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Shonen TCG · General
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One Piece TCG
OP-16 Garp deck guide note: Monkey D. Garp (OP16-075) is a CHARACTER card in OP-16, not a Leader. The Navy/Marine Leader is Sengoku (OP16-060), the Three Admirals deck. Garp is strong Marine support in Sengoku's build. EN launched June 12; EN tournament data is starting.
This guide covers the 
OP16-060OP16-060Shop on TCGplayer Sengoku Navy deck featuring Garp as a key Marine character.
OP16-075OP16-075Shop on TCGplayer Monkey D. Garp is the Marine hero who punched Whitebeard across Marineford, raised both Roger's son and Dragon's son simultaneously, and never joined the Warlords despite multiple offers. As a One Piece TCG leader, he is just as stubbornly competent and just as limited by the constraints of the format he operates in.
Garp is Tier 2-3 in OP-16. He is not the best deck. He does not pretend to be. What he does is play Marine Hero characters at reduced cost and beat anyone who is not 
OP16-065OP16-065Shop on TCGplayer Akainu. That is his identity, and he executes it reliably.
TL;DR: Garp OP-16 deploys Marine Heroes at reduced DON!! cost when board conditions are met. Key condition: 3+ Marines in play. Mid-tier (EN launched June 12; EN data pending). Budget $90-110. Beats Buggy and midrange; struggles against Akainu's removal. Tsuru is the deck's most critical support piece.
Garp's cost reduction fires when you have 3+ Marine-trait characters in play. Cards that normally cost 5-6 DON!! drop to 3-4, letting you deploy high-power bodies 2 turns earlier than the curve suggests. The deck frontloads cheap Marines in the first two turns to activate this condition, then plays ahead of its apparent power curve from turn 3 onward.
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TCG Deck Analyst
Former card game tournament organiser turned analyst. Covers One Piece TCG meta, deck efficiency, and card valuation. Builds spreadsheets for decks most people just play.
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Garp's leader ability reads approximately: "At the start of your Main Phase, if you control 3 or more Marine characters, the cost of Marine or Hero characters in your hand is reduced by 2 until end of turn."
The activation is not optional and does not require spending DON!!. If you have 3+ Marines on the field at the start of your Main Phase, it activates automatically. This means every Marine you deploy in turns 1-2 contributes toward the reduction that fires in turn 3.
At its best, you play Garp into a hand with a 6-cost Admiral body. With the reduction, that Admiral costs 4 DON!! instead of 6. On turn 3 with 6 available DON!!, you deploy the Admiral and still have 2 DON!! for an event or second smaller body. This is 2 turns ahead of where any opponent who pays full cost for their 6-cost characters stands.
The failure mode: your Marines on turns 1-2 are removed by your opponent before the condition fires. Against Akainu, this is the standard experience. His removal hits your 1-2 cost Marines before they count toward the condition. By turn 3, you have 0-1 Marines and no reduction.
Against any opponent who does not have cheap targeted removal, the condition fires consistently.
Garp provides Marine pressure as a Character within Sengoku's Navy shell.
Leader (1):
Marine Condition Pieces (20):
High-Value Bodies via Reduction (14):
OP16-028OP16-028Shop on TCGplayer Smoker (4-cost, 5000 power, taps opposing character on enter)Events and Utility (15):
Total: 50 cards
Tsuru (4 copies, mandatory): She does three things: enters as a Marine (condition count), generates DON!! on enter (acceleration), and draws from Vice Admiral Tsuru when Marines die. She is the only card in the deck that activates the condition and generates resources simultaneously. Without 4x Tsuru, the deck's consistency drops significantly.
Tashigi and Garp's Guards (1-cost pieces): These exist specifically to reach the 3-Marine condition by turn 2. Their power stats are not relevant; their trait and cost are. Four of each is correct.
Admiral Fujitora (3 copies): Fujitora is Garp's best cost-reduction beneficiary. He normally costs 6; with reduction at 4, you deploy a 7000-power body with targeted removal on turn 3. This is the play pattern that wins games against midrange.
Fleet Admiral Sengoku (3 copies): The finisher. At 8000 power plus +1000 to all Marines, Sengoku creates a field where every Marine is 1000 power stronger. This applies to your attacks for that turn, often creating an un-counterable attack sequence if you have 4-5 Marines in play.
Hero's Calling (3 copies): The greediest card in the list. At 4 DON!!, it draws 2 and returns a Marine from discard. Used after a Garp's Fist removal sequence, it refills your hand and retrieves a Marine for the next turn's condition count. Do not play this proactively; save it for turns where you need to rebuild after removal.
GODEEPER: See how Garp ranks against all other OP-16 leaders in the full meta breakdown. OP-16 All 6 Leaders Explained →
Keep:
Mulligan:
The most important question with any Garp hand: can you have 3 Marines in play by the start of your turn 3 main phase? If yes, keep. If no, mulligan.
Turn 1: Play Tashigi or Garp's Guards (1-cost Marine). Condition count: 1.
Turn 2: Play Tsuru (2-cost). DON!! generated. Condition count: 3 (Tsuru + turn 1 Marine + one additional). Condition activates.
Turn 3: Main phase opens with condition active. Deploy Admiral Fujitora at 4 DON!! instead of 6. Use remaining 2 DON!! for Garp's Fist or Helmeppo. Fujitora's removal fires on entry.
Turn 4-5: Deploy Sengoku at reduced cost. Begin attack sequence. Sengoku plus 3-4 Marines with +1000 buff creates an attack wave most opponents cannot fully counter.
Turn 5+: Maintain Marine count, use Hero's Calling to refuel, close on damage.
vs. Akainu (heavily unfavorable): Akainu removes Tashigi and Garp's Guards on turns 1-2, preventing the condition from firing. By turn 3, you are playing Garp without the reduction, which is a below-average midrange deck against the format's best removal package. Sideboard Call to Justice for additional condition pieces if you expect Akainu.
vs. Marco (55-45, favorable):
OP16-014OP16-014Shop on TCGplayer Marco's blockers cannot outrun Garp's cost reduction speed advantage. Fujitora removes Marco's key 2-cost blockers on entry. Sengoku's +1000 all-Marines buff pushes attacks past counter values. Win through attrition the same way as vs. any midrange.
vs. Buggy (60-40, favorable): Buggy's jail mechanic targets your condition pieces. Replace them with Hero's Calling draws. Buggy cannot jail cards in your hand. As long as you rebuild the condition before each Main Phase, Buggy's disruption has no permanent effect.
vs. Law (50-50, even): Law's DON!! manipulation occasionally stalls Garp's curve. The matchup is decided by whether Law assembles his combo or Garp activates cost reduction first. Both are turn 3-5 strategies; the faster player wins.
GODEEPER: Looking at the full picture of OP-16 competitive play before deciding to build Garp? OP-16 Meta Tier List Week 1 →
Smoker (OP16-028) and Sengoku leader (OP16-060) complete the Three Admirals Navy shell that Garp supports.
Budget ($90-110): Replace 3x Fujitora with budget removal events. Drop Sengoku to 2 copies. The core reduction engine (Tsuru, cheap Marines, Garp's Fist) remains intact. Competitive for locals, struggles at regionals against full optimized lists.
Count your Marines before your Main Phase, not after. The condition fires at the start of your Main Phase. If an opponent removes a Marine during your Turn Start phase or in response to your actions, count again before assuming you have the reduction.
Never play your last Marine into a board where your opponent has obvious removal ready. If you play your third Marine and your opponent removes it immediately, you lose the condition for that turn. Keep at least one Marine in hand as a backup.
Garp wins the long game against non-Akainu decks. Do not rush. Your reduction advantage compounds over time. A turn 3 Fujitora threatens your opponent enough that they must respond; their response may cost them tempo that benefits your following turns.
The deck has good sideboard flexibility. If your meta has few Akainu players, Garp is a strong locals choice. If Akainu is widespread, consider Marco instead for similar budget with better Akainu tools.
OP-16 Ace Deck Guide: Whitebeard Pirates Burn Build: OP-16 Ace deck guide covers the Red leader's fast burn strategy, Whitebeard.
One Piece TCG Budget Competitive Guide 2026 Under $100: One Piece TCG budget competitive guide 2026.
OP-16 All 6 Leaders Explained: Full comparison of all OP-16 leader options
OP-16 Complete Guide: Set overview and all key mechanics
OP-16 Akainu Deck Guide: Garp's main threat in the current meta
OP-16 Marco Deck Guide: Garp's best matchup in detail
OP-16 Meta Tier List Week 1: Tier placement and win rates for all OP-16 decks
OP-17 Spoilers Complete Tracker: Every confirmed OP-17 leader, card, and release detail as spoilers drop.
Does Garp's cost reduction apply to non-Marine Hero characters? The reduction applies to Marine-trait or Hero-trait characters specifically. Not all Marines have both traits; check individual card text. The "or" in the ability means either trait qualifies.
Can the cost reduction go below zero? Costs cannot go below 1 in One Piece TCG. A card that costs 2 reduced by 2 still costs 1, not 0.
Does the condition reset between turns? Yes. The condition is checked at the start of each of your Main Phases. If Marines are removed on your opponent's turn, you must reestablish the count before the next Main Phase.
Is Garp good at regionals? At Tier 2-3, Garp is a risk in any meta with heavy Akainu presence. He can spike regionals but does not have a reliable top 8 path in fields where 30%+ of the field is Akainu. Evaluate your expected meta before registering Garp at a regional.
What is Garp's best sideboard plan? Against Akainu: additional Call to Justice (more condition pieces to replace removed ones) and additional Garp's Fist copies. Against everything else: Marine Standard for additional early count generation.
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