! can create a larger swing.
• Develop Mihawk plus Oden.
• Respect multiple Ohms.
• Samurai doomed bodies rather than letting them die without value.
• Build wide enough that Enel cannot remove every relevant character.
• Keep enough counter for the future lethal turn, not every small attack.

Mihawk vs Ace Luffy

• Attack face.
• Use repeated 7k swings.
• Do not waste turns clearing board.
• Do not assume the deck has normal counter density.
• Yasopp is especially valuable because it can create a free rest and restand.
• Every missed face attack gives Ace Luffy unnecessary time.
• Moderate repeated attacks are better than one overcommitted giant attack.

Robin vs Ace Luffy

• Treat the matchup as highly unfavorable until more testing proves otherwise.
• Do not expect normal banish and heal control to function automatically.
• Be aware that low-play-rate decks can still be severe counterpicks.
• Do not overprepare for this matchup at the cost of core meta matchups unless Ace Luffy is common locally.