Interview of Giovanni: 2nd Place in Regional with WB
Introduction
Greetings, I am Giovanni Salvatore Oliva from Italy. First and foremost, I'd like to express my gratitude to the One Piece Top Decks team for allowing me to share my decklist and recount my experience from the recent Noheroes online regional tournament, which boasted a staggering 1024 participants.
My journey into the world of the One Piece card game began with a nudge from my friend and neighbor, Roberto Rondino (who's ranked #3 in Europe). We were captivated by the game even before the starter decks made their way to Europe, and our passion for it grew by the day. This fervor led us to hone our skills and achieve impressive results from the very outset of our journey.
Since my initiation into the game, I have managed to secure three top 4 finishes, one top 16 placement at offline events, and most notably, a 2nd place finish in the recent Noheroes online regional tournament using Whitebeard.
Decklist
My decision to start playing Whitebeard came after the release of the OP3.5 restriction list, as it gained popularity within the Italian community. I swiftly realized that the banlist was favorable to Whitebeard, no longer relying on the 9-cost WB and adopting a more aggressive rush/beatdown strategy that effectively leveraged the leader's core mechanics.
The deck's primary strategy revolves around aggressively pressuring your opponent's Life cards with powerful vanilla cards and rush characters, such as the 5-cost Luffy and the 7-cost Ace.
The deck's strength lies in its ability to establish a formidable board presence while directing all direct attacks toward your leader. By the fourth turn, the ideal scenario is to begin pressuring your opponent with Luffy's rush ability, followed by another Luffy or Ace in the subsequent turn, either setting up a blocker or ensuring that you have just enough resources to deter your opponent from efficiently attacking your leader while managing the threats on the board.
Matchups (Regional)
In the regional tournament, my matchups were as follows: Katakuri (win), Law (win), Katakuri (win), Law (win), Whitebeard (win), Whitebeard (win), Whitebeard (win), Black Luffy (win), Law (win), Zoro (lose).
The matchup against Katakuri is generally favorable. When going second, I typically play Sanji on the first turn or Nami as an alternative, then establish my 4,000/6,000 and 6,000/8,000 characters on curve. From the fourth turn onward, I focus on attacking the leader with as many 7,000-attack characters as possible to apply pressure. When going first, the game plan is similar, but it can become challenging, especially if your opponent triggers a Thunderbolt from Life. In this case, I go with Nami on the first turn, Sanji on the second turn, and deliver a 7,000-attack or 5,000-attack with Nami and a 6,000-attack with the leader on the third turn. Starting from the fourth turn, the key is to aggressively push for your opponent's Life, utilizing Luffy's rush ability and concentrating on 7,000-attack characters when it's strategically efficient.
The Law matchup is more complex but still favorable in my opinion. When going first, deploying the 5-cost Marco is crucial, and chaining two of them in consecutive turns on the third and fourth turns usually yields the best results. When going second, the preferred approach is to set up your 4,000/6,000 and 6,000/8,000 characters on curve and start applying pressure with Luffy on the fourth turn. A key concept in the Law matchup is not hesitating to attack with 6,000-attack characters, especially if your opponent has a Blocker Law in play.
The White Beard mirror match is unexpectedly skillful. While going second and seeing the 9-cost Whitebeard is advantageous, the outcome often hinges on the player's skill. Recognizing when to attack and maximizing the resources from your characters are essential. This is contingent on the key cards drawn from your deck, such as Luffy rush, Ace, and the 9-cost Whitebeard. To illustrate this point, I won two mirror matches when going first in this tournament and have an outstanding win rate in the mirror matchup during major tournaments.
Finally, the Zoro matchup is particularly intriguing. In my experience, the key to victory is to unleash 6,000-attack characters frequently (especially if your opponent has Dons open) and flood the board to an extent that overwhelms the Zoro player's capacity to respond. Key cards for this strategy include Luffy rush and Chopper, which enable Whitebeard to be aggressive while mitigating critical damage and remaining resource-efficient. Additionally, don't shy away from taking Life when your opponent targets it in the early turns.
Message
I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to my local community, the dedicated team I practice with, and my friends. They have collectively fostered a highly competitive environment while ensuring that playing remains immensely enjoyable. Special mentions go to my teammates and friends: Roberto Rondino, Matteo Longhin, Antonino Borzi, Antonio Festino, Luigi Amato, Gianluca Noviello, and Luca Irano.
source :
https://onepiecetopdecks.com/en-op4-giovanni-2nd-place-in-noheros-regional-1024-players-with-wb/
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