OP-16 Ace Deck Tech Week 1: Whitebeard Rush EN Results

Portgas D. Ace returned as an OP-16 leader, and EN players are treating him seriously. This OP-16 Ace deck tech covers the Whitebeard Pirates Rush shell that went 7-1 at Peoria and logged 16 wins across the first EN tracked window.

TL;DR: OP-16 Ace (OP16-001) is a Red Rush leader built around granting surprise attacks to Whitebeard Pirates bodies with 8000+ power or to Monkey D. Luffy. The core engine is Moby Dick for draw/search, Thatch for cheap tempo, and Little Oars Jr. as the preferred Rush target. Player Long placed 3rd at Peoria Treasure Cup (June 20, 2026, 7-1 record). Ace posted 16 EN tournament wins in the first tracked window. This is not a tier-topper, but it punishes passive play reliably.

OP-16 Ace deck tech: quick answer

OP16-001OP16-001Shop on TCGplayer Ace is a 5000-power, 5-life Red leader who grants Rush to a qualifying Whitebeard Pirates character or Luffy once per turn during your Main phase. The deck wins by building a Whitebeard board around Moby Dick's draw engine, playing Thatch at a cost discount, and closing with Rush attacks from Little Oars Jr. or Luffy that the opponent did not see coming.

GODEEPER: Want the full card-by-card breakdown of what makes the Red Ace shell tick since launch? OP-16 Ace Deck Guide: Whitebeard Pirates Rush Build →

How Ace's Leader Ability Works

The leader ability reads: [Activate: Main] [Once Per Turn]. Give Rush this turn to 1 Monkey D. Luffy character you control OR 1 Whitebeard Pirates character you control with 8000 or more power.

A few things to understand about this effect:

It triggers on demand. You choose when to use it during your Main phase, which means you can develop your board first and then grant Rush to the character that benefits most from the attack right now. This is different from characters that have Rush printed on the card, which the opponent can see and play around on the previous turn.

The 8000 threshold gates the ability. Not every Whitebeard Pirates body qualifies. Thatch at his base stats does not reach 8000, so he is not a Rush target. Edward Newgate and Little Oars Jr. do clear the threshold. This creates a natural tension: you want bodies on board early to enable Thatch's cost reduction, but you specifically want high-power bodies to be Rush targets later.

Luffy bypasses the power threshold. OP16-015OP16-015Shop on TCGplayer Monkey D. Luffy (the OP-16 version) qualifies regardless of power because the ability names him directly. His cost also drops by 2 when you have 6 or more DON!! on field, making him efficient to deploy in the mid-game turns where you want to grant Rush.

Ace (OP16-001) grants Rush to Whitebeard Pirates, turning fresh plays into immediate attacks for the deck's fast clock.

The Whitebeard Pirates Shell

The core cards in the EN week 1 builds draw from the Feature Deck #102 list and the Peoria TC result.

OP16-003OP16-003Shop on TCGplayer Edward Newgate (Whitebeard), 4 copies. The anchor of the board. He clears the 8000 threshold and becomes the primary Rush target when Luffy is not available or when you need a single massive attack to break through a defensive setup. Four copies because the deck cannot afford to miss him in the mid-game.

OP16-005OP16-005Shop on TCGplayer Thatch, 4 copies. Thatch's cost drops by 3 when you control an 8000+ Whitebeard Pirates character. That condition is almost always met in the mid-game because Newgate or Little Oars Jr. will already be on the field. At his discounted cost, Thatch provides power-efficient tempo that fills out the board and stacks bodies without stretching your DON!! too thin.

OP16-011OP16-011Shop on TCGplayer Vista, 4 copies. Vista provides a reliable stat line that fits between the low-cost openers and the heavy hitters. He does not need a condition to come into play effectively and handles the DON!! curve on turns where you are not yet ready to deploy Newgate.

OP16-014OP16-014Shop on TCGplayer Marco, 4 copies. Marco is the defensive resilience piece. His ability keeps him on the field when he would otherwise be removed, which matters against removal-heavy matchups like Blackbeard. He also hits above his DON!! cost in terms of power contribution.

Monkey D. Luffy (OP16-015): situational core. The direct Rush target named by Ace's leader ability. His cost reduction at 6+ DON!! makes him a natural turn-6 play, and granting Rush to him on that same turn creates a high-damage attack that most boards cannot absorb cleanly.

OP16-017OP16-017Shop on TCGplayer Little Oars Jr., 4 copies. Correction: his 8000 base power is conditional, not free. His real card text applies a -4000 power penalty unless you already control a Whitebeard Pirates Character with 8 cost or more, meaning he sits at 4000 power (below Ace's Rush threshold) until Edward Newgate is already down. Sequence Newgate first; Oars Jr. becomes a second legal Rush target once that condition is met, not a standalone one. He also carries a real Counter-boost (all 8000-power Character cards in your hand get +2000 Counter) and an [On Play]/[On K.O.] dig through the top 5 cards of your deck for a Luffy or Whitebeard Pirates card, both of which the deck leans on for consistency.

OP16-021OP16-021Shop on TCGplayer Moby Dick (Stage), 4 copies. Correction: this is a one-time [On Play] search, not a repeatable draw engine. If your Leader has the Whitebeard Pirates type (Ace qualifies), look at the top 3 cards of your deck and add up to 1 to hand. It also has a separate [Activate: Main] ability: trash the Stage to give a rested DON!! to your Leader or a Character, effectively untapping DON!! rather than drawing more of it. Both effects matter for smoothing toward Newgate and Thatch, but neither is an ongoing card-draw engine the way an earlier version of this section implied.

OP16-118OP16-118Shop on TCGplayer Portgas D. Ace (Character version), 4 copies. The character version of Ace runs alongside the leader. He provides an additional aggressive body and contributes to the Red power suite without competing with the board slots needed for the Whitebeard Pirates package.

Sample Decklist (EN Verified)

This framework reflects the Peoria TC placing list (Player Long, 3rd, 7-1 record, June 20, 2026) and the Feature Deck #102 shell. Individual counts in the non-core slots vary by local meta preference.

Leader:

• OP16-001OP16-001Shop on TCGplayer Portgas D. Ace x1

Characters:

• OP16-003OP16-003Shop on TCGplayer Edward Newgate x4
• OP16-005OP16-005Shop on TCGplayer Thatch x4
• OP16-011OP16-011Shop on TCGplayer Vista x4
• OP16-014OP16-014Shop on TCGplayer Marco x4
• OP16-015OP16-015Shop on TCGplayer Monkey D. Luffy x2-3
• OP16-017OP16-017Shop on TCGplayer Little Oars Jr. x4
• OP16-118OP16-118Shop on TCGplayer Portgas D. Ace (Character) x4

Stages:

• OP16-021OP16-021Shop on TCGplayer Moby Dick x4

The remaining slots are filled with low-cost Red counter cards and Events depending on local metagame. The Peoria list leaned toward defensive counter density to survive into the Rush turns.

Marco (OP16-014) is the shell's defensive backbone, buying the turns Ace needs to convert Rush attacks into lethal.

Turn-by-Turn Play Pattern

Turns 1-3 (early game): Priority is setting up Moby Dick as soon as possible. Use these turns to search for Newgate and identify your optimal mid-game attack line. Vista can come down as an early body to establish presence without committing too much DON!!.

Turns 4-5 (mid-game, critical window): Deploy Edward Newgate first; his 8000+ power isn't conditional. With Newgate on the field, both Thatch's cost reduction and Little Oars Jr.'s own power boost become active, since both check for a Whitebeard Pirates Character at 8+ cost in play. Play Thatch at the discounted cost, then Little Oars Jr. once he can actually hit his printed 8000 power. The board now has multiple real 8000+ targets and the opponent cannot single out a priority threat easily.

Turn 6+ (Rush window): At 6+ DON!!, Luffy's cost reduction kicks in. You can deploy Luffy and use Ace's leader ability on the same turn to grant Rush, creating a back-to-back attack that stacks with existing bodies. If Luffy is not in hand, use the leader ability on Newgate or a now-boosted Little Oars Jr. instead. The goal is to attack for damage that forces the opponent to exhaust their hand countering rather than building their own board.

Closing: The deck does not burn the opponent out. It closes by stacking Rush attacks over multiple turns until the opponent runs out of counter cards. Moby Dick's one-time search and DON!! recycling help you find and re-use your key pieces, which is part of why this shell holds up better than slower Whitebeard builds that stall out late.

Matchup Direction

These assessments come from community discussion following week 1 EN results. No fabricated win rate numbers are included.

vs Blackbeard (S-tier): unfavorable. Blackbeard's Trigger-based control answers Ace's bodies before the Rush window fully opens. The deck can generate enough early pressure to steal games but cannot sustain consistently against a Blackbeard pilot who knows the counter timing. See the OP-16 Blackbeard deck guide for how the opposing side approaches the matchup.

vs Yamato (S-tier): roughly even. Ace's Rush tempo competes with Yamato's recursion speed. Neither deck has a decisive structural advantage in the early weeks. Outcomes depend on draw quality and whether the Ace player lands Rush before Yamato completes a recursion cycle.

vs Luffy (S-tier): slightly favored. Ace's removal efficiency and Rush timing outpaces the Luffy Impel Down flood strategy. Luffy's mid-game commitment creates a window where Ace's Rush attacks land before the board stabilizes. Not a free win, but the natural clock advantages Ace.

vs Sengoku Purple Control (high-tier): favorable. Rush pressure lands before Sengoku ramps to a full Admiral board. Sengoku does not have efficient early answers to Whitebeard bodies. If Ace closes by turn 8-9, Sengoku cannot assemble the Admiral package in time. The OP-16 Sengoku deck guide outlines the ramp timeline Sengoku needs to survive this aggression.

vs Purple Enel (S-tier carryover): very unfavorable. This is the hardest matchup week 1. Enel's draw engine pulls ahead on resources before Ace's Rush pressure becomes decisive. Enel can absorb one or two Rush turns and still have enough hand to answer the board. Without a specific tech card for the Enel matchup, Ace players who face Enel often must accept the loss.

GODEEPER: The week 1 EN meta picture includes more than Ace. OP-16 Meta Tier List: Week 1 EN Results →

Is Ace Worth Building Post-Launch?

Yes, with realistic expectations. Ace is not the S-tier leader that Blackbeard is in OP-16, but the deck does something no other OP-16 leader does as cleanly: it combines a genuine draw/search engine (Moby Dick) with a surprise Rush granter that the opponent cannot read from card text alone.

Update, several weeks into the format: the field has moved since this week 1 snapshot. Trackers now place Blue/Green Luffy, Purple Enel, and Purple/Yellow Rosinante at the top of OP-16, with Blackbeard settling into the strong-but-not-top tier alongside Yamato and Sengoku. OP-16 Ace sits in the viable, developing tier rather than top tier, matching the "not a tier-topper" read below, still a real deck with room to grow rather than a fringe pick.

The Peoria 3rd place finish from Player Long shows the deck can go 7-1 against a field that includes S-tier pilots. Ace outperformed JP week 1 projections in EN, likely because EN players are more familiar with Red Rush lines from prior sets.

Cost note: The Whitebeard Pirates shell draws heavily from OP-16 in-set cards. The main cost barrier is Edward Newgate at 4 copies, which carries set-launch pricing. Marco and Little Oars Jr. are more accessible. Compared to the OP-13 Ace shell, the OP-16 version is more affordable to build because most of the key cards are from a single new set rather than requiring cross-set staples. For a full card-value breakdown, the OP-16 best cards to pull guide covers current market prices on the high-value pieces.

The deck does not reinvent the Red Rush archetype. It is a valid parallel shell to OP-13 Ace, suited to players who want to run native OP-16 support and capitalize on the Moby Dick engine.

Key Takeaways

• OP-16 Ace is Red, 5000 power, 5 life, Whitebeard Pirates type
• Leader ability grants Rush once per turn to Luffy or any 8000+ Whitebeard Pirates body
• Moby Dick (Stage) is a one-time on-play search plus a DON!! recycling ability, not a repeatable draw engine; 4 copies required
• Thatch's 3-cost discount and Little Oars Jr.'s own 8000 power both require an 8+cost Whitebeard Pirates Character already in play, which in practice means Newgate first
• Edward Newgate is the reliable Rush target; Little Oars Jr. becomes a second one after Newgate lands; Luffy is the DON!!-discounted option at 6+ DON!!
• 16 EN tournament wins in the first tracked window; 3rd at Peoria TC (Player Long, 7-1)
• Ace outperformed JP week 1 projections in EN play
• Hardest matchup: Purple Enel; most favorable: Sengoku Purple Control

Related Reading

• OP-16 Yamato Deck Guide: How the Black leader that Ace calls "roughly even" builds its recursion clock.
• Purple Enel Deck Guide, OP-16 Format: A close look at Ace's hardest matchup from the Enel side of the table.
• OP-16 Luffy Deck Guide: How the format's top Blue/Green leader stacks up against Ace's Rush clock.
• One Piece TCG OP-16 One Month Meta Report: A wider view of how the OP-16 field has shifted since this week 1 snapshot.
• One Piece TCG OP-16 Complete Guide: Full set overview covering all leaders, key cards, and the overall OP-16 power level.

Frequently Asked Questions

What color is the OP-16 Ace leader? Portgas D. Ace (OP16-001) is Red with 5000 power and 5 life. His leader type is Whitebeard Pirates and he operates entirely within the Red color identity, requiring no splash.

How does Ace's leader ability work in OP-16? Once per turn during your Main phase, you activate the ability to give Rush to one Monkey D. Luffy character you control OR one Whitebeard Pirates character you control with 8000 or more power. Rush lasts until end of turn. You choose the timing during your Main phase, so you develop your board first and then decide which body benefits from the surprise attack.

What is the best Rush target for OP-16 Ace? Edward Newgate (OP16-003), since his 8000+ power isn't conditional. Little Oars Jr. (OP16-017) looks like the obvious target on paper, but his real card text applies -4000 power unless you already control a Whitebeard Pirates Character at 8+ cost, so he only becomes a second legal target after Newgate is already down. Monkey D. Luffy (OP16-015) is the other core target, especially effective at 6+ DON!! when his cost reduction makes him efficient to deploy and immediately Rush on the same turn.

Is OP-16 Ace better than OP-13 Ace? Both are competitive. OP-16 Ace has more native in-set support via the Whitebeard Pirates package. OP-13 Ace runs a different ability. For players starting fresh in OP-16 format, the OP-16 version is more self-contained and accessible to build because it does not require multiple cross-set staples.

How does Thatch work in the Ace deck? Thatch (OP16-005) gets a 3-cost reduction when you control a Whitebeard Pirates character with 8000 or more power in play. Edward Newgate reliably clears this threshold on his own; Little Oars Jr. only does once his own conditional power boost is active. Once a real 8000+ body is on the board, Thatch drops to an efficient cost for his power level and can be played the same turn without spending all your DON!!.

What are Ace's hardest matchups in OP-16? Purple Enel is the hardest matchup. His draw engine generates enough resources to absorb Ace's Rush pressure before the Whitebeard board becomes decisive. Blackbeard is the second hardest because Trigger-based control removes Ace's bodies before the Rush window opens cleanly.

Did OP-16 Ace place in any EN tournaments week 1? Yes. Player Long placed 3rd at the Peoria Treasure Cup on June 20, 2026 with a 7-1 record. Across the full May 25 to June 9 EN tracked window, Ace posted 16 tournament wins. This outperformed early JP week 1 results that categorized the deck as lower mid-tier.

References

• One Piece Card Game official card list, OP-16 set: official Bandai card database for OP-16 card text and stats
• Limitless TCG: One Piece TCG tournament results: EN tournament data source for win counts and placing records
• Peoria Treasure Cup, June 20 2026 results via Limitless: source for Player Long's 3rd place 7-1 finish